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KEEPING YOU IN THE AIR WITH EUROPE’S LARGEST SERVICE NETWORK.

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Client: Textron Aviation/CessnaAd Title: Keeping you in the air.Publication: BART International - Feb/March/April - Issue #155Trim: 8.25” x 11.25” • Bleed: 8.5” x 11.5” • Live:

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©2015 Textron Aviation Inc. is a registered trademarkof Textron Innovations Inc., used by permission.

Service Network_Euro Campaign_BART Int.indd 1 1/23/15 3:08 PM

PREMIER TRANSATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE

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BART ExclusiveFleet Report page 28EstablishedMarkets RegainDominanceDriving the MarketForward page 38

COMPLETION CRAZE Interior SpecialistsFacing a Shifting Landscape of New Technology

FEB-APR 2015

Kirby Harrison reports on Page 56

uasc.com

It’s like Einstein and an F-16 had a baby

Integrated Flight Deck

UASC_2015_BART_Feb_March_Ad.indd 1 1/19/15 8:26 AM

WEBSTER'S NEW COLLEGIATE DICTIONARY: Tax n:a sum imposed by authority upon entities forthe benefit of the citizens. Do you read me?Not for the benefit of the Government, not forthe benefit of the Airports, but for the benefitof the Citizens. It's however a bit difficult tounderstand the purpose of a Tax and where themoney is going, especially in our beautifulaviation industry where Airport Charges,Government Taxes, Security Fees are generally"de rigueur".

You will notice that these shambles aredisguised under different labels: Tax, Fee andCharge are the names commonly used;however there is a substantial differencebetween each one of these appellations. I canjust say that while the money collected fromCharges or Fees can be used for any legitimatepurpose, the funds gathered with Airport Taxeshave to be used exclusively for the benefit ofpassengers or airport neighbors.

In our industry, a Tax is levied at someairports for the operation of reclassifiedChapter 2 re-motorized aircraft or equippedwith exhaust silencers. Besides, a Tax issometime included in the Landing Fee like theTNSA. "No Jack, TNSA does not mean TibetanNational Sports Association!" TNSA is a Tax onAir Noise Pollution included in the landing fee,imposed on all aircraft of more than 2 tonslanding at LFPG.

In any case, it's illegal for an airport toimpose a tax on noise if the money is not usedfor the benefits of those affected by the airport

hullabaloo. The funds for example should beutilized to build sound-proof walls around theairport perimeter and provide financialassistance to airport neighbors wishing toinstall sound-reducing windows and doors oradding insulation. They should not be used tobuild a fancy airport gate or transform theterminal into a shopping mall.

The word noise comes from the Latin"nausea" that means sickness and noise makepeople psychologically sick especially in high-priced neighborhoods. Opening the door atvarious taxes, the introduction of noiselegislations started in the early seventies whenaircraft noises were earsplitting. Likewise Taxesmake you sick and nobody like them either.Therefore the situation requires a little bit ofconsideration.

Even much quieter, present days' aircraft arenot just whispering and when you are standingunder the path of flight of a multi-engine jetpulling 100 percent power, the noise isoverwhelming at altitudes below 100 ft. Whynot make an audible noise reduction after gearand flaps up? It should be noted that that jetstaking off are not the sole troublemakers. Foot-dragging approaches with all the laundry outrequires a 90 percent or more thrust tomaintain a safe IAS. Each time power is neededto stabilize speed or descent; it rattles morewindows and fatigue more nerves. Cooperationis the key word. Infringement on the privacy ofairport communities could dish out more taxesand curfews at community business airports.

From the Editor

"Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she laid an asteroid."Mark Twain

WHAT LIES BEHIND AIRPORT TAXES?

3 EDITO.qxp 4/02/2015 15:10

282015 FLEET REPORT

This year's fleet report sees established marketsregaining dominance.

54HELI-EXPO

Over 65 helicopters will be displayed at OrangeCounty Convention Center for Heli-Expo 2015.

We preview the show.

56INTERIORS

The completion industry is facing a shiftinglandscape of new technology. Kirby Harrison

looks at how it is coping.

62MEBA REACHES MATURITY

MEBA 2014 proved that the Middle East isnow an established Business Aviation market.

66THE DOCKET

Influential aviation lawyer Aoife O'Sullivanlooks at the latest EASA regulations for

non-commercial operators.

70MAINTENANCE MATTERS

Biggin Hill is steadily establishing itself one ofUK's top maintenance hubs. Bernard

Fitzsimons reports.

74FROM THE COCKPIT

Our resident pilot LeRoy Cook looks at sometop pilot tips for protecting your eyes.

76SAFETY SENSE

Our experts look at how a breakdown ofcommunication led to an almost fatal accident.

FEB - APR - 2015Volume XXVII - No 1

BART No 155WWW.BARTINTL.COM

S EC T I O N S

3EDITORIAL

6POINTER

8FAST TRACK

22BUSINESS NEWS

24TRANSATLANTIC UPDATE

Editor and PublisherFernand M. Francois

Associate PublisherKathy Ann Francois

Executive EditorPaul Walsh

Senior EditorMarc Grangier

Safety EditorsCaptain LeRoy Cook,

Michaël Grüninger

PREMIER TRANSATLANTICBUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE

Avionics EditorSteve Nichols

MRO EditorBernard Fitzsimons

New-York EditorKirby J. Harrison

CONTRIBUTING EDITORSFabio Gamba, Nick Klenske,

Louis Smyth, Giulia Mauri, Derek A. Bloom,

Guy Viselé, Aoife O'Sullivan

PRODUCTIONTanguy Francois

Production Manager

ADVERTISINGKathy Ann FrancoisAdvertising Director

[email protected]

CIRCULATIONThais Cremer

Marketing Assistant [email protected]

C O N T E N T S

4-5 CONTENTS.qxp 6/02/2015 09:55

Member

SPACIOUSDassault Falcon’s 5X cabin features

flowing, uninterrupted lines toenhance the feeling of space.

OUR COVERRotorcraft innovation continues at

a dizzying pace. Read our pre-view of Heli-Expo on page 54.

61 AERIA Luxury Interiors13 AMAC Aerospace 11 Dassault Falcon (PUCK L’AGENCE)65 Duncan Aviation41 EBACE 20159 FlightSafety International (GRETEMAN GROUP)73 GCS Safety Solution7 Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation2 HondaJet (MILNER BUTCHER MEDIA GROUP)39 Jet Support Services Inc. (JSSI)37 JetNet LLC53 NBAA 201519 Pilatus Aircraft Ltd.23 Rockwell Collins ARINCDirect17 Rolls-Royce 15 Textron Aviation Customer Support (Sullivan Higdon & Sink)84 Textron Aviation Jet Sales (Sullivan Higdon & Sink)83 Universal Avionics Systems, Corp.21 Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc.

OUR ADVERTISERS AND THEIR AGENCIES

BART International. Business Aviation Real Tool is the Premier Transatlantic Business Aviation Magazine. ISSN 0776-7596 Printed in Belgium and published Bi-Monthly by Société Anonyme Frankie&Lette 20 rue de l’Industrie, 1400Nivelles, Belgium. Phone +326 788 3603; Fax +326 788 3623. With US offices in Texas and Arizona, BART Internationalis governed by international copyright laws. Single copy $12.95 U.S. or €10.00 EUR. Professional Subscriptionavailable at 12 issues $31.00 U.S. or €24.00 EUR. Bank account BNP PARIBAS Fortis BE92 2710 0610 0423. Administration and Circulation Thais Cremer [email protected]. International distribution by ASENDIA. USPS016707 Periodical postage paid. For details call IMS at 1(800) 428 3003. Belgian posting office: BE1380 Lasne. Office Coordinator Paul Walsh - Strategic Development Officer. Responsible Publisher - Fernand M. Francois

4-5 CONTENTS.qxp 6/02/2015 09:55

SDCSchedulers & Dispatchers ConferenceFeb 3 - Feb 6 2015San Jose, California U.S.A.

HAI HELI-EXPO 2015March 2–5 2015Orlando, USA

AERO Friedrichsaffen 2015Apr 15 - Apr 18 2015Friedrichsaffen, Germany

EBACE 2015May 19-21 2015Geneva, Switzerland

Paris Air ShowJune 15-21 2015Le Bourget, France

6 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2015

POINTER IN SEQUENCESAFETY FIRST AT BARTI truly appreciate receiving your excellent magazine, especially theimportant place dedicated to training and safety. Your regular columns"From the Cockpit" and "Safety Sense" are among the best I have everread in any aviation publication. In his excellent article on situationawareness published in your issue 153, LeRoy Cook put the emphasis onthe possibility of a position loss occurring from information overload. Mr.Cook is quite right, pointing out that today's pattern of position shortfall ismore likely to occur from over-reliance on automation. State of the artavionics and systems are wonderful, but they also require more trainingthan in the past, especially for older generation's pilots. Thank you againfor renewing my subscription.

Capt. George TheophylactouNicosia. Republic of Cyprus

RENDER TO CAESAR THE THINGS THAT ARE CAESAR'S, AND TO GOD THE THINGS THAT ARE GOD'SI have noticed that page 34 of your December issue includes an imageowned by Gama Aviation. The photo is a Legacy 650 from our fleet parkedat the Gama FBO in Sharjah International Airport. We commissioned thephoto-shoot in 2012 if my memory serves correctly. The article reference isfor Embraer, not Gama. Also; the photo includes a private car owned by aSharjah VIP and the license plate has not been censored.

Oliver HewsonGAMA AVIATION United Arab Emirates

Thank you very much for your clarification complementing a photoillustrating a Legacy 650 on page 34 of BART International issue 153. The space allocated for the caption didn't allowed us to give a completedescription of the elements pictured. Being unreadable, the expurgationof the car license plate was not required. Our readers will appreciateyour clearing up.

Follow us on Instagram @bart_intl

OUR MAN IN THE STARS

Agenda

BART International Avionics Editor.A journalist and business communicator with over 30

years’ experience, Steve columns have been published inleading scientific and aviation magazines. He recentlylaunched GetConnected.aero, a website about inflight

connectivity. Steve has won awards for writing,photography, audio/video and web design. He also runscommunications skills training seminars. He is regularly

consulted and work for: ADS, Aviva, Inmarsat, Honeywell,HMG Aerospace, Reed International and many others.

In the past number of years Steve has communicated hisknowledge and expertise to our readers in their quest for

their avionics’ judicious information. A British Citizen, Steve Nichols lives in Norwich UK.

Ask our experts > [email protected]

Events

6 POINTER.qxp 4/02/2015 15:11

HE WORLD STANDARDTIntercontinental range, record-setting speed, advanced technology, unrivaled utility

and the top-rated worldwide product support network. The World Standard™ isn’t

just a company tagline, it’s a benchmark by which all others must be measured.

G650ER, G650, G600, G500, G550, G450, G280 and G150 are trademarks or registered trademarks of Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.

To contact a Gulfstream sales representative in your area, visit gulfstream.com/contacts. GULFSTREAM.COM


MARSHALL AVIATION SERVICES ANNOUNCES ITS FIRST FBO AT EGBBMarshall Aviation Services, the business aviation-focused arm ofthe Marshall Aerospace and Defence Group, announced it iswidening its expertise into the FBO arena. It has secured theexecutive aviation handling facility (FBO) at Birmingham Airportand will formally open for business under the Marshall AviationServices name within the next few months.Marshall has agreed a long term lease of the award-winningFBO, built in 2011 and located to the west of the airport. Theglass fronted 4,000m2 (44,000 sq ft) facility, includes 2,500m2(27,000sq.ft) of hangarage space which will be available both toresident and ad-hoc visiting aircraft. Under the previous opera-tor, the FBO was named Best Handling Agent/FBO by industrypeers of the Baltic Air Charter Association (BACA) in 2013.The FBO is regularly used by BAE Avro RJ executive charteroperator Cello Aviation and FlairJet, Marshall Aviation Services’aircraft operations, charter and management company, will alsohave a presence there. The facility will continue to offer fuelservices via Avfuel.

CESSNA ROLLS OUT CITATION LATITUDECessna has celebrated the roll out of the first production CitationLatitude at the company’s Wichita, Kansas manufacturing facility,just three years since being announced to the market. The assem-bly of the Latitude features a variety of technological advance-ments including the use of new automated robotics and ergonomi-cally friendly tooling stations. Today’s event is the latest in the air-craft’s progression toward type certification by the FederalAviation Administration (FAA), which is expected in the secondquarter of this year.“Our product investments extend beyond the design and perfor-mance features of the aircraft with innovations in our manufactur-ing processes,” said Scott Ernest, president and CEO. “TheCitation Latitude team has redefined what customers shouldexpect from a business aircraft in this segment, while also redefin-ing the aircraft build process.”

JET AVIATION DUBAI RECEIVES PART 145 FALCON 7X APPROVAL Jet Aviation Dubai recently received EASA Part 145 approvalto provide base maintenance to Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft.With EASA base maintenance approval, Jet Aviation Dubainow fully supports the Dassault Falcon 7X aircraft. The com-pany already holds EASA-authorization to perform line main-tenance on Falcon 7X, F900 EX Easy; F900DX; F2000; F2000EX Easy and F2000 DX aircraft. It also has full FAA approvalto provide line and base maintenance to the entire DassaultFalcon family. “There are a number of Dassault Falcon 7Xoperators in the region and we are very pleased to expandour service capabilities to meet their needs,” says HardyButschi, vice president and general manager of Jet AviationDubai. “This approval validates our ability to provide Falcon7X owners and operators premium quality maintenance sup-port to best ensure their safety and security."

8 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:47

Building trust over time, and continuing to earn it each day, is FlightSafety’s promise and commitment. Aviation professionals from around the world trust FlightSafety to continuously provide the highest quality training and outstanding service they expect and deserve since 1951. Today more than 1,800 highly experienced professional instructors deliver aircraft and mission-specifi c courses, using FlightSafety’s comprehensive training systems and advanced-technology fl ight simulators designed to enhance safety. Trust your training to FlightSafety. You’ll see why so many of yesterday’s and today’s aviation professionals have made the same choice.

For information, please contact Steve Gross, Vice President, Sales • 314.785.7815sales@fl ightsafety.com • fl ightsafety.com • A Berkshire Hathaway company

ELREY B. JEPPESEN Navigational Aviation Pioneer

Aviation pioneers Elrey “Jepp” Jeppesen and Al Ueltschi started out as barnstormers and went on to become industry leaders and icons. They were close friends and business colleagues who led industry-changing efforts to make aviation safer.

Their correspondence, now housed in Seattle’s Museum of Flight, illuminates their mutual respect and goals. In 1962 Ueltschi wrote in a letter to Jeppesen, “If we can provide the fi nest instruction and equipment, our Company should continue to grow even more.” Jeppesen shared how he actively promoted FlightSafety, whether at aviation events or in one-on-one interactions. As a longstanding member of FlightSafety’s board of directors, Jeppesen was directly involved in the business. Al and Jepp discussed such milestones as ferrying the fi rst Falcon aircraft across the ocean and the arrival of FlightSafety’s Gulfstream, Falcon and JetStar simulators.

The company Jepp founded in 1934 continues to help aviation professionals worldwide reach their destinations safely and effi ciently. Al’s commitment in 1951 to provide the very best training and simulators remains at the core of FlightSafety’s mission to enhance aviation safety around the world.

– Jepp Jeppesen, from a letter to FlightSafety founder Al Ueltschi, 1984

Jeppesen and Company celebrated its 50th anniversary last week. It was very exciting and emotional. I got some really good licks in for FlightSafety.”

“

A Legacy of Trust

FLIGHTSAFETY JEPPESEN TRUST AD - BART INTL - FEB/MAR 2015 ISSUE - Trim: 8.25” w x 11.25” h Bleed: 8.5” w x 11.5” h PDF/X-1A VIA EMAIL


DAHER-SOCATA EXTENDS ITS TBM SUPPORT IN THE UKDAHER-SOCATA has announced that RGV Aviation Limited has become the latestmember of the TBM Customer Support Network as an approved TBM ServiceCenter.RGV is an EASA Part 145 Maintenance Organisation and FAA Repair Station basedat Gloucestershire Airport (EGBJ) in the United Kingdom. RGV is now able to serveTBM operators both visiting and based in the United Kingdom.“RGV becomes an important element of our network, serving customers in a regionwhere we expect strong market development for the TBM very fast turboprop aircraftfamily – especially its newest member, the TBM 900,” said Nicolas Chabbert, SeniorVice President of DAHER-SOCATA’s Airplane Business Unit. “I am confident is thefirst step for a growing business and collaboration between our two companies.”

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL WEF FOR AIR SERVICE BASEL

During this year’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos from 21. -24. Jan. 2015, Air Service Basel’s FBO at the EuroAirport Basel againexperienced an extremely busy period, when supporting visiting jetswhose VIP passengers were headed for the Annual Meeting held atDavos in Switzerland.Air Service Basel once again handled an extraordinary number of air-craft movements during the event, with a high majority being mid- andlarge-size business jets using ASB’s state-of-the-art hangar facilities forlong term parking.“Our FBO handled a peak number of flights for visiting VIPs from allover the world, including many European and Overseas’ corporate andgovernment flight departments”, says Air Service Basel’s CEO ClaudioLasagni, “and I am pleased that our team provided an excellent and dis-creet handling service to all our guests”.

BELL HELICOPTERRECEIVES EASA ATO CERTIFICATIONBell Helicopter has announced it has received an ApprovedTraining Organization (ATO) certification from theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).With this approval, the Bell Helicopter Training Academy(BTA) is authorized to provide Part-FCL training coursesfor European customers.“The EASA ATO certification is a significant milestone forBell Helicopter,” said Ray Lamas, general manager, GlobalCustomer Training for Bell Helicopter. “This certificationenhances our ability to provide in-region pilot initial andrecurrent training for our Bell 429 and Bell 407 customersin Europe, and is a critical next step towards the opening ofour joint training facility with TRU Simulation + Trainingand Textron Aviation in Valencia, Spain.”

HONDA AIRCRAFT PRESIDENTAND CEO HONORED AS AVIATIONINDUSTRY LEADER Honda Aircraft Company announced thatPresident and CEO Michimasa Fujino hasbeen honored with the Aviation IndustryLeader of the Year Award for the develop-ment, production, marketing and sales of theinnovative HondaJet.The award recognizes dedication to the avia-tion industry and is presented each year bythe Kiddie Hawk Air Academy. Fujino washonored on Friday, Jan. 16, 2015 as part ofKiddie Hawk’s 12th annual “Living Legends ofAviation Awards” event in Beverly Hills,California."We are pleased to grant Michimasa Fujinothis award for his contributions to theadvancement of business aviation with hisoriginal concept design, the HondaJet,” saidKiddie Hawk volunteer Paul Lips. "With thisaward, we recognize his efforts and vision tocreate new technology with the HondaJetOver-The-Wing Engine Mount configuration.”

8-20 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:53

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Fly nonstop across oceans (up to 4,750 nm/8,800 km); fl y one-stop to almost anywhere in the world. The 900LX has unrivaled capability, fl ying in and

out of impressively short fi elds, burning 40 percent less fuel than its nearest competitor, and offering the comfort factor of three engines. It’s the latest

and the best in the iconic Falcon 900 series.

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JET AVIATION GENEVA RECEIVES REPAIR STATION APPROVALSJet Aviation Geneva has recently received repair stationapprovals for Canada, Azerbaijan, San Marino and Guernsey.With these approvals, Jet Aviation Geneva is authorized to pro-vide full maintenance services to aircraft registered in SanMarino, Guernsey, Azerbaijan and Canada. The Geneva MROfacility also holds approvals for Aruba, Bermuda, United ArabEmirates, Saudi Arabia, Cayman, Cameroun and Mauritius, inaddition to EASA and FAA approval.“We are pleased to expand our service offerings to owners andoperators of aircraft registered in San Marino, Guernsey,Azerbaijan and Canada,” said Cyril Martiniere, managingdirector of Jet Aviation Geneva. “These approvals validate ourcommitment to the highest standards and we look forward towelcoming and supporting these aircraft.”

