Bombardier’s Global 7500 flagship continues to rapidly accrue speed records, with the total now at 100, the Canadian manufacturer announced this morning. That adds 25 more to the 75 the company announced for the Mach 0.925 ultra-long-range aircraft in December, a milestone reached at the time when deliveries had surpassed 200.

The 100th record was established on a flight that departed from Bombardier’s authorized service facility ACI Jet in San Luis Obispo, California, and landed at London Biggin Hill Airport on February 28 nine hours and 17 minutes later. Other recent speed records connected city pairs including Tokyo to San Francisco, London to Riyadh, Oakland to Tokyo, Hartford to Dubai, and Tokyo to Toronto, among many others.

The Global 7500 logged an 8,225 nm flight from Sydney to Detroit, which Bombardier said marked the longest flight recorded in business aviation. It also became the sector’s first to connect London City Airport to Los Angeles in a nonstop flight.

Since the Global 7500 entered into service in December 2018, the fleet has amassed 220,000 flying hours thus far, a number that Bombardier said “sets the stage” for the successor and even speedier Global 8000 at the end of the year.

NTSB investigators appear to be focusing their efforts on the landing gear in the aftermath of a Learjet 35A accident on February 10 at Arizona's Scottsdale Airport (KSDL), according to the preliminary report. Registered as N81VN, the twinjet crashed into a parked Gulfstream G200 after experiencing a runway excursion on landing, resulting in one fatality and four injuries. A witness photo in the NTSB report shows the left landing gear to be "askew" while the aircraft was on short approach.

The Learjet captain was killed in the crash, while the first officer and a passenger sustained serious injuries, one passenger sustained minor injuries, and an occupant of the G200 suffered serious injuries.

Investigators found the left main landing gear on Taxiway Bravo, with the aft trunnion pin missing from its casting. Investigators noted excessive grease in the wheel well. In June 2024, the report indicated that the same flight crew had a previous hard landing incident, requiring a hard landing inspection. In an interview with the NTSB, the technician who performed this work said he removed both main landing gear to do the required eddy-current inspections.

According to the NTSB report, “If the [retaining] bolt is secured before engaging the pin in the trunnion casing then the grease hole could be aft of the bushing, allowing grease to escape outside the pin.”

Modern Aviation will take over the operation of the lone FBO at North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport (KCLT) starting at the end of June. The growing FBO chain was selected as the winner of the airport’s request for proposal, edging out long-time incumbent Wilson Jet Center.

“Modern Aviation presented an exceptional proposal that delivers significant value that aligns seamlessly with KCLT’s strategic goals and vision for the future,” said Ted Kaplan, the airport’s chief business and innovation officer. “The airport is dedicated to ensuring a smooth transition and enhancing the overall experience for customers and stakeholders.”

For Modern, this represents its 18th location and its second in the state along with Wilmington International Airport (KILM). AT KCLT, it received a 20-year lease—including renewal options—for the facility, which has more than 220,000 sq ft of hangar space. As part of its proposal, the company agreed to renovate the FBO terminal, with work commencing around the end of the year.

“We are thrilled to partner with the city of Charlotte to bring Modern Aviation’s industry-leading service to [KCLT],” said company CEO Mark Carmen, adding that it plans to pursue IS-BAH safety registration there in line with its other locations. “Adding CLT to the Modern network represents a significant milestone for our company, and we look forward to serving the aviation community at KCLT while investing in its future.”

The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee voted along party lines to forward the nomination of Steven Bradbury as deputy secretary of transportation for full consideration on the Senate floor. The White House nominated Bradbury for the role in January. He previously served as DOT general counsel under the first Trump administration and then briefly as acting deputy secretary and acting secretary of transportation.

Every Democrat on the committee voted against the nomination, with ranking member Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) highlighting his past track record in areas such as stalling safety management system rulemaking while he was at the DOT. Cantwell also cited rollbacks in other areas of transportation.

“When it comes to Mr. Bradbury, I hope we all understand that we cannot afford a system that fails us on either the roads or in the skies…The last thing we need is someone who won't stand up to the industry or [for] aviation safety needs,” she said.

Commerce Committee chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas), however, endorsed the candidate, saying: “Bradbury will bring a deep understanding of how the department and our transportation systems operate. He is intimately familiar with the department’s past attempts to address transportation challenges, such as aviation safety, and has learned from his experiences.”

