NetJets inked a deal worth more than $5 billion for up to 250 Embraer Praetor 500s along with “comprehensive services and support,” the companies announced late Thursday. Deliveries of the fly-by-wire midsize jets are expected to start in 2025, Embraer said.
“The new agreement signifies NetJets commitment to creating an enhanced customer experience and trust in Embraer’s industry-leading portfolio and customer support,” the companies said in a joint statement.
This latest order builds on the partnership Embraer and NetJets started in 2010, when the fractional provider signed an agreement for 50 Phenom 300s and options for 75 more. In 2021, the companies forged a continuing deal for up 100 additional Phenom 300Es worth more $1.2 billion. To date, NetJets has accepted more than 120 of the Embraer light jets and added that the model is one of the most requested aircraft by its customers.
“We are eager to add the Embraer Praetor 500, one of today’s most modern business jets, to our midsize fleet,” said Doug Henneberry, the executive v-p of NetJets Aircraft Asset Management. “This historic fleet agreement is another way that we are growing our fleet for the benefit of our loyal customers. By adding up to 250 aircraft to our fleet, we will continue providing NetJets owners with exceptional service and seamless access to all corners of the globe.”
AINsight: How Bank Crisis is Changing Aircraft Finance
The global banking crisis may have subsided for money-center banks, but aircraft financiers have not emerged unscathed or free of the turbulence plaguing other U.S. banks.
The current banking crisis started with the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank on March 10, Signature Bank on March 12, the takeover by UBS of Credit Suisse on March 19, and the FDIC takeover of First Republic Bank and sale of its deposits to JPMorgan on May 1. These closed banks, except Signature, actively made private aircraft loans, as do UBS and JPMorgan today.
It is a credit to private aircraft lenders and lessors that have not limited or exited their aircraft lending or leasing businesses amid volatility in banking, including frequently reported deposit outflows from, and credit tightening by, U.S. local and regional banks.
The bank crisis may not materially alter the financier’s pre-crisis credit approval process. However, financiers may reluctantly spool down aircraft financing for reasons such as reduced liquidity, increased regulatory capital, intensified risk management, higher cost of funds, and wider risk-adjusted interest rate spreads.
Pilatus celebrated a milestone today with the delivery of the 2,000th aircraft in its PC-12 family. During a ceremony at the company’s headquarters in Stans, Switzerland, the milestone turboprop single was handed over to long-time U.S. PC-12 operator PlaneSense. The New Hampshire-based fractional ownership provider has operated an all-Pilatus fleet since the delivery of its first PC-12 in 1995 and now has 43 PC-12s and 11 PC-24 light jets.
“This unique aircraft constitutes the backbone of our operation and has been an important part of the success of the PlaneSense program,” said PlaneSense president and CEO George Antoniadis. “Our clients have enjoyed the aircraft’s versatility, reliability, comfort, and efficiency for 28 years. Our partnership with Pilatus has been incredibly valuable and we look forward to expanding it further in the years to come.”
Since its introduction in 1994, the aircraft has been continuously upgraded. The latest version, the PC-12 NGX, was launched in 2019. Pilatus delivered 80 of the type last year, and the global PC-12 fleet has amassed more than 10 million flight hours.
“Year after year our PC-12 is, and will remain, the world’s best-selling single-engine turboprop in its class with a pressurized cabin,” said Pilatus CEO Markus Bucher. “Today I am proud that I and my team are able to hand over the 2,000th PC-12 to our loyal and faithful customer PlaneSense.”
NetJets Aims to Hire Nearly 850 Pilots This Year
NetJets is actively hiring best-in-class pilots to command the world’s largest, most diverse private fleet.
Hosting celebrations of the 75-year aviation heritage of its Pascale founding family, Tecnam is looking forward to the future with three new facilities under development that will enable it to ramp up production of its newest models—the P2012 and P-Mentor—to meet growing demand. Tecnam hosted dealers, vendors, and journalists today at its factory in Capua, Italy, in honor of the legacy of founders Luigi and Giovanni Pascale—who established their first aircraft business, Partenavia, in 1948—and planned to culminate the festivities with an evening celebration.
Under construction in front of the Tecnam factory is a new headquarters building and a 16,000-sq-m (172,000-sq-ft) production facility that will come online later this year. Also under development is a 2,000-sq-m (21,500-sq-ft) flight-test facility, while the airport’s present grass-strip runway will be upgraded to pavement in the coming months, according to company managing director Giovanni Pascale Langer.
With those changes, Tecnam will be able to consolidate and boost production for its aircraft, including the P2012, an 11-seat piston twin that came to market in 2019. Langer said the company plans to double production to two a month. Meanwhile, Tecnam is also preparing to ramp up production of its P-Mentor, an IFR two-seat piston single, and is hoping to bring it to EAA AirVenture with FAA certification in hand. The company already has an order backlog of 100 P-Mentors from the U.S. market.
