Miami-based aircraft charter and cargo company GlobalX signed a letter of intent to purchase 50 all-electric Eviation Alice aircraft, with deliveries tentatively scheduled to start in 2027, the companies announced today. According to GlobalX, these nine-passenger aircraft will open additional routes in the charter operator’s key markets of Florida, Bahamas, and the Caribbean, while supporting its plan to adopt carbon-free and sustainable technologies.
GlobalX began passenger operations last August and operates seven A320-series aircraft serving the U.S., Caribbean, and Latin America. It also has 15 A321 freighters under lease agreements and will begin cargo operations in the fourth quarter.
“Alice will enable GlobalX to introduce new, sustainable flight options for growing markets, including Miami, Orlando, and the Bahamas,” the operator said. “GlobalX expects to take delivery of its initial Alice aircraft in 2027, and is evaluating the cargo aircraft variant of Alice for supporting its cargo customer base.”
GlobalX chairman and CEO Ed Wegel added that Alice “will allow us to offer sustainable, regional flights to and from major markets, and is the first step in our initiative to be a zero-carbon emissions airline by 2050. We are proud to be a launch customer for Eviation and lead the charge in bringing carbon-free air travel to our passengers.”
The Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA) once again blasted the Canadian government's 10 percent luxury tax, which took effect September 1, on the sale of boats, cars, and aircraft worth $100,000 or more. According to CBAA, the tax’s adoption “without understanding its full impact on [aviation] jobs and the economy is, in our view, reckless.”
In a September 13 letter to the country's finance minister, CBAA president and CEO Anthony Norejko said, “Without having done any economic impact analysis ahead of imposing the tax, you are flying blind.” While the association appreciates that the government will make some changes to the tax via regulations, CBAA said “these changes do not go nearly far enough to remedy the significant and negative impacts the tax will impose on [the aviation] industry.”
Norejko suggested “that there is still opportunity to mitigate the negative impacts the tax is sure to inflict, and that the government can do so first by pausing the luxury tax on aircraft until a full economic impact assessment has been completed by the Department of Finance.”
The CBAA also reiterated several recommendations, including raising the sales price threshold from $100,000 to $5 million for aircraft purchases and exempting aircraft intended for charter flights.
Business jet activity in the first 11 days of September was on the rise in North America but lower in Europe, according to the latest report from WingX Advance.
In North America, activity was 3 percent higher than the same period a year ago and 13 percent above pre-pandemic 2019. Business jet flights in the U.S. increased 4 percent year-over-year during the 11-day period and rose 22 percent versus the same time frame in 2019.
Meanwhile, European activity fell 7 percent from last year, though the report noted it was 20 percent above the same period three years ago. The UK saw the steepest drop, at -10 percent, and Germany and France each also saw double-digit declines, according to the report.
In the rest of the world, activity in the 11-day period was up 14 percent from last year and 62 percent above 2019 levels. “So far this month, we have seen a modest correction in the downward trend in flights in 2022 compared to 2021, at least in the U.S.,” said WingX managing director Richard Koe. “With charter operators still dipping from last year's highs, the impetus appears to be coming from aircraft owners and flight departments. European flight activity is ailing, particularly in Central Europe.”
Global Jet Capital (GJC) executives highlighted the different dynamics they see playing out in the business jet market as new aircraft deliveries are staged for slow growth that stabilizes in three or four years and preowned transactions likely taking a step back this year but growing every year after that through 2026.
Speaking during a recent NBAA News Hour webinar about the new and preowned market ahead, GJC market intelligence analyst Bill Ostrove noted its updated forecast for 4,066 combined new and preowned transactions in 2026. This pushes transactions past the level of 2021, when 3,964 transactions occurred. However, the forecast predicts a drop-off this year with transactions falling to 3,569 combined.
That dip comes on the heels of the preowned market, where transactions are anticipated to drop by 400 from last year. Ostrove noted that this year follows a “blistering 2021.” He added, “Our forecast expects the preowned markets to normalize this year.”
On the new aircraft side, GJC predicts a steady uptick through 2024 and ebbing after that to 813 deliveries in 2026. Ostrove noted a few factors playing into shorter-term, steady new-delivery growth, including “exceptional demand” over the last 18 to 24 months that filled backlogs. While the economic situation is currently uncertain, he said manufacturers are continuing with a “level of discipline.”
Million Air Opens Up New Location in Jacksonville, FL
Million Air is excited to announce it is now operating at Jacksonville Cecil Spaceport (KVQQ), Jacksonville’s largest airport with the lowest fees in the region. Million Air has acquired the Jacksonville Jetport FBO, a 28.75-acre footprint on the field.
Raytheon Intelligence & Space (RI&S) was awarded a $375 million contract this week from the FAA to upgrade the wide-area augmentation system (WAAS), which the company said will enhance the safety of air travel in the National Airspace System. Under the 10-year WAAS dual-frequency operation (DFO) contract, Raytheon will deliver modern and sustainable processing, system security, network architecture, and DFO upgrades to the FAA’s space-based precision navigation system.
The unit of Raytheon Technologies received $215 million at the awarding of the contract to provide technical refresh and DFO upgrades to WAAS. A satellite-based augmentation system, WAAS delivers GPS corrections for aircraft navigation, especially in austere environments and despite weather challenges.
“There is no margin for error during takeoff, flight, or landing,” said RI&S president of surveillance and network systems Denis Donohue. “Our modernization effort for WAAS will improve system robustness during ionospheric events and ensure safety-of-life requirements continue to be met.”
Raytheon Technologies has been WAAS’s prime development contractor since 1996. In conjunction with the FAA, Raytheon has developed and fielded enhancements over the years to expand the precision approach capability, coverage area, and reliability of WAAS. The DFO upgrades will improve system accuracy, integrity, and availability of WAAS during ionospheric interruptions such as solar storms.
The U.S. House yesterday passed a bill that directs federal agencies and aviation stakeholders to develop a national strategy on health and safety protections for future pandemics. The National Aviation Preparedness Plan Act, H.R.884, was introduced last year by House aviation subcommittee chair Rick Larsen (D-Washington) and Rep. Don Beyer (D-Virginia). It was passed by a 293-133 vote.
Larsen noted the Government Accountability Office seven years ago pointed out that the U.S. lacked a comprehensive plan aimed at preventing and containing diseases through air travel and recommended the immediate development of such a strategy. “Lessons learned from the Ebola and Covid-19 pandemics show the urgent need for a plan to ensure the safety of aviation crews, employees, and passengers during future public health emergencies,” he said.
NBAA praised the passage of the bill, which heads next to the Senate for consideration. “The health of our nation’s aviation workforce is vital to maintaining our transportation network in times of crisis, as we’ve seen throughout the Covid-19 pandemic,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.
Bolen also lauded House passage this week of H.R.5315, the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act, which would provide $100 million in grants for local governments to use UAS for inspecting, repairing, or constructing roads, public utilities, and other infrastructure. It further includes $100 million for UAS workforce training.
California-based renewable fuels producer Aemetis is on schedule to begin procurement for the start of construction of its Riverbank Carbon Zero sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and renewable diesel (RD) plant by the end of the year.
Last October Aemetis retained engineering and construction firm CTCI Americas to conduct permitting and engineering work for the facility, which will be developed at the site of a 125-acre former U.S. Army munitions production facility in Riverbank, California. The process plan calls for using renewable hydrogen and hydroelectric energy to convert renewable feedstock such as distillers corn oil into SAF and RD. The facility will have a capacity of 90 million gallons per year with the ability to switch easily to 100 percent production of either if necessary.
Founded in 2006, Aemetis operates a renewable natural gas facility in California, along with a 65-million-gallon-per-year ethanol production facility. In India, the company owns and operates a distilled biodiesel plant that supplies customers in the country and in Europe.
The NTSB is collecting wreckage of the float-equipped de Havilland Canada DHC-3T single-engine Turbine Otter that crashed into Puget Sound, Washington, on September 4 during a Part 135 sightseeing flight. The pilot and all nine passengers died in the accident.
Major sections of the aircraft settled on the sea floor, but the NTSB said the depth and motion of the water hid the wreckage until September 12. Friday Harbor Seaplane Tours, operator of the aircraft, is a sister company of registered owner Northwest Seaplanes, which is based on South Lake Washington near Seattle.
In a statement issued shortly after the accident, the companies said they are “heartbroken. We don't know any details yet regarding the cause of the accident. We are working with the FAA, NTSB, and Coast Guard. We have been in communication with the families [of those aboard]. We are praying for the families involved, including our pilot and his family. When we know more we will provide an update."
According to the Flight Safety Foundation's Aviation Safety Network, single-engine Turbine Otters have been involved in 41 accidents or major incidents since 1984. Twelve of those accidents resulted in 47 fatalities.
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