STANDARDAERO SIGNS CONTRACT WITH WEST ATLANTIC StandardAero signed an exclusive five year contract, with a five year renewaloption on January 1, 2015, to maintain, repair and overhaul West AltanticCargo Airline’s PW126 engines, modules, components and parts. The agree-ment will cover West Atlantic’s owned fleet of 41 BAE ATP aircraft poweredby PW126 engines serving the cargo mail and express industries. Services will be provided predominantly at StandardAero’s Tilburg,Netherlands European Service Center (ESC). Additional services will also beavailable at StandardAero’s Winnipeg, Canada facility as well as on site atWest Atlantic’s Malmo, Sweden and Coventry, United Kingdom locations.The agreement also includes field service provided by StandardAero techni-cians. Headquartered in Gothenburg, Sweden, West Atlantic is one ofEurope’s largest cargo airlines and the most experienced provider of unique,integrated ground to air logistics for the mail industry.

GKN SIGNS AGREEMENT WITH ROLLS-ROYCE FOR TRENT 1000 COMPONENTSGKN Aerospace has agreed a long term agreement (LTA) with Rolls-Royce plc to supply components for the latest version of the Trent 1000engine - a capability enhancement of the existing Trent 1000 engine forthe Boeing 787. This LTA is estimated to be worth more than USD200mover the life of the agreement.The agreement gives GKN Aerospace responsibility for the supply ofthe outer guide vane (OGV) mount ring and the rear fan case for theengine. Manufacture is taking place at the company’s sites inNewington, Connecticut, El Cajon, California and Mexicali, Mexicofrom where delivery of initial development units is already takingplace. When in full production GKN Aerospace expects to supply up to150 engine sets annually.GKN Aerospace has optimised a number of advanced fabrication andassembly techniques to minimise the buy to fly ratio for each component,cut material wastage and limit exposure to material price fluctuations.Traditional ring forgings, which require extensive machining, have beenreplaced with near net shape materials which require minimal finishing.Techniques such as electron beam welding and plasma welding as wellas optimised mounting solutions have reduced manufacturing andassembly complexity and cost. In addition, skilled chem milling of therear fan case has lowered this component’s weight by more than 40lbs.

8-20 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:53

AMAC Aerospace Switzerland AG Henric Petri -Strasse 354051 Basel, Switzerland

Telephone +41 58 310 31 31 [email protected]

Swiss Excellence in Business Aviat ion

Corporate and private aircraft maintenance, refurbishment and completion services, aircraft management and charter operations.

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NEXTANT COMPLETES SUCCESFUL FIRST FLIGHT FOR NEW G90XTNextant Aerospace (“Nextant”), a Directional AviationCapital company, maker of the Nextant 400XTi – the worldsonly remanufactured business jet – and the forthcomingNextant G90XT turboprop, announced the successful com-pletion of the first test flight for the new G90XT. The compa-ny celebrated the landmark event with a rollout celebrationat their headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio.“This is a very exciting day for the team at Nextant and ourcustomer base,” said Nextant President and CEO SeanMcGeough. “We announced this program just twelvemonths ago and we are on schedule for certification. Wehave great expectations for this aircraft and believe the newtechnology that it offers will be appealing to this market seg-ment.”The G90XT by Nextant Aerospace is a remanufactured King Air C90A that features the new H75 engine by GE. The aircraft will benefitfrom several significant technology enhancements including a fully integrated GARMIN G1000 cockpit, electronic engine control withcomplete exceedance protection, single lever power control technology for simplified operations and reduced pilot workload, digitalpressurization, all new dual-zone air-conditioning for enhanced ground cooling in warm operating environments along with a significantinterior upgrade for enhanced cabin comfort.

DUNCAN AVIATIONRENEWS CERTIFICATION FOR INDIADuncan Aviation's Lincoln, Nebraska, Maintenance, Repair &Overhaul (MRO) facility recently received renewal of its approvalby the India office of the Director General of Civil Aviation as anapproved aircraft maintenance organization. The certificate isgood from Jan. 1, 2015 through Dec. 31, 2015.According to Chris VanderWiede, Chief Inspector ofInternational Airworthiness, it is important to be able to provideservice to all of Duncan Aviation's customers, regardless of loca-tion."Duncan Aviation continually evaluates its certifications and isconstantly communicating with customers and prospects aroundthe world to secure new and maintain current certifications whenit makes sense to do so," VanderWeide says.


FIRST CITATION M2 IN EUROPEAtlas Air Service delivered the first Citation M2 in Europe to thecompany Müller Co-Ax AG from Forchtenberg in Baden-Württemberg. The business jet landed at Bremen Airport after itstransfer flight from Independence, Kansas (USA).Cessna’s M2 is the successor of the CJ1+ and was completely mod-ernised. The winglets providing lower aerodynamic resistancetogether with the laminar wings constitute the most significantchange of the new M2’s look. The completely redesigned cockpitis equipped with the modern Citation “Intrinzic” flight deck on thebasis of the Garmin G3000 with touch-screen technology. Newcomfort seats, LED lighting and the optional Cessna Clarity CabinManagement System offer highest passenger comfort. The M2 has eight to nine seats and a speed of up to 400 knots(741 km/h). Moreover, it boasts with a range of up to 1,300 nauti-cal miles (2,400 km). This enables direct flights from Frankfurt toMoscow or Hamburg to Lisbon. “In view of such flight perfor-mances and a better price in comparison to its predecessor thenew jet is an attractive entry-level model into the legendary CLclass”, explains Hans Doll, Sales Director of Atlas Air Service.“We are very pleased that the Cessna has accommodated thewishes of our customers and created an ideal upgrade for pilotsof turboprops, Cessna Mustang or the CJ1+. We expect an excel-lent positioning of Cessna’s new product in the light jet market inGermany and worldwide.”

8-20 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:54

CITATION CJ4

CITATION CJ3+

C E S S N A .CO M | U. S . +1 . 8 4 4 . 4 4 .T X TAV | INTERNATIONAL +1 . 3 1 6 . 517. 8 270©2015 Textron Aviation Inc. Cessna’s logo and Cessna are registered

trademarks of Textron Innovations Inc., used by permission.

THE CJ FAMILY

We’ve always thought trying to sell the idea of a “one-size-fits-all” business jet was more for

some other manufacturers’ benefit rather than our customers’. That’s why, where some just

offer one light jet, we offer a family of Citations made specifically for you. And, when you’re

typed in one of these single-pilot Citations, you’re ready to fly all three. Don’t try that with their

“one-size-fits-all” jets. Your range. Your cabin requirements. Your performance needs. Your choice.

