Global petroleum producer Shell announced plans to begin production of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), adding approximately two million tonnes a year to the world’s SAF supply by 2025. Currently, the company distributes SAF produced by other companies.
The fuel giant last week made the final decision to commission the construction of a new biofuel production facility at its Netherlands energy and chemicals park in Rotterdam, which when completed would make it one of the industry’s leading SAF producers.
The news comes on the heels of a report generated by the company and Deloitte, which interviewed more than 100 aviation industry executives and experts who concluded that “the current global industry targets are not ambitious enough, and that the aviation sector should aim to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.” Shell also aims to have SAF equal to at least 10 percent of its global aviation fuel sales by 2030.
“Currently, [SAF] accounts for less than 0.1 percent of the world’s use of aviation fuel,” noted Shell Aviation president Anna Mascolo. “With the right policies, investments, and collaboration across the sector, we can accelerate aviation’s progress towards net-zero by 2050.”
Bizjet OEM Chiefs Discuss Challenges at JetNet Summit
The CEOs of Bombardier, Dassault Falcon Jet, Embraer Executive Jets, and Textron Aviation shared the stage last week and common views on the state of the industry and its greatest post-pandemic challenges at the JetNet Summit in New York City. All reported “robust” demand with sales “on acceleration,” as Bombardier’s Eric Martel put it, driven by new-to-business-aviation customers.
These customers are often buying midsize, super-midsize, and large-cabin, not entry-level, jets and the manufacturers have adapted their sales processes to “provide a collaborative environment” to educate them on ownership, according to Embraer Executive Jets president and CEO Michael Amalfitano. All four leaders cited supply chain issues, workforce shortages, and demands for sustainability among the industry’s most critical issues ahead. The supply chain is challenged by shortages of personnel, material, working capital, and even shipping containers, limiting OEMs' ability to increase production.
Longer-term, a shortage of skilled labor presents a “fundamental underlying problem,” driven in part by demographic changes, said Textron Aviation chief Ron Draper. Panelists stressed the need to attract a much larger and diverse population into the industry.
Meanwhile, amid increasing demands for sustainability and with no alternative to current engine technology, all four agreed expanding the use of sustainable aviation fuel is—as Dassault’s Thierry Betbeze put it—“the only way that makes sense” to reduce business jets’ carbon footprint in the near term.
ACA: It Takes a Village To Combat Illegal Charter
The European business aviation industry must increase awareness of illegal charter operators and push for harsher sanctions if it has any chance of wiping out the illicit practice. This was a key message from the Air Charter Expo (ACE) conference held last week at London Biggin Hill Airport.
“So-called grey charter activity is widespread,” said Nigel Harris, a charter broker and council member of the Air Charter Association (ACA). “This is a highly regulated industry and there is considerable time and expense involved in setting up and maintaining an AOC [designed] to keep customers safe. These high standards do not apply to privately operated aircraft.”
ACA CEO Glenn Hogben split the law flouters into three groups: “the clueless, the careless, and the criminal. The first two parties either don’t understand that they operate illegally or are not paying attention to the specificities of their flight. This is the group that we [in the industry] try to educate on an ongoing basis.”
The criminal group is of more concern, he admitted, and requires the assistance of aviation authorities to bring prosecutions. In that area, Hogben continued, the industry is supporting authorities with data on flights provided by tipsters and by education if needed. “We must remain vigilant,” he said. “This is an ongoing activity, and a global effort.”
Intl Business Aviation Council Celebrates 40 Years
The International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) is celebrating its 40th anniversary this month with a busy agenda that includes continuing its work with the International Civil Aviation Organization, forwarding sustainability efforts, and expanding on the IS-BAH program and other safety initiatives.
The organization was formed in September 1981 when six business aviation associations representing the industry in North America, Europe, and Africa signed a charter during the annual NBAA convention in Anaheim, California, to advocate for the industry globally. As the industry grew, so too have the number of business aviation associations and IBAC now counts among its members organizations around the globe.
“Much has been accomplished in 40 years for the business aviation community, including establishing IBAC’s presence at ICAO in Montreal as an official observer; developing two recognized global codes of best safety practice: IS-BAO and IS-BAH; revising Annex 6 Part II of the Chicago Convention; offering aircrew IDs; and leading industry sustainability efforts including the new carbon credit exchange voluntary offset platform, among others,” said IBAC director-general Kurt Edwards.
As for its upcoming agenda, IBAC is remaining involved as the ICAO Council and Air Navigation Commission gears back up, as well as is continuing its focus on growing IS-BAH, promoting the SafetyNet webinar series with its IS-BAO support affiliates, and rolling out a new carbon offset program.
NBAA is expanding its virtual content that will be available during BACE, including an online Meet the Regulators session that will take place in the weeks leading up to its October 12 to 14 event in Las Vegas.
