A law firm representing fractional-share operator NetJets sent a letter last week to the union that represents the company’s pilots, NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP), accusing union members of “engaging in concerted action” to hamper flight operations. This includes writing up aircraft discrepancies at a higher-than-normal rate, more fatigue calls, and declining willingness to take extended duty days.

NetJets claims that NJASAP is communicating to members that they should engage in “self-help” or a slowdown, according to the letter from the law firm. “NetJets is aware of as many as a dozen messages that suggest—using the typical union code words for self-help—that pilots should take action to reflect their unhappiness with the state of voluntary negotiations.”

The union denies that it has encouraged members to engage in self-help. According to NJASAP president Pedro Leroux, “NJASAP adamantly denies that it is engaged in any concerted effort to condone or to encourage such a slowdown, and we have issued a communication to our members to cease and desist any individual efforts to do so. We view NetJets' letter and threats as its latest attempt to censor NJASAP's ability to communicate with its members about important matters that affect flight crew and [share] owner/customer safety.”

The preowned business aircraft market continued to stabilize in 2023, according to a year-end report released yesterday by the International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA).

“IADA members have been predicting a more stable marketplace for over a year, and the 2023 market performed as expected,” said Phil Winters, the group’s chairman and v-p of aircraft sales and charter management with Western Aircraft. “Our quantitative and proprietary sales data shows that buyers and sellers are coming together with regard to asking and offering prices, a positive change from the overheated conditions we’ve seen since the onset of the pandemic.”

The report melds qualitative perspectives from IADA members around the globe with quantitative sales data from its accredited dealers and certified brokers who handle 50 percent of used business aircraft transactions. It noted a subtle shift toward a buyer’s market with “higher inventory and more reasonable prices, leading to expectations for a steady start to 2024.”

A survey of members indicated that the majority of IADA members expect that midsize and large-cabin business jet pricing will decrease. Further, the survey says the inventory in those classes will continue to rise over the first half of the year, with the top-of-the-market ultra-long-range and large-cabin categories seeing the most notable changes.

About 85 percent of the respondents indicated that demand across the entire business aircraft spectrum will likely see relative stability or a slight decline.

Business jet movements at the Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH) at Dubai South hit 16,650 last year, a jump of 8 percent over the 2022 figure of 15,440. “The impressive milestone reaffirms Al Maktoum International Airport’s position as the busiest airport for international business aviation movements in the Middle East,” MBRAH said.

Speaking to AIN at the recent Dubai Airshow, Tahnoon Saif, CEO of MBRAH, said movements in the first half of last year totaled 7,300. This implies a significant jump in second-half movements. Saif attributed the rise to several factors, including the hosting of the Dubai Airshow, COP28 at Dubai Expo City, and the launch of a new ExecuJet FBO and hangar.

Official figures put the level of investment at MBRAH to date at almost $820 million, while the value of MRO business at the zone is expected to hit roughly $2.2 billion by around 2030. MBRAH said it offers global aerospace players high-level connectivity as a free-zone destination for leading airlines, private jet companies, and associated industries.

Last year, the site saw several agreements with new partners setting up MRO facilities, manufacturing aircraft parts and structures, painting, AOG and parts supply, sourcing engine assets, and refurbishing private jet interiors.

Nearly two dozen organizations across the spectrum of aviation are ratcheting up pressure on the U.S. Senate to move on a comprehensive, long-term FAA bill. In a letter sent Friday to the leadership of the full Senate and Commerce Committee, 23 aviation organizations appealed for action, saying “the FAA must have the stability and direction provided for by a multi-year reauthorization bill.”

Without prompt reauthorization, the organizations warned, the FAA will not have the proper staffing and infrastructure it needs to advance the aviation system. “Today's service disruptions and capacity reductions will be further exacerbated,” they wrote. “We simply can’t afford our national air system to continue to be stretched so thin. With passage of this bill, we can move forward on safety, not backward.”

The House in July passed its version of a five-year reauthorization bill, but the Senate measure has gotten bogged down over disputes surrounding the 1,500-hour rule for airline pilots, as well as the mandatory retirement age of 65, among other issues.

Among the signatories were business and general aviation groups such as NBAA, NATA, AEA, GAMA, and HAI, along with others representing airlines, aerospace companies, MROs, pilots' unions (including for NetJets), airports, and states.

Along with the letter, NBAA issued a call to action for its members to also reach out to Senate leaders.

Prices for hourly jet cards dipped by 8.5 percent year-over-year in the fourth quarter last year, but are still up by 21.4 percent over pre-pandemic levels, according to Private Jet Card Comparisons (PJCC). At the same time, the percentage of subscribers negotiating free flight hours increased by 39 percent, while those who received extra flight credits increased by 67 percent.

Jet card hourly rates averaged $10,754 per hour in the last three months of the year, a 2.7 percent quarter-over-quarter dip. However, rates were still 21.4 percent more than in pre-Covid fourth-quarter 2019. Large-cabin jet hourly rates dropped the least in the fourth quarter at $15,339, down 4.8 percent year-over-year, and up by 17.7 percent from the fourth quarter of 2019. At the same time, though, ultra-long-range aircraft dropped the most among the jets at -9.2 percent. Even so, hourly rate cards for this category were 11.4 percent above pre-pandemic levels.

Light jet hourly rates averaged $7,918 in the fourth quarter, down 6.4 percent from the prior year but up by 31.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019. Midsize jet hourly rates came in at $9,168 at the end of 2024, a 6.5 percent decline, and super-midsize jet hourly rates were off 7 percent year-over-year at $11,793.

The NTSB is investigating a helicopter air ambulance crash that took place in Oklahoma on Saturday night and killed all three crew aboard. The 1991 Bell 206L3, registration N295AE and operated by Global Medical Response unit Air Evac, went down at approximately 11:23 p.m. local time.

According to FlightAware data, the helicopter was cruising at 111 knots and 1,700 feet while approaching an area of freezing precipitation near the town of Hydro. It was on a 70-mile repositioning flight from Oklahoma City to Weatherford. News photos show a largely contained crash site in a field with the main rotor separated from the primary wreckage area.

Air Evac identified the pilot yesterday. He had previous Army aviation experience and had flown civilian air medical missions since 2017, and held a second-class medical certificate and rotorcraft commercial and instrument ratings. Air Evac operates more than 160 air ambulances in 18 states.

The company was in the news last month when the federal government charged one of its former pilots for flying a passenger in an Air Evac helicopter while legally intoxicated.

ExecuJet France, a subsidiary of Luxembourg-based Luxaviation Group, has completed the conversion of its FBO at Paris Le Bourget Airport (LFPB) to all-electric ground service equipment (GSE). The achievement makes the location the first ExecuJet FBO in Europe to make the conversion, which is a companywide goal by 2030.

At the Le Bourget facility, the list of electrified GSE includes ground power units, tow tugs, air stairs, luggage truck, lavatory service vehicle, and potable water truck.

It follows in the footsteps of the chain’s Australasia locations in Auckland, Sydney, and Melbourne, which have already made the switch from petroleum-fueled equipment. ExecuJet said it has reached nearly 60 percent of its goal across the company's network of 22 FBOs.

“We are very happy to have achieved this milestone, which contributes to our mission to provide outstanding and more sustainable business air travel experiences by fully electrifying our FBOs by 2030,” said Luxaviation Group CEO Patrick Hansen.