Business jet deliveries rose by nearly 9% year over year (YOY) in the first half of 2024, while total airplane billings increased by more than 24%, to $11.3 billion, according to the second-quarter 2024 delivery report released late yesterday by GAMA.

Among the jet manufacturers, Gulfstream Aerospace saw the largest improvement overall, with deliveries climbing by more than 35% YOY. Dassault delivered three more Falcon jets this year, equating to a 33.3% boost of its first-half 2023 tally. Bombardier experienced a nearly 16% bump YOY, handing over nine more Challengers against one fewer Global. Embraer Executive Jets delivered 45 aircraft in the first six months, an increase of seven units from a year ago. Pilatus Aircraft handed over 18 PC-24s in the first half, unchanged from last year, and Textron Aviation and Cirrus each saw their jet deliveries dip by one aircraft from a year ago.

Piston airplane deliveries also showed a YOY gain of 7.3% with 761 aircraft handed over in the first half of 2024. But the news wasn’t all positive for propeller airplanes. The turboprop segment saw 10 fewer deliveries this year, a decline of 3.4%, while the higher-end pressurized subset fared slightly better, with its 109 deliveries representing a 2.7% fall off from last year.

Educating a new generation of industry professionals and ensuring the wider society has a balanced understanding of private aviation were identified as key challenges at the Air Charter Expo (ACE), held today at London Biggin Hill Airport. Kevin Ducksbury, chairman of ACE organizer Air Charter Association (ACA), said the industry needs to ensure it is an attractive and lucrative career option, while also defending this mode of transportation in the face of growing hostility on environmental grounds.

“The environmental challenge is making our work harder,” he said during the event’s conference session. “Incorrect messaging over luxury travel [and its impact on the climate] is overshadowing the good work the industry does.”

In an interview with AIN, Ducksbury said recruiting and retaining skilled human resources is now one of the charter sector’s greatest challenges. He pointed out that supply-side difficulties are also still found in areas such as the availability of aircraft parts for maintenance.

So severe are these challenges that Ducksbury suggested that a recent softening in demand for charter flights has proved to be something of a relief for some operators. The UK-based ACA now has 450 member companies from 53 countries, including business and private charter operators, commercial airlines, and cargo operators, as well as many companies that support operators.

Airshare is expanding its fractional aircraft and jet card programs to all customers throughout the continental U.S. This move complements its aircraft management and charter solutions, which the company has already been providing nationally. Airshare operates a fleet of Embraer Phenom 300s and Bombardier Challenger 350/3500s.

The expansion completes the company’s strategic plan launched five years ago, with recent entry into new regions such as the U.S. Upper Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. According to Airshare, it recently experienced a significant increase in flights traveling to the West Coast, prompting the company to re-examine future expansion plan timing. With this change, Airshare will no longer charge repositioning costs for any flights that begin or end within any of the Lower 48 states.

“We are extremely excited to be offering the Airshare fractional program to all potential customers coast-to-coast,” said Airshare CEO John Owen. “Over the last few years, we have been carefully analyzing the right time to make our fractional ownership and jet cards available nationwide…This change will only increase the flexibility our customers benefit from while flying with us, while enhancing operational efficiencies across our entire fractional fleet.”

The company doubled in size to 600 employees and 150 aircraft after its acquisition of the Wheels Up aircraft management business last September. Private equity group Kompass Kapital also made a strategic investment in Airshare two months ago.

Unither Bioelectronics is teaming up with Robinson Helicopter to develop hydrogen-powered variants of the company’s R44 and R66 helicopters. Robinson has agreed to collaborate with Unither on supplemental type certificates for the modified helicopters in the U.S. and Canada, contributing its technical and regulatory expertise to the project.

As a subsidiary of United Therapeutics—a biotechnology company and public benefit corporation that specializes in organ transplants—Unither Bioelectronics aims to usher in the next generation of airborne organ delivery systems with zero-emissions and autonomous flight technologies.

United Therapeutics has also been developing all-electric, battery-powered Robinson helicopters since 2016. The company has been working with Tier 1 Engineering to convert the R44 with electric propulsion units provided by MagniX, and the partners have flight-tested three generations of electric R44 prototypes. Lung Biotechnology, another United Therapeutics subsidiary, plans to use the electric R44s to transport organs between airports and hospitals.

By adding hydrogen fuel cells into the mix, United Therapeutics hopes to enable longer-range flights than what it can offer with the purely battery-electric version. The Tier 1-modified R44 holds the record for the longest flight of a battery-powered helicopter at 30 nm, and United Therapeutics has said the aircraft would have a range of 40 nm without reserves. Hydrogen fuel cells could potentially quadruple the range of the all-electric R44.

