ANAC, Brazil's civil aviation agency, has granted its first Part 91K fractional share administrator approval to Avantto, the fractional aircraft provider announced yesterday. With over a decade of experience in the sector, Avantto has more than 450 active users, for whom its jets and helicopters perform more than 1,400 takeoffs per month.

This approval is a landmark for ANAC and the Part 91K regulation, as well as for Avantto. The need for a legal structure that would let users jointly share an aircraft without jointly sharing liability has been known for more than a decade. Regulations clarifying rules and conditions for offering fractional aircraft shares were approved in February 2021.

Among the regulation’s major points are limitations in the number of shares per aircraft (16 for airplanes and 32 for helicopters), the definition of legal responsibility for aircraft operation, and stricter demands for pilot training, aircraft maintenance, and operational safety management systems.

ANAC’s Part 91K differs from that of the FAA’s. “Some adaptions were made for the cooperative-type structure of Brazilian operators, which doesn’t exist in the U.S.,” Avantto CEO Rogério Andrade told AIN. “The reporting requirements and so forth wouldn’t be burdensome for a Part 135 operator. Essentially, it raises the bar for Part 91K operators.”

I spend my day on the telephone speaking with aircraft prospects, buyers, sellers, lenders, and aviation attorneys. Everyone I speak with has a pet peeve to mention or a troublesome event that happened recently.

I will say, though, that in these conversations, the overall attitude toward the business aviation industry and, more specifically, the preowned aircraft market is far better in 2023 than in the preceding couple of years. Everyone agrees that it is a far less frenzied space and more inviting for all to join in.

So, with all the joy, what is bothering people? Clearly, the idea of finding a timely aircraft pre-buy inspection location to keep a transaction moving forward tops the list for many. It is so difficult to put a buyer and seller together, joined in a contract, and then wait up to a month or more to begin an inspection.

Another problem we experience and hear about from others is the vulnerability of transactions getting completed in a timeline that the hard-fought contract stipulates. Not only is the start time of the pre-buy a constant source of irritation to all sides, but once begun the completion of the pre-buy always seems to take longer and bring about problematic issues for all sides. Supply-chain issues, labor issues, and regulatory issues cause delays that keep all sides guessing. Uncertainty is always difficult.

The government of the Netherlands has watered down plans to drastically reduce the number of aircraft movements at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (EHAM), Dutch media reported today. Under the new plan, the number of yearly flight movements will be capped at 452,000 by November 2024—not at 440,000 as initially foreseen. Also, the anticipated ban on private jets and night flights could be scrapped altogether.

The government is expected to inform the European Commission of its revised plans today or early next week. Since last summer, the Dutch government has been demanding that Schiphol reduce its flight activity owing to noise pollution for local residents. It opted for a phased reduction, from the maximum allowed number of 500,000 flights per year—as agreed by the previous government—to  460,000 flights and then to 440,000 flights.

In April, Royal Schiphol Group revealed its own plans to drastically cut the number of flights at Schiphol. These plans included a ban on private jets and small business aircraft as part of a wider strategy to introduce a system that focuses on the structural reduction of noise and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions in line with the Paris climate agreement no later than 2026.

According to the airport operator, whose majority shareholder is the Dutch government, business aviation flights cause a “disproportionate amount of noise nuisance and CO2 emissions per passenger.”

EASA has published new proposed regulations governing the operation of vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft, including drones and eVTOL air taxis, in Europe’s cities. In the Opinion No. 03/2023 document released yesterday, EASA requested that the European Commission make several amendments to existing EU aviation regulations in support of future urban air mobility operations, and the authors put forward two proposals for such regulations. 

One of these proposals pertains to the continuing airworthiness of certified uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and the approval of organizations and personnel involved. The second lays down “competent authority requirements and administrative procedures” for those responsible for overseeing continuing airworthiness certification activities.

​​“With this, we will achieve a harmonized regulatory framework to ensure the safe, sustainable, and secure introduction of VTOL operations,” said EASA executive director Patrick Ky. Some eVTOL developers are planning to launch commercial air-taxi services in European cities such as Paris, London, and Munich as early as 2024. 

EASA first released a draft of its proposed VTOL rules in June 2022, when it issued Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2022-06 and initiated a three-month public consultation period. That document spelled out EASA’s proposed requirements for every aspect of future UAS and air-taxi operations, including flight crew licensing, air traffic management, and the certification and maintenance of aircraft.

Italy-based charter operator and broker Fast Private Jets (FPJ) has partnered with industry sustainability solutions provider 4Air on a carbon offset program. In addition to its own fleet of light jets including the Hawker 400XP, Bombardier Learjet 45, and Cessna Citation Mustang, FPJ has booking access to aircraft ranging from turboprops to bizliners.

The company released its pricing schedule for customers wishing to contribute to reducing the carbon emissions impact of their flights. For a turboprop, it would add $11 per flight hour, while for a heavy/ultra-long-range business jet it would cost $43 per hour. The hourly contribution for an Airbus ACJ320 would total $74 per hour, while a Boeing BBJ787 would cost $173 per hour.

FPJ noted that all proceeds from the contributions will be donated to three environmental projects carefully curated by itself and 4Air. The Envira Amazonia Project in Brazil is dedicated to preserving 40,000 hectares of forest through agricultural education and the fostering of new economic pathways by commercializing medicinal plants. The Cururos Wind Farm in Chile will generate enough electricity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 175,000 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year. 

Lastly, the Chyulu Hills Redd+ Project aims to promote adaption to climate change, restore biodiversity, and establish alternative jobs to reduce deforestation and forest degradation in an area covering more than 410,000 hectares in Kenya.