Fractional HondaJet fleet operator Volato is moving up in weight class with the announcement on Thursday morning at the JetNet iQ conference in New York that it has placed a firm order with Gulfstream for four super-midsize G280s. The operator will be the first to offer the G280 in a fractional plan, preselling shares in multiples of eighths. It expects to take its first delivery of the 10-seat twinjet in early 2024.
While the G280 offers fuel efficiency and reduced operating costs through its wing design and engine technology, Volato will also offset the carbon dioxide emissions from every gallon of fuel burned through its partnership with 4Air. Clients can access the new aircraft directly through G280 fractional shares or through their existing HondaJet program membership on an as-available basis for the additional cost over the HondaJet use.
“When we launched Volato, our strategy was to initially target the largest segment of the market that was not being directly addressed: short-haul flights with only a few passengers,” explained company co-founder and CEO Matt Liotta. “From listening to our customers’ needs and recognizing that our innovative business model is not just limited to light jets, we are excited to expand our model to larger aircraft so that HondaJet owners can fly their edge case missions that are farther, or with more passengers, while welcoming a new category of luxury private jet customer to Volato’s superior experience.”
AINsight: Some Aviation Heroes Wear Dresses
Having been raised by a female leader in business aviation, I have a special fondness for all women in aviation. In fact, as I finish this column via JFK to SFO, I’m flying in an “unmanned” aircraft. That is to say, I’m in excellent hands with Capt. Jackie and First Officer Rachel in the cockpit!
We’re desperate for more women across all aviation disciplines. That’s why I’m honored to share my excitement about two important events occurring on September 24: Girls in Aviation Day (GIAD) and the National Aviation Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony.
Launched in 2015 by Women in Aviation International, Girls in Aviation Day promotes the exciting career benefits of aviation. And GIAD has since grown to include 119 such events in 18 countries. During GIAD 2022, WAI Chapters around the world will offer an array of activities for girls of all ages—from elementary age to high school students. And they’re hosted by positive female role models designed to inspire and showcase the meaningful aviation-related career opportunities available.
Of course, we want to attract girls to fly and maintain aircraft. But there are a host of unique opportunities within our industry—in human resources, IT, accounting, operations, sales, law, engineering, and various entrepreneurial careers.
After reaching record lows in December 2021, preowned business aircraft inventory is slowly creeping up, according to the latest JetNet iQ market report and survey data. Presented this morning at the annual JetNet iQ Summit in New York City, program creator and director Rolland Vincent noted while strong pricing and valuations continue, the percentage of available business jets has now ticked above 4 percent for the first time since November 2021 with 950 aircraft on the market. Last year opened with an inventory of 7.6 percent and steadily declined.
The personal jet category leads in available aircraft, with 5.8 percent of the fleet for sale at the end of June, followed by bizliners at 5.2 percent and midsize jets at 5 percent. Turboprops and large, ultra-long-range jets ranked near the bottom of availability at 2.8 and 2.6 percent of their respective fleets for sale.
For the first time in four quarters, the third-quarter survey currently underway indicates that aircraft owner/operator sentiment is rising again after reaching an all-time peak in third-quarter 2021. Among the five major business jet makers—Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer, Gulfstream, and Textron—book-to-bill ratios are all above 2:1, with backlogs totaling $46.7 billion.
Directional Aviation made a financial investment in clean tech developer and green crude producer Alder Fuels, with the intent of using technology to document the production life cycle and industry adoption of low-carbon sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). That action serves to increase transparency around the production of SAF and offer robust documentation for compliance with regulatory programs; environment, social, and governance targets; and carbon reduction milestones in aviation, Directional Aviation said.
“Our investment in Alder Fuels and partnership on advancing the use of digital technology to document SAF use is an example of private aviation leading the way on sustainability commitments and identifying solutions to reduce carbon emissions that aid the entire aviation industry,” said Directional Aviation principal Kenn Ricci.
Regenerative grasses, forest residues, and agricultural waste are among the sustainable biomass Alder Fuels uses to develop low-carbon to carbon-negative green crude, which can be converted to SAF through existing bio and petroleum refineries.
Chicago-based Priester Aviation is acquiring Mayo Aviation in Colorado under an arrangement between the two family-owned aircraft management and charter companies. Each company will still maintain separate brands but work with greater scale and sharing of resources.
