Bombardier is rolling out a Certified Preowned aircraft program that will offer customers “meticulously selected, inspected, and updated” Learjet, Challenger, and Global jets, the Montreal-based manufacturer announced today. The program is designed to provide a “like new” experience for customers, including a one-year manufacturer’s warranty and operational support, it said.
Under the program, customers can sign up for alerts when an aircraft becomes available. Bombardier will refurbish and provide services to help the airplane retain its residual value. This includes ensuring that it is up to date with maintenance inspections, service bulletins, system upgrades, and enrollment in Bombardier’s Smart Parts program, as required. Other services range from a complimentary deep cleaning to refurbishment of the interior.
Bombardier said the program is needed because available inventory for younger preowned aircraft continues to be constrained. “As life gradually begins to return to normal, the supply of business jets across the industry has been outpaced by demand,” said Chris Milligan, v-p of preowned aircraft services for Bombardier. “A Bombardier Certified Preowned aircraft provides buyers with the highest quality preowned product, equipped with the latest safety and cabin enhancements, while providing the new aircraft delivery experience customers are looking for.”
Bombardier is launching this program following the recent release of its first Bombardier Preowned Market Report, which traces sales activity for its fleets.
StandardAero has completed its $230 million acquisition of the engine repair and overhaul (ERO) business of Signature Aviation. Announced in February, the deal includes Dallas Airmotive, H&S Aviation, W.H. Barrett Turbine Engine Co., International Governor Services, and International Turbine Service.
With the acquisition, StandardAero picks up engine overhaul facilities in Dallas and Portsmouth, England, 10 regional turbine centers, a component MRO site, and two parts/distribution facilities. Those operations employ 1,100 people and earned $500 million in revenue in 2020. ERO customers span the spectrum of aviation, including commercial, business, government, and military.
The ERO combination increases StandardAero’s employment to 6,600 with 55 operations located across six continents. “We are excited to welcome ERO and its experienced employees to StandardAero and to bring together all of the best practices of two successful, well-known, and highly respected aerospace companies to provide a multitude of benefits for our customers,” said StandardAero chairman and CEO Russell Ford. “Acquiring ERO enhances our ability to be one of the most efficient and client-focused aerospace MRO companies in the world, providing superior quality products and responsive service for our industry.”
U.S. Bizjet Accidents Rise Steeply in 1H21
Accidents and fatalities involving U.S.-registered business jets more than doubled from a year ago in the first half as mishaps surged in the second quarter. Meanwhile, accidents involving U.S.-registered turboprops decreased year-over-year.
According to AIN research, preliminary statistics show that nine people lost their lives in three accidents of U.S.-registered business jets in the first half, compared with four killed in a single accident in the comparable period last year. Flying was down in the second quarter of 2020 in particular due to the Covid pandemic but has rebounded considerably since then.
The accidents this year and resulting number of fatalities were January 9, Cessna Citation V, one fatality; May 4, Gulfstream IV, one fatality; and May 29, Cessna Citation I/SP, seven fatalities. Nonfatal accidents of U.S.-registered business jets also climbed from six last year to eight this year.
In the first half, U.S.-registered turboprops suffered seven fatalities in three accidents, compared with 10 killed in four accidents in the first six months of 2020. The crash of a Mitsubishi MU-2 on May 5 killed one person on the ground in addition to the three onboard. The other U.S.-registered business turboprop fatal accidents in the first half of 2021 were February 7, Cessna Conquest, two fatalities; and February 21, Swearingen SA-226, two fatalities.
Jet Aviation Geneva Takes Fueling In-house
Jet Aviation has bolstered its services at Switzerland’s Geneva International Airport with the announcement that it has been granted a fueling concession from the airport authority. The FBO has begun its own fueling operations utilizing a brand new refueller and a dedicated fueling team.
The move follows the neighboring Signature Flight Support (formerly TAG Aviation) FBO, which already conducts its own in-house fueling operations—still a rarity among European service providers.
“We are always looking for ways to ensure a seamless service for our passengers and crews,” said Joao Martins, v-p of Jet Aviation’s European region FBO operations and general manager of its Zurich location. “We drew on our network of expert fuelers to train our Geneva personnel in fueling and ensure service alignment.”
“Being able to offer a dedicated fueling service means we can ensure timely fuel service delivery and ultimately support punctual departures,” added Edgar Guerreiro, the company’s Geneva FBO general manager.
Prepared vs. Proficient: How Training Measures Up
If you asked them, most pilots, flight crews and maintenance technicians would claim they are proficient. But that’s the right answer to the wrong question.Instead, they should ask themselves whether they are prepared for any and every situation. Find out what difference that answer makes to safety.
Raytheon Wins FAA Contract To Maintain, Upgrade STARS
Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) received a five-year, $223 million contract to continue system integration, sustainment, and enhancement of the FAA’s Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS). Part of a 10-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity agreement, the latest contract provides for RI&S to continue as the STARS system integrator and oversee technology refresh, deployment of future applications, and any other improvements and initiatives to sustain STARS, the company said.
The contract extends a more than a two-decade-long partnership that RI&S has had with the FAA on the program. The company developed the system in concert with the FAA, controllers, and system specialists.
“RI&S will provide operational support and sustainment of the 700-plus operational STARS systems worldwide for the FAA and the Department of Defense under the new contract,” said Denis Donohue, v-p of communications and airspace management systems for RI&S. “This is key to advancing the FAA’s NextGen modernization initiative to help keep our skies and the public safe.”
Considered a cornerstone of the FAA’s NextGen air traffic control modernization program, STARS integrates the computer system used by air traffic controllers at terminal facilities into a single advanced platform. The system provides controllers a full and precise picture of the airspace and enables controllers to manage and verify spacing, direction, headings. and vectors, as well as providing conflict alerts and weather advisories.