Jet Linx Aviation rolled out a Time & Tenure Career Pathway program to attract and retain top talent with a “pro pilot culture.” The operator said the program is designed to provide stability and practicability for its pilots with defined titles and salary progression based on total time and time in type, along with tenure with the company.
Under the program, salary bands are formalized with a clear path from first officer to senior captain across Jet Linx’s light, midsize, super-midsize, and heavy jet fleets. The program rewards Jet Linx pilots for continued service with the company, along with their cumulative expertise in aircraft type. For light and midsize jets, Jet Linx is introducing junior captain and senior captain positions, respectively. Senior captains then carries up to the larger aircraft, providing more career advancement opportunities, it said.
"Jet Linx has always been committed to providing its pilots with the best possible working environment and opportunities for career advancement,” said company president and CEO Jamie Walker, adding the program was derived from feedback from flight crews.
Current pilots will be able to qualify as junior captains sooner than direct-entry captain requirements. The program also includes a senior captain bonus program, including at the time of promotion and on the anniversary of the promotion. Company pilots will have priority in upgrades and first access to open positions.
In a ceremony yesterday, Detroit-area FBO Pentastar Aviation broke ground on a hangar development at Michigan’s Oakland County International Airport (KPTK) where it has had a presence since 1990, when it relocated form nearby Willow Run Airport. The greenfield “Hangar 1964” project, a nod to the year Pentastar was founded—initially as Chrysler Motor Company’s flight department—will occupy one of the last remaining undeveloped plots of land at KPTK. The six-acre plot acquired by Pentastar was part of a failed development project during the aughts and includes three acres of ramp.
With an estimated cost of more than $11 million, the complex will include a pair of 25,000-sq-ft hangars bracketing a two-story 5,800-sq-ft lounge/office area for tenants. Given the latest changes to NFPA 409 requirements for foam fire suppression in Group 2 aircraft hangars, the company is in negotiations with the local fire authority for a variance to install 30-foot high doors on the hangars. When complete, the additions will bring Pentastar to more than 200,000 sq ft of aircraft storage space.
Earlier in the day, the company also unveiled its new logo and branding. “Today we bridge our proud heritage from the past with the next chapter in the company’s history demonstrating our commitment to innovation and industry leadership,” said CEO Greg Schmidt. “I couldn’t be more excited to share with you the future look of Pentastar.”
Global business aircraft activity continues to soften, down 6 percent in the last four weeks compared with the same period in 2022, according to WingX’s Global Market Tracker. This continues a trend that has carried throughout the year, with activity down 3 percent year-to-date versus the same period in 2022. However, this activity is 14 percent ahead of the same period in pre-pandemic 2019, WingX noted.
In North America, activity fell 7 percent year-over-year in the past four weeks. But activity in the first week of May (Week 18) was 5 percent ahead of the last week of April, with Part 135 and 91K operations up 7 percent.
In Europe, business jet activity dropped 7 percent year-over-year in the last four weeks and by 9 percent year-to-date. France has started off May as the busiest market, albeit 8 percent behind the first week in May 2022. The UK is the second-busiest market.
Meanwhile, activity in the rest of the world during Week 18 was 7 percent ahead of last year, with Africa seeing a 25 percent jump, South America rose 9 percent, followed by Asia, up 5 percent, and the Middle East, with a 3 percent gain.
According to WingX managing director Richard Koe, “Fractional operators appear to have maintained the largest gains compared to pre-pandemic. The charter market continues to look soft compared to last year.”
4Air has signed its 100th client, the aviation sustainability consulting firm said Thursday. The company delivers sustainability programs dedicated to aviation, providing what it calls a simplified and verifiable path for aircraft operators to reduce their carbon footprint.
Since 4Air’s launch in January 2021, it has offset or reduced more than 2.5 million tonnes of CO2 emissions through the use of verified carbon offset credits and sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In just over two years, the company has provided accounting and documentation for the physical and book-and-claim use of more than 5.8 million gallons of SAF.
The company lays claim to an expansive and diverse client roster, including airlines such as Southwest Airlines, FBOs Clay Lacy Aviation and Fontainebleau Aviation, air charter operators Verijet and Tradewind Aviation, and OEMs Embraer and GE Honda Aero Engines. It also counts corporate flight departments and airports as clients and has partnerships within aviation insurance providers.
“4Air pushes the envelope around our idea of a sustainability program,” said company president Kennedy Ricci. “Our program begins where most others end and lays out a path for a longer-term approach to sustainability. Aviation has the opportunity to be carbon-neutral today, and our program answers the question of how to start while enabling improved and more comprehensive solutions over time.”
Photo of the Week
Many moons ago. Phil Stearns, the marketing director at Sevens Aerospace and Defense Systems, took this image on a Southwest Airlines flight from Ohio’s John Glenn Columbus International Airport (KCMH). “Sometimes even great shots come from the exit row on a Southwest 737,” he said. “Looks like we have four moons due to the reflection on the cabin windows.” Thanks for sharing, Phil!
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