A confluence of events caused Gulfstream G700 deliveries to lag by 11 units in the third quarter, according to Phebe Novakovic, the chairman and CEO of Gulfstream Aerospace parent General Dynamics. As a result, planned overall Gulfstream deliveries this year have been contracted from 160 to 150 as forecast G700 shipments fall from 52 to 42. In the first nine months, the company handed over 89 jets (76 large cabins and 13 super-midsize G280s), up from 72 (57 large cabins and 15 G280s) a year ago.

Novakovic said during the company’s third-quarter investor call this morning that only four of the planned 15 G700 deliveries occurred during the quarter. She explained that this was due to paint rework as engine delivery delays led to aircraft being painted before engines were installed; additional type certification procedures due to complex interiors; a quality escape from a vendor that required replacing 16 parts on each aircraft; and four lost workdays thanks to Hurricane Helene.

The revised schedule going forward calls for deliveries of 27 G700s in the fourth quarter, with Novakovic breaking it down by month: five in October, nine in November, and 13 in December.

Despite the G700 delivery challenges, General Dynamics’ aerospace division—which includes Gulfstream and Jet Aviation—saw third-quarter revenues climb year over year by 22.1%, to $2.482 billion, and earnings up 13.8%, to $305 million.

Wheels Up is modernizing its jet fleet through a plan to consolidate the number of different aircraft types it operates to primarily two models: the Embraer Phenom 300 and Bombardier Challenger 300/350. As part of the transition plan, Wheels Up will sell all 13 of its Citation X aircraft to an undisclosed third party. And over the next three years, the company plans to gradually retire its fleet of light and midsize jets while retaining its Beechcraft King Air twin turboprops.

The private flight provider also announced yesterday at NBAA-BACE that it has lined up a $332 million credit facility from Bank of America, backed by the operator's main shareholder, Delta Air Lines. In addition, Wheels Up CEO George Mattson told reporters at the show that the company has agreed to acquire GrandView Aviation’s entire fleet of 17 Phenom 300s and 300Es, along with some maintenance assets, for $105 million.

While the transaction is closing, GrandView, part of the Global Medical Response group, will operate the Phenoms on Wheels Up’s behalf for its membership and charter products. The deal is expected to be finalized before year-end, at which point the aircraft will be switched to Wheels Up’s air operator certificate. 

Meanwhile, Wheels Up is seeking to acquire a fleet of preowned Challenger 300s and 350s through the secondary market.

EASA has approved ExecuJet MRO Services Belgium to perform line maintenance and aircraft-on-ground (AOG) support for the Bombardier Global XRS, 5000/5500, and 6000/6500. The Brussels-based operation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Canadian aircraft maker’s rival, Dassault Aviation.

This approval expands ExecuJet MRO Services’ capability beyond Bombardier’s Challenger aircraft. The line maintenance and AOG support includes troubleshooting, minor repairs, and component replacement, as well as weekly and monthly checks. The company said it has already invested in the required technical publications to covering the Global aircraft and so is ready to support operators.

“Through the day-to-day line maintenance work in Belgium, we will develop customer relationships and hope to be called upon, when needed, to provide AOG support,” said Matthijs Hutsebaut, regional v-p for ExecuJet MRO Services. “The company already provides AOG support across Europe and Africa for Europeean-registered Dassault Falcon and Cessna Citation aircraft.”

Hutsebaut said the company applied for the EASA approval in response to a request from a specific customer and after assessing MRO capacity for Global aircraft. It covers the company’s facilities in Brussels and Kortrijk.

As the Cessna Citation Ascend flight-test program continues, Textron Aviation is highlighting the next iteration of the 560XL family this week at its BACE static display in mockup form. It announced the midsize twinjet in May 2023, with service entry planned for next year.

From the outside, it’s hard to tell the difference between the Ascend and its XLS+ predecessor, but the Ascend’s cabin windows are 15% larger and its windshields have built-in UVA and UVB protection.

Inside, the jet has major upgrades, with a Garmin G5000 avionics suite replacing the Collins Pro Line 21 avionics. The cabin’s trenched aisle is filled in to provide a flat floor (although an option is available to keep the original XL/XLS dropped aisle at no extra charge). The flat-floor height is 60 inches—eight inches less than the dropped-aisle height. One of the benefits of the flat floor is that it is more pet-friendly.

