NJASAP Warns NetJets Execs on Need To Up Pay Scale

The NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) warned that unless NetJets take more aggressive steps to attract and retain pilots, the fractional ownership provider faces the prospect of the operation becoming a stepping stone to airline employment. The warning comes as NJASAP is in the midst of midterm contract negotiations with the NetJets management team.

It also comes, however, as Delta Air Lines recently reached an agreement with its pilots on a contract that would up their pay by roughly 34 percent, with salaries reaching nearly $600,000 for widebody captains and $475,000 for narrowbodies. American Airlines offered to match this. 

NJASAP expressed concern that the management team is not taking proactive steps to preserve its workforce. “We are watching management teams across the industry—from legacy carriers to ultra-low-cost carriers—take bold steps to reinforce their competitive footing for top pilot talent,” said NJASAP president Pedro Leroux. 

Meanwhile, NetJets owner Berkshire Hathaway reported revenues from its aviation services businesses—also including FlightSafety International—increased 18.2 percent year-over-year in 2022. While it did not specify the breakdown by company, Berkshire Hathaway did say the increase reflected an 11 percent bump in training hours at FlightSafety and a 9 percent growth in flight hours at Netjets, most of which occurred in the first half of 2022. Also aiding the boost were increases in fuel surcharges, offset by changes in the sales mix.

Lufthansa Technik Reports Record Earnings

Lufthansa Technik (LHT) late last week reported “significantly” higher revenue and earnings in fiscal 2022 of €5.6 billion ($6.4 billion) and a record-setting €511 million, respectively. This was “despite a challenging environment” of supply-chain bottlenecks and skilled labor shortages, according to the company.

For the year, the Hamburg, Germany based global MRO signed 706 new contracts worth €9.6 billion and ended 2022 with 4,242 aircraft operated by some 800 customers under service contracts. After trimming its workforce of 25,000 by 20 percent following the pandemic, LHT hired more than 2,100 employees last year and plans to add some 4,000 more this year. 

LHT’s VIP completions and refurbishment services have remained a bright spot throughout, said CEO Soeren Stark. “Over the last three years, we haven’t seen less workload than the years before,” he said. “There’s still a lot of demand in the VIP market.”

Given that backdrop, Stark is “very optimistic” regarding the VIP business going forward, and LHT is investing a “high double-digit million euro” sum in a new interiors workshop and adjoining paint center at its Hamburg completion center slated to be completed in 2025. The backshops are now housed in a 1950s-era complex, making renovations “impossible in economic terms,” said Stark. The new facilities will help optimize processes and create more efficiencies, he said.

DOT IG Initiates Another Audit of FAA NextGen Program

Following up on a March 2021 review of the progress of the FAA’s next-generation air transportation program (NextGen), the DOT Office of Inspector General (IG) has initiated another audit. As in the previous review, the IG will assess the funding, milestones, benefits, oversight, and status of recommendations of the FAA’s multibillion-dollar, multi-year complex infrastructure effort aimed at modernizing National Airspace System technologies and procedures.

The IG has audited the FAA on various aspects of NextGen nearly 70 times since 2002. In its 2021 audit, the IG concluded that NextGen’s “actual and projected benefits have not kept pace with initial projections due to implementation challenges, optimistic assumptions, and other factors.” According to that report, NextGen’s benefits achieved to date have been minimal and difficult to measure.

“Projections were optimistic about traffic growth and did not account for risk factors,” said Eric Soskin, DOT IG. “We also found that significant declines in air traffic due to Covid-19 have further extended the timeframe for realizing expected NextGen benefits.” In addition, prior IG NextGen-related work “has identified lessons that the FAA could use to improve NextGen delivery.”

The FAA concurred with the IG’s three recommendations made in 2021. “Accordingly, we consider all recommendations resolved but open pending completion of the planned actions.”

EASA Warns of Increase in GPS Signal Outages

EASA recently issued a revised Safety Information Bulletin 2022-02R1 to address a continuing issue of GPS navigation signal outages. “Since February 2022, there has been an increase in jamming and/or spoofing of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS),” the bulletin said. “This issue particularly affects the geographical areas surrounding conflict zones but is also present in the eastern Mediterranean, Baltic Sea, and Arctic area.” The problem has “intensified” in recent months.

The effects of GNSS jamming and/or spoofing were observed by crews in various phases of flight, in some cases leading to rerouting or diversions due to the inability to perform a safe landing. According to EASA, “Under the present conditions, it is not possible to predict GNSS interference or its effects. The magnitude of the issues generated by these interferences would depend upon the extent of the area concerned, on the duration, and on the phase of flight.”

In addition to making recommendations to national aviation authorities and ATC services, EASA advised operators that flight crews promptly report to ATC any interruption, degradation, or anomalous performance of GNSS equipment or related avionics; ensure that limitations introduced by the dispatch of aircraft with inoperative radio navigation systems in accordance with the MEL are considered before operating in the affected areas; and check that alternative navigation aids critical for the intended route and approach are available.

Southern Sky Aviation Adds to Charter Fleet

Alabama's Southern Sky Aviation has added a 2004 Beechcraft Premier I to its aircraft charter and management fleet. The light jet has one of the largest cabins in its class, can seat six passengers, and has a fully loaded range of approximately 950 miles. Based at Mobile International Airport, the twinjet offers a galley area for refreshments, private enclosed lavatory, and baggage storage compartment with a capacity of 55 cu ft.

"With its spacious cabin and impressive speeds, [the Premier I] will provide a great regional travel option for our passengers,” says Barry Lambert, v-p of the company’s charter division, which also operates a Citation 560, two Citation XLSs, and a Citation Sovereign. “Demand for all aircraft in our fleet has been robust.”

In addition to its aircraft operations, Southern Sky has an FBO at Trent Lott International Airport in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and is establishing a facility at Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport in Panama City, Florida.

Essential Turbines, Masco Join Rolls-Royce First Network

Rolls-Royce has expanded its First Network of authorized service providers in North America with the additions of Essential Turbines and Masco Services. The First Network now comprises more than 30 approved, licensed service centers worldwide.

Essential Turbines was named an authorized maintenance and repair and overhaul center for the M250 and RR300 platforms. With operations in Montreal; Surrey, British Columbia; and Phoenix. Essential Turbines will provide repair, overhaul, and testing services for the engines. Based in Grapevine, Texas, Masco is an authorized repair facility for the RR300 starter generator.

Scott Cunningham, Rolls-Royce program director for helicopters, called the latest members of the First Network key additions. “Their specialized skills, commitment to excellence, and focus on the customer will further strengthen our First Network giving operators additional flexibility and competition for local service and support on their Rolls-Royce helicopter engines.”

The more than 33,000 M250 and RR300 engines delivered by Rolls-Royce have amassed some 275 million flight hours.

Bay Area FBO Adds Unleaded Avgas

APP Jet Center, one of two service providers at San Francisco Bay-area Hayward Executive Airport (KHWD), is now stocking UL94 unleaded aviation gasoline. The FBO will also continue to offer 100LL avgas for aircraft with high-compression engines.

In February 2022, the FAA announced a government-industry initiative known as Eagle (Eliminate Aviation Gasoline Lead Emissions) calling for the elimination of leaded aviation fuel by the end of 2030 without impacting the safe operation of the piston aircraft fleet. UL94 does not contain the fuel additive tetraethyl lead, which, according to the FAA, is responsible for 350 tons of lead emissions into the atmosphere every year. UL94 is produced by Indiana company Swift Fuels, which has been increasing the availability of the fuel across the country.

“With the current excitement over unleaded avgas, we are pleased to offer aviators a more environmentally friendly option for fueling their aircraft, furthering our commitment to leading aviation down the greenest path available,” said APP Jet Center CEO Dan Harrow.

Coulson Dispatches Chinook to Argentina

Coulson Aviation has placed one of its CH-47 helitankers in Argentina. The helicopter is providing aerial firefighting support services to the country via a $5.2 million government-to-government (G2G) contract between the Canadian Commercial Corp. (CCC) and Argentina’s Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MAyDS). The four-month contract began in January.

“The 10,000-liter-capacity [2,641-gallon] CH-47 is not only the largest payload commercially available helicopter; it’s also one of the fastest,” said Britton Coulson, company president and COO. “We have been operating this fleet type worldwide with excellent serviceability and look forward to demonstrating its capabilities to the Argentine government.”

This G2G contract comes as a result of a memorandum of understanding between CCC and MAyDS to bring Canadian firefighting expertise and technology to Argentina and is financed by Argentina’s National Fire Management Program—Servicio Nacional del Manejo del Fuego—which supports the monitoring and prevention of fire emergencies.

CCC is Canada’s government-to-government contracting agency. It has facilitated the dispatch of Canada-based Coulson’s assets to other parts of the world as well, including the placement of two Sikorsky S-61s and a Boeing CH-47D to combat fires in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest.