MEBAA Show in Dubai Postponed until February

The Middle East & North Africa Business Aviation Association (MEBAA) today postponed its biennial MEBAA Show from early December to late February, citing “concerns related to the evolving Covid-19 outbreak.” The regional business aviation show, which was set to take place from December 8 to 10 at the Dubai World Central airshow site, will now be held from February 22 to 24 at the same venue.

“We have been closely monitoring the Covid-19 spread over the past few weeks, as well as developments on travel restrictions from governments around the world,” said MEBAA founding and executive chairman Ali Alnaqbi. “After very careful consideration of the situation and taking into account feedback from our exhibitors and stakeholders, we believe the decision to postpone the event is in the best interests of the health and safety of our exhibitors, visitors, contractors, and staff.”

The MEBAA Show’s upcoming edition will host several new features, including thought-leadership seminars and workshops; pre-arranged meetings program to better connect visitors and exhibitors; and a luxury travel operators segment that will allow attendees to meet and network with regional and global high-end travel operators.

Bizav SAF Summit Examines Increasing Supply and Demand

The Business Aviation Coalition for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF Coalition) hosted its first Sustainable Business Aviation Fuels Summit on Monday and Tuesday. Held online, the event gathered operators, legislators, regulators, fuel suppliers, and others to determine how best and how quickly to ramp up the acceptance, demand, and supply for SAF.

Monday's session began with a panel hosted by GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce featuring the heads of most major business jet makers, describing how sustainability is vital to the growth of the industry and what approaches their companies have taken to improve the efficiency of their aircraft. That was followed by a discussion moderated by NATA president and CEO Tim Obitts that included SAF producers and distributors on current production and expansion plans.

Yesterday’s sessions featured a roundtable on regulator and stakeholder perspectives, led by IBAC director general Kurt Edwards and featuring introductory comments by Rep. Rick Larson (D-Wash.), member of the House Committee on Transportation and chair of the subcommittee on aviation. The final panel discussion, offering operator perspectives on the use of SAF, was led by Dr. Shelly Lesikar deZevallos, a member of NBAA’s board of directors.

“With this summit, we have taken a key next step to build upon the tremendous progress we have made on sustainability in just the last two years,” said Obitts.

ExecuJet Australia Completes Global Express Mx Check

The first 120-month heavy maintenance (8C) check on a Bombardier Global Express in Australia has been performed by ExecuJet MRO Services at Sydney Airport, a development that officials there hope will lead to additional calls for that type of work. ExecuJet MRO Australasia v-p Grant Ingall explained that Global Express owners and operators in the region have traditionally taken their aircraft to Europe or the U.S. for the type’s largest scheduled maintenance check.

“Our capabilities to perform the 10-year inspection have been built up over many years of performing heavy maintenance,” said Ingall. “We have made significant investments in Bombardier tooling and factory training our licensed engineers on the Global series.”

An authorized service center for Bombardier, ExecuJet Australia dismantled and removed the Global Express’s interior cabin for inspection of the airframe and other structures. External panels also were removed and functional checks were done on all operating systems. In addition, the jet’s landing gear was overhauled and recommended service bulletins and upgrades were completed, according to the Dassault Aviation subsidiary.

JSX ‘Reviewing Options’ Following Vote on SNA Leases

JSX founder and CEO Alex Wilcox said his public charter operation is “reviewing its options” after the Orange County board of supervisors approved new FBO lease agreements on Tuesday that effectively upends JSX's regular service at John Wayne Airport (SNA) in California. SNA serves as one of JSX’s earliest and largest markets. “[We’re] hopeful we can find accommodation from the airport,” Wilcox told AIN after the vote.

The new lease agreements with ACI Jet and Clay Lacy Aviation include clauses that prohibit subleases to “regularly scheduled commercial service.” Instead, airport officials have recommended JSX use the main passenger terminal. That’s counter to JSX’s business model of operating as a hybrid charter service from FBOs using 30-passenger Embraer regional jets with business-class seating and boarding that avoids TSA chokepoints.

In an earlier interview with AIN, Wilcox said options for JSX could include legal action or permission to operate from another part of SNA that’s designated a non-Security Identification Display Area, permitting JSX customers to board its aircraft and avoid the TSA lines.

With the new leases approved, JSX won’t be able to use ACI Jet as a terminal beginning Jan. 1, 2021.

Jet MS Adds Becker Avionics To Supplier List

Lithuanian MRO Jet Maintenance Solutions (Jet MS) has struck a partnership agreement to add Becker Avionics to its supplier list. Headquartered in Switzerland with facilities in Germany and Florida, Becker Avionics manufactures communication, navigation, surveillance, and search and rescue equipment for airborne and ground applications.