World Fuel Offers Carbon Offsets as Rewards Option
World Fuel Services has introduced the purchase of carbon offsets as a points redemption option for its rewards program members. A carbon offset equals one ton of greenhouse gas emissions that has been avoided or reduced in the atmosphere, and World Fuel Rewards customers can enter their fuel volume or points they wish to spend and the system will calculate the amount of carbon emissions in tons of CO2 equivalents.
The company’s World Kinect sustainability division, which sources its offsets from verified and certified projects worldwide, will then analyze the member’s energy usage and retire carbon offsets to compensate for a portion of their direct (Scope 1) and indirect (Scope 2) carbon emissions. Customers will receive carbon offset certificates to assist in their reporting.
“We understand that sustainability can feel complex and unattainable, and we want to make it easier for World Fuel Rewards members to achieve their sustainability goals,” said Malcolm Hawkins, the Miami-based fuel provider’s senior v-p of business aviation global sales. “Including carbon offsets as a rewards redemption option encourages members to take this simple and significant first step in their sustainability journey.”
Norwood FBO Up and Running after 11-year Battle
After an 11-year struggle, much of it acrimonious, Boston Executive Helicopter pumped its first fuel into an aircraft as an FBO last week at Norwood Memorial Airport, Massachusetts. Although the first customer was the company’s own helicopter, BEH is now officially the second FBO on the airport, in addition to Flight Level Aviation.
The effort to establish the FBO started in 2010 when the charter operator first submitted its proposal to the city of Norwood and the Norwood Airport Commission (NAC). Since that time, BEH, the NAC, and Flight Level Aviation have traded insults, accusations, lawsuits, and broken agreements. Also, as the result of FAA investigations, the agency concluded the airport was in violation of federal grant regulations on the grounds of discrimination against BEH.
“Eleven years later we finally pumped our first gallon of fuel,” said BEH president Christopher R. Donovan. “There are many people to thank. You know who you are. Without the support of our founder and owner, and so many others, we would have been long gone.”
The company has not yet responded to AIN’s questions regarding its FBO facilities, services, amenities, and fees, as well as the status of pending lawsuits against Norwood related to opening the FBO at the airport.
Van Nuys Airport Completes Second Taxiway Rehab
Van Nuys Airport (KVNY), one of the busiest private aviation hubs in the U.S., has completed a 15-month rehabilitation project on Taxiway A. The $35.5 million program at the Southern California airport encompassed 12 phases, resulting in the full-depth reconstruction of the 8,000-foot taxiway, installation of LED centerline and edge lighting, airfield signage and pavement marking upgrades, taxiway geometry enhancements, infield grading, and drainage improvements. A similar project was completed last year on Taxiway B, and as with that previous effort, 90 percent of the funding came from FAA AIP grants.
According to KVNY owner and operator Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the work brings the taxiways into alignment with new FAA design standards and extends their lives by at least 20 years. “Van Nuys Airport continues to demonstrate it is the premier general aviation airport in the country with modern and safe facilities,” said LAWA CEO Justin Erbacci.
“The Taxiway A project presented another opportunity for airport businesses to work in partnership with [LAWA] and the FAA on solutions to limit the number of days in which runways, taxiways, and leasehold access points were impacted during construction,” noted Curt Castagna, president of the Van Nuys Airport Association. “This project ultimately enhances safety for pilots by providing better visual acuity, standardized taxiway nomenclature, and improved communication with the air traffic control tower.”
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
True or false: a satellite-based augmentation system (SBAS) is not effective to monitor integrity, so RAIM is used instead.
A. True.
B. False.
People in Aviation
Universal Avionics named Christopher Whelchel CFO. Whelchel joins the company with 16 years of aerospace industry experience, most recently as v-p of finance at SolAero Technologies and also including as controller for BendixKing.
Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group named Matthieu Chavrot as the global director of aircraft sales and acquisitions. Chavrot has nearly 17 years of aviation leasing and sales experience with companies including GE Capital, Falcap, and R4A.
Duncan Aviation added Kramer Lyons to its senior management team as director and associate general counsel. Lyons previously was an attorney with the Lincoln, Nebraska-based law firm O’Neil Heinrich, where he focused on general corporate law, business and commercial transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and construction law.
Infinity Aircraft Services and its sister company, B. Coleman Aviation, have made a number of appointments. Robert “Bud” Ramseyer has joined Infinity Aircraft Services as maintenance director, bringing 30 years of aviation experience. Ramseyer has spent 20 of those years with Motorola Aviation as a A&P/IA technician, maintenance manager, crew chief, and inspector. B. Coleman Aviation named Jonathan Hill maintenance controller. Hill previously spent more than seven years as a maintenance controller and quality assurance inspector with Travel Management Company. Also, Robert Cummins was hired as a quality assurance manager for the Coleman Jet management department. Cummins previously served with a Part 135 operator for 11 years as a quality manager.
Mente Group named David Hayes as managing director for the Southeast, based in Orlando, Florida. Hayes, who has served with FlightSafety International and was a corporate and airline pilot, joins Mente Group from Textron, where he held national sales leadership posts at Textron Specialized Vehicles, TRU Simulation + Training, and Textron Aviation.
AINalerts News Tips/Feedback: News tips may be sent anonymously, but feedback must include name and contact info (we will withhold name on request). We reserve the right to edit correspondence for length, clarity and grammar. Send feedback or news tips to AINalerts editor Chad Trautvetter.
AIN Alerts is a publication of The Convention News Company, Inc., 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, New Jersey. Copyright 2021. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is strictly prohibited.
