Airbus Snags Orders for 43 Helicopters at Heli-Expo

Airbus Helicopters logged orders for 43 aircraft at Heli-Expo this week, 21 of which came from long-time customer Texas-based Air Medical Group Holdings (AMGH) for a mix of H125 singles and H135 light twins as part of that company’s fleet-modernization program. AMGH currently operates a fleet of more than 306 helicopters, 85 of them Airbus ships.

The company also announced a number of orders for its new D3 variant of its H145 medium twin that features a new five-blade main rotor system and Fadec engine. Newly signed up customers include Dare County (North Carolina) MedFlight, the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior, Advance Flight of New Zealand, The Norwegian Air Ambulance Services, and Swiss Air Rega. Altogether, it booked orders for 10 new H145s and nine D3 component retrofits for in-service H145s.

Airbus also inked orders for a new ACH160 from an undisclosed Canadian customer, two new H175 super-mediums from the Chinese Ministry of Transport’s Rescue and Salvage Bureau, and an H225 from the Japan Coast Guard.

On the support side, Airbus signed contracts covering the 19 helicopters in the UK’s National Police Air Service fleet.

AINsight: Maximize Aircraft Bonus Depreciation in 2019

If you plan to purchase a private aircraft in the U.S. this year, developing and executing an appropriate tax strategy before you enter into a letter of intent or contract enhances the likelihood that you will be able to take 100 percent depreciation (bonus depreciation). This strategy should incorporate your projected business revenues, intended aircraft use, and unique attributes as a business taxpayer relative to taking depreciation deductions.

Depreciation is an allowance Congress enacted to encourage businesses to purchase capital equipment and other tangible personal property such as private aircraft. Depreciation allows business taxpayers to claim an annual tax deduction to recover the aircraft cost or other basis (adjusted cost) of the property for its wear and tear, deterioration, or obsolescence. 

Bonus depreciation, under the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS), is another way to depreciate aircraft. The Internal Revenue Code sets forth specific requirements that a taxpayer must meet to qualify to use this accelerated depreciation method. A taxpayer takes depreciation in the early years of the recovery period relative to approximately equal parts under the straight-line method.

Prospective purchasers of aircraft seem universally interested in 100 percent bonus depreciation, but the purchaser should not assume either that the aircraft will be eligible for bonus depreciation or that bonus depreciation will offer the optimal tax and economic solution. Still, it is worth looking closely at bonus depreciation as it is easy to appreciate the significant value it may provide in an overall tax strategy.

NBAA Announces 2019 Top Safety Focus Areas

Reducing the risk of loss of control-inflight (LOC-I), runway excursions, and controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) top NBAA's newly released annual list of pressing business aviation safety issues. “It is important that business aviation operators keep loss of control–inflight, controlled flight into terrain, and runway excursions in focus,” said Tom Huff, aviation safety officer for Gulfstream Aerospace and chair of the NBAA Safety Committee, “since these risks remain in the majority of business aviation accidents.”

Four additional safety goals have been named on the 2019 list: reduction of the risk of aircraft ground operation and handling incidents; improvement of the safety performance of single-pilot operations; increasing the use and sharing of human-reported and automated safety data, and improved defenses against automation mismanagement. Many of the focus areas are similar to last year's, but the safety data topic has been modified to stress the idea that “collecting data is not enough,” but instead must also be actively shared to have a true impact on safety.

The Safety Committee's five foundations for safety—professionalism, safety leadership, risk management, fitness for duty, and technical excellence—remain unchanged.

NBAA is actively reaching out to “aircraft-type clubs and local and regional groups to highlight the association resources that are available to single-pilot operators, recognizing they often don’t have the support infrastructure of larger flight departments,” said Huff.

BBGA Shines Light on Issues Affecting Bizav in Europe

Industry leaders tackled several important issues affecting business aviation in the UK and Europe yesterday at the British Business and General Aviation Association's (BBGA) annual conference in London. 

