Camber Aviation Management, Kestrel Aviation Management, and Pierrejean Vision have partnered to develop a corporate cabin for the Airbus A220 comprising three fixed zones and four variable zones that provide for some customization to the customer. “Offering cabin floor space and volume equivalent to Airbus’s ACJ319Neo and Boeing’s BBJ Max7, the Airbus A220 integrates technologies and safety features equal or superior to the latest-generation business jets,” said Camber CEO Tom Chatfield.
Kestrel Aviation Management CEO Stephen Vella added that the A220 design satisfies “key features” identified during market research: a modular, but customizable, cabin with 10 to 32 VIP seats, long range, global connectivity, and operating costs that are at least 20 percent less than direct competitors.
The partnership collaborated with F/List and Flying Colours to refine design details and perform engineering studies. What they came up with was a design with fixed zones for a common entry and galley, mid-cabin lavatory, and master suite with an ensuite washroom that features a steam shower.
Customized zones could include a large lounge area that converts to a dining room, media lounge, or private office. “Even greater personalization is achieved by applying the client’s preferred color pallet, materials, and finishes,” said Pierrejean Vision CEO Jacques Pierrejean.
The seven-zone modular concept cabin is also intended to reduce manufacturing and certification costs, the partners added.
Charter Operators Facing ‘Race to Bottom’ on Pricing
Charter industry leaders are seeing bookings edge up, in part thanks to a new segment of customer, but are concerned that operators are facing future perils by offering fares at unsustainable prices. “There’s a race to the bottom in pricing,” Noel Fournier, v-p of business development for Worldwide Jet, said yesterday during the National Air Transportation Association's “Air Charter Roundtable: Forging Ahead” webinar.
Fournier added that industry must work together to “re-bridge” that gap to ensure sustainability into the future. This is particularly important, he added, as new customers enter the market. “That's a discussion that we need to continue to have: how do we all work together [to] educate the retail clients that the $11,000 one-way you got is really a $17,000 one-way."
Webinar panelists agreed that the pandemic is driving new customers into the charter market. Magellan Jets COO Todd Weeber said his firm is seeing new client acquisition that is 2.5 times than what it was in 2019. “These new clients have little or no experience with business or private aviation,” he said, making education a must.
Elleana Spanos, legal counsel-North America with charter broker Air Charter Service, confirmed that her company is seeing “a lot of first-time charters.” She cautioned, though, that in the current environment, brokers must be vigilant to ensure the viability of the operators.
U.S. startup Archer today announced plans to bring an eVTOL aircraft to market. Backers of the Palo Alto, California-based company include Walmart eCommerce CEO Marc Lore, as well as cofounders Brett Adcock and Adam Goldstein, who recently sold recruitment platform Vettery to the Adecco Group for $100 million.
Archer is still in the early stages of defining its as-yet-unnamed aircraft, which it said would carry four passengers up to 60 miles at speeds of up to 150 mph. The company has recruited several engineers from rival eVTOL startups, such as former Wisk engineering v-p Tom Muniz and Geoff Bower, who was formerly chief engineer with Airbus’s Vahana project. Archer's 40-strong team also includes engineers from Joby Aviation and NASA.
The company is targeting initial type certification under EASA’s new special condition rules for eVTOL aircraft. As such, it said the all-electric aircraft will have a maximum takeoff weight not exceeding 7,000 pounds. The design also will feature a wing to increase potential range and speed as well as reduce noise. An early representation of the proposed concept shows six presumably tilting propellers fitted to the wing and a V-shaped tail.
Archer’s founders have yet to publish a timeline for certification and service entry. They told AIN they plan to spend the next 12 to 18 months defining the design and building a prototype.
Apart from the benefit of better surveillance compared with radar, the ADS-B signals now being broadcast from aircraft could help forecasters spot turbulence earlier, allowing that information to be shared with other pilots in real-time. ADS-B signals provide a wealth of data, such as the aircraft’s GPS position, velocity, identity, barometric and geometric altitude, and, most important for the turbulence concept, horizontal and vertical velocity relative to the Earth. The vertical velocity information is key to sussing out turbulence.
The FAA has long been studying how aircraft sensors can contribute valuable data to weather forecasters under its Weather Technology in the Cockpit (WTIC) program. ADS-B data might further aid the WTIC program, which seeks to “determine whether an operationally useful turbulence detection algorithm using routine ADS-B reports is feasible.”
Larry Cornman, a project scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, gave a presentation at the American Meteorological Society’s annual meeting in January, introducing the concept of using ADS-B information for turbulence detection and summarizing research on developing the algorithm.
He said turbulence is highly dynamic, both spatially and temporally, adding that lack of observation that supports understanding of that dynamic nature is a big problem. ADS-B turbulence observation could improve that, Cornman said. “If we can get good information out of it, it’s going to be a game changer."
