Blade Air Mobility’s first-quarter net losses narrowed by $700,000 to $3.5 million while revenue increased by 5.4% to $54.3 million, the company reported yesterday.

The aviation services provider posted an adjusted EBITDA loss of $1.2 million in the first quarter, but that marked a $2.3 million improvement from the same period a year ago. In its passenger segment, the company posted a first-quarter adjusted EBITDA profit of $100,000—the first time it had done so in the quarter since going public in 2021. That profit also marked a $2.7 million turnaround from a year earlier.

Excluding the Canadian market, where Blade exited in August, the company’s revenues improved year over year by 10.9% overall and by 42% in the passenger segment to $6.3 million. However, medical revenue declined by 0.2% to $35.9 million, and adjusted EBITDA slid by 7.1% to $4.1 million.

“Our strong passenger segment results reflect several factors, including our durable competitive positioning along with the important actions we’ve taken recently to improve profitability, such as our exit from Canada and broad-based cost rationalization initiatives,” said Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal. “I’m particularly encouraged by the results in Europe following our restructuring, which led to strong revenue growth and significantly improved profitability this quarter.”

Full bonus depreciation is slated to return under a provision in the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee’s portion of the massive budget reconciliation package. The committee is set to consider the tax portion today. This follows House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approval of its part of the package, including an additional $12.5 billion for air traffic control and an elimination of green energy incentives, on April 30.

Under the Ways and Means package, taxpayers would be permitted to immediately expense 100% of qualified property, including business aircraft, that is acquired on or after Jan. 20, 2025, and before Jan. 1, 2030. Current law has been phasing out bonus depreciation, with a 40% deduction allowance for property this year, going down to 20% next year.

The measure is among several business incentives included in the package coming under consideration. Another provision would permit the immediate deduction of domestic research or experimental expenses incurred after Dec. 31, 2024, and before Jan. 1, 2030. Currently, domestic research and experimental expenses must be deducted over five years. This measure provides rules coordinating the deduction with the research credit and clarifying foreign research and experimental expenses.

Further, the bill would modify and expand upon certain business interest expense deductions.

Nav Canada will decommission the Volmet service provided by the International Flight Service Station (IFSS) at Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador, effective June 12 at 0901 Zulu. The decision follows a formal review of operational requirements for in-flight meteorological broadcasts within the Gander Oceanic Control Area (OCA).

Transmitting terminal weather reports on high-frequency (HF) radio, the Volmet broadcast has historically supported pilots transiting international routes over the North Atlantic. These scheduled reports, coordinated to avoid frequency overlap within global Volmet regions, provide Metar and other key weather data.

According to Nav Canada, the removal of the Gander Volmet service “will not have a material impact on stakeholders” and does not represent a material change to the services offered to aircraft operating in the Gander OCA.

The decision reflects ongoing technological shifts in the cockpit environment. “Aviation technology has evolved to allow suitably equipped aircraft to acquire the required meteorological information directly from alternate sources,” Nav Canada noted. As a result, the need for crews to monitor scheduled HF broadcasts has diminished.

For aircraft not equipped to receive automated weather updates, the Gander IFSS will continue to provide weather information by request over the existing North Atlantic HF suite. Nav Canada said relevant aeronautical publications will be updated to reflect the change.

Warning that a proposal to auction off portions of the spectrum could jeopardize aviation safety, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Washington) urged Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to coordinate with the Department of Defense on frequency management.

Included in the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s portion of the budget reconciliation package, the measure would call for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and the FCC to identify at least 600 MHz between the 1.3 and 10 GHz frequencies to auction by 2034 and at least 200 MHz within three years. The committee is slated to consider its budget reconciliation package today.

“Because the safety and effectiveness of the National Airspace System depends on the FAA managing radar, navigation, and safety-critical systems on airplanes, decisions to repurpose federal spectrum must be taken only after the department, the FAA, and industry have validated that any transition can proceed without jeopardizing aviation safety,” Cantwell said in a letter to Duffy.

She was particularly concerned about proposals to auction frequencies in the upper C-band, next to where aircraft radio altimeters operate. “Proceeding to auction the entire upper C-band, without coordination with or concurrence from DOT, FAA, and the aviation industry, risks a repetition of the 2021 5G C-band rollout, when the FAA was forced to issue emergency airworthiness directives, institute flight restrictions around airports nationwide, and nearly ground all commercial flights across the country.”

