The Asia-Pacific region saw an uptick in business aviation market mood and intentions following a dismal first half of 2023, according to Asian Sky Group (ASG). Market optimism rebounded by between 10 percent and 20 percent in various parts of the region in the second half and “the tide has turned,” wrote ASG director Jeffrey Lowe in the recently released Asian Sky Quarterly report.

Lowe painted a grim picture for the first half of last year, with 27 of surveyed people in the region feeling the economic situation would only get worse—a 14-point surge from 2022.

“When you don’t have a great outlook for the future, you generally don’t go out and buy a corporate jet,” he said. Further in the period, the number of operators reporting reduced flying jumped from 10 percent to 26 percent.

But momentum in the travel and retail sectors and a 5 percent general improvement in the economic situation throughout the region contributed to the third-quarter bounce in optimism. Optimism generally rose from 73 percent to 77 percent throughout the region. Southeast and Northeast Asia were the only subregions to experience an economic decline, from 83 percent to 72 percent.

Some 37.7 percent of respondents region-wide said they are interested in purchasing preowned aircraft, and nearly half anticipated chartering an aircraft over the next three years.

Fractional light jet operator Volato has released its first key performance indicator (KPI) report, which demonstrates the growth of the company over the past two years. From the first quarter of 2022 through the last quarter of 2023, Volato’s fleet flight hours have grown from 813 to more than 3,500 per quarter.

In addition, during that span the HondaJet operator’s share of the light-jet passenger flying market has risen from 0.7 percent to 2.9 percent. Over the past year, the company has also conducted internal post-flight customer satisfaction surveys with its quarterly net promoter scores totaling 86 and above.

“In 2023 alone, Volato expanded its HondaJet fleet by 50 percent and increased its light-jet market share to nearly 3 percent,” said Mark Heinen, the company’s CFO. “Even with this growth, we maintained our emphasis on providing high-quality customer experiences.”

Last month, the company went public after a SPAC merger that boosted its investment capital. “As a newly public company within a rapidly growing industry, we believe transparency is imperative,” Heinen added. “By providing stakeholders with clear insights into utilization and customer engagement metrics, we are further aligning transparency standards in the private aviation sector with those found in the commercial airline industry.”

Going forward, Volato said it will provide updated KPI information on a quarterly basis.

Atlantic Aviation has started installing electric aircraft charging stations at its FBOs through a partnership with aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies. The first charger has been installed at Atlantic’s facility at Elmira Regional Airport in upstate New York and the partners have also agreed to install the equipment at Alabama’s Birmingham International Airport, Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport in Mississippi, and Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport in Massachusetts.

Beta, which is developing electric VTOL and fixed-wing versions of its Alia airplane, has designed its “technology agnostic” charging stations to work with multiple aircraft types, as well as electric ground vehicles. The Vermont-based company has now installed chargers at 17 locations across the U.S. and has another 55 sites in the permitting or construction process.

The existing Beta network of chargers extends south from Vermont to Arkansas and Florida. One of the Alia prototype aircraft has been deployed for several months at Eglin Air Force Base as part of U.S. Air Force trials. Beta has conducted multiple extended flights across the U.S. to evaluate the practicalities of charging the Alia’s batteries between trips.

Atlantic’s FBO network covers more than 100 locations across North America. Its “host site agreements” with Beta are intended to provide the infrastructure needed to support anticipated advanced air mobility services with electric aircraft to reduce operating costs of short flights and cut carbon emissions.

Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based VIP Completions today provided an update on its operations along with an outlook for 2024 activities that include a Boeing BBJ refurbishment. Now operating with full hangars, the company also expects to convert a Gulfstream G550 from a business aircraft to a Medevac air ambulance and perform a full interior refurbishment of a Dassault Falcon 7X.

“These are all big projects,” said VIP Completions president Ben Shirazi. “Working on corporate airliners and long-range business jets gives our team the opportunity to transform and revitalize aircraft. Comprehensive refurbishments dramatically improve the in-flight experience while increasing the value of our clients’ assets.”

