Global asset management firm Apollo Funds has acquired a majority share in FBO chain Modern Aviation from Tiger Infrastructure Partners.

Founded in 2018, Modern made an immediate splash with the acquisition of the former XJet FBO at Denver Centennial Airport. It followed that up with the agreement to purchase all five of Sheltair’s New York-area locations in 2021. With its rapid growth, the company now has 16 locations in the U.S. and Caribbean.

“We’ve been pleased to work collaboratively with the Modern management team for over six years,” said Tiger senior managing director Adam Emmert. “It has been rewarding for us to help Modern grow from a single location into one of the leaders in the U.S. FBO industry.”

Apollo focuses on mid-market businesses and assets with key areas of investment including energy transition, digital infrastructure, supply chain, and sustainability. The company and its affiliated entities have deployed more than $12 billion into the aviation industry. As part of this latest transaction, Tiger along with Modern’s management team will reinvest alongside the Apollo funds.

“Modern Aviation is known for its excellent client service and has built a strong infrastructure network with clear growth prospects across new and existing locations,” said Apollo partner Dave Cohen. “We look forward to leveraging our deep experience investing in infrastructure and aviation assets to help the company execute on its strategic plans.”

The pedigree or foundation is fundamental to anything one wants to become associated with. It could be a house, a building, or a business. Will it be a good fit? Will it add value to your portfolio? Is it resellable? Can it enhance your asset base?

Now let’s talk about how the last few years in the preowned business aircraft market might have taken the eye off the pedigree ball and what this might become as a differentiating factor going forward for our fleets. When prospects hire us to acquire an aircraft, we set up very rigid criteria for the search.

It always starts with pedigree. Who owns it? Has the owner provided for the best maintenance and operational excellence? How many owners has the airplane had?

Next, we dig deeper into the maintenance and the history. Has there been any damage, and to what severity? A further hard look is taken for repairs and any nonstandard reoccurring inspections because of the repairs. Where in the world was the airplane operated? On and on with questions that help us differentiate the good ones from the mediocre ones—or even the ones we must stay away from.

Starting with the pandemic and the surge of first-time buyers who seemed set on capturing 100 percent bonus depreciation, our available inventory was worn totally thin.

The U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has clarified Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) guidance for outbound international travel, NBAA reported. Under the revised guidance, CBP explains that crews should retransmit manifest data when changes are anticipated such as traveler additions or substitutions, tail number alterations, or time adjustments that exceed a 60-minute window.

Further, NBAA advised, operators should contact the local CBP port to cancel the original clearance and to confirm the updated manifest. Operators should still retransmit manifest data even after CBP business hours but then call to confirm or explain the changes once a port reopens.

The CBP clarified to NBAA that it expects operators to wait 60 minutes before departing unless they receive clearance, the association said, but noted the agency may be able to expedite approval if a flight had already been vetted. However, in cases of emergency necessitating immediate departures, operators should be ready to document the purpose of the flight, such as air medical.

“The industry has long asked for greater standardization among ports. The update will ensure that both sides of the coin—flight crews and customs officers—understand expectations,” said NBAA director of flight operations and regulations Brian Koester.

Registration remains open for the EBAA’s Annual Safety Summit, featuring an update on the business aviation group’s Data4Safety initiative. The event runs from November 14 to 15 and is being held in Cologne, Germany, where EASA is headquartered.

EBAA promises “a master class in the future of flight safety” focused on the proactive adoption of safety practices for business aircraft operations. According to the Brussels-based group, participants will have the chance to “unravel the complexities of data management and learn how to safeguard their operations against the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats."

The summit’s agenda also features sessions on initial and recurrent training for pilots, condition monitoring, and medical flight safety. Other topical items include GPS spoofing, runway incursions, fatigue management, circling approaches, and how to balance sustainability objectives with safe operations.

Among the speakers at the EBAA summit will be officials from EASA, IBAC, and the Flight Safety Foundation. There will also be experts from member companies such as Luxaviation, Climax Aviation, Bombardier, Jet Aviation, TAG Aviation, VistaJet, MedAire, and Shell Corporate Aircraft.

Global aircraft charter broker and trip support provider Chapman Freeborn has signed a partnership with business aviation sustainability solutions provider 4Air, which will provide carbon offset options to Chapman Freeborn’s U.S. customers.

