The influx of investment capital into the business aviation market has caused major changes to the industry, Directional Aviation principal Kenn Ricci said yesterday at Corporate Jet Investor Miami. According to Ricci, the amount of private aircraft available for nonscheduled commercial operations has increased by approximately 25 percent since 2016, but the amount of operators has begun to decline.
At the same time, the average fleet size per operator grew from 11.4 to 15.7 aircraft and the number of operators with more than 80 aircraft climbed from two in 2017 to seven today. In fact, the top five operators—NetJets, Flexjet, VistaJet, Wheels Up, and Jet Linx—now control more than a third of the private jet fleet due to merger and acquisition activity, as well as organic growth.
That growth has been spurred by significant capital deployment in the industry, Ricci said. Since 2017, there have been 92 private aviation operating company transactions. “This huge influx of capital expanded infrastructure, it has expanded maintenance capacity, and it has provoked and instilled the beginnings of these large fleet operations,” he noted. Ricci cited several investments of $400 million or more by private equity in the business aviation market over the past several years, involving not only fleet operations but infrastructure as well.
Lincoln, Nebraska-based MRO Duncan Aviation is beefing up its Bombardier aircraft troubleshooting and technical support capabilities by adding two more members to its team specializing in the Canadian manufacturer’s business jets. Trevor Bartlett will provide support to Challenger 300-series and Learjet customers, while Max McElroy will assist Global and Challenger 600-series owners.
They join Todd Shriner, who has been with Duncan’s Bombardier program since 2007 and a technical rep since 2019. Duncan's three primary facilities—in Lincoln; Battle Creek, Michigan; and Provo, Utah—are Bombardier-authorized service facilities for all Learjet and Challenger models, as well as the Global Express, XRS, 5000, 5500, 6000, and 6500.
Also, Duncan Aviation Component Services has added to its bilingual customer service and sales team in Lincoln that supports parts and rotables customers in Mexico and Central and South America. The team includes Matthews Pastor, Christian Avelino, Erika Jimenez Johnson, and Alexander Menjivar-Valverde.
Costa Rican authorities yesterday ended the search for the six occupants of a Piaggio Avanti II that crashed on October 21 in the Caribbean Sea. The German-registered, privately operated turboprop twin disappeared from ATC radar about 17 miles from its intended destination of Puerto Limón Airport after a flight from Palenque Airport in Mexico.
Presumed killed in the accident was the pilot and his five passengers, including German billionaire Rainer Schaller. The day after the crash, the remains of a minor and an adult, as well as several parts of the aircraft fuselage and personal belongings, were found in the general location where the aircraft dropped off radar.
“After 11 days of continuous operation, the different institutions of the Ministry of Public Security, Air Surveillance, Coast Guard, and land police have concluded the search efforts as no more evidence has been found,” vice minister of public security Martin Arias said yesterday. “Today, we are officially closing the search case of the plane crash in the Caribbean.”
Schaller was the founder of McFit gym chain and, according to the German newspaper Bild, was traveling on the aircraft with his partner and two children, as well as another person. In 2020, his company acquired U.S. fitness chain Gold’s Gym.
Business aviation operator Private Wings Flugcharter has signed a follow-on maintenance contract with Munich-based Deutsche Aircraft to support the company’s fleet of nine Fairchild Dornier 328-100 turboprops and one 328Jet. Founded in 1991, Private Wings operates from the general aviation terminal of Manching Airport near Ingolstadt, Germany.
“To operate around the clock on a varied schedule of flight missions all over Germany and Europe means that we must have the security of a dependable and accessible maintenance provider,” said Private Wings CEO Peter Gatz. “We have enjoyed a good working relationship with Deutsche Aircraft management and its skilled engineers and technicians at Oberpfaffenhofen these past five years and are delighted to renew our maintenance contract with them.”
In addition to supporting Dornier 328-series aircraft, Deutsche Aircraft is also developing the 328eco turboprop that will feature improvements in operational and maintenance costs, as well as carbon footprint reductions.
Delivering Reliable Connectivity at the Speed of Flight
With the ability to simultaneously monitor the performance of tens of thousands of air-to-ground connections, Gogo Business Aviation’s new Business Operations Center (formerly the Network Operations Center) is at the core of a more than 30-year commitment to delivering the best in-flight connectivity experience possible.
Aircraft management and charter provider Sun Air Jets will use a number of ForeFlight products in its operation following an agreement with the Boeing unit, the Southern California company announced. Under the agreement effective November 1, Sun Air will use ForeFlight’s integrated software suite that includes ForeFlight Mobile, ForeFlight Dispatch, ForeFlight Runway Analysis, ForeFlight Fuel Advisor, and Jeppesen charts and NavData.
