Cleveland-based FXSolutions has exceeded $1 billion in aircraft sales since launching in 2022, completing more than 70 transactions worth $1.3 billion. Part of the Directional Aviation family, the company provides brokerage, acquisition, and aircraft management expertise across all private aviation categories.

“We pride ourselves on having decades of defined expertise and being positioned at the forefront of the private aviation industry,” said Matthew Doyle, managing partner of FXSolutions.

Gulfstream models—particularly the G700, G650, and G450—comprise nearly 47% of FXSolutions’ business. Doyle noted that the firm’s success is also rooted in its ability to identify market trends and leverage Directional Aviation’s resources for deeper insights.

According to the company, the upper end of the business aircraft market is remaining strong this year, with buyers taking a more deliberate approach to acquisitions. The return to 100% bonus depreciation is expected to drive corporate sales and boost secondary market inventory. Meanwhile, Covid-era whole-aircraft owners are shifting toward fractional ownership, adding high-quality preowned jets to the market.

FXSolutions cautions buyers to plan ahead, with pre-purchase inspections now requiring up to 90 days to schedule. Still, the company said large-cabin jet opportunities remain attractive, especially with trade-ins entering the market as more G700s enter service and G800 deliveries begin. Its ties to Directional Aviation’s MRO arm, Flexjet Technical Services, also offers clients advantages in transaction support and maintenance planning, FXSolutions noted.

The FAA has transferred responsibility for reviewing foreign instrument procedures to operators with guidelines in a new advisory circular and revised authorizations affecting Part 91K, 121, 125, and 135 operations. Principal inspectors are expected to contact operators by September 3 to initiate the reissuance process.

As outlined in its notice, the FAA will remove foreign procedures and airports from OpSpec/MSpec/LOA templates C059, C060, and C384, and decommission C058, C358, and H107. Going forward, operators must evaluate the procedures themselves in accordance with Advisory Circular AC 120-105B, which provides guidance for assessing foreign terminal instrument procedures.

“Operators should expect a call from their inspectors to reissue relevant OpSpecs, MSpecs, or LOAs,” said Rich Boll, chair of NBAA’s airspace and flight technologies subcommittee. “Operators should also understand the revised authorizations put responsibility for assessing foreign instrument procedures on the operator, so operators and pilots will need to become familiar with performance standards used to assess these procedures.”

Boll emphasized that while most procedures follow established international standards such as ICAO’s Procedures for Air Navigation Services Aircraft Operators (PANS-OPS) or the FAA’s Terminal Instrument Procedures (TERPS), some countries deviate. For example, Mexico generally follows PANS-OPS but uses TERPS circling standards due to a specific national exception.

A contest to award college students for their research to accelerate the development and adoption of sustainable aviation fuel is being sponsored by ICAO and the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority.

Open to undergraduate and postgraduate researchers, the Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Aviation Award will award $1 million in prize money based on research conducted from 2022 through 2024. For both the undergraduate and postgraduate categories, the first prize is $250,000, with second and third place in each category receiving $150,000 and $100,000, respectively.

Established in 2016, the award aims to recognize states, business organizations, and individuals around the world for their contribution to the success of the aviation industry. Given on a triennial basis, it reflects the UAE’s commitment to promoting aviation and its support of ICAO’s “No Country Left Behind” initiative. The window for applications closes on July 14, and winners will be announced at the 42nd ICAO assembly this September in Montreal.

NBAA is disputing a recent report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) about business jet emissions, saying the findings provide an inaccurate and incomplete picture of private aviation.

The ICCT report claims private jets are “a large and growing source of air and climate pollution,” noting that a typical aircraft emits about 810 tonnes of greenhouse gases (GHG) a year, the equivalent of 177 passenger cars. Further, the report claims that in 2023, private jets collectively emitted more GHGs than all flights departing from London Heathrow Airport.

However, NBAA noted that the report's conclusions were based on a flawed extrapolation of flight trajectory data and provided an incomplete analysis of the flights involved. NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen pointed out that the report did not acknowledge that business aviation has reduced emissions by 40% over the past four decades and that new aircraft are up to 35% more efficient than earlier models.

The report also ignored that business aviation, which contributes less than 1% to all transportation emissions, has set a goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 through the use of sustainable aviation fuels and the development of electric, hybrid, and hydrogen propulsion technologies.

The FAA is urging aircraft owners and operators selected for its 47th Annual General Aviation and Part 135 Activity Survey to complete the brief questionnaire, emphasizing the role of the data in shaping safety metrics, infrastructure planning, and regulatory decisions.

Now underway, the 2025 survey, which reports on 2024 flight data, was sent to a statistically selected sample of U.S. aircraft owners, with turbine, rotorcraft, and Alaska-based aircraft surveyed at a 100% rate. Roughly 30% of the total general aviation (GA) fleet is sampled each year, with lighter aircraft such as piston singles surveyed at a lower rate.

As the only official source of GA fleet and flight-hour data in the U.S., the survey provides the foundation for tracking activity trends, calculating accident rates, evaluating the impact of regulatory changes, and planning for National Airspace System needs. The NTSB’s GA accident rate, for example, uses this data as a denominator, since the GA sector is not subject to mandatory reporting like airline operations.

FAA officials note that all survey responses are confidential and processed only by the agency’s contractor. The survey typically takes 15 minutes to complete, and officials say each response has an impact on national metrics and long-term planning. Aircraft owners who operate three or more aircraft are encouraged to request a short-form version.

Addressing a shortage of hotel rooms in the vicinity of Pennsylvania’s Lehigh Valley International Airport (KABE), the Lehigh-Northampton Airport Authority (LNAA) has partnered with Marriott to break ground on the first hotel on airport property there. The Courtyard by Marriott is expected to open in 2027 and will feature 145 guest rooms, a bar/lounge, meeting space, fitness center, business center, onsite laundry facilities, and outdoor seating area.

Lack of available hotel capacity along the Airport Road corridor was revealed as part of an airport master plan study update. To help with funding for the project, the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corp. issued a series of tax-exempt bonds totaling $42 million, while the state added a $1 million grant from the Redevelopment Assistance Capital Program.

“We’re focused on making KABE a travel hub that serves a significant role in economic development for the Lehigh Valley,” said LNAA executive director Thomas Stoudt. “Make no mistake, this hotel not only elevates the service to airport customers but expands lodging options for tourists.”

Over the past two years, LNAA—which also operates Lehigh Valley Aviation Services, the lone FBO at KABE—has invested more than $75 million in infrastructure development at the airfield.

Don’t miss this opportunity to contribute to the business aviation industry’s growth while earning a $100 gift card! We, a consortium of the industry’s best known business aircraft manufacturers, want to hear your opinions on the next generation of business aircraft. Your feedback is critical to the industry’s growth. Please be assured that your individual responses will not be shared with anyone and will remain fully anonymous.This survey is sponsored and administered by Seefeld Group, an independent research firm specializing in business aviation.