4Air assists aviation organizations by calculating the environmental impact of their flights and offering them methods to counter it. Through this agreement, Chapman Freeborn’s U.S. clients will have the ability to opt into this service and have monthly reports of their flights generated. Each report will then be provided to 4Air for calculation of the flight's total carbon emissions.

“By opting in, Chapman Freeborn’s clients can travel knowing their flight activity is offset through verified projects that reduce carbon emissions elsewhere or through the use of sustainable aviation fuel which reduces lifecycle emissions in-sector,” said 4Air COO Nancy Bsales.

Customers will receive an annual emissions report that details the emission certificates that have been purchased and retired on their behalf. “The aviation sector has a significant challenging task in reducing its impacts by 2050 and the Chapman Freeborn Group [sees] this partnership with 4Air as the first small, but important, step in taking responsibility in reducing both our impacts and those of our clients,” explained Lee Fletcher, the broker’s environmental and sustainability manager.

Supply-chain woes continue to adversely impact offshore helicopter operators, according to a notice recently issued by the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers’ (IOGP) aviation subcommittee (ASC). In a recent IOGP ASC safety notice to members, the organization branded the situation as “serious and deteriorating,” saying it presented “significant safety and operational risks.”

While the problems were particularly acute with regard to the Sikorsky S-92, the ASC said the situation pervaded the entire industry. But the S-92, with its unique capacity to carry 19 passengers and service deepwater clients, drew the majority of the ASC’s attention based on operator surveys.

Data from the three largest civil S-92 operators—Bristow, CHC, and PHI, which together account for 61 percent of the fleet—revealed that 20 aircraft (13 percent of the fleet) are AOG while waiting for replacement main gearboxes. Three other operators reported another 11 S-92s are also AOG.

The overall AOG number is likely to double by the end of 2024 given Sikorsky’s low aircraft production rates—it delivered just four S-92s last year.

Overall fleet dispatch reliability now hovers at 80 percent for the S-92, as opposed to the industry average of 96 percent. The situation has triggered a variety of adverse maintenance practices, according to the ASC. This includes parts cannibalization, which is up by 50 percent to 106 percent.

Bombardier’s annual Safety Standdown, set for November 7 to 9 in Wichita, is marking its 27th iteration and pivots around the theme of "integrity in safety."

Chris Milligan, v-p of pre-owned aircraft services and flight operations at Bombardier and the head of the Safety Standdown event, explained the conceptual evolution from prior themes. He told AIN that this year’s event emphasizes "ensuring that we do the right thing even when it's behind closed doors.”

Milligan added, “We always strive to reach the highest ethics in operations. Aiming to achieve integrity in safety, we can ensure that safety is always the overriding driver of every decision we make.”

Originating 27 years ago from a Bombardier Learjet flight demonstration team passionate about human factors and safety training, the event saw rapid growth due to the industry's broad interest. By 1999, it was no longer just a Bombardier-focused event but one that embraced the entire aviation industry. "It didn't resonate with just the pilots. It was everybody working together for the overall safety of an operation," Milligan said.

To date, approximately 10,000 people from varied backgrounds—corporate, commercial, and military aviation professionals—have been impacted by the Safety Standdown. The physical event in Wichita anticipates a full house of more than 400 participants, and there will also be a livestream webcast.

Titan Aviation Fuels has reached a milestone as it passed the 600th member of its branded FBO dealer network. Over the past year alone, the North Carolina-based company added 35 locations.

Aptly demonstrating Titan’s coast-to-coast reach, its latest FBO customers include Dolphin Aviation at Florida’s Sarasota/Bradenton International Airport (KSRQ) and Guardian Jet Center, the lone service provider at Ontario International Airport (KONT) in California.

Family-owned Titan was founded in 1975 as Eastern Aviation Fuels before being renamed in 2018. In addition to its branded FBO network, the company supplies more than 2,000 locations globally. It has also developed a full array of non-fuel support services, including a customer loyalty program, aviation card processing, contract fuel, equipment leasing and financing, quality control training, and aviation insurance.

“Surpassing 600 branded FBOs is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our entire team and the trust our FBO partners have placed in us,” said Titan president Robbie Stallings. “We are committed to continuing our path of growth, innovation, and sustainability, and we look forward to serving our FBO network with the same level of customer service they have come to expect.”