WingX: World Bizav Traffic Slowly Rising

Global business aviation traffic is down by 55 percent year-over-year as the industry continues dealing with the headwinds posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the latest statistics released on Thursday by data provider WingX. In its weekly Global Market Tracker, the company noted that the 113,000 legs flown thus far in May stand in contrast to the 254,000 a year before. On average, 2,600 business aircraft were active each day in May, representing 44 percent of the number usually deployed.

But Hamburg, Germany-based WingX noted some cause for optimism as the seven-day rolling average jumped from 4,800 flights on May 1 to 6,800 on May 19. At its low point in mid-April, the total plunged below 3,700 daily flights. In contrast, commercial scheduled flights are still around 85 percent below normal levels.

“The improvement in daily activity is encouraging, as is the higher fleet employment, but it's too early to see if this demand is resilient, or simply reflects the slight relaxation in government lockdown,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe. “The trajectory of virus suppression policy seems to indicate that international and especially intercontinental travel will be slowest to recover.”

So far this month, nearly 30 percent of all business aviation activity involved turboprops, mainly the Pilatus PC-12, Cessna 208 Caravan, and Beechcraft King Air 200.

Aviation Orgs Call on FCC To Reverse Course on Ligado

A cross-section of aviation organizations is appealing to the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to reconsider its approval for Ligado Networks to move forward with a high-speed broadband cellular network, saying the proposed use of frequency bands near those used by GPS and satellite communications networks puts “air safety and aviation operations at risk.”

In a May 22 petition to the FCC, 10 organizations said the FCC order of approval on April 20 failed to address Ligado’s ability to act as a “good neighbor” without interfering with other frequencies.

“The order ignores the large body of evidence the aviation community provided showing that FAA-certified GPS devices would be regularly used in close proximity to Ligado base stations,” the petitioners said, and further objected to the lack of public review of the draft order before the FCC decision.

NBAA noted that the approval comes as Ligado—née LightSquared—previously failed twice to obtain approval for deployment of the low-power 5G network. Ligado has stated it has limited GPS signal disruptions to only near transmission towers, but NBAA fears this is not enough.

“Given our National Airspace System’s extensive use of GPS, including ADS-B-enabled air traffic control services and GPS-supported terrain warning systems, any question of even the slightest risk of interference should have been enough to pause this approval process,” said NBAA COO Steve Brown.

Citiking: Pandemic Hinders One Aviation’s BK Emergence

Citing the ongoing effects from the Covid-19 pandemic, Citiking International US LCC filed its opposition last week to an attempt by the unsecured creditors committee (UCC) in the Chapter 11 bankruptcy case of One Aviation to force the Albuquerque, New Mexico-based aircraft manufacturer into liquidation. Eclipse Aviation and Kestrel Aircraft merged in 2015 to form One Aviation.

The UCC asserted Citiking's “failure to consummate the plan in a timely manner and pay all administrative expense claims when due” in its motion filed May 8, with a June 4 hearing on the matter scheduled before the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. One Aviation entered Chapter 11 in October 2018.

In its May 22 filing, Citiking maintained it has worked diligently through the bankruptcy process despite “a series of obstacles,” including resolving previous objections raised by the UCC and attaining approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) for the sale of the company to the Chinese-backed investment group.

The last major stumbling block appears to be negotiating a new asset-based loan (ABL) with One Aviation's primary debtors. “However, those discussions…were complicated by another major obstacle: the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic,” reads the May 22 filing. “The [UCC] completely ignores that economic reality.”

SpaceX Launch Prompts Space Coast TFRs

Tomorrow’s planned launch of a SpaceX rocket with a crewed Dragon capsule marking the U.S.’s return to manned spaceflight has prompted TFRs that will close off sections of Central Florida’s Space Coast airspace to general aviation operators. Both rings of the TFRs center on the launch site—lat. 28°37’00” N long. 080°37’00” W.

The first set of VIP TFRs—0/3454 and 0/3454, to be in effect from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT tomorrow—will have a 30-nm inner ring and a 40-nm outer ring. A second set of VIP TFRs—0/3456 and 0/3457—with 12-nm inner and 32-nm outer rings will take effect just as the first one expires and last until 3:59 a.m. EDT on Thursday. Tomorrow’s SpaceX launch is scheduled for 4:33 p.m. EDT.

According to the FAA notams, the outer rings are generally limited to aircraft arriving or departing local airfields and aircraft must also be on an active IFR or filed VFR flight plan and be squawking a discrete code assigned by ATC. Operations in the inner rings are off-limits to general aviation aircraft not participating in the Twelve-Five Standard Security Program or conducting an emergency/lifesaving flight.

