During the opening session of the Bombardier Safety Standdown this morning, safety specialists promoted the theme of this year’s event—elevate your influence—and celebrated the 28th year of the three-day safety event. Attendance is free, and the event again saw a full house at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita, but those interested can also watch webcasts of many of the presentations live on the Safety Standdown website.

“You'll hear a lot about our theme this year,” said Bombardier demo pilot Franco Pietracupa, who launched the Standdown. “I think it's a great one. I love the word influence because it starts with ‘I’ and you'll hear a lot of our guest speakers talk about influence. You do make a difference.”

Chris Milligan, Bombardier v-p of preowned aircraft, welcomed attendees to the Safety Standdown. “The next few days provide us an invaluable learning opportunity for all of us to come together to share our thoughts and…our direction of what we're experiencing, and learn from each other.

“[The Standdown] may have been started by a couple of pilots 28 years ago, when they wanted to stop and evaluate human factors training, but what it has become today is truly a testimony to our industry, the progress that we've made, the leadership that we've had...Safety cascades across the whole organization, from maintenance to people, from insurance to everything from A to Z.”

The annual Corporate Jet Investor Miami conference kicked off yesterday afternoon under the eye of a shifting political reality in the U.S., with open questions for the business aviation industry that are now front and center talking points. The first session began with the sharing of survey data from 205 industry respondents regarding their feelings on the current state of the industry.

Notably, the median score of optimism for the state of business aviation was 7.5, albeit higher than European respondents’ median score of 6.8. Fifty percent of respondents were most optimistic about ultra-long-range aircraft, while 75% thought preowned sales of aircraft would outperform expectations. On the other end of the survey, respondents said their outlook was “below expectations” on the industry’s goals for carbon offsets (64% surveyed) and eVTOL aircraft (78% surveyed).

A majority of North American respondents said environmental concerns were the biggest threat to business aviation, while a majority of international respondents said it was government regulations.

The following panel featured NBAA senior v-p of government affairs Kristie Greco Johnson and GAMA v-p of operations Jens Hennig. They turned toward what could be ahead for business aviation under president-elect Trump. “We saw the challenges of polling again this cycle. Both sides felt pretty confident going into this election that they had done what was needed to win,” said Johnson.

European Rotors 2024, held last week in Amsterdam by the European Helicopter Association (EHA) and EASA, attracted more than 4,600 participants and focused on safety advancements and emerging technologies, with a particular emphasis on eVTOL aircraft. Speakers at the event addressed pressing topics such as safety protocols and the integration of digital technologies into rotorcraft operations.

“The 2024 edition of European Rotors was a great success,” said EHA board chair Fredrik Kämpfe. “The exhibition floor was filled with enthusiastic people, and the feedback we received was very positive.” Kampfe pointed to the educational program, Career Day, and the large turnout for workshops and best practice sessions as indicative of the event’s success.

There were more than 230 booths and 18 helicopters displayed in the exhibition hall. Highlights of the show included the EASA Safety Symposium, which addressed regulatory compatibility and urban air mobility, as well as workshops on rotorcraft safety and efficiency.

Networking opportunities also were a major draw, with industry leaders and regulatory bodies engaging face-to-face. “We held a technical briefing here at the show that was significantly stronger and more detailed due to being in-person,” said EHA vice chair Thierry Couderc.

The theme at the Corporate Jet Investor Miami conference from the opening yesterday into this morning remained clear: a cautious consensus that the future looked bright for business aviation in 2025 following an uncertain U.S. political landscape. “I think we’re feeling a very robust market with very high confidence,” said Avpro co-founder Chris Ellis. “Virtually certain tax benefits are coming next year, so I think you’re going to see a very strong market in 2025.”

This optimism comes after a period of uncertainty for the industry. “Election year is something that slows down aircraft sales in general. Every aircraft salesperson has a different experience,” said Par Avion founder and president Janine Iannarelli. “I always planned for a slow year. I plan for it.”

“There are always headwinds: ‘The geopolitical price of this, the cost of this, the price of this segment.’ You’d think the price of any of those alone would make a difference, and we haven’t seen those make any difference,” said Jay Mesinger of Mesinger Jet Sales. “You can count on headwinds; we always have them for 10 different reasons for every transaction.”

Iannarelli said that now that the U.S. election is over, she believes more clients will be willing to move ahead with business in the business aviation market.