CITATION M2

CHOICE.A WONDERFUL THING.

Client: Textron Aviation/CaravanAd Title: CJ FamilyPublication: BART International - Feb/March/April - Issue #155Trim: 8.25” x 11.25” • Bleed: 8.5” x 11.5” • Live:

33142_CJ Family_BART Int.indd 1 1/23/15 2:53 PM


MARENCO SWISSHELICOPTER APPOINTS REPRESENTATIVE FOR GUATEMALAMARENCO SWISSHELICOPTER is pleased to announce that it has appoint-ed AVIFLEX AVIATION as the official Representative for Guatemala.This appointment further expands the range of the MarencoSwisshelicopter’s network across the world and is a first step in LatinAmerica, this considering successful orders that have been taken in the pastyears in the region and in Guatemala.The start of our discussions was announced in the early part of last year atthe HeliExpo 2014 in Anaheim when Aviflex Aviation confirmed the order ofthree (3x) SKYe SH09 helicopters.With the support of Alejandro Widmer, CEO of Aviflex Aviation SA, and hisqualified team of aviation experts, the Marenco Swisshelicopter clients andoperators will benefit from commercial and technical infrastructures allow-ing more effective exploitation of opportunities in the country.

PW306D1 CERTIFICATION CLEARS CESSNA CITATION LATITUDE FOR TAKEOFFThe recent Transport Canada (TC) TypeCertification of Pratt & Whitney Canada’s PW306D1turbofan engine sets the stage for the entry into ser-vice of Cessna’s newest business jet, the CitationLatitude, which can transport up to nine passengers2,700 nautical miles (4,630 kilometres) and reach aflight level of 43,000 feet (13,106 metres) in just 24minutes.The PW306D1, flat-rated at 5,907 pounds of thrust,received the TC Type Certificate shortly beforeChristmas, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)certification is expected in the first quarter of 2015.Cessna, a long-standing customer of P&WC,announced the selection of the PW306D1 for theCitation Latitude at the 2011 National BusinessAviation Association (NBAA) annual meeting and con-vention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

AMERICAN JET INTERNATIONAL ADDS LEAR JET 31 TO FLEETAmerican Jet International dba Million Air Charter, a member of the award-winning private aviation Million Air FBO Company based in Houston, TX, ispleased to announce the addition of a Lear Jet 31 to its managed fleet of busi-ness jets. It is immediately available for charter.This private jet is ideal for business or leisure travel from Houston to Aspenor Houston to the Miami due to its fuel efficiency, aerodynamics, speed andcomfort. The Lear Jet is a favorite jet of choice because it is one of thefastest in its class. Features of the cabin include leather seats, refreshmentgalley, lighting, seat controls and cabin storage. The cabin accommodatesup to eight passengers.

“After an incredible 2014 we are excited to start out 2015 with this new addition. Our customers love the speed and cost effectiveness ofthe Lear Jet 31, with the comfort and convenience for both business and leisure travel,” said Anthony Ethridge, Vice President ofBusiness Development. “The Lear Jet 31 is a great addition to our fleet because it’s the perfect size for domestic trips as well as interna-tional travel to Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean. Our growth is fantastic and it stems from the impeccable team ofindustry experts we have put together” said Roger Woolsey, CEO of Million Air. “We are receiving a lot of request from new and exist-ing aircraft owners looking for the professional advice and experience in aircraft management solutions that only American JetInternational can offer. ” said Chuck Simmons, Director of Operations for American Jet Intl.

8-20 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:54

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AVANTI EVO GAINS EASA CERTIFICATIONPiaggio Aerospace, has announced that the new Avanti EVO received certifica-tion from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).The Avanti EVO gained official approval after an extensive development andtest program carried out under the supervision of the Italian National CivilAviation Agency , ENAC, on behalf of EASA. US certification from the FederalAviation Administration (FAA) is expected within the next few weeks as well asthe Indian Certification as the first two Avanti EVO aircraft will be delivered toIndian customers. Carlo Logli, Chief Executive Officer of Piaggio Aerospace said, “The EASA cer-tification for our Avanti EVO marks a red letter day and demonstrates PiaggioAerospace commitment to business aviation. The Avanti, which already is anicon for safe, efficiency, and comfortable travel has evolved with improved per-formance, comfort, reduced emissions and has extended its range. The AvantiEVO is an intelligent solution for business travelers, blending the very best ofItalian style and the most advanced aerodynamic concepts giving operators andpassengers more efficiency than ever before”.

FLIGHTSAFETY AND ABU DHABI AVIATION SIGN LETTER OF INTENTFlightSafety International and Abu Dhabi Aviation have signed a Letterof Intent to establish a Learning Center in Abu Dhabi. The signingtook place at the Middle East Business Aviation conference in Dubai.This follows the Memorandum of Understanding signed in October,2014.“Signing this Letter of Intent with Abu Dhabi Aviation to establish anew Learning Center demonstrates our commitment to provide conve-niently located high quality training services to aircraft operators in theMiddle East,” said David Davenport, Senior Vice President. “AbuDhabi Aviation’s experience and expertise in aviation, and reputation

for delivering outstanding service, made them the ideal partner for this important project.”“Selecting FlightSafety to provide industry-leading flight simulators and proven instructional technologies for the new Learning Centerwill establish Abu Dhabi as a major aviation hub and center of excellence for training in the Middle East,” said Nadir Al Hammadi,Chairman, Abu Dhabi Aviation.

BOUTSEN DESIGN SIGNS GULFSTREAM 650 COMPLETION DEALBoutsen Design is proud to announce that it has signed a con-tract to equip a brand new Gulfstream G650 with the ultimate in‘art de la table’ to include high-end cabin comfort items, acces-sories, bed and bath linen as well as a selection of amenities.Renowned for working with over 140 of the world’s most presti-gious brands, Boutsen Design has been commissioned to thisspecific project to primarily use the Italian luxury goods housebest known for its leather goods – Bottega Veneta. The newscomes following a series of recent successful deals to add thefinal decorative touch to heavy jet aircraft such as an AirbusA340, A320 and BBJ1.Boutsen Design was established by Daniela Boutsen three yearsago and offers clients centralized “turn-key” solutions from itsone-stop-showroom in the very heart of Monaco. From initialproposals, quantity evaluation, design, ordering and tracking, tofinal delivery including loading worldwide, the company is wellknown in the aviation industry for providing a professionalbespoke service.