Panel sessions covered topics such as the increasing difficulties business aviation is having getting access to airports—chief among them the to-be-repeated summer nighttime bans at London Luton and Stansted, as well as obtrusive slot restrictions at some European airports. A round table on illegal charter showed just how much a gray area this is, with the Emiliano Sala accident near the Channel Islands last month cited as an example. Industry participants clearly would like to see flight-sharing services such as Wingly shut down, on the basis the public doesn’t know the risks. 

Finally, organizers kept everyone to the end by leaving Brexit until last. The panel included Richard Moriarty, CEO of the UK CAA, who assured the audience that his “door is open” for anyone with concerns over “no deal” becoming a reality on March 29. He said he has a large team working on the various issues and licensing alone had to draft in an additional 50 temporary personnel to help with, for examples, license transfers to EU states.

However, delegates at the BBGA event were perplexed why the UK government and EU had still not sorted things out only three weeks before the deadline.

Boeing Invests $3M for Embry-Riddle Scholarships

Boing yesterday announced a $3 million grant to help pay for scholarships for flight and maintenance technician training, as well as for certification costs associated with pilot and technician programs. This $3 million will be used to create a permanent endowment, which will fund the scholarships and program costs. The scholarship money will be available for all students, according to Boeing, “with a focus on increasing the number of women, military veterans, and minority students enrolled in both programs.” The grant is part of Boeing’s efforts to support STEM programs and women, military veterans, and minorities.

"It's essential that industry and higher education work together to increase the pipeline of aerospace talent,” said Boeing chairman, president, and CEO Dennis Muilenburg, speaking at the 18th Annual U.S. Chamber of Commerce Aviation Summit. “Our partnership with Embry-Riddle demonstrates Boeing's commitment to the continued growth and diversification of the global aerospace industry,” he said. “Through this grant, we'll help more students—with more diverse backgrounds—learn with greater efficiency and perform more effectively once on the job.”

Boeing’s 2018 Pilot & Technician Outlook projected that, worldwide, 790,000 new civil aviation pilots and 754,000 new maintenance technicians will be needed over the next 20 years. This includes commercial and business aviation, including helicopters.

Flightdocs Demos New Flight Operations Platform

Aviation software solutions provider Flightdocs showed off its new platform, Flightdocs Operations, this week at Heli-Expo in Atlanta. According to the company, the platform uses the latest web and mobile technology to help manage every aspect of a helicopter flight operation, focusing on the key functions such as flight scheduling, crew and passenger management, trip planning, and expenses.

It allows users to eliminate paper completely from both their operations and maintenance departments, with mobile applications for smart devices allowing crew access while connected with the internet and offline. The platform also features secure, encrypted messaging that allows flight crews, maintenance personnel, and schedulers to communicate in real time.

“There was a serious need in the market for a modern flight operations platform that was fully integrated with maintenance and supply chain,” said company president Greg Heine. “We’re extremely excited about the launch of Flightdocs Operations because it fills that void and provides one platform to literally do it all.”

Montana FBO Changes Ownership, Name

Front Range Jet Center, one of two FBOs at Montana’s Great Falls International Airport (KGTF), has been sold to aircraft management and brokerage provider Eagle Jet Solutions and subsequently rebranded as Great Falls Jet Center.

Before the transaction, Eagle Jet had begun construction on a 40,000-sq-ft hangar on the field that, when completed this spring, will be able to shelter aircraft up to a Boeing BBJ. Equipped with a 150-foot-wide, 45-foot-high door, full foam fire-suppression system, and heated floors that extend out on to the ramp to keep snow and ice from the entrance, the hangar will be the largest in the state.

“We chose to develop in this community for a reason,” noted Eagle Jet president Carson Coryell. “Great Falls is an ideal central hub for anyone looking for a hangar home in the region.” The Avfuel-branded FBO—which includes a 10,000-sq-ft hangar that will be used for maintenance once the new structure is completed and adjoining 3,000-sq-ft terminal—specializes in quick turns and offers U.S. Customs, deicing, crew cars, and a comfortable lounge.

“We’re thrilled to expand our offerings as Great Falls Jet Center,” Coryell said. “By unifying a complete suite of aviation services on the KGTF field under one strong brand, we’ll be able to better serve Great Falls traffic with the service and care they deserve.”