Business aviation OEM backlogs are now extending at least through 2023 and in most cases into 2024 and 2025, according to Jefferies. The analyst reported on the OEM backlogs after hosting the third annual Jefferies Business Aviation Summit last week, bringing together industry leaders from the manufacturing, brokerage, charter, MRO, and other segments.
Noting there are no signs of “demand destruction” thus far, Jefferies said, “business jet demand remains robust with stickiness in conversion of flyers from airline first-class to private aviation.”
The two- to four-year lead times for new aircraft have created a sellers’ market on the preowned side, which is pushing up pricing and resulting in quicker turns, according to Jefferies. Pricing has increased 10 percent month-over-month for aircraft less than five years old over each of the last four months, Mesinger Jet Sales reported during the Jefferies summit. Flexjet, another participant in the summit, said it has seen purchase prices increase by as much as 30 percent to 40 percent over the last 24 to 30 months for certain models. CFS Jets, meanwhile, estimated prices across cabin sizes have grown 20 to 25 percent year-over-year.
Average jet-card prices are also increasing, up more than 22 percent since October 2020 and 1.5 percent since the end of the first quarter. Industry sentiment remains strong, Jefferies said, and operators indicate their customers are accepting higher pricing.
About 1,800 of Bombardier’s 8,000 workers in Montreal are taking a pause from work today following the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW) Local 712 chapter’s rejection last weekend of a five-year contract offer from the company. Both parties expect negotiations to resume tomorrow, but the union declared today a “study day.”
More than 75 percent of the IAMAW Local 712 members voted against the offer, which called for a general increase of $1.85/hour in the first year and annual increases in the low single digits thereafter. The offer further called for the end of certain subcontract activities, limits on outsourcing, and increases in job protections.
"This result confirms that Bombardier has a long way to go to rebuild a sense of belonging with the workers,” said IAMAW business representative Eric Rancourt. “It's simple, what the members want in this collective agreement is the recognition of the sacrifices they made during the last years to help the company. Add to that the rising cost of living."
Bombardier said it was disappointed but added it “is confident it is on the right track and remains engaged toward a successful future for all employees."
The study day affects workers at one of Bombardier’s main buildings, as well as a structures building in the Ville Saint Laurent suburb, the company confirmed.
Part 91 operators seeking a letter of authorization (LOA) from the FAA for certain communications, navigation, and surveillance equipment on new-production business aircraft could find the process easier, according to NBAA. Under newly published guidance, the FAA has introduced a process that “streamlines the review of aircraft capabilities, training compliance and procedures compliance, and bundles a request for multiple common LOAs in a single application.”
The revised guidance follows NBAA’s participation in a joint FAA/industry working group, co-led by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and the agency’s flight technologies and procedures divisions, aimed at streamlining the application process for the 10 most common LOA applications. These include enhanced vision systems, equipment necessary to fly in oceanic regions, and area navigation and required navigation performance terminal operations.
NBAA director of flight operations and regulations Brian Koester said the standardized processes will also resolve disparities in LOA guidance between FAA offices and/or different inspectors.
“This should make what has been an extremely frustrating process for owners of new, technologically advanced aircraft significantly less burdensome, with much greater clarity on the requirements for aircraft, crews, and operational procedures,” Koester noted. “We expect these standardized procedures to greatly enhance the efficiency of the LOA application process due to more consistent review and presentation of information.”
According to an NTSB final report, the pilot’s failure to navigate around hazardous weather, resulting in flying into a thunderstorm, lead to the subsequent loss of control and in-flight breakup of a turboprop-converted Piper Malibu near Castalia, North Carolina, in June 2019, killing the pilot and three passengers. The Safety Board also said the air traffic controller’s “failure to provide the pilot with adequate and timely weather information, as required, contributed to the pilot’s inability to safely navigate the hazardous weather.”
Although the pilot was not instrument-rated, he filed IFR for the Part 91 cross-country trip from Naples, Florida, to Easton, Maryland. The aircraft was also about 730 pounds over mtow at takeoff. While in cruise at FL270, the 58-year-old pilot reported to ATC that his radar showed weather ahead. The controller acknowledged the weather, but did not provide specifics to the pilot as requested, including the size and strength of the area of precipitation or cloud tops information (estimated at 43,000 feet).
“The airplane entered an area of heavy to extreme precipitation, likely a thunderstorm updraft, while in IMC,” the NTSB said. “Tracking information indicated that the airplane climbed about 300 feet, then entered a right, descending spiral and broke up in flight at high altitude.” The airplane was estimated to be about 148 pounds over the maximum gross weight at the time of the accident.
The FAA recently issued a Special Airworthiness Information Bulletin (SAIB) that warns operators and maintainers about safety hazards associated with quarter-turn engine cowl fasteners on Textron Aviation-manufactured jets. This list includes Cessna Citations, Beechjet 400A/XPs, and Hawkers. However, the FAA said, the airworthiness concern is not considered an unsafe condition that would warrant issuing an airworthiness directive.
According to the FAA, there have been several incidents of engine cowl damage and resulting separations in Textron turbofan airplanes believed to be primarily caused by maintenance error. These separation incidents resulted in damage to the airplanes, and some incidents have “marginally affected” airplane handling capabilities.
“The Textron turbofan-powered fleet uses quarter-turn fasteners to assemble the engine cowl system,” the FAA noted. “Failure to verify engagement of all quarter-turn fasteners can lead to cowl door damage and/or separation due to the aerodynamic loads. Cowl doors that separate from the airplane may strike empennage components, causing structural damage and potential loss of airplane control.”
Thus, the FAA issued this SAIB to advise of the safety hazards and potential dangers of inadequate and infrequent preflight inspections of the quarter-turn fasteners used to attach engine cowling system components. It also called for routine preventive maintenance to identify improperly seated or improperly latched quarter-turn fasteners, as well as cowl doors with excessive forward edge gaps, cracks, or contour anomalies.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
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With spring/summer higher air temperatures, there is no need to worry about carburetor icing in piston engines. Is this statement correct or incorrect?
Astronics has introduced CabinAXe, a cabin wireless access point (CWAP) that is compatible with the recently adopted Wi-Fi6E standard for greater connectivity in the aircraft cabin. Wi-Fi6E uses 1.2 GHz of unlicensed spectrum in the 6-GHz band that enables faster speeds and less congestion.
New York-based Astronics claims it is the first in the industry to deliver a Wi-Fi6E-compatible CWAP and is doing so in part to account for future applications and classes of personal electronic devices. Its new CWAP is also backwards compatible with previously released Wi-Fi bands and standards and is ready for line-fit applications, according to the company.
“Delivering blazing-fast Wi-Fi performance and increased throughput for added reliability, CabinAXe is a powerful demonstration of our commitment to passenger experience,” said Astronics connectivity systems and certification president Mike Kuehn. “Added sensing capabilities for internet of things applications and integration with Summit Line components demonstrates our attention to existing in-flight entertainment and connectivity systems with a strong look to the future in the cabin.”
Charter startup SpeedBird is looking to add 30 more captains and 20 first officers as it expands its aircraft fleet, the Orlando, Florida-based company announced late last week. Qualifications include first officers with a minimum of 1,500 hours and captains with a minimum of 3,000 flight hours. Both positions also require “impeccable safety records.”
In return, pilots at the company work an eight-days-on, six-days-off schedule and there is no relocation requirement. Pilots also receive day, monthly, and annual incentive bonuses, as well as a dedicated crew concierge.
“Ensuring our clients a safe, personalized, and comfortable travel experience begins with our company culture,” said SpeedBird CEO Christopher Bull. “We welcome—and encourage—our pilots to be leading voices within SpeedBird, and we prioritize their insights and feedback in every aspect of our business. We are seeking pilots who want to help us shape an unparalleled client experience while authentically enhancing our culture as we continue to grow.”
SpeedBird’s fleet includes Cessna Citation X, CJ3, CJ2, and Beechjet 400A twinjets and Beechcraft King Air 350 turboprop twins. Chief revenue officer Jamie Olofson told AIN SpeedBird is adding 12 more aircraft to its fleet by year-end. The company was launched earlier this year as the private air charter services division of The HeliTeam.
At last year’s EAA AirVenture, ACR Electronics introduced the Bivy Stick two-way Iridium satellite messenger to the aviation community. Weighing just 100 grams and about the size of a deck of cards, the Bivy Stick doesn’t have its own display but works with a smartphone for messaging, location tracking and sharing, viewing GPS maps and live weather forecasts, and making a distress call to emergency services.
ACR purchased the Bivy company last March, adding it to its companies that specialize in aviation and maritime tracking and communications and emergency products and services. These include Artex, Blue Sky Network, Flight Data Systems, FreeFlight Systems, Latitude Technologies, and Skytrac.
The Bivy Stick sells for $199.95 with a required minimum four months subscription to a plus or unlimited data plan. Plans range from Basic at $19.99 monthly or $14.99 with an annual subscription plan to Plus at $34.99 ($29.99 annual plan) and Unlimited at $49.99 ($44.99 annual plan). Each plan includes a specific number of credits for tracking, messages, and weather reports. All plans include unlimited sending of “check-in” messages; these are pre-written stored messages that the user can send at any time. Also included is emergency SOS messaging via Global Rescue. Plans can be deactivated at any time and reactivated with no fee, although rollover credits would be lost.
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