As Gogo Business Aviation nears the launch of Gogo Galileo, the company’s new Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) global broadband satellite service, it’s receiving unprecedented demand for the new service. That demand has been accelerated with the development of 27 Supplemental Type Certificates (STCs) across Gogo’s dealer network. Those STCs will unlock a total addressable market of more than 18,000 aircraft globally, many of which have not had access to broadband connectivity prior to Gogo Galileo.

Jets MRO has moved into a 40,000-sq-ft hangar at Dallas Executive Airport (KRBD, formerly Redbird Airport) and simultaneously welcomed its 100th aircraft serviced since launching operations in May. “The arrival of a Bombardier Challenger 300 as the first jet in the new hangar marks a pivotal moment for Jets MRO, which has quickly established itself as a leader in maintenance for Cessna Citations and Bombardier Learjets and Challengers,” the company said.

The new maintenance hangar was developed under a partnership with Jet Access, which in late 2022 broke ground on 60,000 sq ft of additional hangar space with 8,000 sq ft of offices, as well as an 8,000-sq-ft FBO terminal. Jet Access opened the new terminal facility in March.

According to both companies, KRBD is just minutes from Dallas Love Field and has updated runways. “Jets MRO is proud to be a catalyst for economic and job growth in South Dallas that has long wanted economic investment in the region,” Jets MRO added.

Collins Aerospace is investing $2 million into an expansion project that will double the size of its aircraft seating facility in Medley, Florida, to 30,000 sq ft.

The larger facility will add automated machining equipment to improve production efficiencies, according to Collins. For example, it will have new quilted panel machinery that can accommodate complex designs, patterns, and coloring for custom sewing, embroidery, and perforation. The facility will also feature an automated material cutter that uses digital visioning for more precise cutting.

“This investment unlocks new dimensions to our executive seating site, augmenting our world-class capabilities and improving quality, repeatability, and lead times,” said Scott Howard, director of business development for executive aircraft seating at Collins Aerospace. “It’s also a direct reflection of our dedication to innovation and commitment to continually improving our environmental impact by reducing material waste.”

The Jet Agent, an Arizona-based aircraft brokerage specializing in Cessna Citations, has noted changes in the market across the airframer’s product range. According to company founder and president Denise Wilson, the CJ4 light jet has seen a surge in availability over the past year, with inventory more than doubling from 20 to 43. One factor she attributes to this rise is a recently issued service bulletin regarding windshield frame issues.

However, the market for its sibling CJ3 remains tight, with just barely more than 3% of the in-service fleet on the market. Wilson noted that earlier serial numbers are in high demand from buyers looking to purchase them for sub-$8 million prices.

That variability continues toward the OEM’s lower end, with the M2—which historically has seen brisk turnover—experiencing an increase in inventory, rising from 27 on the market a year ago to 40 currently. On the other hand, inventory of the out-of-production Mustang very light jet dropped from 39 at the beginning of 2024 to 21.

“The preowned Citation markets remain healthy, but we’re seeing notable shifts,” said Wilson.

Since the beginning of September, 152 preowned Citations have changed hands, with the U.S. and Canadian markets accounting for 118 of them. Wilson explained that for buyers seeking to close on purchases by the end of the tax year, there is a preference for ready-to-fly aircraft.

Blade Air Mobility reported a net loss of slightly less than $2 million in the third quarter despite achieving improvements in both its passenger and medical flight operations. Revenues at the U.S. group grew by 4.8%, to $74.9 million, in the quarter, while operating cash flow increased by $4.3 million, to $6.4 million.

During the quarter, Blade announced a partnership to improve access to OrganOx’s metra device for preserving livers as they are transported to transplant centers. It also acquired two more aircraft during the period, and these are set to enter service in 2025.

“We reached an important milestone this quarter in our passenger business, achieving positive segmented EBITDA on a trailing twelve-month basis, more than a year ahead of our investor guidance to turn profitable by the end of 2025,” said Blade CEO Rob Wiesenthal. “Beyond the strength in underlying customer demand, several factors contributed to the faster path to profitability including actions we’ve taken to exit unprofitable business lines rapidly, early benefits from the recent restructuring of our European operations, and implementation of segment-wide cost savings.”

According to Blade, revenues increased by 9.8% on what it defines as short-distance flights in the U.S., once discontinued Canadian operations were factored in. It saw increased demand for leisure trips in the Northeast U.S. and for access to New York City airports.