While industry consensus appears to indicate a 2 percent growth rate this year, resulting in the delivery of 775 new-production business aircraft, a return to pre-pandemic reality, and a largely recovered supply chain seem to point to a period of stability, according to VIP Completions.  

“Looking specifically at preowned business aircraft, we anticipate a slight softening in pricing this year,” said Shirazi. “However, that can be beneficial for refurbishments and conversions because buyers will take a closer look at value. In turn, owners may decide that upgrading their current aircraft is more attractive than putting it on the market. For these reasons, we believe that refurbishments and conversions will remain quite strong…we are feeling optimistic.”

Business aircraft sales and training firm Aerocor has launched a turbine aircraft management service division. The subsidiary, Aircraft Management Solutions, will be headed by industry veteran Garrett Woodman and is aimed at Aerocor’s aircraft acquisition clients.

With the addition of aircraft management, the company said it becomes a full-service aviation company with offerings that support owners at all phases of aircraft ownership. “Having a management product will allow us to deliver the type of product that buyers have grown to expect from Aerocor and provide a seamless experience throughout the aircraft ownership life cycle,” Woodman noted.

The company already has its first two midsize jets—a Cessna Citation Sovereign and Hawker 800A—under management. Both aircraft were brought in under Aerocor’s acquisition program and have undergone refurbishment before being added to the managed fleet.

According to Woodman, the company will use the same data-based approach in its management product that Aerocor employs for the aircraft sales market—“similar to how airlines manage safety and operational costs,” he explained.

Aerocor said it plans to continue broadening its portfolio this year.

MD Helicopters booked orders for 25 helicopters last year, its highest annual order intake since 2008, it announced today. A company spokesman told AIN that the orders were almost evenly split between military and civil models.

In addition to an order for 12 helicopters from the Nigerian federal government, recent commercial transactions involved MD530Fs designated for multi-use missions. These civil variants included VIP aircraft for Clemens Aviation and utility aircraft for the U.S. Department of Agriculture and WCF Aerospace on behalf of Skydance Helicopters, a company that specializes in power line services.

“This achievement is a testament to our dedicated team and the trust our customers have in us,” said Jason Lindauer, MD v-p of sales and marketing. “We have an aggressive campaign underway to meet face-to-face with our customers, suppliers, and prospects to gather firsthand feedback and to continue to strengthen relationships.”

MD has instituted a variety of process improvements over the last year, according to the company. They include improving customer support, increasing investment in direct communications with customers, enhancing manufacturing efficiencies, ensuring in-stock spares availability, and maintaining healthy supplier relationships.

MD emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2022 and appointed a new board of directors, CEO, and senior executives with the stated intention of rebuilding product support and gradually ramping up helicopter production.

ExecuJet, the global ground handling arm of Luxaviation Group, recently received honors for its Africa division. At the 2023 South Africa Civil Aviation Awards presentation, the company earned top rank in the categories of aviation innovation, people development, aviation security, and aviation customer service. It was also named first runner-up in the aircraft operator segment, one in which it competed against all operators, including scheduled airlines.

The awards, established by the South African Civil Aviation Authority in 2018, recognize aviation entities operating in the country for their excellence. ExecuJet Africa—which offers a wide variety of aviation services including aircraft charter, sales, management, and insurance, along with FBO operations, tours, and air cargo—earned top honors in aviation customer services and people development in that inaugural edition, along with first runner-up in Aviation Support Services.

The following year it received first runner-up in the aircraft operator category and second runner-up in people development. The awards resumed for 2023 following a three-year hiatus due largely to the Covid pandemic.

“We are extremely proud to see that the work our teams are doing is being recognized and rewarded,” said Luxaviation CEO Patrick Hansen. “These accolades are a testament to the innovation, dedication, and continuous pursuit of excellence for which ExecuJet and the Luxaviation Group strive, always with our customers as our first priority.”