8-20 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:54

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PC-12 Bart_210x285_140115.indd 1 14/01/15 13:37


PEOPLEAoife O’Sullivan, a London-based partner at internationallaw firm Kennedys, has beennamed to the Board of Directorsof Aerion Corporation .O’Sullivan will participate instrategy formulation and theoverall governance of the com-pany as its AS2 supersonic busi-ness jet program gathersmomentum.

“Aerion is growing rapidly,” saidAerion Chairman Robert M.Bass. “Aoife’s extensive knowl-edge of the industry, especiallyits legal and financial dimen-sions, will add further depth andexperience to the Aerion board.We welcome her to this greatundertaking.”O’Sullivan works with a globalteam of 60 attorneys and financeexperts covering business andcommercial aviation, militaryaircraft, and civil aerospace. Sheadvises clients on aircraftfinance and regulatory issues,including corporate structures,aircraft acquisitions, airlinestart-ups, and other issues.

Piaggio Aerospace hasappointed Ms RossellaDaverio as Senior VicePresident of Communications.Ms. Daverio will be in charge ofinternal and external communi-cations, brand management,media and public relations.

FlightSafety International hasannounced that DavidDavenport has been promotedto Executive Vice President,Commercial.

“We are very pleased to pro-mote David Davenport toExecut ive Vice President ,Commercia l , ” sa id BruceWhitman, President & CEO.

David ’s responsibi l i t iesinclude management of theSales , Market ing, andOperations organizations forFlightSafety’s business andcommercial aircraft training.He joined FlightSafety in 1996as Assistant Manager of theWest Palm Beach LearningCenter and then served asDirector, CAA Training, atFlightSafety Academy prior tobeing named AssistantManager of the At lantaCenter. He became Manager of theSavannah Center in 2005 andassumed responsibi l i ty forFlightSafety’s Gulfstream air-craft training programs. Davidwas promoted to RegionalOperations Manager in 2008and relocated to the compa-ny’s corporate offices in NewYork following his promotionto Vice President in 2012.David most recently served asSenior Vice President.

Prior to joining FlightSafety,David was Executive Director ofthe Florida Division of AmericanFlyers and worked forComputervision Corporation as aManufacturing Engineer. David graduated from the UnitedStates Air Force Academy with adegree in business management.He served as a SquadronOperations Officer and memberof the Squadron of the Year fortwo consecutive years. Davidpiloted the Cessna T-37 and thesupersonic Northrop T-38 jet air-craft through the U.S. Air ForceUndergraduate Pilot Trainingprogram. He received theKnupius-Simpkins Award recipi-ent for leadership, teamwork andoperational excellence. Davidserves on the Board ofGovernors of the Wings Club andthe Air Charter SafetyFoundation. He is also a Directorof the National Business AviationAssociate Member AdvisoryCouncil.FlightSafety Internationalannounces that Raymond Johnshas been promoted to ExecutiveVice President, Government.“All of us with FlightSafety con-gratulate Ray Johns on his well-deserved promotion to ExecutiveVice President, Government,”said Bruce Whitman, President& CEO.Finally FlightSafety hasannounced that YannickKerriou has been promoted toManager of its Learning Centerlocated at the Paris-Le Bourgetairport in France. He assumesthis responsibility from PatrickDulac who has retired from thecompany.

Jet Aviation has announced theappointment of ThomasKopetzky as FBO supervisor atJet Aviation Vienna, effectiveJanuary 5, 2015. As FBO supervi-sor, Kopetzky will oversee the JetAviation Vienna FBO operationto ensure a premium customerexperience. He reports directly toDennis Kohr, managing directorof Jet Aviation Vienna.

Based in Vienna throughout hiscareer, Kopetzky is a 40-yearindustry veteran with extensivehandling experience. Prior tojoining Jet Aviation Vienna inJanuary 2015, he worked for PanAmerican World Airways, DeltaAirlines and Austrian Airlines,and successfully led small start-up companies. Kopetzky is alicensed pilot with radio telepho-ny certification.

“Thomas has a deep under-standing of our customers’needs and a long proven historyof building trusted relation-ships,” said Kohr. “We are verypleased to welcome him to theVienna team.” Jet Aviation Vienna offers pas-senger handling, on-site immi-gration and customs clearance,transportation, hotel and cater-ing coordination, as well as air-craft cleaning, de-icing andrefueling. Available amenitiesinclude an executive loungeand conference room, a crewlounge and flight planning facil-ities.

RBR Maintenance, Inc. recent-ly announced they have hiredScott Carter as ServiceManager for the King Air andCitation line. Scott first joinedRBR as a contract employee inOctober 2014 and was quicklyhired full time.

Aoife O’Sullivan

David Davenport

Thomas Kopetzky

8-20 NEWS.qxp 5/02/2015 09:54

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3751 BART Magazine February March 2014.indd 1 23/01/2015 18:00

Hangar 8 Plc have announced to LondonStock Exchange’s AIM market the mergerof Hangar 8 Plc and Gama Aviation. Subjectto completion in early January, the newbusiness, Gama Aviation Plc (AIM:GMAA)will be listed with an anticipated market cap-italization of c. £130M/$200M.The deal, brings together two complimenta-ry business, with very little operational over-lap, creating a combined business of thescale, breadth and depth required by pro-gressive and growing market.The CEO of Gama Aviat ion, MarwanKhalek, explains: “Over the last 30 years,Gama Aviation has grown steadily tobecome one of the major business avia-t ion service providers in the world.However, through this merger we will becreating a true global leader and one thatis uniquely positioned for acceleratedfuture growth.We believe the strategic rationale for thismerger is clear to see. The two businessesenjoy a complementary geographical cover-age; they have a good operational fit andhave been pursuing similar growth strate-gies built on a profitable and robust busi-ness model. Bringing them together intoGama Aviation Plc will create a business ofsignificant scale and one with unparalleledbreadth of geographical coverage and depthof capability and service, enhancing ourclient offering.I am very excited by this merger and theplatform that it creates on which we willcontinue to grow our business aggressively,both organically and through acquisition. Aplatform that will allow us to continue to

offer excellent service to our customers,great opportunity to our people and goodreturns to our shareholders.”Dustin Dryden, CEO of Hangar 8 Plc adds:“Today our clients, many with ultra-longrange aircraft, require their premier suppli-ers to be truly global too with the ability tosupply a full range of private aviation ser-vices across the globe. The combination ofour joint capabilities and experience, acrossall major aircraft manufacturers, and allmajor global trading hubs, becomes ournew service baseline.I believe this is the largest business combi-nation that our sector has seen, and allowsus to seize the full benefits of market consol-idation as we continue to meet if not exceedthe needs of the most demanding of clients.We believe Gama Aviation Plc provides aworld class offering.”

