Airshare closed its deal to acquire the aircraft management arm of Wheels Up on October 1. The acquisition will double the size of Airshare, adding 90 aircraft and 316 employees to the Airshare Aircraft Management division. This triples the size of the fleet it currently manages and makes those aircraft available for charter. The company said the majority of aircraft joining the fleet are super midsize.

K.C. Ihlefeld will join the Airshare Aircraft Management division as senior vice president of aircraft management. Ihlefeld was formerly senior vice president for aircraft management at Wheels Up. Other employees joining Airshare from Wheels Up include pilots and specialists in account management, owner services, flight control, maintenance, training, and administration.

Airshare has been in business for 23 years and offers aircraft management, fractional ownership, jet cards, charter services, and third-party maintenance. “As we went through the process with Wheels Up, we immediately realized their aircraft management business would be a perfect fit for us, especially in terms of our shared commitment to delivering an outstanding experience for every customer,” said Andy Tretiak, Airshare's chief marketing officer.

Overland Park, Kansas-based Airshare announced its intention to acquire Wheels Up’s aircraft management business on August 9. Wheels Up, which has incurred heavy losses, said it was selling its aircraft management division to focus on its core business.

Bombardier has expanded its cost-per-flight-hour offerings with the introduction of a new level of its Smart Services program that includes scheduled and unscheduled maintenance cost coverage on major parts such as aircraft system components and landing gear overhaul. Called Smart Services Elite, the offering includes parts shipping, technical publications, technical support, a guaranteed flight-hour rate throughout the term, and mobile response team (MRT) coverage. Smart Services Elite also encompasses select maintenance options on previous cost-per-flight-hour programs, making it what Bombardier calls its most complete maintenance cost coverage program.

Bombardier calls the new program “essentially inflation proof” due to its flat, fixed yearly rate. Meanwhile, new aircraft owners can add the coverage at the time of purchase to simplify the ownership process.

Owners and operators have enrolled more than 1,600 Bombardier aircraft in Smart Services programs, representing more than 10 million flight hours, according to the OEM.

“Bombardier’s Smart Services Elite is the ultimate ‘easy button’ for our business jet customers when it comes to budget predictability and cost protection for all their maintenance needs,” said Paul Sislian, executive vice president of aftermarket services and strategy. “With Smart Services Elite, customers receive additional peace of mind through added services not previously covered by existing cost-per-flight-hours offerings, providing them with a comprehensive solution for maintenance repair and support.”

Aircraft using routes to and from Asia across the Barents Sea could find themselves at risk from Russian test firings of nuclear-powered missiles. Security group Dyami this week issued a warning about the potential for midair collisions with the hypersonic missiles, or with debris resulting from a malfunctioning test.

According to Dyami CEO Eric Schouten, his analysts are concerned that the Russian government may not be transparent in declaring full details of the missile tests, as required by international protocols for notams. Current notices covering the ULAM and ULMM flight information regions (FIR) airspace over the Barents Sea show a couple of temporary routes and airspace closures. However, another notam covering the ULLL FIR shows some airspace closed off through October 6, but without using the required WM code to indicate a missile test area.

The apparent danger area in the ULLL FIR is situated west of Yuzhny island and stops just short of the airway T570 BALUD-ANODI, running south/north. On its south side, the area is bordered by the airway T553 GIMON-PIBOL that runs southeast/northwest.

“The missiles are in an early testing phase, and thus are very unpredictable,” said Dyami in an intelligence brief issued on October 2. “There is a real chance of the tests going out of control, leading the missiles to potentially fly uncontrolled for thousands of miles.”

Safran completed the acquisition of Thales’ aeronautical electrical systems business on Monday. The deal, which was announced last year, includes Thales’ electric conversion and power generation products and electric motors for civil and military aircraft.

In 2022, the Thales business unit generated revenue of €145 million ($152 million) and it employs nearly 600 people. It includes Thales Avionics Electrical Systems and Thales Avionics Electrical Motors with three sites in France at Chatou, Meru, and Conflans-Sainte Honorine, and also the MRO, support, and production activities in Orlando, Florida, and Singapore. The French facilities’ business activities were immediately integrated into Safran Electrical & Power, while the Orlando and Singapore operations must wait until certain certification approvals are obtained, according to Safran. 

"Thanks to these new electrical skills, particularly in conversion, we are adding a new string to the bow of our business portfolio and consolidating Safran Electrical & Power’s leading position across the entire electrical chain,” said Stéphane Cueille, CEO of Safran Electrical & Power. “This acquisition will enable us to bring even more relevant and effective solutions to the market. We look forward to working with the new teams on decarbonizing aviation through electric power.”

