Bombardier Debt Climbs, Deliveries Drop during Covid

The Covid-19 pandemic continued to take its toll on Bombardier as deliveries fell seven units, to 24, in the third quarter. Bombardier further has taken roughly a $2.25 billion hit on liquidity, putting it in a position to be $4.5 billion in debt after it sheds its remaining non-business aviation activities. Releasing the company’s third-quarter results this morning, Bombardier president and CEO Eric Martel noted the “broad and deep impact on the global economy and in our industry,” but said he sees stabilization for now.

On the positive side, Bombardier’s business aircraft revenues climbed 10 percent in the most recent three months, to $1.225 billion, thanks to the delivery of eight Global 7500s. That delivery number is anticipated to grow to 12 in the fourth quarter.

In the third quarter, Bombardier delivered 13 Globals, nine Challengers, and two Learjets versus nine Globals, 17 Challengers, and five Learjets a year ago. For the first nine months, Bombardier delivered 31 Globals, 32 Challengers, and seven Learjets, down from 33 Globals, 48 Challengers, and nine Learjets in the same period last year.

As for the pandemic costs, Martel conceded that Bombardier is facing $4.5 billion in net debt next year, far greater than the $2.5 billion originally anticipated. He promised to take aggressive steps to address that, with details to be forthcoming early next year.

India’s First True FBO Opens in Delhi

India’s first FBO—located at Delhi International Airport (DIAL)—has finally opened, the facility confirmed this week. Contracted in 2016 to two companies—Bird ExecuJet Airport Services (Dubai) and Indamer MJets (Thailand) Airport Services—the 550-sq-m (6,000-sq-ft) terminal was much smaller than originally planned. In fact, it was initially considered to be a temporary facility until a larger building could be built. The terminal and two hangars cost about $7 million.

The FBO has a common lounge that can accommodate up to 50 people, a crew lounge, shower facilities, and amenities such as a food and beverage counter. There is also a small retail area with duty-free shopping. Fifty-five aircraft can be parked on the 65,000-sq-m apron.

“The present facility has a capacity to handle 100 flights a day,” Indamer MJets managing director Rajeev Gupta told AIN. Due to the pandemic, business remains slow at 60 percent of the level that Bird ExecuJet did last year, explained Bird CEO Anurag Srivastava. It currently handles 20 to 25 domestic movements a day and Indamer around 10, while international flights have become almost nonexistent in the Covid era. Customs and immigration officials are on call for international business aviation arrivals.

Dierks Bentley Returns To Headline VBACE

Multi-platinum singer/songwriter and private pilot Dierks Bentley is returning to NBAA as a keynote convention speaker, but this time virtually. Bentley, who appeared on the mainstage at NBAA-BACE in 2015, will be the opening keynote for this year’s NBAA GO Virtual Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (VBACE).

Scheduled to speak at 1 p.m. EST on Wednesday, December 2, Bentley will present a “'free-and-easy’ keynote that will have a vibe characteristic of the overall event, which has a single, game-changing aim: bring people together, in an industry that thrives on connection,” NBAA said.

Bentley’s 2015 address turned into a convention highlight; NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said he was “one of the best speakers we’ve ever had. He just walked out and spoke from the heart about what being a pilot meant to him. His passion and emotion reverberated throughout the crowd.”

While held virtually on December 2 and 3, VBACE is designed as an interactive, immersive event that will house many of the elements found in NBAA’s on-location BACE, including keynotes, educational sessions, and press conferences. As for the hallmark of BACE—the convention floor—the event will host some 200 exhibitor booths that will be presented virtually in 3D animation.

LA Sheriff Uses Helicopters To Deliver Ballots

In California, this year's U.S. presidential election results were up in the air—literally. On election night (November 3), the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department began using its helicopter fleet to securely deliver ballot boxes to the county registrar in Norwalk.

Sheriff Alex Villanueva said the ballot airlift was part of his department’s efforts to provide election security. “We just want everyone to know and respect everyone’s right to vote and not to interfere with the voting process,” he said. Ballot boxes were transported to and loaded on department helicopters by deputies on the night of November 3 at several heliports throughout the county.

Founded in 1926 with five volunteer fixed-wing pilots, today the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department Aero Bureau is based at Long Beach and patrols an area of 1,500 sq mi. It is the largest helicopter unit operated by any U.S. sheriff's department and operates a mixed fleet of 18 Airbus H125 and AS332 helicopters.

Dubai Sees Strong Bizav Recovery

Private aviation traffic at Dubai World Central-Al Maktoum International Airport has experienced a strong rebound since July, according to the Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA). Despite the challenge of the Covid-19 pandemic, aircraft movements during the third quarter at the VIP terminal in the airport’s Mohammed bin Rashid Aerospace Hub (MBRAH) saw double-digit growth, bringing them to 93 percent of the total from third-quarter 2019. After an initial plunge in April, the numbers began climbing until they surpassed the previous year’s total over the summer months.

With the UAE easing travel restrictions, the sector saw increases in usage from medical and business-related travel, from high-net-worth passengers and holiday trips. The VIP terminal houses three FBOs and has onsite PCR Covid testing facilities, which have enhanced air traffic through the facility. Aviation-related activities currently represent more than a quarter of Dubai’s GDP.

“By analyzing the numbers, it's reassuring to see the return of private jet travel given the circumstance we are all experiencing,” said MBRAH CEO Tahnoon Saif. “Dubai has always been a business and vacation destination for the world and measures taken by the UAE government as a whole, and the VIP terminal at [MBRAH] in specific, have only reinforced the commitment to the sector, cushioning VIP traveler movement and reinforcing visits to Dubai, as well as outbound international trips.”

Pilatus PC-12 NGX Flight Training Device Gets FAA Nod

The first FAA level-6 flight training device (FTD) for the new Pilatus PC-12 NGX is now available for pilot training at Simcom’s facility in Scottsdale, Arizona, the companies announced yesterday. Built by Frasca International, the FTD was delivered to Simcom—Pilatus’s factory-approved training provider—earlier this summer and has been undergoing evaluation and testing, culminating in the recent FAA approval.

The device replicates the Pilatus Advanced Cockpit Environment (ACE)—based on the Honeywell Primus Epic 2.0 avionics system—and features the new touchscreen avionics controller, single power control lever, and autothrottle system on PC-12 NGX. It also incorporates Frasca’s 220-degree spherical display system.

In addition to the FTD, Honeywell has produced several training videos for the PC-12 NGX that can be viewed through the Honeywell Pilot Gateway. These learning tools can be used by PC-12 NGX pilots before initial training and also as a refresher to maintain proficiency.

A second PC-12 NGX FTD is currently under construction and will go into service in Europe next year, according to Pilatus Aircraft.

Maverick Is Launch Customer for Spidertracks FDM

Maverick Helicopters will be the launch customer for Spidertracks’s Insights virtual flight data recorder technology on its Spider X. Announced at Heli-Expo 2020, Spider X is billed as an affordable “plug and play” solution for flight data monitoring. 

“The same barriers exist today in flight data monitoring that existed in tracking when we started. Our latest evolution, Insights, aims to bridge the gap and break down those barriers by utilizing data captured on Spider X to calculate safety events that indicate high-risk maneuvers, and deliver it in a simple and easy format,” said Spidertracks CEO Dave Backwell. 

The company notes that Insights not only enables aircraft owners and operators to see where, but how their aircraft are flying. Spider X collects aircraft data including heading, roll, pitch, yaw, airspeed, vertical speed, altitude, and exceedances and then delivers it wirelessly to the Spidertracks platform.

Maverick Helicopters flies air tours in Las Vegas and Hawaii with a fleet of Airbus H130s logging more than 250,000 passengers annually. “We’re looking forward to more data and information from our aircraft and seeing the benefit for our business and its operations and also highlighting areas where there may be inefficiencies,” noted John Mandernach, Maverick regional partner. “The potential is endless.”

House Bill Calls For Aviation Health Emergencies Plan

Hoping to build on lessons learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, House aviation subcommittee chairman Rick Larsen (D-Washington) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia) jointly introduced a bill calling for a national aviation preparedness plan in case of future health emergencies.

The National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act of 2020, H.R.8712, would require the U.S. Department of Transportation to collaborate with other government agencies to develop a national plan that would prepare the aviation industry for future communicable disease outbreaks. In addition to working with the Departments of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services, among others, the DOT would consult with the U.S. aviation industry, labor unions, and other key aviation stakeholders on the plan. Further, the bill would require a Government Accountability Office (GAO) assessment of the plan.

This bill builds on the Healthy Flights Act of 2020 that Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) introduced this past summer, laying out requirements for airline passengers, certain airline employees, and other aviation workers to meet during epidemics and pandemics involving the use of masks and other preventative measures.

The Covid-19 pandemic has underscored an “urgent need for a national aviation preparedness plan to ensure the safety of aviation crews, employees, and passengers and restore confidence in air travel,” said Larsen. “This bill will bring federal agencies, frontline aviation workers, and other key stakeholders to the table to develop a clear, comprehensive plan of action for future outbreaks.”