To be held from 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on September 30 and included as part of NBAA’s lineup of hybrid content for BACE, the Meet the Regulators session will feature officials from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and FAA to address issues surrounding Covid-19, customs, and other regulatory matters.
Eric Rodriguez, CBP program manager of general aviation, will explain the latest policies and procedures at U.S. Customs, while Dr. Nicole Cohen, the CDC’s deputy associate director for science, division of global migration and quarantine, will be available to respond to questions about masks, vaccines, and other pandemic-related issues. Participating from the FAA will be Robert Ruiz, soon-to-be deputy director of Flight Standards, and Bruce Decline, director of the Office of Safety Standards.
Along with the Meet the Regulators session content availability, NBAA is planning an International and Regulatory Updates session on the second day of BACE (October 13).
Tradewind Aviation To Take More PC-12s, Expand Service
Tradewind Aviation will take delivery of two new Pilatus PC-12 NG turboprop singles this fall after launching scheduled shuttle service from White Plains, New York, to Newport, Rhode Island, in July, and resuming shuttle service to Anguilla in the eastern Caribbean later this year. The Connecticut-based scheduled and private charter operator said its new PC-12s will join its current fleet of 18 of the type, as well as three Cessna Citation CJ3 light jets.
The fleet upgrade occurs as Tradewind marks its 20th year in business. Founded by brothers and pilots Eric and David Zipkin using a Cessna Grand Caravan in 2001, Tradewind has grown from five employees to 180 and offers private charter and scheduled service to five Caribbean destinations and six in the Northeast U.S., including New York City, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket in Massachusetts, and Stowe, Vermont.
“From the start, we have been a part of the evolution of private aviation from a luxury to a utility, and we will continue to innovate as our market grows,” said Tradewind president Eric Zipkin. “It’s exciting to look back at our two decades of innovation in private aviation and we’re looking forward to launching several new domestic and Caribbean routes in the fall.”
GetHeli Expands To International Operators
UK-based helicopter charter booking platform GetHeli expanded its database to include international operators and has also introduced a new subscription-based offer for charter brokers to use its platform and software. In addition, GetHeli is laying plans to offer eVTOL aircraft flights when the new models begin commercial operations from around 2024.
Former investment banker Laurent Vallet launched the company in 2018 with a long-term objective to prepare to provide a retail platform for booking eVTOL services. But he reached the conclusion that his team should first try to improve what he views as an inefficient helicopter charter market.
GetHeli is developing a real-time pricing algorithm that can ensure accurate pricing to confirm bookings more quickly and with greater transparency. Its platform will soon include a “fleet diary” showing the exact status of any given aircraft at a given time. The new subscription model gives brokers the opportunity to have the service customized. Customers can choose to pay a commission on bookings (of around 3 to 5 percent) or a monthly subscription rate starting at £1,000 ($1,400). For operators, it is free to list aircraft on the site and market their availability.
Want more? You can find a longer version of this article at FutureFlight.aero, a news and information resource developed by AIN to provide objective coverage and analysis of cutting-edge aviation technology.
Russian Firms Collaborate on Pilatus Service Center
The UTG PA Business Aviation Center at Moscow Domodedovo Airport will serve as an authorized center for line and regular maintenance on the Pilatus PC-12 turboprop single and PC-24 twinjet under a letter of intent between it and Skypro Technics, a joint venture of Skypro Helicopters and Nesterov Aviation, an authorized Pilatus Aircraft service center in Russia. The agreement was signed earlier this month at the Russian Business Aviation Exhibition in Moscow.
Skypro Technics operates a Pilatus service center at Dobrograd Airport that provides scheduled, unscheduled, and field maintenance and AOG. It also operates a spares warehouse.
UTG’s operations at Domodedovo comprise a 770-sq-m (8,288-sq-ft) VIP passenger terminal, three hangars for business aircraft totaling 8,000 sq m (86,111 sq ft), and a full range of ground handling services. UTG’s FBO is currently undergoing a full renovation that’s expected to be completed by the end of 2022.
Aviation Safety Question of the Week
Provided by
What is the intertropical convergence zone (ITCZ)?
A. A treaty signed by countries located at low latitudes to support general aviation.
B. An area along the equator where sea currents induce bad weather.
C. An area around the tropics where continental winds converge, forming clouds and thunderstorms.
D. An area in the vicinity of the equator where trade winds converge, forming clouds and thunderstorms.
Last Chance for AIN Sustainability Event in New York
AIN is hosting four one-day regional conferences on sustainability and the modern flight department. Attendees will learn about aviation’s contribution to carbon emissions and the reductions due to the Covid pandemic; regulator/government roles in minimizing aviation emissions (CORSIA, carbon credits); making sense of carbon offsets; building to LEED standards, and much more. Just two days remain before the conference near New York City on September 22. Future locations for this event include Texas, Florida, and California. Register today
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