Flexjet has begun offering SpaceX Starlink inflight Wi-Fi, becoming the launch business aviation user of the satellite-based connectivity service. The rollout follows the issuance of an FAA supplemental type certificate obtained through Flexjet’s engineering arm, Nextant Aerospace, and Starlink for installation on a Gulfstream G650. Once installation work is completed on its Gulfstreams, plans call for building on that with approvals across the Flexjet fleet.

The introduction of the service followed an 18-month process that also included a technology evaluation by Flexjet. “We are committed to providing the finest possible travel experience for our owners and this includes high-quality internet access from takeoff to arrival,” said Jay Heublein, who leads Flexjet’s global maintenance and product division. “Through Starlink, SpaceX has created the most significant technology advancement for private jet travel that we’ve seen in the last two decades.”

Starlink operates more than 4,500 low-earth-orbit satellites that offer global internet access to remote and rural locations, as well as for aviation and maritime users. Designed to address reliability issues with legacy Wi-Fi systems, Starlink uses a phased-array antenna that has no moving parts and eliminates environmental variances that can impair performance, Flexjet said. The operator also noted that with Starlink, passengers can access the Internet as soon as they board rather than waiting until reaching altitude.

Lingering supply-chain issues from the pandemic are still putting pressure on the aviation industry, according to speakers at last week's JetNet iQ Summit. While those constraints are acting as a drag on production, some view that as a positive.

“A big issue for a lot of us right now is the supply chain,” explained David Rosenberg, Textron Aviation’s senior v-p and CFO. “We would all love to be building more airplanes right now, but the supply-chain constraints have resulted in a better equilibrium between supply and demand.”

Supply-chain problems have had a cascading effect, according to GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce. “An aircraft operator needs to be serviced and all of a sudden we get word that a first-tier supplier can’t provide an essential engine or avionics on time because they can’t get parts, so they may have to take parts off the production line and give them to the aftermarket line to be able to fix it,” he said.

“Right now, every one of us—whether they will admit it or not—are calling customers saying your airplane is going to be delayed,” Michael Amalfitano, president and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets explained candidly. “We’re all doing it, some more so than others depending on the segment you are in—that’s reality.”

Dubai-based private aircraft flight support chain Jetex soft opened its new FBO at Abu Dhabi Al Bateen Executive Airport earlier this month, with an official launch set to take place in November around the Dubai Airshow, according to company CEO Adel Mardini.

“September 4 was our first day in Abu Dhabi,” Mardini told AIN. “The official opening is expected in late November. My expectation is 6,000 movements a year at Al Bateen.”

Jetex will be the sole FBO operator at the airport. Several other companies, including Munawala and DhabiJet, previously took on the task of managing FBOs in Abu Dhabi's private airport.

Jetex expects to have 100 employees in Abu Dhabi. “We have already recruited 25 people,” Mardini said. “We're going to add another 75 before the end of the year. We are providing a UAE solution for the client. We are selling a UAE package: Dubai and Abu Dhabi.”

Textron Aviation plans to add 16,000 sq ft to its interior manufacturing facility in Wichita to support growing demand for unique and custom Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft interiors, the company said yesterday. Textron expects the expansion to help streamline production processes by centralizing machinery within the space to support efficient interior manufacturing for its entire line of Cessna Citation twinjets, as well as Beechcraft King Air and Cessna SkyCourier turboprops.

The larger footprint allows the company to support newer models such as the Citation M2 Gen2, CJ4 Gen2, Cessna SkyCourier, Beechcraft King Air 360, and King Air 260. Additionally, the facility will support two products currently in development—the Cessna Citation Ascend (the latest Excel/XLS variant) and Beechcraft Denali—once they enter service.

The facility upgrades include energy-saving LED lighting and high-efficiency systems. Textron expects to complete construction on the expansion by mid-year 2024.

"Our highly skilled team designs each interior to create a customer’s ideal aircraft environment and experience, such as relaxation, innovation, or productivity,” said Textron Aviation senior v-p of customer experience Christi Tannahill. “This expansion supports our team in exceeding our customers’ expectations with unmatched quality, craftsmanship, and efficiency.”

Azerbaijan on Tuesday unilaterally closed airspace over neighboring Armenia after its troops launched what the country's defense ministry described as “anti-terrorist” operations in the disputed Nagono-Karabakh region, which borders the two countries. Dyami Security Intelligence confirmed that Azeri forces have begun to shell Armenian forces and that it received reports of the use of surface-to-air missiles.