DAHER-SOCATA announced the delivery of51 new TBM 900s in 2014, which representeda 27-percent increase from 2013 for the familyof very fast turboprop aircraft.With an order intake for 64 aircraft in 2014, itwas the best year ever in terms of TBM salesvolume, and the second best year for the com-pany’s aircraft program since 1990.Used aircraft market has been also active. Intotal, when adding used aircraft to the newbusiness for TBM 900s, DAHER-SOCATAhandled some 150 aircraft transactions duringthe year.This increased activity followed DAHER-SOCATA’s introduction of the TBM 900

model in March 2014 – the latest addition tothe company’s very fast turboprop aircraftfamily, incorporating enhancements thatinclude aerodynamic optimization, a five-bladecomposite propeller and redesigned spinner,complete nose-to-firewall redesign forimproved engine airflow circulation, enhancedhuman-machine interface features, a com-pletely revamped electrical system andincreased passenger comfort.by the TBM 900’s launch and its generation ofnew sales,” stated Stephane Mayer, thePresident and CEO of DAHER-SOCATA.“Our decision to develop the TBM 900 wasconfirmed by the praise from customers andthe media – who have described it as ‘aremarkable aircraft.’ This is a great successfor DAHER-SOCATA’s teams and our globalnetwork, and I am pleased to be part of it.”The majority of TBM 900s purchased in 2014were for customers in the U.S. and Canadianmarkets (representing 78 percent), while newbusiness also came from other key aviationregions of the world. South America account-ed for 10 percent, mostly in Brazil; Europewas next, with 8 percent of the sales; and Asia-Pacific represented the remaining 4 percent.

“This impressive sales success is thecompensation for a more than threeyeardevelopment program that has made theTBM 900 the ultimate very fast turbo-prop aircraft,” said Nicolas Chabbert,Senior Vice-President of the DAHER-SOCATA Airplane Business Unit. “I wantto thank all customers who selected theTBM 900, as well as those who bought aused TBM. In addition, y appreciationgoes to the DAHER-SOCATA teams,partners and our worldwide network fortheir constant commitment in satisfyingthe customers.”


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RC_ARINCDirect_2014-BART.indd 1 26/01/2015 10:46


Fabio Gamba CEO EBAA

At the end of last year, I had the privilegeof delivering the closing speech at a veryinsightful event: the WIA-IAWA Women inAerospace and Aviation Networking Event.It was a first collaboration between threeAssociations – Women in Aerospace-Europe (WIA), the International AviationWomen’s Association (IAWA), and EBAA –along with fellow event partners, BelgianScience Policy (Belspo), and legal firmVerhaegen Walravens. I think it is fair to say that if we lived in anideal world we wouldn’t have been thereat all. We wouldn’t have even thought oforganizing such an event, because it wouldbe redundant and pointless. In an idealworld, the aviation and aerospace sectorswould not be biased towards one genderover the other. Unfortunately, we are stillworking hard to reach the ideal, and sothere I found myself, amongst a number ofskilled and qualified men and women andit was a really great night with a lot ofinteresting and productive discussion.Beyond this event, let me share with youwhat I see as a great paradox: last year,

during a strategic session of the EBAA’sBoard of Governors, we identified thethree major challenges that BusinessAviation was faced with in Europe. Numberone was (and will probably remain in theforeseeable future) access to infrastructure– in particular ground infrastructure, i.e.airports. Number three was the negativeperception that people have of the sector,which results in negative consequences inlegislation and decision-making. And doyou know what number two was? Anyidea?

Before we get carried away, no, it wasn’tthe blatant imbalance in genderrepresentation that I previouslymentioned, but something directlyassociated to it. It was the Shortage ofSkills within our industry! Now thinkabout it for a moment: a very grossestimation has it that women in BusinessAviation represent less than 25% of thetotal workforce here in Europe. That’ssignificant. In parallel, the Board of EBAAraises the alarm, claiming that one ofthe top three issues the sector faces(today and tomorrow) is the insufficientrate of skills renewal compared to theneed within the industry. It’s true thatthis need is mostly for blue collarworkers, but it also includes white collartalent to a certain extent.So you have on one side a poor level ofattractiveness of the sector to a specificgender, which is already very worrying;and on the other side a general braindrain, or at least a gap between anevanescent supply of skills and agrowing demand for skills. Well, it seemsto me that the industry would beimmediately better off if it could 1)

From the Desk of

So you have on oneside a poor level ofattractiveness of thesector to a specificgender, which isalready veryworrying; and on theother side a generalbrain drain, or atleast a gap betweenan evanescentsupply of skills

TRANSATLANTIC

THE OTHER HALF

EUROPE ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH

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recognize the problem, and 2) at leastpartially fix it by reinventing itself andappearing more appealing to bothgenders, with a heavier emphasis onwomen, since they’ve been overlookedin the past.

Again, we are not living in an idealworld. The EBAA Secretariat has beenasked to initiate, or to trigger,reflections within the industry, and tocome up with concrete proposals totackle our industry’s three major, long-term, and problematic “mega-trends”.With respect to the shortage of skills,our first step is to assess the following:in which sector do shortages exist, andfor which specific skills? What will thedemand be for in the coming 10 years,and what is the expected rate of blueand white collar workers entering thesector? Only then will we be able tomake recommendations.

But I can already tell you that a heavyemphasis will be placed on ways toattract women. For our sector, this isnot an exercise in political correctness,I assure you. This is simply the onlyway our sector can hope to sustainablygrow. We need the best global talentfrom the largest pool; and this talentincludes women.

The WIA-IAWA Networking event was afirst collaboration between EBAA andthe two women’s associations, and Iexpect a lot of support from Women inAerospace-Europe and the InternationalAviation Women’s Association in thefuture to help us gain the facts andinsight we need to establish a casemoving forward, and then to guide us inhow to best attract women to theindustry, or at least do it a lot betterthan we have done in the past!

In creating the ties through this firstinitiative, I announced that the EBAAwould like to formalise thecollaboration a bit more, to worktogether in the future to effectivelyaddress the issues our sector is facing.We all know that simply acknowledgingthat a problem exists will not lead tothe solution. This will come fromworking together to actively searchone out. And I am confident that weare searching in the right direction.

A two-year demonstration project will be conducted by a consortium of 15 aviationleaders for the validation of new approach and landing technologiesA 15 company-strong consortium named A3 (Advanced Approaches for all Airports)and led by NetJets Europe has been formed under the Single European Sky AirTraffic Management Research (SESAR) program to demonstrate new approach andlanding solutions that will increase the capacity of the European airport networkwhile reducing emissions and noise.The A3 consortium will implement the Augmented Approaches to Land project(AAL), co-financed by the SESAR Joint Undertaking, and will perform over 200demonstration flights by 2016 to validate new approach and landing technologiesinvolving a significant number of aircraft types, and an extensive range of airportenvironments.

