SkyCare Repatriation, a new air ambulance service, began operations from London Biggin Hill Airport this week with a Pilatus PC-12 NGX. The UK company is part of the BM Ambulance Group, which already operates a fleet of 60 ground vehicles carrying patients to and from medical facilities.

The company's PC-12 turboprop single will be deployed for flights within Europe. SkyCare also arranges larger aircraft to transport patients needing to travel longer distances and provide onward ground connections.

“With London recognized as a global hub for medical excellence, we’re delighted to welcome SkyCare Repatriation and its PC-12 NGX air ambulance to the airport,” said Robert Walters, commercial director of London Biggin Hill Airport. “By basing its operations at London Biggin Hill, SkyCare will benefit from our extensive network of resident companies, including an onsite Pilatus service center.”

Biggin Hill is located 12 miles from central London on the southeast side of the UK capital. The airport is a designated port of entry and does not have runway slot constraints since it does not have any scheduled airline traffic. Local operator Castle Air offers a six-minute helicopter transfer to the downtown heliport at Battersea on the Thames River.

Business jet brokers’ market sentiment has remained stable in the past six months, according to the latest semi-annual index released by Jefferies Equity Research. Based on responses from some 100 business jet brokers, the index was stable at 5.9 on a 10-point scale, the same as in June, but down from the all-time high of 8.7 in January 2022.

According to the survey, brokers most frequently cited a stronger used business jet market with longer lead times as driving the market (22%), while 18% pointed to higher available inventories and 13% to new entrants. Other factors cited include concerns of economic slowdown (9%) and a decline in bonus depreciation (7%).

When asked about the greatest risks to business jet sales, 35% said economic slowdowns in key markets, 16% cited higher Fed rates, and 14% expressed concerns about supply-chain lead times.

Brokers anticipate 3% growth in the preowned market this year, down a point from the June survey. Jefferies, meanwhile, is estimating 11% gains in the new market as supply-chain issues abate and Gulfstream and Dassault ramp up on their newest models. Last year also saw fewer deliveries with the strike at Textron Aviation.

Used business jet inventory continues to grow, reaching 1,263 aircraft and representing 5.1% of the fleet available for sale in December. This is up from the 4.8% one-year average and the 4.7% five-year average.

Winchester Aviation, the airport-owned service provider at Winchester Regional Airport (KOKV) in Virginia, opened its new terminal after 22 months of construction.

With its aesthetic inspired by the Shenandoah Valley, the $11.5 million, 16,300-sq-ft two-story building features a lobby furnished in natural materials, passenger lounge, pilot lounge with snooze room, large meeting room with seating for 60, business center suite, mother’s room, and family restroom. It was designed with eco-friendly features such as a “cool roof” and the FBO’s ramp includes a conduit system to support electric aircraft charging.

“We set out to create the ‘terminal of the future’ by reimagining how a general aviation airport can connect with its community in new and meaningful ways,” said KOKV executive director Nick Sabo. “This terminal is ready to support the next generation of aviation and serve as a vital transportation, business, and community hub.”

The FBO is also the latest to join the Avfuel branded dealer network, offering contract fuel and participating in the Avtrip customer loyalty program.

“Avfuel is excited to partner with Winchester Aviation at the cusp of unprecedented growth with this new terminal,” said Joel Hirst, the fuel provider’s senior v-p of sales. “We’re also honored the airport entrusted Avfuel to provide heightened safety, integrity, and reliability in aviation fuel and services.”

CrewBlast has unveiled an upgraded version of its CrewBlast Wallet platform with AI and optical character recognition (OCR) technologies to enhance billing and expensing processes for aviation contractors. The platform, launched in 2021, connects operators with crewmembers and helps contract pilots and flight attendants with financial management.

The app’s new features include AI-powered receipt and invoice review, which ensures data accuracy by automatically matching receipts with invoices. Additionally, users can now email receipts directly to CrewBlast, and AI processes the information and uploads it. Improved receipt image quality ensures that receipts are clear for Accounts Payable teams, while international currency conversion simplifies billing for global travelers.

“With the enhanced CrewBlast Wallet, we’re not just streamlining invoicing and expensing processes—we’re redefining them,” said CrewBlast founder and CEO Timothy Griffin. “These upgrades are a testament to our commitment to solving real-world challenges faced by corporate flight departments.” Griffin noted that the app’s crewing response time in 2024 was 96 seconds.

The app works on both Android and iOS, and its platform is available as a SaaS model for flight departments to use internally. CrewBlast started with contract flight crew staffing services and in 2023 added expensing and invoicing capabilities and partnered with Clear and IdRamp to offer enhanced security processes. In July, the platform began offering full-time staffing solutions in addition to connecting operators with contract crew.

A coalition of 15 aviation stakeholders is urging U.S. congressional leaders to enhance tax incentives for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In letters to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana), the stakeholders called temporary SAF and Clean Fuel Production tax credits provided under the Inflation Reduction Act as welcomed incentives. But they added, “It is critical to improve and enhance the SAF incentives to ensure the United States does not cede ground to other countries in this emerging market.”

In a joint letter last week, the groups urged lawmakers to extend the duration of the Clean Fuel Production credits to at least 10 years to provide market certainty and reduce risk on investment in SAF projections. “Without a change, the existing three-year duration is insufficient to attract and sustain the investment needed to dramatically increase U.S. SAF production and create more American jobs,” the stakeholders wrote.

Also, the groups urged a higher incentive value for SAF to “ensure a level playing field…relative to other fuels.” Asking for a minimum credit of $1.25 per gallon for SAF, the groups said additional incentives are necessary to attract investment. The $1.25 would bring the Clean Fuel Production credit in line with the SAF credit, which expired last year.