In its just-released financial results for the first half of the year, Gama Aviation reported revenue growth of 4 percent, to $145 million, over the same period in 2022, with gross profits up by 3 percent, to $27.6 million.

The UK company’s net cash flow from operating activities was down from last year, decreasing from $15.5 million, to $11.6 million. In that same span, the aviation services provider lowered its net debt by $300,000, to $66.1 million, and decreased its net bank obligations by $12.3 million, to $22.5 million.

“These first-half results demonstrate the progress the group continues to make in consolidating and building upon the significant improvement in financial performance that has been delivered over the last couple of years,” said CEO Marwan Khalek. “This is the result of our diligent implementation of our organic growth strategy and the optimization of our operational platform and cost base whilst continuing to deliver our clients’ mission.

“These results, delivered against a backdrop of a very challenging economic and business environment, again serve to illustrate the robustness and resilience of our business,” he added.

In business aviation, we’re often quick to discuss the soaring compensation of pilots and the shortage of talent. But behind the scenes, over in the maintenance sector, a crisis is quietly brewing.

As a recruiter, I’ve been closely monitoring compensation trends, and the latest numbers speak for themselves: compensation for maintenance technicians has increased by a mere 23 percent over the past seven years. Yet, over the same period, pilot salaries have surged by a whopping 59 percent—more than double the increase for the maintenance technicians.

Now, before anyone jumps to conclusions, it’s important to acknowledge that part of this wage disparity might be attributed to the number of job titles maintenance professionals have used over the years. Doing so makes it challenging to benchmark “technicians” to render any valid data. It’s clear that we need a better means of standardizing the data.

Overall, however, the implications of this wage gap are undeniable, and they extend far beyond mere numbers. They have the potential to create significant cultural issues within the industry, with the prevailing perception being that “it’s all about the pilots, while we’re getting our annual 3 percent.”

Aerospace Industries Association president and CEO Eric Fanning is warning of national security consequences of the proposed Federal Supplier Climate Risks and Resilience Rule, which calls for government contractors to report their own—and, in some cases, their supply chain’s—greenhouse emissions according to the guidelines established by an independent, international standards body.

The proposal, released late last year, would require companies bringing in more than $50 million in government contracts to report Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, while those with between $7.5 million and $50 million in government contracts would have to report Scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Testifying before a House panel this week, Fanning cautioned that allowing an international body such as the Standards-Based Technology initiative (SBTi) to establish standards for contractors would jeopardize U.S. leadership in sustainability and “opens the door for foreign influence over U.S. government procurement.” He noted that SBTi is led by foreign nationals and is not accountable to the U.S. government.

“If a contractor does not provide this [emissions] information or if SBTi does not approve their targets, then the contractor would be ruled ineligible for federal contracts,” Fanning said. “In other words, it gives an international body the authority to determine which American companies can and can’t do business with the U.S. government, including our military…It is an unnecessary and unacceptable risk for the U.S. government to divest this authority.”

Britten-Norman this week opened the recently repatriated production line for its Islander multirole aircraft at Bembridge in southern England. This follows a decision announced in June to close the factory it has used in Romania for many years.

Ahead of yesterday's ribbon-cutting event at the Bembridge site on the Isle of Wight, Britten-Norman and Cranfield Aerospace Solutions (CAeS) said they have “paused” the merger plans they announced earlier this year. But the companies will continue joint work to develop a hydrogen-powered version of the Islander under a “strategic partnership agreement.”

Returning to its historical home of Bembridge, Britten-Norman said it will employ two hangars that have been underutilized since 2010 to house a production line to facilitate the construction of up to 16 aircraft annually. Although the company has not delivered a new-build Islander since November 2020, the assembled collection of jigs and tooling recently returned from Romania will be used as Britten-Norman endeavors to achieve its pre-Covid output of two aircraft a year. It aims to produce eight units a year within 24 months.

The first of the new UK-built Islanders, which can seat up to nine passengers and be fitted with either turboprop or piston engines, is expected to be delivered to a customer in the Falkland Islands in May 2024.

The Charitable Aviation Foundation, a nonprofit group based in New Orleans, will now offer funding support for volunteer pilot organizations (VPOs) engaged in charitable flights that benefit people, patients, animals, and communities.

Founder Jay Taffet noted that he established the foundation to further the efforts of the approximately 100 organizations in the U.S. that fly more than 50,000 charity flights a year in areas such as disaster relief, patient transport, animal rescue, conservation monitoring, and community support.

The foundation raises money from aviation and non-aviation sources to help VPOs employ staff and recruit pilots, as well as purchase software and administrative systems required to pursue their missions.

“There are thousands of pilots around the country that volunteer their time and aircraft towards compassionate airlift and public benefit flights, and the organizations that match these volunteer pilots and humanitarian missions are indispensable to the wider nonprofit community,” said Taffet. “Unfortunately, there is very little funding visibility for these VPOs and, thus, a shortage of funds to expand their mission and impact.”

The foundation will award grants to VPOs based on stated needs and will fund only those groups that meet or exceed the standards set by the Air Care Alliance, which promotes charity flights. “We actively solicit grant applications from the VPOs…towards quick-turn funding in support of their mission and services,” Taffet said.

EBAA is joining airline groups Airlines for Europe, the International Air Transport Association, and the European Regions Airline Association in calling on the EU to expedite the adoption of the Single European Sky 2+ (SES 2+) proposal.

In a joint position paper, the organizations urged action, saying they see “more need than ever for a big step forward toward seamless, harmonized, and cost-efficient air traffic management services.” The proposed SES 2+ regulatory framework is critical to modernizing European airspace but has languished for years. “Its full implementation is long overdue,” they said, noting little progress has been made since the European Commission recast the proposal.

Operators face rising costs and increased capacity constraints, leading to delays and higher CO2 emissions, they added. “Europe’s operators have been pushing for the clear benefits of SES 2+ to be realized. But instead of making progress and taking big steps forward, the compromises found so far are falling far behind what is needed."

In urging the adoption, the groups jointly agreed that Europe needs an independent European regulator; independent national supervisory authorities that are free from public and private influence to support the EU; operational performance measures instead of concepts of modulation of charges or a common unit rate; transparent and independent target setting process; and charges and cost principles that are regulated with increased flexibility.