Discover cutting-edge products, services and innovative fuel solutions designed to streamline and elevate your aviation business

Continuing its tradition of recognizing safe flying in business aviation, NBAA plans to honor hundreds of companies, flight departments, and individuals for their accomplishments in this area during its upcoming BACE show next month.

The Flying Safety Awards program will encompass operations that meet certain milestones, as well as those that have exhibited leadership in specific categories for the period that ended Dec. 31, 2023. NBAA said these awards demonstrate the high degree of professionalism and safety culture that is at the heart of the industry.

“We look forward to honoring those people and companies who have attained or surpassed the half-century mark in safe operations at our convention this year, as well as those with other remarkable safety achievements,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.

Among the recipients are those that reached the 50-year mark of flying safety: Allete; J.R. Simplot; Lowe’s; Quiktrip; RTX; and Wayne-Sanderson Farms. Meanwhile, Cummins will be recognized with the 60-year Flying Safety Award. NBAA will present the 75-year honor to three companies: Kimberly-Clark, NextEra Energy, and Owens-Illinois.

Also part of the program, NBAA will present Corporate Business Flying Awards to 107 companies, Maintenance Department Safety Awards to 49 companies, Pilot Safety awards to 291 individuals, Scheduler/Licensed Dispatcher Safety Awards to 80; Support Services Safety Awards to 227 recipients; and Avionics/Maintenance Technician Safety Awards to 180 recipients.

Luxaviation UK has added a Bombardier Global 6000 to its fleet and unveiled the aircraft today at the Air Charter Expo at London Biggin Hill Airport. The large-cabin jet is owned by a client who has had an Embraer Phenom 300 under management with the company for 10 years and is keeping both aircraft to have options for both intra-European and intercontinental trips.

According to Luxaviation UK CEO George Galanopoulos, providing the right advice is the key to encouraging newcomers to continue as private aviation customers. His team worked closely with the Phenom 300 owner to evaluate other options, placing an emphasis on “finding the right aircraft for the customer rather than the right one for the operator.”

The client had first considered options in the Dassault Falcon family and expanded his choices after re-evaluating operating economics and cabin size, Galanopoulos told AIN. He also considered a Gulfstream G550 before settling on the 12-passenger, 6,000-nm Global 6000.

Luxaviation UK, which now has 20 aircraft in its managed and charter fleet, is part of the wider Luxaviation fleet of more than 400. The group has seven European air operator certificates, which Galanopoulos said gives flexibility to work around some of the Brexit restrictions. More than 10% of the Luxaviation fleet is now registered in San Marino.

Spain’s Maritime Safety and Rescue Society (SASEMAR) has awarded another five-year contract to Avincis to provide maritime search-and-rescue (SAR) services with its helicopter fleet. The Portugal-based operator has flown SAR missions in Spain for more than 30 years since it first won a public tender for the work in 1993, logging more than 100,000 hours on 16,000 missions and rescuing more than 8,500 people.

Under the contract with SASEMAR, Avincis conducts SAR missions under the direction of the Salvamento Marítimo agency from 11 helicopter bases along Spain’s 7,905-km (4,912-mile) coastline. The aircraft have to be available 24/7 and year-round.

Avincis has a fleet of more than 220 aircraft and employs 2,400 people, including pilots, support crew, and technicians. In addition to Spain and Portugal, it also has bases in Italy, Norway, Sweden, and Finland, as well as operations in Mozambique and Chile.

SASEMAR is a public entity responsible for rescuing those in danger at sea, and also for combating marine pollution, monitoring and assisting vessels, and maritime safety and navigation. Its area of operations covers an area of 1.5 million sq km, which is three times the size of Spain.

Trip support solutions provider UAS International Trip Support (UAS) is partnering with technology company Moove to launch the UAS Charter App. According to the companies, the app will allow air charter customers “full visibility on aircraft availability and can compare aircraft to find what best suits their needs.”

It also can plan air charter itineraries, compare pricing, and simulate the cost and door-to-door time of each trip, while evaluating the advantages over airline, train, or car with its real-time calculator.

UAS founder and executive president Mohammed Husary said, “We’re thrilled to launch the UAS Charter App, which offers our clients control and flexibility in planning their travel. We are currently focused on expanding our charter network and will continue to bolster our client offering in the months ahead.”

“We are delighted to be supporting UAS, a leading player in business aviation. This is a great milestone for Moove and a first for us in the UAE,” added Moove CEO Arthur Ingles.

The app is available at the Apple App Store and Google Play.