Gogo, the first and only dedicated multi-orbit, multi-band connectivity provider dedicated to business aviation, is ready to deliver its unique service globally.

Oriens Aviation is preparing to add more aircraft to its managed fleet as the company marks its 10th anniversary by moving into expanded hangar facilities at London Biggin Hill Airport (EGKB). An additional Pilatus PC-12 turboprop single is about to be added to its air operator certificate. This will be deployed on air ambulance flights and will soon be joined by the company’s first PC-24 jet, which will be available for charter bookings.

The UK-based business aviation services group is an established authorized service center for Pilatus and Italian aircraft manufacturer Tecnam. Since mid-2022, the company has also provided support for Cirrus Aircraft’s customers.

Over the past decade, the Oriens engineering team has logged almost 100,000 hours of maintenance work on a variety of light jets and turboprops, responding to an average of four aircraft-on-the-ground situations each month. It has supported aircraft on six separate national registries, including one model operator for military special missions.

Having opened in 2015 with a single employee, Oriens now has 43 people on the payroll, engaged in activities that also include aircraft sales. Over the past decade, the company has handled around 70 aircraft transactions.

Flight crew management platform CrewBlast has rolled out a new feature, CrewBlast Briefcase, to help pilots and flight attendants manage trip-related reservations in a single location in the app.

Users can upload and organize reservations for various aspects of their travel, including hotels, airlines, rental cars, dining, and car services. Added reservations are stored in an organized timeline so that crewmembers can confirm the accuracy of the trip details.

Briefcase offers two ways to input reservations: manually adding reservations directly into the app or by forwarding reservation emails to the CrewBlast’s reservations team, taking advantage of AI-powered automation that extracts important details and loads them into the user's folder. According to the company, this avoids having to search through multiple emails for confirmation numbers.

“Our goal with CrewBlast Briefcase is simple—turn travel chaos into travel clarity," said CrewBlast CEO Tim Griffin. "Whether it’s a hotel reservation or a car service confirmation, we’ve got you covered. Everything you need is organized and at your fingertips, so you can focus on flying.”

Dubai-based helicopter charter operator AeroGulf Services is planning to operate flights from the Palm Jumeirah resort, having signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday to buy up to 50 of SkyDrive’s three-seat SD-05 eVTOL aircraft. The partners will work together on a sightseeing business model for the electric aircraft, which is expected to have a range of up to around 16 nm with a pilot and two passengers.

AeroGulf Services operates a fleet of Bell 412EP, 212, and 206 helicopters. In addition to passenger charters, the company also supports oil field installations, film and TV industry clients, and emergency medical services. The company was founded in 1976 to support Dubai Petroleum’s oil and gas exploration and production activities.

SkyDrive is working to certify the SD-05 vehicle in Japan, where it is based, and also in the U.S., where it has established a number of local partnerships. Earlier this month, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau issued the G-1 certification basis documentation, and the FAA has accepted its application for a type certificate. The company has not yet said how it plans to secure approval from the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority.

“Through this collaboration, AeroGulf Services and SkyDrive will establish a new benchmark for eco-friendly air travel in the region,” said AeroGulf Services CEO Fahad Mohammad Mir Hashem Khoory.

Aviation sustainability support group Azzera has added a new module to its Celeste platform allowing private and commercial aircraft operators to comply with the European Union’s ReFuelEU sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) mandate. The added feature helps clients respond to the specific ReFuelEU monitoring and reporting requirements so that they can demonstrate their SAF usage, track how it was sourced, provide necessary certificates, and manage fuel stocks.

Celeste was developed to help aircraft owners and operators calculate the carbon footprint for each flight and implement mitigating measures including carbon offset purchases, as well as SAF usage, whether the fuel is directly uploaded to a specific aircraft or purchased via a book-and-claim arrangement. Swiss-based Azzera aims to help clients voluntarily reduce the environmental impact of flights and comply with mandates such as ICAO’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation.

One of the main features of the new ReFuelEU module is that it automatically generates compliance reports, which Azzera said will reduce the administrative burden. Operators can track their compliance in real-time via a live dashboard that highlights and mitigates any noncompliance with requirements throughout the year to avoid incurring penalties.

Among the ReFuelEU compliance requirements is a mandate intended to discourage operators from arriving at EU airports with more fuel than is required for the outbound trip with the specific intention of avoiding fuel purchases in Europe.

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