Despite the Tension, Bizav Traffic To Hong Kong Is Strong
Despite the protests in Hong Kong that have garnered headlines since June, business aviation travel there has not been drastically affected, according to the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre (HKBAC), the lone FBO on the field, which has seen only minimal erosion. “Surprisingly, our movements haven’t changed much, and I can say it’s business as usual,” noted Minnie Kan, the company’s head of business development.
She told AIN that the facility saw double-digit growth last year over 2017, and that this past August, during the height of the unrest, which saw the airport actually closed for one day due to protests, business aviation traffic (which makes up better-than 90 percent of HKBAC’s clientele) was actually up year-over-year for the month.
“We found that the government and airport authority found ways to maintain the smooth operation of the airport and indeed they keep in very close communication with the stakeholders,” said Kan.
She attributes an overall decline in the region’s business aviation traffic to economic worries. “It dropped a lot in some Chinese cities because of the overall economic downturn or the China-U.S. trade war tensions, but still in Hong Kong, we maintained the level of 2018,” Kan said. “The demand is still there, and they still try to get the slots that they want.”
AINsight: Limiting Risk as Liability Insurance Tightens
If you think you can call your insurance broker and secure aircraft insurance just days before you close an aircraft purchase or renew liability coverage, think again. Insurance companies have changed the underwriting game after more than a decade of losing money.
In the last two years, many underwriters have exited aviation insurance while the remaining carriers have tightened up underwriting standards, reduced coverage limits, and increased premiums for liability coverage. These changes have impacted nearly all insureds in some fashion, including many receiving invoices with substantial premium increases. Worse still, owner/pilots and single-pilot aircraft have nearly run out of gas in finding adequate or any liability insurance coverage.
This tightening aircraft insurance market requires aircraft owners and operators to allow significant lead time to search for insurance when buying an aircraft or renewing existing policies. In addition, legal entity structuring and contractual agreements designed to mitigate the risk of personal liability have become more important as insurance underwriters clamp down.
Skyservice Business Aviation, one of Canada’s largest industry service providers, has expanded its MRO footprint with the acquisition of Muskoka Aircraft Center, an approved maintenance organization (AMO) in Gravenhurst, Ontario. The purchase includes a 60,000-sq-ft hangar at 24-hour Muskoka Airport, and a Canadian Customs Airport of Entry that, with its 6,000-foot runway, can handle any business jet or narrowbody commercial airliner. The facility—which will supplement Skyservice’s existing maintenance operations in Toronto, Montreal, and Calgary—services corporate, regional, and commercial aircraft.
“With more than 35 years of expertise in maintenance services, our highly skilled team is looking forward to delivering a world-class customer experience in the Muskoka area,” said Skyservice president and CEO Emlyn David. “The Muskoka location is a one-stop-shop for all aircraft needs, with safety and service excellence at the forefront.”
The company carries authorized service facility designations from several OEMs—including Bombardier, Gulfstream Aerospace, Dassault Falcon, and Honda Aircraft—and performs maintenance and warranty work for its own managed aircraft fleet, as well as those from other operators.
Facing Scrutiny 'From Everywhere,' FAA Looks To Adapt
The FAA, which has come under intense scrutiny in the wake of the Boeing Max crashes, has been taking a close review of its procedures to find ways to improve its approach, Timothy Shaver, director of the agency’s Office of Safety Standards, said this week at the 2019 NATA Aviation Leadership Conference. “This is probably one of the most challenging periods we’ve faced in a while. There’s a lot of scrutiny from everywhere. It’s really made us retrospective in our views,” he noted.
According to Shaver, the FAA is “truly looking back” at its policies and procedures and how it does business. “We are finding areas where we can improve…we’re excited to be able to bring in some of those changes,” he said. From the Flight Standards perspective, this includes the continuation of its multi-year reorganization effort that is redistributing staff to be better functionally focused and more fully implement policies.
But Shaver also acknowledged that limited staffing in a face of growing workload has presented challenges. The FAA also is considering a number of options to better balance its workload including “looking at designee programs, what we can delegate, and how we delegate it.” He stressed that it still requires oversight. “We are approaching it gingerly but we do realize there are things we have to do” to enable industry to continue to progress.
Blade Per-seat Helicopter Service Comes To L.A. Market
Per-seat helicopter booking service Blade is expanding into the Los Angeles metro market, with service between downtown and the Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Westside, Orange County, and Burbank, the company announced late last week. Blade said flights to downtown Los Angeles will be scheduled for hockey and basketball games, marquee concerts, and other events at the Staples Center. Prices begin at $195 per passenger. Blade’s L.A. operations use Airbus H130s and will follow noise abatement routes, altitudes, and best practices, the company said.