The agreement comes as Jet MS focuses on becoming a one-stop shop for private and business jet maintenance and repair, the company said. Jet MS provides base and line maintenance services for business and regional aircraft, including Hawkers and Bombardier CRJs, Challengers, and Globals. Embraer Legacy and ERJ models will also be added to the capability list.

“Our partnership is yet another step towards a wider and quality-oriented list of suppliers available to Jet Maintenance Solutions clients,” said Jet MS CEO Vytis Zalimas. “With further goals of strengthening the company’s global brand, we believe that continuous search of new partnerships will allow Jet Maintenance Solutions to excel, deliver high-quality services and provide an unmatched level of flexibility when it comes to aircraft maintenance and repair, as well as in spare parts supply services.”

The agreement further enables Becker Avionics to expand its business internationally. “With Jet Maintenance, we have found a reliable, highly professional, and well-known partner in the sector of maintenance and repair for private and business jets,” said Becker Avionics CEO Detlef Haag.

West Star Completes Major FOD Repair on Legacy 650

West Star Aviation recently completed a major FOD structural repair on an Embraer Legacy 650E that was substantially damaged when a military helicopter landed near it in Peru. Upon landing, the military helicopter had kicked up metal objects into the Legacy’s fuselage.

“Significant structural damage occurred to the fuselage skin, frames, and ribs,” said Bob O’Leary, West Star's Embraer business development manager. “We coordinated closely with Embraer on the engineering required for the repair, along with the corresponding parts recommended.”

After the initial evaluation, the aircraft was ferried to West Star’s MRO facility in East Alton, Illinois, for repairs and full exterior paint. The extensive work took about eight months to complete. The East Alton facility is an authorized Embraer base maintenance service and warranty provider.

The aircraft captain, S. Almeida, cited the complex process and the need to find a maintenance shop that was agile and available. The captain noted that the crew also was in a position where it had to decide quickly where to deliver the aircraft for repair. “After completing all the service, we left with the certainty of having followed the best choice.”

Avfuel Makes First Flight Department SAF Shipment

Avfuel has delivered its first shipment of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) on request from a corporate flight department. Wilmington, Delaware-based agriculture technology company Corteva Agriscience, as part of its growing sustainability platform, inquired if Avfuel could make SAF available at its home base of New Castle Airport (ILG), according to Craig Hanlon, the company’s director of aviation. The fuel provider agreed and Corteva purchased an entire shipment of blended SAF-jet-A, which was delivered to the Atlantic Aviation FBO there, marking its first such delivery, following numerous other demonstrations involving FBOs, airports, OEMs, and charter operators.

Atlantic conducts the into-plane fueling for Corteva, and the drop-in renewable fuel shipment was placed into Atlantic’s fuel farm for use by the airport’s general aviation clients, while Corteva received the environmental credits. The shipment represents a lifecycle savings of two tonnes of CO2 emissions over conventional jet fuel.

Hanlon told AIN that the delivery shows that operators want SAF and that the supply chain works to provide it. “It’s indicative of the continued interests we’re seeing in sustainability measures throughout business aviation,” agreed Jonathan Boyle, Avfuel’s v-p of contract fuel. “We are appreciative of the Atlantic Aviation team and our loyal customer for their collaboration in this important demonstration. Avfuel is proud to partner with these operations as a step toward making sustainable aviation fuel more attainable.”

Bell Expands European Mx Foothold

Bell Textron has expanded its service network to Europe with a pair of authorized maintenance center (AMC) appointments this week. The Fort Worth, Texas-based rotorcraft manufacturer named Aero Club in Konstancin-Jeziorna, Poland, and Air Service International (ASI) in Billund, Denmark, as its two new AMCs in the region.

Aero Club is Bell’s first named European AMC and will provide maintenance for the Bell 505 Jet Ranger X light single and 407 light twin. “We are excited to announce Bell’s first AMC in Europe,” said Bell managing director for Europe and Russia Duncan Van De Velde. “It’s important to ensure local support to our customers, and with this new Polish AMC, it provides Bell operators a sense of security that they can have maintenance or work performed on their aircraft that has been vetted and approved by Bell.”

Aero Club will augment Bell’s service center in Prague with local field maintenance services. In Denmark, ASI will provide field maintenance for the 505 as well as the 206A/B/L light single helicopters.

AIN Webinar: Separating Fact from Fiction in Bizav Market

Industry leaders on the front line of business aviation will share their candid insights and opinions on the real state of the market, what we can expect through 2021, and strategies for managing during a crisis while targeting new business opportunities. Please join us on October 6 as AIN editor-in-chief Matt Thurber moderates this discussion with Jay Mesinger, president and CEO of Mesinger Jet Sales; Keith G. Swirsky, Esq., president of GKG Law, P.C., and Dan Drohan, chairman and CEO Solairus Aviation. Register now for this no-cost webinar.