Chinese private charter operator Deer Jet has become the launch operator for the Comac Business Jet (CBJ). The aircraft, registered in China as B-65A9, made its first commercial flight on Monday between Shanghai Hongqiao Airport (ZSSS) and Beijing Capital (ZBAA).

The CBJ, which is based on Comac’s C909 regional airliner, can carry up to 29 passengers in a cabin that is just more than 62 feet long. Deer Jet—the business aviation arm of airline and services group HNA Aviation—will base its CBJ bizliner in Shanghai.

The company also runs a chain of seven FBOs across China in Haikou, Shenzhen, Sanya, Hangzhou, Guangxi (Nanning and Guilin), and Changsha, as well as several aircraft maintenance facilities. The CBJ is Deer Jet’s first Chinese aircraft model, with the rest of the fleet coming from Western manufacturers.

Powered by a pair of GE Aerospace’s CF34-10A engines, the CBJ can carry eight passengers up to 2,800 nm, cruising at Mach 0.78 at 35,000 feet (though certified to 39,000 feet). According to Comac, the jet can operate from high-altitude airports at up to 14,470 feet msl.

Founded in 1995 as China’s first business jet operator, Deer Jet holds three air operator certificates with bases in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. The group manages a fleet of nearly 50 aircraft, covering Gulfstream, Bombardier, Dassault, Boeing BBJ, and Airbus ACJ types.

Nearly 10 years ago, Alaska Airlines redesigned its departure and approach briefings to focus on flight-specific threats. The airline moved away from lengthy, generic briefings that had become routine box-checking exercises on flight decks worldwide. In their place, it introduced a more dynamic process grounded in threat and error management, giving pilots flexibility to scale and tailor briefings to the situation at hand.

Research into threat-forward briefings began following the 2013 fatal crash of an Airbus A300-600 freighter in Birmingham, Alabama. Both pilots were killed. After a review of the cockpit voice recorder, investigators noted that the pilot flying (PF) “ticked all of the required boxes” during the approach briefing—it was perfect and on script. However, neither of the fatigued crewmembers discussed relevant threats or countermeasures related to a nonprecision approach at night to a seldom-used short runway with limited lighting in weather conditions that were lower than expected.

Research into U.S. and international airlines revealed departure and arrival briefings that were “strikingly similar.” These researchers found that “a decades-old briefing method” neither adapted to next-generation flight decks nor incorporated breakthroughs in our understanding of human cognition. These briefings were simply too long and redundant, and included one-sided conversations that lacked involvement from the other pilot.

Fractional jet provider Flexjet took delivery of its first Gulfstream G500 this week, bringing the company’s Gulfstream fleet to 68 aircraft and four types: G450, G500, G650, and G700. Overall, the operator has more than 340 aircraft in its fleet and expects to add 50 more this year.

While not revealing the size of its G500 order, Flexjet did note that the new type will replace the 32 G450s it currently has in service. The company also continues to take deliveries of ultra-long-range G700s, with five of them now on property. A spokesman told AIN that Flexjet’s 30 in-service G650s will not be replaced by G700s, as “the G650 continues to be a core product for us, and the program remains unchanged as we work toward achieving critical mass on the G700.”

The G500s will operate as part of Flexjet’s Red Label program, which offers a high level of personalization and service for fractional-share owners. Red Label offers access to a modern fractional jet fleet with LXi Cabin Collection artisan interiors and flight crews assigned to a single, specific aircraft/tail number. These crews also include cabin servers who undergo training at Flexjet’s Red Label Academy near London.

Record global initial public offering (IPO) activity and a fast-growing population of billionaires and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) individuals are sustaining demand for business jets, according to a Jefferies equity research report published yesterday.

Jefferies’ analysts noted that 2026 is on track to be a record year for IPOs. Year-to-date IPO proceeds stand at $125.6 billion, nearly three times the full-year 2025 total of $45.3 billion, while IPO count is tracking at 75% of last year’s tally. IPO activity and business jet deliveries have been 70% correlated over the past decade, excluding the 2020 to 2021 outlier period, the firm found.

Wealth creation is considered a leading indicator of jet demand. The global ultra-high-net-worth population—individuals worth more than $30 million—and the billionaire population have each grown at a 5% compound annual rate since 2019, reaching 713,626 UHNW individuals and 3,110 billionaires. Jefferies calculated an 83% correlation between that population growth and business jet departures, which have sustained growth of more than 30% above 2019 levels.

The firm estimated that 30% to 40% of business jet deliveries go to corporate customers, 20% to 30% to high-net-worth individuals, roughly 10% to fractional operators, and the remaining 30% to charter operators and other buyers.

Wheels Up is adopting the enterprise version of the BrokerOS software developed by Surf Air Mobility to arrange private flights for charter customers. On Thursday, the aircraft operator announced it has agreed to be the launch customer for the system, which Surf Air has already deployed for its own flight-booking platform.

The system, which is based on Palantir Technologies’ Foundry and Artificial Intelligence Platform, will be used internally by Wheels Up to improve the workflow for booking flights. According to Surf Air, the system will integrate critical data sources to accelerate more informed decisions throughout the charter booking process, resulting in improved travel solutions for Wheels Up customers.

The initial two-year agreement can be extended to a third year. Surf Air Mobility, which operates an extensive network of scheduled short-haul flights and on-demand trips, is expected to receive at least $12 million in subscription fees.

Wheels Up will replace multiple existing software platforms underpinning its operations to free up “engineering and operational capacity to focus on higher-value initiatives” that improve the customer experience and increase its booking lead conversion rates. The company said the investment will streamline aircraft sourcing, quote generation, flight bookings, and customer relationship management.

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