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Wheels Up today announced the latest progress in its fleet modernization strategy, with the fourth Bombardier Challenger 300 expected to enter service on June 1. “This milestone reflects progress in our fleet modernization strategy and positions Wheels Up to offer enhanced availability and flexibility to members,” the company said.

Alongside the aircraft addition, Wheels Up is introducing a limited number of memberships featuring “Premium Super Midsize” access with guaranteed recovery at dynamic pricing. These offerings, subject to terms and conditions, are aimed at increasing access and adaptability across the network.

This update follows a series of developments in the company’s modernization efforts. In October, Wheels Up announced its fleet strategy and secured a $332 million revolving credit facility the following month, part of which funded the acquisition of 17 Embraer Phenom 300s. Two of these Phenom 300s, featuring updated livery, entered service in February, with more to follow.

In March, the company signed an agreement with Gogo to install Galileo HDX low-earth-orbit satcom systems across the fleet, with installation scheduled to begin in the third quarter. Two Challenger 300s entered service last month, followed by a third this month.

Wheels Up said the upgrades are designed to deliver improved reliability, comfort, and connectivity while aligning its fleet with evolving member expectations.

Mexican ground handling services provider ICCS has achieved Stage 3 registration under IBAC’s International Standard for Business Aircraft Handling (IS-BAH) for its Acapulco International Airport (MMAA) FBO. Its complex there includes a 5,382-sq-ft (500-sq-m) terminal and 32,300 sq ft of hangar space.

Stage 3 is the highest level in the safety management system-based program, and Acapulco is the first of the company’s five owned FBOs to reach that pinnacle—and only the second in Mexico. Worldwide, fewer than 20 companies have attained Stage 3.

ICCS, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, also has FBOs in Monterrey, Toluca, Saltillo, and Chihuahua, and through its affiliated service providers and ground handling offices, it can provide support at nearly every airport in the country.

“This achievement not only highlights our commitment to safety and quality, but also positions ICCS as a benchmark in the corporate aviation industry, both in Mexico and internationally,” said Miguel Ballesteros, the company’s director of operations. “We deeply appreciate our team for their hard work and dedication, which have been fundamental in reaching this important goal.”

Following a lobbying effort spearheaded by the National Air Transportation Association (NATA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has elected to retain the current Agricultural Quarantine and Inspection user fee exemption for certain aircraft with 64 or fewer seats. The measure, which had been set to expire next month, will now be maintained indefinitely.

Along with input from aircraft operators, the trade organization argued that the smaller aircraft in Part 135 service pose a lower agricultural contamination risk due to their limited payload capacities, compared to large freighters and airliners, which often carry volumes of bagged and palletized cargo. NATA noted that medevac flights, which constitute a portion of Part 135 operations, have even lower risk because of their medical safety standards and protocols.

Charging Part 135 operators the same fee as cargo or commercial airline operators would have “subsidized large corporations at the expense of small businesses, contradicting APHIS’s mandate to ensure fees align with the cost of services provided.”

“Removing the small aircraft exemption would have unfairly burdened the Part 135 sector, mostly comprising small businesses,” said Jenny Lee Urban, NATA’s v-p of regulatory affairs. “We are pleased APHIS recognized the minimal inspection demands and low agricultural risk of these operations by continuing the exemption.”

France’s civil aviation regulator (DGAC) has approved Airbus Helicopters as the first OEM to offer type rating training using a combination of the Loft Dynamics virtual reality (VR) flight simulator and the helicopter. In 2023, EASA qualified the Loft VR simulator for “all aspects of pilot training and checking,” according to the company.

“Now, France’s DGAC has become the first national authority to act on this new framework, approving a type rating program that uses a certified VR FSTD [flight simulation training device] and the aircraft—without requiring a full flight simulator,” according to Loft Dynamics.

“Helicopter training and checking has long faced a painful trade-off: rely on limited-access, cost-prohibitive full-flight simulators, or conduct high-risk maneuvers in the aircraft itself,” said Loft Dynamics CEO Fabi Riesen. “One-third of all helicopter accidents occur during training and checking—that tells you everything.

“With this approval, Airbus, EASA, and DGAC have shown how we begin to reverse that statistic and what the future of safer, more accessible pilot training looks like. This milestone proves that our VR technology is ready to support complex certification programs—including with one of the world’s most respected OEMs. It also builds on the important regulatory groundwork laid by EASA and reflects the bold leadership of Airbus in turning the vision of safer, more scalable training into reality.”