"The H130 is the perfect aircraft for this type of mission thanks to its comfort, efficiency, and environmental standards, as it's the quietest in its class,” said Romain Trapp, president of Airbus Helicopters, Inc. Airbus Helicopters is an investor in Blade.
"Since expanding our continuous flight service in Manhattan and San Francisco, we are seeing faster-than-expected adoption by people choosing to fly rather than drive,” said Blade West Coast general manager Shivani Parikh. “Los Angeles is at the forefront of embracing multi-modality transportation options.”
Similar to Blade service at New York’s JFK airport, Los Angeles customers can opt to be escorted on the tarmac from the helicopter to their American Airlines flight (and vice versa) with that carrier’s Five Star Service, which can be purchased via the Blade app or website by choosing “American add-on."
Vegas Hangar Complex Full Ahead of Opening
Ahead of its anticipated completion in February, a new hangar complex rising at Las Vegas-area Henderson Executive Airport (HND) is now fully leased. Scheduled to open in spring 2020, the facility, which will cater largely to the owner-flown aircraft sector, consists of 25 separate hangars—16 T-hangars that can accommodate small aircraft such as a Daher TBM or Citation Mustang and nine larger 4,500-sq-ft box hangars able to fit up to midsize business jets such as a Hawker 800.
Developed in a partnership between aircraft sales, rental, and Cirrus flight training provider All In Aviation and Part 145 aircraft maintenance company Lone Mountain Aviation, the complex—the first purpose-built, multi-use aviation facility at HND—will also include a 22,000-sq-ft maintenance hangar/two-story office building with 9,000 sq ft of office space, five training rooms, a classroom, library, conference room, avionics workshop, pilot shop, and parts department.
“When we realized we could fill a general aviation need for the South Valley area, we began working on what would become a multi-year project,” said All In Aviation founder and president Paul Sallach. “Now we are proud to announce our hangar space is 100 percent preleased, three months prior to opening our doors.”
UPS Drones Making Pharmacy Deliveries
UPS Flight Forward (UPSFF) has made its first commercial residential drone deliveries using a Matternet M2 drone in cooperation with CVS Pharmacies, the company announced this week. The deliveries were made from a CVS pharmacy in Cary, North Carolina, last Friday and delivered to customers’ homes.
The drones flew autonomously but were monitored by a remote operator who could intervene if necessary. The drone hovered about 20 feet over the properties and slowly lowered the packages by a cable and a winch to the ground. One of the packages was delivered to a CVS customer whose limited mobility makes it difficult to travel to a store to pick up a prescription.
UPSFF was awarded a Part 135 certificate by the FAA in September. “We now have an opportunity to offer different drone delivery solutions, tailored to meet customer needs for speed and convenience,” said Scott Price, UPS chief strategy and transformation officer. “Delivering prescriptions by drone directly to homes could greatly improve the patient experience for CVS customers. We’re delighted to build new services that will shatter preconceived notions of how, when, and where goods can be delivered.”
Bye Aero, Oxis To Boost Electric Aircraft Flight Times
Bye Aerospace and Oxis Energy have begun a 12-month collaborative program to develop lithium-sulfur (Li-S) batteries they believe will allow electric aircraft to fly between 50 to 100 percent longer on a single charge. Development work will involve both ground and flight testing of Oxis’ Li-S batteries on Bye’s existing eFlyer prototype.
According to UK-based Oxis, its Li-S technology will deliver a twofold decrease in the weight of batteries due to having a higher gravimetric energy density (in excess of 500 Wh/kg at 20Ah capacity) than lithium-ion batteries. This will result in increased flight durations, it claims.
The partners said today that Oxis energy cells and modules will be evaluated against the projected performance of both Bye’s existing eFlyer 2 and 4, as well as new models that the U.S. manufacturer intends to announce “soon.” The eFlyer aircraft are both fixed-wing, single-motor designs being developed for certification under FAR Part 23 rules.
According to Oxis, the development agreement with Bye does not prevent it from working with other aircraft developers. Oxis said it is already in contact with developers of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and expects to make further announcements “in the coming weeks.”
AIN is developing a 14-part series of articles and infographics that speak to “Tomorrow’s Aviation Challenges.” Drawing on the knowledge base of experts at Honeywell Aerospace, AIN will explore a variety of topics over the coming weeks, including safety in the world of autonomous flight, harnessing the power of big data, beyond the 2020 ADS-B mandate, and reducing pilot fatigue to increase productivity and safety.
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