“There’s no question that the future of business aviation lies in tightly-integrated, cloud-based solutions,” ForeFlight CEO Tim Schuetze said of the Sun Air Jets agreement.
Sun Air Jets director of operations Ed Fares said the software suite will better support the company’s growth and complement its continued focus on safety. The ForeFlight agreement follows the recent opening of Sun Air Jets’ 66,000-sq-ft hangar addition at Van Nuys Airport, which brings its facility footprint there to more than 100,000 sq ft.
Keystone Turbine Services (KTS), a unit of Atlanta-based Precision Aviation Group (PAG), has successfully correlated and certified both of its all-digital engine test cells to support the Rolls-Royce RR300 series of gas turbine engines. The development builds on Pennsylvania-based KTS’s OEM-approved aftermarket MRO services on the Rolls-Royce M250 and RR300 engines, as well as module, accessory, component, spare parts, and field service support in addition to Honeywell and Triumph-related accessories.
KTS also has invested more than $3.5 million to acquire two complete RR300 rental engines along with additional spare compressors, gearboxes, and turbine modules.
“Enhancing our Rolls-Royce RR300 capability to KTS’s overall MRO capability is the next step in PAG’s long-term strategy to expand and further strengthen the deep-rooted relationships we have built with key OEMs and customers,” said PAG CEO David Mast. “We’re now fully equipped to provide Rolls-Royce RR300 operators with complete support to include rental engines, modules, and exchange units—and now, full performance testing services.”
The Irish Business & General Aviation Association (IBGAA) is holding its debut conference on November 17 in Limerick with plans to focus on sustainability and the value of business aviation in Ireland’s economy. Hildegarde Naughton, minister of state at the Ireland Department of Transport, is scheduled to formally open the event and address the expected 150 delegates in attendance.
In addition, the conference will feature a keynote from Gulfstream staff scientist and technical fellow Charles Etter on the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). Etter will further lead a panel delving into cost, supply and demand, government mandates, and education of SAF.
Ali Ahmed Alnaqbi, chair of the International Business Aviation Council and founding executive chairman of the Middle East Business Aviation Association, will join European Business Aviation Association COO Robert Baltus in discussing trends and challenges in business aviation. Speakers from industry and government will review the advantages of establishing an aviation business in Ireland, customs clearance and international traffic, connectivity and satellite communication, and corporate aviation transactions, among other topics.
Also during the conference, IBGAA will propose a new Business Aviation National Development Plan for Ireland with key recommendations on sustainability.
United Airlines is launching an in-house airframe and power plant (A&P) apprenticeship program that will train more than 1,000 people by 2026, the airline announced today. The inaugural class under the Calibrate program will start training next week in Houston.
In a 36-month-long training program, Calibrate apprentices will be paid while working toward gaining their A&P certificate through hands-on and classroom training. Calibrate is a joint effort between United, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the FAA, with the goal of not only improving the technician pipeline but also helping to diversify its technician ranks to include women and people of color.
“Calibrate is a great opportunity for people who are interested in pursuing a rewarding career as an aircraft technician but don't have the resources or support they need to attend traditional technical schools or colleges,” said United v-p of line maintenance Rodney Luetzen. “This program will provide life-changing opportunities, help to diversify our workforce, and give us access to an even bigger pool of talented, qualified, motivated people.”
The airline expects to start a second class in early 2023 in Houston, with plans to expand it to more than a dozen locations including in San Francisco and Orlando, Florida. About 9,000 aircraft technicians work for United globally with combined wages and benefits totaling more than $140,000 at the top of the pay scale.
CALS—a senior-level and laser-focused peer-to-peer networking summit—will address the latest and most cutting-edge topics, strategies, and solutions in corporate aviation. The summit is attendee-centric and serves as an educational and social platform, connecting select corporate aviation professionals with colleagues, industry experts, and solution providers in a relaxed, informal environment. We invite U.S.-based flight department leaders, including directors of maintenance, to apply to attend this event as our guests, which will be hosted Nov. 29 to Dec. 1, 2022, in Bonita Springs, Florida. Seats are limited, so don’t wait to apply.
Requires a visual inspection of the stabilizer actuator to confirm that the stabilizer actuator lock ring is present, correctly seated in the groove in the upper housing, and engaged in the clamp nut, as well as any applicable corrective actions and application of a torque seal. This AD also requires sending the inspection results to the FAA. Prompted by a recent investigation of a DHC-3 airplane where the lock ring of the stabilizer actuator was found missing.
Requires inspecting the forward cabin roof ceiling harnesses and installation. Prompted by a report of smoke and fire in the cockpit.
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