Bluetail Launches Bizcraft Record Digitization Platform
ProFlight co-founder Stuart Ilian and digital management specialist and former Apple executive Roberto Guerrieri today launched Bluetail to capitalize on an untapped opportunity in digital records for business aircraft. Bluetail is designed to be a “next-generation, back-to-birth, digitized aircraft records management system,” according to the company, with a key goal of preserving aircraft value.
“Our customer research is telling us that owners and operators want to now, more than ever, accelerate the move away from paper,” said Ilian. “They need a digital hub to safely keep, organize, and share aircraft logbooks, supporting records, manuals, and much more.”
Guerrieri spent years in the health records business and when he and Ilian started working together, he saw similar trends in business aviation, with records moving from paper to digital. “Our vision is taking static, dormant data from paper to digital to make the records actionable for compliance and curation.”
Customers can search across documents from any browser software or device. But Bluetail has created additional functionality—one example is a timeline view of the lifetime of the aircraft. This shows, from as far back as the records go, every event that has occurred, from airworthiness directive and service bulletin compliance to inspections and repairs, upgrades, and engine changes, among others.
Bluetail will add further improvements, including using artificial intelligence “to make documents visual and actionable,” Guerrieri said.
Textron Awarded Contract for Pair of King Air 350CERs
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s (CBP) air and marine operations unit has placed an order with Textron Aviation for two additional Beechcraft King Air 350CERs to join its fleet of 23 other King Air 350s that provide ground and maritime patrols. The pair of 350CERs will be modified by Sierra Nevada Corp. for operation as multi-role enforcement aircraft (MEA).
MEA aircraft feature an array of active and passive sensors, technical collection equipment, and satcom capabilities that are used for ground interdiction, air-to-air intercepts, and medium-range maritime patrols. They are operated by a crew of four, two of whom operate the aircraft’s specialized mission equipment and coordinate information to the ground.
“These aircraft can fly six-hour missions and can deploy to hot spots where multi-sensor patrols assist both ground and marine agents to detect, interdict, and prevent acts of terrorism as well as the unlawful movement of people, illegal drugs and other contraband toward or across the borders of the United States,” said Textron Aviation v-p of special missions sales Bob Gibbs.
The 350CER is an extended-range version of the 350i with an optional cargo door. It is powered by two Pratt & Whitney PT6A-60A or optional PT6A-67A turboprop engines with Hartzell four-blade propellers. Collins Aerospace’s Pro Line Fusion avionics round out the 350CER’s flight deck.
MemberJets Unveils Per-seat Charter Booking Platform
MemberJets has rolled out a new flight and booking management platform designed to help Part 135 operators leverage the availability of the per-seat model under DOT 380. The “SEATS” platform “legally allows [Part 135] operators the ability to hold out directly to the public on a per-seat basis,” according to the Kansas City-based DOT 380 marketplace.
“Obtaining DOT 380 credentials and certification can be a costly and daunting process, and we have removed that burden and expense to empower operators to fill the void that exists between commercial airlines and private travel,” said MemberJets CEO Ty Carter, adding the company’s platform provides a “seamless and low-cost” entry into DOT 380. MemberJets provides the back-office support to enable operators to meet DOT 380 compliance.
Carter noted that, with the Covid-19 crisis, consumers are looking for new travel alternatives. “Our software enables a turn-key solution into the world of shuttle flights, shared charters, empty legs, and special events, all on a per-seat basis, creating a higher margin per-flight hour,” he said.
A direct-to-consumer booking platform, SEATS displays the branding of the operator, including name, logo, and colors, and enables the public to select and purchase individual seats on the associated DOT 380 flights.
Massport Speeds Up Boston Logan Runway Project
With airports experiencing a downturn in traffic due to the Covid-19 crisis, many have chosen to take advantage of the lull by accelerating planned infrastructure projects. Massport, which operates Boston Logan International Airport, has elected to begin a runway rehabilitation project on the gateway’s Runway 9/27, which it originally slated to begin at the end of August, following what would typically be a busy summer travel season.
Instead, the work on the 7,001-foot runway, the fourth-longest at the airport, will commence on May 26 and involve its full closure for several weeks.
The project, to be conducted in phases, will include new pavement; installation of new electrical infrastructure, including energy-efficient LED lighting; drainage improvements to eliminate ponding of standing water; and realignment of Taxiway D1 at the Runway 27 end to conform with current FAA safety standards.
Based on a projected schedule of 73 days, the newly-improved runway will reopen in early August.
Air Charter Industry Faces Wild Ride in Covid-19 Market
Per Marthinsson, co-founder of charter marketplace Avinode, explains the unprecedented complexity of fluctuations in the charter market. While there is opportunity to attract new first-time clients, conditions are fraught with uncertainty over travel restrictions, pricing and the commercial viability fo some operations.
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