As of early afternoon Central European Time, any indication of the airspace closure had yet to appear in EASA’s Conflict Zone Information Bulletin, which is intended to warn aircraft operators about such dangers, especially in the wake of the destruction of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by missiles over Ukrainian territory in July 2014. Some operators have noted that the EASA platform was also slow to confirm airspace threats in the wake of Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Dyami told AIN it has advised its clients not to overfly any part of Armenia or Azerbaijan, extending the Dutch company’s security alert that on September 14 urged operators to avoid the MATAL, ELSIV, PEMAN, and VETEN waypoints. Osprey Flight Solutions last week issued a warning categorizing the border between the two Caucasus states, and specifically the Nagorno-Karabakh region, as “high untreated risk airspace at all altitudes.”

Armenia and Azerbaijan have provided operators with an airspace corridor for flights between Europe and Asia as they seek to avoid the Russia-Ukraine war zone.

The important role of weather cameras in helicopter safety was reaffirmed at the recent U.S. Helicopter Safety Team (USHST) Copter/IFR Weather Camera Program Summit, which was held at the headquarters of the Helicopter Association International (HAI). “Our participants experienced a day of learning, identifying problems, and shared experiences as it relates to copter IFR,” said Chris Baur of Hughes Aerospace, USHST industry co-chair.

Summit presenters noted that weather cameras in Alaska have produced an 80 percent reduction in the accident rate. However, weather camera usage in the Lower 48 is scarce and they are urging Congress to fund weather camera implementation in all U.S. states.

In addition, presenters pointed out that the current monopoly on National Weather Service-approved weather sourcing does not meet the needs of the aviation industry. They stressed that advisory weather and weather camera images must be accessible to pilots via ADS-B and wireless electronic flight bag platforms.

They also said the FAA policy allowing for the use of LNAV minimums only for alternate planning purposes negatively impacts accessibility to preferred aerodromes.

And, finally, they said the inclusion of all instrument flight procedures into FAA digital repositories, particularly the 28-day National Airspace System Resource, is essential to allow ease of access to IFR infrastructure. The exclusion and bureaucratic delays in the adaptation of special instrument departures and airways create unnecessary challenges, they added.

Insurance provider Global Aerospace has selected Acord Solutions Group’s Adept data-exchange platform to transact with the global broker community. Acord develops tools to provide for standardized data exchange throughout the global insurance/reinsurance industry. Adept (Acord Data Exchange Platform and Translator) enables real-time data exchange, connecting stakeholders across the insurance industry.

New Jersey-based Global Aerospace said it will use the platform for its Global Reinsurance and Large Commercial business to receive standardized accounting data and claims messages from brokers.

“Global Aerospace is committed to advancing innovation and collaboration in the aviation industry, integrating capabilities that help connect our clients and partners around the world,” said Mike Ashton, the company’s chief data and applications officer for Europe. “Adept allows us to quickly and easily engage with stakeholders and will be key as we continue to evolve and modernize with the industry.”

“Global Aerospace’s near‐century of experience in servicing the aviation industry makes them a key partner in enabling streamlined data exchange for insurers in this space,” added Chris Newman, executive v-p and global managing director for Acord.

Nel Stubbs, revered as an expert on business aviation tax and ownership optimization issues, has been selected as the 2023 recipient of the NBAA John P. “Jack” Doswell Award. The association is presenting the award, one of its highest honors, during the 2023 BACE next month in Las Vegas.

The association praised Stubbs as the “foremost strategist in aviation tax planning and audits, cost and financial analysis, budgeting, and aircraft ownership and operating structures.”

Stubbs, a v-p at JSSI’s Conklin & de Decker business unit, joined NBAA in 1987 and played a key role in developing its advocacy surrounding tax issues on a national and state level. This included the creation of its “State Tax Report,” which NBAA called an industry standard, as well as the establishment of the NBAA Tax Committee.

In 1999, she joined the aviation research and consulting firm Conklin & de Decker. Stubbs became an owner in 2000 and remained with the company after JSSI acquired it in 2018. In addition to her role with JSSI, she serves on NATA's Air Charter Committee, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Business Industry Advisory Board, and the NBAA Tax Committee.

“Nel’s unequaled ability to analyze and articulate critical considerations for optimizing business aircraft use has been essential to success for organizations of all types and sizes,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen.