Launching this year’s Bombardier Safety Standdown today, Convergent Performance founder Tony Kern brought his unique perspective to a packed audience of business aviation professionals. Wearing a shiny suit that looked like something George Jetson would have worn during the animated television show of the 1960s, Kern claimed to have beamed into the Standdown from the future, showing up on the stage at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Wichita, to pass along warnings about what’s happening in business aviation safety.

Business aviation is facing a critical moment, Kern noted, with many professionals poised to retire and preparing to relinquish their roles to younger generations. “We are undergoing a huge, massive handoff,” he said.

“Safety concerns are increasing because of our business aviation accident rates,” Kern said. “Staffing issues are critical. It’s tough right now getting good people, getting any people.

“The only time you get bad pilots is when you need them really bad. We have to be careful of our standards. As wisdom ages out, the experience base, the wisdom, and the judgment of that group needs to be picked up faster.”

Kern also pointed out that mental health problems are “cancers of the mind” that we need to address, both by inoculating against them and asking for help. “If you get cancer and don’t seek help, you die. We have to be ready for action.”

Million Air will embark on a $5 million renovation of its FBO terminal at Utah’s St. George Regional Airport (KSGU). The facility is the newest location under Freeman Holdings, the largest franchisee in the 37-location chain.

Set to begin in February, the project will expand the 8,300-sq-ft, two-story building by 5,500 sq ft, and will include the addition of a full-service café with balcony and outdoor seating offering a view of the flight line and the surrounding scenery, as well as a coffee and refreshment bar in the remodeled lobby, an upgraded pilot lounge and snooze rooms, and a dedicated flight planning area. In addition, it will offer shower facilities, a theater room, an audio/video-equipped conference room, and a training room. The FBO will continue to operate from the terminal during the eight-month reconstruction, serving general aviation, business aviation, and military traffic at KSGU, which features a 9,300-foot runway.

Since it took over the 20-acre facility just north of the commercial terminal this past summer, Million Air has invested in upgrading the ground service equipment with new 5,000-gallon and 3,000-gallon jet-A refuelers, an aircraft tug, GPU, potable water cart, and lavatory cart. The FBO also includes 14,000 sq ft of hangar space.

“With these enhancements, we aim to set a new standard for excellence at the airport and offer a welcoming environment for all those who pass through our doors,” said Freeman Holdings Group CEO Scott Freeman.

The business aircraft management market is fragmented and ripe for mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a panel of charter/management leaders said this morning at Corporate Jet Investor (CJI) Miami 2023. “There’s lots of room for growth in the aircraft management business,” noted Skyservice president and CEO Ben Murray. “But it’s still fragmented,” he added, meaning this segment is likely to continue seeing M&A activity in 2024.

While he is “not hunting” to buy other charter/management companies, Priester Aviation chairman and CEO Andy Priester said he is always on the lookout for family-owned companies whose principal is seeking to exit. “We offer a family culture that aligns better with these aircraft management companies. For owners, it feels better than private equity or other [more corporate] options. It’s a better cultural fit.”

Airshare president and CEO John Owen likewise said his company is “not hunting” for acquisitions and was initially not even interested in buying the aircraft management arm of Wheels Up—a deal that closed last month and tripled Airshare’s managed fleet. “After we looked further at the individual management firms that Wheels Up bought, it became apparent that it was a good cultural fit,” he said. “It was unexpected, but it worked out. The integration is going very well because of the cultural fit.”

Despite the pace of M&A activity, Priester believes the aircraft management market will always be fragmented because there will always be “in-house pilots managing aircraft for owners—the bond between pilots and owners is a hard one to break.”

Textron Aviation has secured a significant contract with the U.S. Army Contracting Command, stationed at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, for the provision of various turboprop aircraft models under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program. The contract, an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) agreement, could potentially be valued at $100 million over five years. This arrangement will supply Textron Aviation aircraft, including the Cessna SkyCourier, Cessna Grand Caravan EX, and Beechcraft King Air models.

The first order under this contract includes three Beechcraft King Air 360 Extended Range (KA360ER) aircraft. The Peruvian Naval Aviation Force and the Ecuadorian Naval Aviation are the designated recipients, with Peru acquiring two units and Ecuador one. These aircraft will primarily serve maritime patrol duties, safeguarding the exclusive economic zones of these nations.

Bob Gibbs, Textron Aviation's v-p of special mission sales, emphasized the contract's alignment with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's directive to streamline and expedite the Department of Defense's FMS case execution processes. “This IDIQ…will provide highly capable commercial off-the-shelf [COTS] aircraft that can be equipped with COTS-releasable technology, and it will accelerate acquisition and contracting timelines from many months or years to weeks,” Gibbs said.

Textron Aviation designs and manufactures aircraft for a wide array of special missions. These include air ambulance services, ISR, utility transport, aerial survey, flight inspection, and training.

Flexjet has received authorization to offer helicopter flights from Florida to the Bahamas in time for the winter peak travel season, which begins in the next few weeks. The service follows proving flights Flexjet conducted in August for authorization for services to the Bahamas, with an eye on being able to roll the operations out by the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday.

The service builds on Flexjet's helicopter operation, which the company formally established in 2022 with a fleet of Sikorsky S-76s. Flexjet said it formed the helicopter division to offer its fractional jet owners “first- and last-mile transport” but added that the helicopters have also been available for on-demand charter in the U.S. Northeast, Florida, and the UK.

“As people move their residences to Florida for the season, demand for our Florida helicopter service will increase, including travel from Florida to the Bahamas," said Eli Flint, president of Flexjet’s helicopter division. "With our authorization in place, those trips to the Bahamas can happen…on their schedule. We have already identified tailored landing zones in areas important to our customers.”

Flexjet said the S-76 is ideal for overwater flights since its twin engines, high cruise speed, and long-range capability allow it to connect Miami to the Bimini islands of the Bahamas in approximately 25 minutes. The S-76s seat up to eight passengers and have 38 cu ft of baggage capacity.

Rotor Technologies has completed an extensive flight campaign with its experimental R220Y autonomous helicopters. This initiative, according to Rotor, represents the first time a full-scale civilian helicopter has been flown autonomously.

The R220Y, developed from the Robinson R22, underwent extensive modifications. Traditional pilot interfaces have been replaced with Rotor’s advanced automation technology, allowing all flight operations to be conducted without onboard human intervention.

The two R220Y helicopters completed more than 20 hours of autonomous flight—along with over 80 hours of engine operation—throughout the campaign. These test flights were crucial in validating the effectiveness of Rotor’s autonomous flight control systems, which include innovative hover and velocity control modes, as well as vision-based perception systems. The aircraft demonstrated its capacity for long-distance travel, testing long-range radio and cellular LTE communications.

Hector Xu, founder and CEO of Rotor, expressed confidence in the technology's progression towards fully autonomous operations. “Our AI pilot system is already expert-level at tasks like precision flight control and navigation in poor visibility conditions, and we’re increasing its capabilities every day,” said Xu.

Rotor has set its sights on the commercial viability of this technology with the forthcoming R550X, a larger uncrewed utility helicopter. Built on the foundation of the Robinson R44 Raven II, the R550X aims to offer substantial payload capabilities and extended flight endurance.

Bombardier on Monday announced a cash tender offer for certain outstanding senior notes and plans to issue new senior notes due in 2030, as well as offer redemption of some senior notes due in 2025. This comes in the wake of the company last week during its third-quarter overview projecting revenue guidance of $7.63 billion this year, up from $6.9 billion in 2022. It also said net income was in the black at $275 million for the first three quarters versus a net loss of $369 million from the year-ago period.

The tender offer calls for Bombardier to accept for purchase for cash up to $110 million of outstanding notes, including some at 7.125 percent due in 2026 (up to $75 million) and the rest at 7.875 percent due in 2027 (up to $35 million). Bombardier subsequently raised the aggregate maximum from $110 million to $360 million, the 2026 tender cap from $75 million to $200 million, and the 2027 tender cap from $35 million to $160 million. The offer expires at 5 p.m. on Dec. 6, 2023.

Bombardier plans to finance the tender offer cash with the offering of new senior notes, with an aggregate principal amount of $500 million due in 2030. This money will also enable the company to fund the redemption of all the 7.5 percent senior notes due in 2025, at a $380 million aggregate principal amount.