As the preowned business jet market softens, industry analyst Altea is advising that the ultra-long-haul sector, and specifically the Gulfstream family, is an area to watch as the G700 reaches service entry later this year.
According to Altea partner Jean Sémiramoth, “Without obviously moving to a buyer’s market, there has been a mild shift whereby market conditions favor sellers a little less.” Unlike the frenzied market in the past couple of years, Sémiramoth noted that more buyers are paying attention to the condition of aircraft, damage history, records, pre-purchase inspection, and delivery conditions.
While the market is “normalizing and heading to balance,” other factors will come into play, such as Gulfstream’s G700 joining the lineup of in-service aircraft, Altea said.
“If the OEM is able to deliver as planned and to the numbers expected, then we could see the availability of both G550s and G650/ERs increase and prices begin to fall,” noted Altea partner Andrew Butler. “Whilst inventories of both types have been relatively stable over the last six months—demand remaining robust—a concerted effort to deliver G700 aircraft (given certification delays) could bring a change in this sector.”
According to Butler, for-sale preowned G550 inventory jumped 300 percent when G650 deliveries spooled up, “so we might see a similar occurrence in the market again—this time potentially affecting the G650/ER.”
Sustainability will be top of mind next week at EBACE 2023 in Geneva, according to organizers NBAA and EBAA. The Palexpo convention center—home to the annual event since 2001—is powered entirely by renewable energy and its rooftop array is the second-largest solar-power generator in Switzerland.
For the show, which runs Tuesday to Thursday, all energy usage from Palexpo and the partnered show hotels will be tracked. Then all resulting carbon emissions will be offset through verified projects, along with those generated by shuttle buses to and from the show site.
In addition, nearly 80 percent of the waste generated at the event will be sorted on site, with almost half of it being recycled. In terms of the carpeting used for the show floor, upwards of 75 percent of it also will be recycled.
“The business aviation community is committed to sustainability and carbon reduction in everything we do—from the airport to the show floor and beyond,” said NBAA senior v-p for events Chris Strong. “Not only will the event be among the most carbon-neutral editions of the show to date, but it will also feature a two-day summit focused on lowering the industry’s overall carbon footprint. We are committed to sustainability on the ground and in the air.”
NASA is deploying a Pilatus PC-12 for test flights in the Cleveland area as part of its work to pave the way for the autonomous operations envisioned for the advanced air mobility sector. The flights started today and run through June 25, with the agency’s pilots following roadways over Cleveland, Lodi, Mansfield, and Medina in Ohio to test communications technology expected to be used by eVTOLs and other new air vehicles.
The space agency's PC-12 has been fitted with monitors to measure cell tower signal strength at various altitudes in urban, suburban, and rural areas. It will fly no lower than 1,000 feet in populated areas and no lower than 500 feet outside towns.
NASA is playing a leading role in U.S. government efforts to enable the development of new cargo and passenger air services. In 2022, it commissioned a study predicting that by 2030 there could be as many as 500 million package delivery flights in the U.S. each year and 750 million urban air mobility passenger trips.
Thirty-five aviation and biofuel industry organizations appealed to key House and Senate lawmakers to prioritize funding in the fiscal 2024 budget to accelerate the development and deployment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In a joint letter sent to the Appropriations Committee leaders in both chambers, they asked that “robust” funding be included for the Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office (BETO) and the FAA’s NextGen environmental research programs.
“Aviation is widely recognized as one of the hardest modes of transportation to decarbonize, and SAF, an alternative jet fuel that is cleaner than conventional petroleum fuel, will play a key role in reducing this sector’s greenhouse gas emissions,” said the organizations. “Continued federal investments in research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) are essential to lower costs, unlock new, cleaner ways of making these fuels, and to foster a competitive SAF market.”
The groups asked for $323 million for BETO, which they said is “one of the most important RD&D programs working on bioenergy in the federal government." They also are seeking $70.8 million for FAA NextGen environmental research programs, which the organizations noted are also essential to the scaling of SAF, as well as for research of aircraft technologies that can reduce emissions.
The letter was signed by organizations from business aviation groups such as NBAA and NATA to fuel providers Avfuel and World Energy.
Based on frequent requests from aircraft operators worldwide, Duncan Aviation’s three full-service MROs hold 32 international certificates allowing them to work on business aircraft from civil aviation authorities throughout the world. These certificates authorize Duncan Aviation to provide services for more than 90% of the world’s registered business aircraft.
