Bombardier experienced a 28 percent year-over-year jump in third-quarter revenues as deliveries increased across its medium-size and large models to a combined 31 units, the Montreal-headquartered aircraft manufacturer reported today. At the same time, though, Bombardier posted a net loss of $37 million for the quarter as it continues to navigate through debt repayment.

Revenues for the quarter ended on September 30 reached $1.9 billion, compared with $1.5 billion a year earlier. Deliveries meanwhile, were up by six units, comprising 16 Challengers and 15 Global models. This represents an increase of four Challengers and two Globals over third quarter 2022 deliveries.

In addition, Bombardier executives said during the third-quarter results analyst call that despite supply-chain challenges, the company remains on track for meeting its full-year guidance of at least 138 aircraft deliveries. 

Bombardier executives were also buoyed by the fact that despite the increase in deliveries, the company was able to maintain a book-to-bill ratio of 1.1:1, with backlog steadying at $14.7 billion, compared with $14.6 billion at the beginning of the year. 

As for profitability, the company saw its adjusted EBITDA increase by 36 percent to $285 million. While posting a third-quarter net loss, Bombardier remains on the positive side, at a net profit of $230 million, compared with a $389 million loss through the first nine months of 2022.

Members of the U.S. ethanol industry, along with several airlines and other aviation companies, sent a joint letter to the Biden Administration on Wednesday demonstrating their support for tax incentives on sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) derived from corn ethanol.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2023, SAF producers are required to use a carbon lifecycle assessment developed by ICAO to determine their qualification for SAF production incentives. According to the letter’s signatories—which include Boeing, GE Aerospace, major U.S. airlines, Honeywell UOP, and Gevo—the legislation’s language left room for the use of “any similar methodology” in determining the sustainability quotient derived from corn-based SAF.

The letter addressed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellin, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack, and others instead urges the adoption of the Department of Energy’s Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy Use in Technologies (GREET) standard. According to the group, GREET will more favorably weigh ethanol-derived SAF and make it eligible for subsidies under the IRA.

“Our ability to attract investment and build out U.S. SAF capacity will depend on how the program determines credit eligibility and valuation,” the letter stated. “This is especially true for a performance-based tax regime that ties the size of the incentive to a product’s life cycle score.”

The Turkish government is continuing to ban business aircraft from using the country’s airspace for flights to and from Armenia. According to the OpsGroup, the ban remains in force even after officials rescinded an earlier ban on Armenian airline Flyone that was imposed in May, forcing one of its aircraft flying from Paris to the capital Yerevan to make an emergency landing in Chisinau, Moldova.

The OpsGroup said that Turkey has not issued notams confirming the unexplained ban on private aircraft en route to Armenia. However, the group’s members have reported that some aircraft operators have been obliged to make tech stops in neighboring Georgia.

Turkish officials have yet to explain why the business aviation community is being singled out. The initial ban was in response to the installation of the Nemesis Monument in Yerevan, commemorating the 1921 killings of Ottoman Empire officials considered to be responsible for the murder of an estimated one million Armenians in 1915, which 31 countries have recognized as genocide.

Meanwhile, EASA this week extended and updated its Conflict Zone Information Bulletin covering risks to aircraft operating in Israeli airspace during the conflict with Hamas and Hezbollah forces in Gaza and Lebanon, respectively. The bulletin does not recommend closure of the airspace to civil traffic and advises operators to keep following the guidance of Israeli authorities.

Banyan Air Service, the largest FBO at Florida’s Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport (KFXE), has been chosen by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as the exclusive provider of the agency’s reimbursable services program (RSP) at the airfield.

CBP at KFXE is normally available from 8 a.m. until midnight, and the RSP allows Banyan to arrange after-hours customs clearance on behalf of late-arriving business jet customers. It also eliminates the need for customers to make an interim stop to clear customs as they arrive in the U.S.

The FBO—which is open 24/7—offers a full slate of services for general aviation customers, ranging from ground handling and fueling to maintenance and one of the largest pilot shops. The addition of RSP serves to enhance its offerings, according to Jon Tonko, the company’s v-p of FBO services.

“This partnership highlights our dedication to offering exceptional services to our clients and facilitating their travel experience,” he said. “By collaborating with U.S. Customs and Border [Protection], we can ensure a seamless and efficient customs clearance process for international passengers.”

Comlux’s completion center in Indianapolis has taken delivery of the third ACJ TwoTwenty from Airbus, the Zurich-based company said Thursday. The exclusive partner of Airbus for the ACJ TwoTwenty cabin, Comlux Completion expects delivery of the fourth aircraft, now under assembly, “in the near future.”

Airbus Corporate Jets partnered with Comlux on the TwoTwenty program in 2020, when the luxury jet specialist won the rights to design, certify, and install cabin interiors of the first 15 jets. 

The partners believe the market can absorb six TwoTwenty jets per year in the near term. While completions take roughly eight months, the production and certification method requires a dramatically different approach from that employed for one-off VIP interiors. Every part must carry airframe-specific identification (identical coffee makers, for example, cannot be swapped among aircraft), for which Comlux had to develop a new parts labeling process,

“After the first delivered ACJ TwoTwenty from our Completion Center in Indianapolis earlier this year, we are starting the ramp-up in our production to satisfy the customer demand for this fantastic product,” said Arnaud Martin, CEO of Comlux 2Twenty Ltd. “We target between four and six ACJ TwoTwenties in the coming years from Comlux Completion in Indianapolis.”

Air ambulance provider Life Flight Network (LFN) is adding three Bell helicopters to its fleet, bringing the total number of the OEM’s aircraft it operates to 32—five Bell 429 light twins and 27 Bell 407 singles. The new helicopters include two Bell 407GXis and one 429. The 407s have already joined the fleet, and the 429 will be delivered in December. LFN COO Michael Weimer said the new helicopters deliver “the cabin space and speed our crews require to provide life-saving medical care to our patients.”

LFN is the largest not-for-profit air medical program in the U.S. and the largest air medical operator of Bell helicopters in the Pacific Northwest and Intermountain West. Since 1978, LFN has grown to 29 helicopter bases, 10 fixed-wing bases, and two neonatal and pediatric bases across Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana; it is the largest air medical operator in the region.

“This year, Life Flight Network celebrates 45 years of operations, and Bell is honored to support their incredible history of providing critical care transport,” said Lane Evans, Bell director, North America sales.

Bell has produced more than 1,600 407s, and the fleet has logged six million flight hours. The new 407GXi is equipped with Garmin G1000H NXi avionics and is IFR-certified.

Flight support provider Universal Weather and Aviation has established a partnership with business aviation software creator Portside to develop an advanced mission management application for the industry. Seamlessly integrated into Portside’s range of scheduling solutions, it offers a comprehensive set of global mission planning and management capabilities. By enhancing operational efficiencies, it promises to streamline international mission management processes and save time.

The companies have worked together in the past, notably with the integration of Universal's Feasibility-IQ application with Portside’s BART scheduling software and Universal’s trip support data into Portside’s PFM scheduling platform.

Their new application will be available by subscription to international operators doing their own trip planning, and it will become the primary platform used by Universal's trip-support division for managing missions.

Guido Groeschel, Universal’s executive v-p for digital product management, expressed his excitement about collaborating once again with Portside. However, he noted that his company remains agnostic in terms of integration partners and will engage with any digital solution provider its customers prefer.

“We support more international missions than any other provider, so our customers use a variety of different scheduling platforms,” he said. “Our focus continues to be innovation and integration—including making our digital trip planning and feasibility tools accessible to all of the different platforms our customers use.”