Nav Canada Proposes Steep Hikes in ATC User Charges

Nav Canada has proposed hiking user service charges by an average of 29.5 percent effective September 1 due to lower air traffic volume and a resulting decrease in collected fees stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic. The proposal also includes provisions to ease the cash flow impact of the increase on its customers through payment deferral mechanisms. Specifically, Nav Canada wants to increase terminal fees by 30.8 percent; en route by 26.4 percent; North Atlantic Track by 48.5 percent; and international communications by 41 percent.

Since most of its costs are fixed, Nav Canada cannot fully offset significantly lower revenues and cash inflows due to recent pandemic-related decreases in air traffic volume. While the privatized ATC provider is seeking additional debt financing to offset Covid-related lower revenues, it cannot do so without achieving a minimum level of revenue in Fiscal Year 2021—precisely why it has proposed the higher service charges.

“Nav Canada is proposing this rate action only after having actively pursued all available alternatives, including government assistance,” said Nav Canada president and CEO Neil Wilson. “All available alternatives, including further government assistance will continue to be explored and utilized to minimize or avoid the proposed rate increase.”

The proposal is now subject to a mandatory 60-day consultation period.

Constant, Nextant Lawsuit Alleges Fraud by Former CEO

Fairgrave Omlie and its subsidiaries Constant Aviation and Nextant Aerospace have filed a lawsuit against former executive Stephen Maiden alleging breach of fiduciary duty and fraud. Maiden, who served as Fairgrave CEO, Constant president and CEO, and Nextant president, left the companies on January 1.

According to the lawsuit filed in the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas, Fairgrave—which falls under the Directional Aviation umbrella—had a consolidated net loss of more than $3.4 million at the end of 2017 and, at a board meeting the following June, Maiden told the board the financial performance in 2018 would improve. It further alleges that Maiden was unable to do that and “undertook a variety of wrongful actions to artificially inflate earnings for 2018,” despite “generally favorable market conditions” for the business and general aviation aircraft industries.

The companies are seeking a judgment in their favor in an amount equal to their actual damages shown at trial, as well as punitive damages.

In a statement to AIN, Maiden’s lawyer, Ian Friedman, claimed the lawsuit is “riddled with inaccuracies and baseless allegations and we fully intend to treat these claims as frivolous,” arguing that Maiden was integral to Constant's successful growth. Friedman said a counterclaim on behalf of Maiden will soon be filed against the three companies “and anyone else involved in lodging these spurious allegations.”

EASA Proposes eVTOL Certification Means of Compliance

EASA has published proposed methods for certifying eVTOL aircraft in a further step towards establishing a framework for type certification. The “Proposed Means of Compliance with Special Condition VTOL” document was issued on May 25 and industry stakeholders have until July 24 to comment.

The agency described the proposals as the “third building block” in establishing rules for certifying both hybrid-electric and all-electric aircraft. It follows the publication of EASA’s special condition VTOL document in July 2019 and proposed certification requirements for propulsion systems, for which the consultation deadline has been extended until June 19.

Announcing the proposed methods for certification, EASA said that manufacturers need guidance on how to comply with requirements “now that the industry is moving from prototypes into more mature designs.” The proposals apply to “person-carrying small VTOL aircraft with three or more lift/thrust units used to generate powered lift and control.”

The means of compliance cover requirements such as the structural design envelope for eVTOL aircraft, flight load conditions, crashworthiness, capability after bird impact, design of fly-by-wire systems, the safety assessment process, lightning protection, and ratings for minimum handling qualities. EASA intends to publish further certification guidance materials during the 2020 EASA Rotorcraft and VTOL Symposium scheduled for November 10 to 12 as part of the new European Rotors trade show.

Sheltair’s William McShane Passes Away

William McShane, 61, v-p of business development and special projects for Sheltair who made his mark as a business aviation advocate in Long Island, New York, died on May 12 after a battle with glioblastoma.

Revered by the Long Island Business News as a “Long Island aviation icon,” McShane was credited for bringing the Bethpage Air Show to Jones Beach on Long Island more than 15 years ago and ensuring it became an annual attraction. His advocacy led him to become a founding member, former president, and board member of the Long Island Business Aviation Association. He also had served as a board member of the New York Aviation Management Association and founded the nonprofit Aerospace Education Corp., NBAA said.

He had spent more than a dozen years with Sheltair in business development management roles. McShane steered the FBO’s expansion in New York, including the construction of a new hangar complex at Republic Airport.

NBAA honored McShane in 2014 with the NBAA Silk Scarf Award for his contributions to the business aviation industry. “Bill was highly admired in the aviation community, with a career marked by service, professionalism, and insightful leadership,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen. “Bill’s passing will be felt throughout the New York region and across the industry.”

He is survived by his wife of 33 years, Maryellen, and three children.