EASA is consulting on plans to rationalize its regulations on extended diversion times for aircraft operators in the event that an engine fails. The just-issued Notice of Proposed Amendment 2023-03 would see existing ICAO Amendment 36 Annex 6 Part 1 standards for extended twin-engined operations (ETOPS) incorporated into European Union law, largely unchanged, with the European air safety agency also taking the opportunity to “improve clarity and consistency” of existing ETOPS and extended diversion time operations requirements.
According to EASA, its overriding objective is to ensure that all aircraft operators achieve the same level of safety in long-range operations. More specifically, it says it intends to ensure that all relevant ICAO Annex 6 Part 1 requirements are reflected in European legislation, including the Air Ops operational rules, as well as achieving consistency in the way the regulations are applied.
The only exception to the proposed change would be for aircraft with more than two engines to be exempt from the ICAO threshold of 180 minutes of flight time to a suitable diversion airport. EASA maintains that this requirement is unjustifiably burdensome in administrative terms since it only applies to a handful of European operators and that the routes impacted are somewhat peripheral.
Industry stakeholders have until August 14 to respond to the NPA.
Charter flight booking platform Gemini Wings is expanding its sales team with the appointment of Jana Holomucka as a flight consultant. The Czech company leases spare capacity from aircraft owners and operators and remarkets flight hours on the charter market.
Prague-based Gemini Wings launched in June 2021 and is aiming to build a network of small European operators with a collective fleet of 10 or so aircraft. The company guarantees to pay owners and operators for days when the aircraft is made available for charter through brokers, even if they are not used. It also offers charter advisory and aircraft management services.
Holomucka has been in the aviation sector for 20 years and is responsible for managing charter flights, and interacting with operators, brokers, and customers. She was formerly a sales manager with Czech operator Queen Air and has also worked as a flight attendant in a Gulfstream G500 aircraft.
“Her knowledge of the industry, from all angles of the operation over 20 years, has proven invaluable for helping her understand client needs and provide top-notch service to even the most demanding customers,” said Gemini Wings CEO Martin Feč.
Risk management group MedAire has expanded the business and general aviation desk at its London Assistance Center to provide the same level of support as it delivers from its Global Response Center in Phoenix. The company announced the upgrade on Thursday, saying it was done to meet increased demand from aircraft operators for support across different regions of the world and to take account of time zones.
The new desk in the UK capital will support business and general aviation customers with both medical and safety-related issues while they are traveling. This service includes on-demand access to aviation medical professionals and security experts.
MedAire president Bill Dolny told AIN the company has made significant investments in its London center to be able to provide more efficient support worldwide around the clock. “It provides support for half of each day and we’ve spent a lot of time training people there to use all our systems,” he said.
“We understand the challenges these operators are facing when managing risks in remote or unfamiliar locations, complying with regulatory requirements, and ensuring the safety and well-being of passengers and crew,” said Dr. Paulo Alves, MedAire’s global director of aviation health. “The dedicated team has the knowledge, expertise, and resources to provide the support and guidance operators need to navigate these challenges and ensure safe and successful operations.”
More than 70 exhibitors are expected at this year’s FlightSimExpo, which is billed as “North America’s enthusiast flight simulation conference and trade show.” The expo is being held June 23 to 25, with opening-day product announcements and seminars at the DoubleTree Houston Hobby Airport. That will be followed by exhibits and seminars on June 24 and 25 at the Lone Star Flight Museum at Ellington Airport in Houston.
The growth of FlightSimExpo, which has hosted more than 3,500 attendees at events in Las Vegas, Orlando, and San Diego since 2018, parallels how at-home simulation has embraced both hobbyists and pilots who use “study level” desktop simulators for training and proficiency. Low-cost but powerful simulators that run on desktop computers and even tablets are increasingly able to replicate actual flight dynamics, avionics, and scenery, giving users an ultra-realistic experience. New companies have launched to take desktop simulation into the realm of regulatory approval—for example, RealSimGear, which offers relatively low-cost simulators approved as basic aviation training devices.
“At-home flight simulation, which can be as simple as a laptop and a joystick [equipment-wise], is widely recognized as an inexpensive yet effective training supplement for student and rated pilots,” according to the FlightSimExpo organizers.
Visitors to the Expo are encouraged to try the simulators and equipment on display, which includes a variety of aircraft types and even some fully replicated complex flight decks.
To learn more about how people use their home setups, FlightSimExpo partner Flight Simulation Association is running a survey on the impact of home-based flight simulators on real-world flight training.
Sustainability Question of the Week
Sponsored by
What are some examples of future sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) feedstocks?
A. Municipal solid waste
B. Algae
C. Forest residuals
D. CO2 captured from industrial processes or the air
E. All of the above
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