Upgraded seats give passengers more room to move the seat around and find more comfortable positions. Each seat has USB power and there are a total of 19 USB ports and three standard universal outlets in the Ascend, as well as wireless phone charging pads.

Textron Aviation showed P1, one of two flight-test airplanes and the first in production configuration, to media last month during a pre-BACE visit to company headquarters in Wichita.

The Irish General and Business Aviation Association has released more details about the program for its third-annual International Business Aviation Conference on November 14. The event at the K Club Hotel and Golf Resort in Kildare will feature senior industry leaders to discuss issues including sustainability, advanced air mobility, aircraft finance and opportunities in Ireland, and how best to deal with negative public perceptions of private aviation.

It will open with an address by James Lawless, a minister of state at Ireland’s Department of Transportation and the Department of the Environment, Climate, and Communications. Gulfstream Aerospace chief developmental test pilot Eric Holmberg will give a keynote presentation on how the company tests aircraft as part of the type certification process.

Another conference session will provide guidance on how to set up an air operator certificate in Ireland—a move that is of potential interest to aircraft operators seeking a base in the European Union, such as those in Ireland’s neighbor, the UK. For the third year running, business aviation’s efforts to ensure a sustainable future are high on the conference agenda, with a discussion led by Kennedy Ricci, president of aviation sustainability specialist 4Air.

Ending months of speculation, Jet Aviation announced it has broken ground on a new FBO at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport (KOPF). The facility will occupy 27 acres on the bustling dedicated general aviation airport.

It will feature a silver LEED-certified 8,500-sq-ft terminal, a 4,800-sq-ft U.S. Customs and Border Protection facility for onsite clearance, 12.4 acres of ramp space, and a pair of 20,000-sq-ft hangars that can accommodate the latest ultra-long-range business jets.

“Adding Miami to our network is key to further strengthening our footprint in the U.S.,” said David Best, Jet Aviation’s senior v-p for regional operations Americas. “We are committed to growing in locations where our customers want us to be.”

He added that Florida is an important destination for business aviation and the company has built a reputation on service quality there with its Palm Beach facility, which has been in operation since 1985.

When the first phase of development is completed in third-quarter 2025, it will be the fifth FBO on the field, as well as Jet Aviation’s 13th location in the U.S. and its territories.

Nigeria’s Civil Aviation Authority has issued an approved maintenance organization certificate to Germany’s FAI Technik. The maintenance, repair and overhaul facility can now fully support Nigerian-registered aircraft including Bombardier Challengers and Learjet 60s; Hawkers; and Beechcraft Premier 1/1As and King Air twin turboprops. It can also handle maintenance checks up to 1C for the Gulfstream G280, G450, G500, G550, and G650/650ER.

FAI Technik has been supporting operators in Nigeria for more than a year, mainly providing aircraft-on-ground support through alliances with local Part 145 maintenance organizations. The work will be conducted at either of the company’s German bases in Nuremberg or Berlin, or facilities in Lagos and Abuja in Nigeria. At its Nuremberg headquarters, FAI has 108,000 sq ft of space across three hangars.

“We are pleased to receive this latest important approval from the Nigerian CAA,” said Michael Axtmann, FAI Technik’s managing director. “FAI Technik is experiencing srong demand for maintenance support in Nigeria and across Africa in general. We look forward to continuing to build strong relationships in Nigeria and growing our customer base.”

Gama Aviation’s facility at Bournemouth, UK, has become the latest addition to Embraer Executive Jets’ service center network. The aircraft manufacturer announced the appointment on Wednesday, confirming that Gama will now provide line maintenance for Phenom 100 and 300 business jets, and base maintenance for Legacy 600/650s located in Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.

Embraer already has eight of its own service centers globally for its executive aircraft family, and 10 authorized service centers in Europe among 64 such facilities worldwide. The group’s services and support unit said it has recently doubled maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) capacity in the U.S. with facilities at Dallas Love Field Airport, as well as in Cleveland, Ohio, and Sanford, Florida.

“We are delighted to have been selected as an authorized service center by Embraer who set an understandably high bar to become part of their global network,” said Gama Aviation MRO managing director Paul Kinch. “We look forward to working with customers to support their Phenom and Legacy aircraft via our MRO capability at Bournemouth, our line stations at Farnborough and Luton, plus our countrywide mobile support team service.”

No one covers the news better at NBAA-BACE than AIN. We have a full editorial team on-site in Las Vegas for the show and their excellent stories can be found on our NBAA-BACE 2024 landing page.