Signature Aviation, the parent company of Signature Flight Support, has entered into an agreement to purchase the FBO holdings of TAC Air, which consist of 16 locations throughout the U.S. The Signature Flight Support FBO chain has more than 200 locations globally.
Among the locations are six where TAC Air is the sole service provider: Buffalo-Niagara (New York) International Airport; McGhee Tyson Airport in Knoxville, Tennessee; Texarkana Regional and Fort Smith Regional airports in Arkansas; Shreveport (Louisiana) Regional Airport; and Rick Husband Amarillo (Texas) International Airport.
At Denver Centennial Airport, Signature is already present on the field, as well as at Dallas Love Field, where Signature has three facilities among the several service providers. At three other locations—Bradley International Airport in Connecticut, North Carolina’s Raleigh-Durham International Airport, and Eppley Airfield in Omaha, Nebraska—the move will make Signature the only FBO operator, which may result in the company having to divest one facility at each of those locations.
This marks Signature’s first major acquisition since it was purchased last year by a consortium of three private equity firms. Subject to regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close in the second half of this year.
Fueled by a 156 percent increase in jet card revenue and a 38 percent rise in new customer jet card sales, Magellan Jets reported today that its 2021 gross revenue topped $80 million. The Boston-based air charter broker projects its gross revenue will increase to $115 million this year.
“Our growth and execution this year is a direct result of our seasoned staff and owner-operator partners working together to exceed customer expectations,” said Magellan Jets CEO Joshua Hebert. “The challenges we faced—unprecedented demand, ongoing pandemic, supply chain crisis—are the same problems facing the entire private aviation industry, but Magellan has been able to stand out and succeed by tailoring ourselves to customers’ needs and over-communicating every step of the way.”
That over-communication took the form of a series of direct video messages to customers about market conditions throughout 2021. In those messages, Magellan president Anthony Tivnan updated customers about what they could expect and outlined steps they could take to successfully book and complete a flight without any surprises.
“We knew it was important to keep customers apprised of the difficulties across the industry, set realistic expectations, and show what we were doing to mitigate disruptions and ensure they had the safest and most enjoyable experience possible,” Tivnan said.
The continuing conflict in Ukraine has prompted EASA to suspend the type certificates of Russian-made aircraft, strip Part 145 approvals from Russian MROs, and remove Third Country Operator (TCO) certificates from Russian operators. Affected are aircraft such as the Irkut SSJ 100/95, Beriev BE-103 and BE-200ES-E, Tupolev Tu-204, and Russian Helicopters Ka-32.
This action is seen as de minimus on Russian airlines, which the European Union previously banned from its airspace. However, the Ka-32 utility helicopter is operated by a variety of European countries, including Portugal, Spain, and Switzerland.
EASA said it was taking the action in accordance with EU sanctions that prohibit providing “technical assistance or other services related to the goods and technology suited for use in aviation or the space industry, whether or not originating in the [EU], and to the provision, manufacture, maintenance and use of those goods and technology, directly or indirectly, to any natural or legal person, entity or body in Russia or for use in Russia.”
Thus, EASA has suspended all certificates it has issued—including those for products, parts, and appliances, as well as the certificates for organizations and flight simulation training devices—where the holder is located or residing in Russia or otherwise subject to the sanctions. The move also applies to pending or new applications for EASA certificates, in addition to aircraft leasing and airline code-sharing agreements.
Alaska Seaplanes, a Part 135 charter operator based in Juneau, announced that the FAA recently accepted its safety management system (SMS). According to the agency, the company became the third Part 135 in Alaska and one of only 32 in the U.S. to clear the necessary hurdles for SMS program acceptance.
“We’ve been working through this for a long time,” Dan Corson, the company’s director of safety and compliance, told AIN. “Now, I’m looking forward to mining the data and spending time with the numbers to learn more about what we can do.”
Alaska Seaplanes flies year-round, conducting more than 300 scheduled flights weekly during its summer season, in addition to charters and tour flights. Its fleet is comprised of land and sea aircraft, including Cessna Grand Caravans, Pilatus PC-12s, and de Havilland Beavers.
Alaska continues to be plagued by a higher number of aircraft accidents than other states, and its aviation infrastructure lags behind the Lower 48. In the FAA’s recent Alaska Aviation Safety Initiative, where improvements to weather reporting and IFR operations dominated participant discussion, SMS warranted little attention. But on its website, the FAA notes that SMS recognizes “the organization’s role in accident prevention.”
The business aviation community must remain focused on working collaboratively with airport sponsors and surrounding communities on fly-neighborly initiatives and voluntary noise-abatement programs to preserve continued access for aircraft owners and operators, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen told lawmakers.
In testimony provided to the House aviation subcommittee, Bolen noted the “long history” the industry has in working with communities on voluntary and fly-neighborly programs. Operators have followed mitigations such as flying at higher altitudes and maximizing flight paths over water, he said.
Despite these efforts, he noted that “a small number of communities have made attempts to impose restrictions limiting access, such as curfews, weight and noise limits, on their airports.” Bolen pointed out that lawmakers play an important role through the continued support of federal grant and deed obligations. “We encourage engagement from local, regional, and national elected officials in these initiatives as we all must ensure continued, unhindered access to our national system of airports to meet the current needs and projected growth,” he said.
Joby Aviation founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt, meanwhile, testified on the importance of noise design considerations for electric aviation to realize its goal of lower emissions and faster and more affordable ways of travel. “These benefits can only be realized if the industry can design planes quiet enough to blend into their surroundings,” Bevirt said.
Aircraft charter, management, maintenance, and FBO provider Fast Air Executive Aviation has become the first in Canada to achieve NATA’s sustainability certification for aviation businesses. The association’s Sustainability Standard for Aviation Businesses program was developed by industry experts to encourage aviation businesses to focus on sustainable practices and develop cost-effective options to lower their carbon footprints. Fast Air is headquartered in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
“NATA is pleased to see our standard being used by all types of aviation businesses, including Fast Air, which is setting an example for international aviation operators everywhere,” said NATA managing director for industry and regulatory affairs Megan Eisenstein.
Under the program, NATA certifies aviation companies that have taken “concrete steps” toward sustainability and demonstrate plans to work for further reduction in greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide emissions. “The certification also recognizes a commitment to increase the use of more environmentally-friendly energy sources, reduce waste, and encourage sustainability operation-wide,” NATA added.
Dan Rutherford, Fast Air’s manager of business development, said the certification “builds upon our existing carbon-neutral flights and operations that use carbon offsets. We are extending our focus to support an improved future for our people, planet, and profitability.”
ForeFlight has added new functionality to its mobile app’s weight and balance and hazard advisor features and announced new prices that became effective on Tuesday.
Enhanced weight and balance makes it easier for pilots to update an aircraft’s loading at the last minute—for example, when there is a change in the number of passengers or cargo load near takeoff time. A new “Weight & Balance” link in the Flights payload section gives instant access to the weight and balance profile, allowing editing of any elements without having to open the aircraft’s separate weight and balance page.
Hazard advisor now includes an altitude preview function, allowing pilots to plot a path around high terrain before and during a flight and see how different altitudes affect terrain clearance.
Meanwhile, ForeFlight Performance Plus users with a Jeppesen subscription can now view and plan flights with North Atlantic, Pacific, and Australian organized tracks on Jeppesen IFR en route charts. Pilots can add the tracks to their route using the “include track” option in the route advisor constraints menu.
ForeFlight has raised the three individual tier prices to $120 for Basic Plus (from $100); $240 for Pro Plus (from $200); and $360 for Performance Plus (from $300). Legacy Basic and Pro subscription plans are no longer available, even under “grandfathered” status. Business and military customer pricing did not change.
Dassault Aviation is renewing its collaboration with research institution ISAE-SUPAERO and its foundation on optimizing human-machine interaction. The organizations extended the partnership on the “Design and Architecture of Cognitive Air Systems” initiative that began in 2016.
The initiative involves research on neuro-ergonomics, automated decision-making, and systems engineering to explore different aspects of human-machine collaboration. “The idea is to make civil and military aviation operations more robust, efficient, and safer while guaranteeing complete crew control,” the organizations said.
Dassault expects to integrate lessons learned and tools developed through this research in its civil and military aircraft within the next decade, it said. ISAE-SUPAERO is leveraging its expertise in neuro-ergonomics and AI for systems control. This includes evaluating the mental state of users as they complete tasks, developing algorithms for automated decision-making, and ensuring the AI works in concert with crew management.
“Dassault Aviation is particularly interested in issues surrounding human-machine interaction because military aviation is a very demanding field due to the variety and unpredictability of missions that require complex tactical management,” said Jean-Louis Gueneau, Dassault Aviation’s scientific coordinator involved with the initiative. “The challenge lies in providing humans with all the services they need to take responsibility for this management...We are working with ISAE-SUPAERO in order to identify the phenomena that impact collaboration between crews and their machines.”
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