The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma (CNO) is joining forces with the National Air Transportation Association (NATA) to develop prospects for advanced air mobility in the state. The groups signed a memorandum of understanding on September 28 under which they will collaborate to develop the ecosystem to support the introduction of new eVTOL aircraft and other new services.

The partnership is aimed at supporting new means for transporting both people and cargo, with an emphasis on providing connections to underserved communities. James Grimsley, the CNO’s executive director for advanced technology initiatives, will address NATA’s Aviation Business Conference in November to outline the benefits of both crewed and uncrewed aircraft for boosting local and national economies.

“The Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma looks forward to the many positive societal benefits that will be available as a result of emerging aviation technologies,” Grimsley commented. “The relationship with NATA further illustrates CNO’s commitment to being a leader in this exciting growth area.”

The Choctaw Nation has more than 200,000 tribal members and was the first Native American Tribal Government to receive a Public Aircraft Operations Certificate of Authorization from the FAA. It is home to one of eight of the FAA’s UAS Beyond sites selected by the Department of Transportation for the development of uncrewed aircraft operations.

Blade Air Mobility is returning to NBAA-BACE this year to offer per-seat shuttle flights between the Las Vegas Convention Center and the static display site, Henderson Executive Airport. Following up on its previous partnership with NBAA in 2021, Blade will provide service through flights operated by Orbic Air.

Each flight will seat up to six passengers, who can book through the Blade mobile app. The flights bypass traffic between the convention center and static display at Henderson while providing aerial views of the Las Vegas Strip.

Similar flights were offered when the convention was last held in Las Vegas in 2021, and NBAA said the service provided a view of what's possible with urban air mobility. AIN got a firsthand glimpse of this service, resulting in former senior editor—the late Jerry Siebenmark—to explain “How Urban Air Mobility Helped Me Beat My Boss.” 

“In 2021, every seat was sold out for Blade flights between the convention center and the outdoor aircraft display, demonstrating the excitement for on-demand urban air mobility,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

Blade president Melissa Tomkiel added, “This program not only demonstrates the efficiency of urban air mobility but also highlights use cases that are relevant as we transition from conventional rotorcraft to quiet, emission-free electric vertical aircraft.”

In addition to urban air mobility, NBAA-BACE is highlighting advanced air mobility with Volocopter demonstrations at Henderson.

TAG Aviation is opening a new office in the Marina Bay area of downtown Singapore. The aircraft management and charter group, which has operations across Europe and Asia, said the new facility will complement the base it established at Singapore’s Seletar Airport in 2007.

The company says expanded demand for its services in Singapore and Southeast Asia has prompted it to find a way to be more accessible to support clients in the region. The Marina Bay office is opening this month and is part of the district’s Financial Centre complex.

“Singapore is a vital hub for our business, and we’ve seen tremendous growth over the past 16 years of operations here,” said TAG Aviation Asia CEO Steven Young. “To better serve our increasing client base, a downtown office will offer an additional and convenient location for meeting and expanded office facilities.”

In addition to managing aircraft, TAG Aviation provides maintenance services to other business aviation operators, as well as running an FBO in Macau. The company also offers training courses for crew in both Europe and Asia.

Planet Nine Private Air has chosen Satcom Direct as its preferred connectivity supplier, the Van Nuys, California-headquartered operator said Monday. Planet Nine has acquired multiple Plane Simple Ku-band terminals to upgrade its fleet over a three-year period, including Bombardier Global Express airframes already equipped with the connectivity product.

Installation of the SD Plane Simple Ku-band terminals will give Planet Nine passengers and customers access to the Intelsat FlexExec network. Planet Nine also will add the SD FlightDeck Freedom (FDF) datalink service to the cockpit. According to the companies, passengers will benefit from improved productivity, enhanced entertainment, and increased data speeds powered by consistent high-speed broadband.

Meanwhile, the crew will employ FDF flight tracking, which provides automated real-time information about hazardous weather, geo-notifications, security events, and other critical flight path data for improved situational awareness. The agreement also includes around-the-clock global customer support, multilingual services, cybersecurity solutions, and access to certified connectivity training.

Activations of the first Plane Simple Ku-band terminals and FlightDeck Freedom services are already underway or have been scheduled for five of the Planet Nine aircraft. Satcom Direct has installed and activated the system on the first two Global Express jets and nearly completed installation on a third. Satcom Direct expects to equip a further two aircraft before the end of the year.