Priester Aviation expects increased efficiencies with the acquisition that will offset any staff reductions from either company. “By coming together, we will be able to do more for all of our clients with the same energy and engagement they have enjoyed for decades,” said Priester chairman and CEO Andy Priester. “We will also be able to offer more opportunities to our teams. Together, we will develop a vision of who we can all become, and from that, success in the marketplace will follow.”
Mayo was established in 1978 and will remain under the leadership of second-generation owner Bill Mayo. Mayo said the acquisition serves to bring together two companies with similar values, including an emphasis on relationships with their clients.
“In Priester, we see a company that focuses on the same elements we do. Our parents and families understood that this is a customer-based business,” Mayo said. “The legacy that they built is on display every day, in every interaction. It was important to have a relationship that goes beyond numbers. Heritage matters.”
The acquisition, financial terms of which weren’t disclosed, is expected to be completed by year-end.
Recently appointed JetNet CEO Greg Fell called on the industry to embrace sustainability efforts yesterday at the JetNet iQ Business Aviation Summit in New York City. “We must be leaders in the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels and carbon offsets. If we wait, we will be disrupted by this issue,” he stressed during a sustainability session.
Fell added that the 60-year-old executive flying in a business jet may not be as concerned, “but the 40-year-old [one] does care. That difference is enough to disrupt our industry. Waiting is not a strategy.”
He further said the business aviation industry has a choice: be leaders or be disrupted. “I believe we should be leaders. We should be leading the charge,” Fell emphasized. Underscoring the importance of sustainability, JetNet themed this year’s iQ Summit “Bluer Skies. Greener Future.”
In addition to Fell, Tim Obitts and Bryan Sherbacow of Alder Fuels participated in the panel, along with Kurt Edwards of the International Business Aviation Council, Puja Mahajan of Azzera, and Steve Cass of Gulfstream Aerospace.
Fell took the reins as JetNet’s first-ever CEO late last year after serving as CEO for Display Social and also as COO for Gama Aviation.
Bombardier handed over the first Global 6000 modified for the U.S. Air Force (USAF) Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) program under an order announced in June 2021. Valued at up to $465 million, that contract was a follow-on to earlier agreements under which the company had delivered four Globals for the BACN program.
The June 2021 agreement included one firm order and five options. Since then, the USAF has upped the firm orders and Bombardier has two more deliveries planned through 2023, with additional aircraft possible through 2025.
Bombardier delivered the aircraft through its recently rebranded defense division along with its U.S. subsidiary Learjet, which remains its operating company in Wichita. The contract is a foundation for Bombardier’s strategic expansion of its defense business, particularly as it is able to build up its resources and facilities in the former Learjet production hangars.
“The defense sector is a key pillar of Bombardier’s future as our ultra-reliable and high-performing platforms are best suited to house and operate complex mission equipment,” said Bombardier president and CEO Éric Martel. “This delivery is a milestone, first of its kind since appointing Wichita as the home base for Bombardier Defense.”
Referred to as the E-11A fleet, the BACN-equipped Globals serve as communications gateways that bridge and/or relay voice and data between air and surfaces.
Mid-Continent Aviation Services (MCAS) celebrated the completion of its $5.7 million, 31,500-sq-ft hangar and office expansion with an open house yesterday. Based at Wichita Eisenhower National Airport, the Part 145 repair station also plans to create an additional 23 jobs over the next few years as part of the expansion, pushing its employment to 40.
The event was attended by about 100 people, including Wichita city council and Sedgwick County commission members, as well as officials from the Greater Wichita Partnership. Recruitment and expansion of MROs is a key focus of the economic development agency.
MCAS is a specialist in the maintenance, repair, and overhaul of Hawker 800-series and 4000 business jets, as well as Beechcraft Premier jets. The company is an outgrowth of the corporate flight department of ICM, a Colwich, Kansas-based provider of biofuel technologies and services.
Photo of the Week
I dew! Corporate pilot John Niewoit Jr. took this photo of his company’s Embraer Phenom 300 at sunrise on the Signature Flight Support ramp at Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (KDTW) earlier this month. He noted the morning dew still on the airplane as the sun peeks just above the horizon. Thanks for sharing, John!
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