/EUROPETRANSATLANTIC

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MAJOR SESAR FLIGHT DEMONSTRATIONPROJECT MOVES FORWARD

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Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) began 2015 discussing the challengesand economic opportunities of Business Aviation, at an event hosted by MEP IsmailErtug and MEP Massimiliano Salini, Members of the Transport & TourismCommittee.Business Aviation in 2014 delivered its first positive growth figures since 2011, andthe industry is optimistic that this is just the beginning of its upswing. Three of thefour key European markets – France, the UK, and Italy – contributed robust figures(up to 2.2%). However, since Business Aviation is intimately tied to the health ofthe economy, the overall growth rate was a muted 0.7% on the previous year.Competitiveness was at the heart of the discussion. Often construed as meaningsolely a level playing field for European vs foreign competitors, the moreimmediate challenge to Business Aviation is of a different nature, pertaining todistortions within the European market. A competitive air transport ecosystemmust allow all its components to flourish alongside one another; access to air andground infrastructure cannot be based on a zero-sum game. For Business Aviation,a distinct, but sometimes overlooked segment of the air transport sector, this iscrucial.

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EUROPEAN GROWTH SWINGSUPWARD AGAIN

Germany has determined a 16.6 per cent increase in its charges to airlines forair traffic control services from 1 January 2015. This proposed outrageous pricehike, at almost 40 times the rate of the Euro area inflation1, is not acceptableto the airspace users’ community and is completely at odds with the objectiveof the European Union performance scheme which aims to regulate and controlthe price increases of air traffic control providers and the entire SingleEuropean Sky.Commenting on the proposed increase, the heads of ERA, IACA, ELFAA, EBAAand AEA say: “This price hike makes a mockery of the European Commission’sefforts to control the cost increases of air traffic control through the EUperformance scheme. It is a clear case of a monopoly service provider abusingits dominant position. Airlines and, inevitably, the end user - the consumer -will be forced to pick up these costs with absolutely no associated increase orimprovement in the level of service provided by Germany.”

EU SHOULD REJECT ATC PRICE IKE SAY ASSOCIATIONS

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24-25 TRANSATLANTIC EU.qxp 4/02/2015 15:51


Ed Bolen NBAAPresident and CEO

Promoting unfettered access to citiesand communities throughout the worldis a key priority for NBAA, which is whyour Association recently welcomed theEuropean Commission’s publication of aworking paper clarifying terms relatedto the temporary admission of aircraftinto the European Union (EU).

The working paper, issued late last year,provides official guidance to customsofficials in the 28 member states of theEU, making clear that many typicalbusiness aviation flights are eligible fortemporary admission when flying withinthe EU.

Aircraft that are not registered in theEU, but are operated within EU memberstates, are subject to importationrequirements including value added tax(VAT) and customs duties. However,when a foreign-registered aircraft fliesfrom a non-EU country and thenconducts flights within the EU, thatactivity can be eligible for temporaryadmission and conditional relief fromtaxes and duties.

Once an aircraft arrives in the EU, it isautomatically granted temporaryadmission and eligible for conditionalrelief from VAT and customs duties, solong as the aircraft does not remain inthe EU for more than six months in a12-month period.

The aircraft must also be owned outsideof the EU and not made available foruse within its boundaries by EUresidents, and the aircraft cannot beflown commercially. The temporaryadmission is valid for up to six months,and ends if the aircraft leaves the EUwithin the six-month period.

Many operators conduct flights betweenor within multiple states, and are thussubject to these rules. However,understanding the customsrequirements is complex, as each EUstate can individually interpretprovisions of the EU CommunityCustoms Code. Furthermore, with VATrates of at least 20% in most EU states,the onus is on operators to understandthe importation process, as failure to doso could result in VAT being applied tothe value of the aircraft.

Before this official guidance wasreleased, many business aircraftoperators – including NBAA Members –were uncertain whether they wereeligible for temporary admission orcould be subject to VAT and otherduties when flying within the EU. Toresolve this confusion, the InternationalBusiness Aviation Council (IBAC)requested clarification from the WorldCustoms Organization (WCO) and theEuropean Commission.

From the Desk of

TRANSATLANTICU.S.A. ON OUR RADAR THIS MONTH

TEMPORARY ADMISSIONOF AIRCRAFT TO EU

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/U.S.A.TRANSATLANTIC

Among the issues clarified in theworking paper is a question that hasconfused operators for years,differences in the meanings of theterms “private use” and “commercialuse” as understood by theinternational aviation community, andas applied by customs authorities inthe EU.

The paper not only defines flights bycompany-owned aircraft as private use,but also further clarifies that a charteredflight is also private use for the purposesof temporary admission, because thefees paid are for the lease of the aircraftand not for passenger tickets. Charterflights must still have appropriate trafficrights and economic authority to operatewithin the EU.

The working paper, issued by theEuropean Commission’s Customs CodeCommittee Section for SpecialProcedures, addresses theinterpretation of private use andcommercial use only for customsofficials in EU member states and onlyfor the purposes of temporaryadmission. The EU Customs Code, itsimplementing guide and the WCOIstanbul Convention on TemporaryAdmission remain unchanged.

Following the working paper’s release,Kurt Edwards, the director general forthe International Business AviationCouncil (IBAC) noted the policy guidance“clearly resolves the confusion” overtemporary admissions requirements. “Aslong as the operator meets theconditions for temporary admission, theycan utilize the process to receiveconditional relief from value-added taxand customs duties obligations, andoperate to, from and within the EU,” headded.

NBAA strongly supports the decisionto issue this clarification, whichremoves a significant layer ofuncertainty for business aircraftoperators flying within the EU. Wealso thank IBAC, on behalf of all NBAAMembers, for its years-long work tohelp clarify an issue that should leadto greater travel opportunities forbusiness aviation operators aroundthe globe.

✈ ✈

NBAA CONCERNS REFLECTEDIN FAA’S NEW SLEEP APNEA POLICY

The NBAA has said that new guidance from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) onits once-controversial plan for testing pilots for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) nowreflects a practical approach from the Association and other general aviation (GA)groups for addressing the condition, without compromising flight safety.“This new guidance, developed with NBAA’s input, reflects a pivot for the agency,which combines common sense with clinical discipline,” said NBAA President and CEOEd Bolen. Particularly noteworthy for Bolen is that, under the new guidance, pilots willbe able to continue to fly while being evaluated for OSA.

NBAA JOINS‘KNOW BEFORE YOU FLY’ INITIATIVEIn recognition of growing interest in the use of small unmanned aircraft systems (s-UAS), and concerns about their safe operation within the National Airspace System(NAS), the NBAA recently joined with other aviation advocacy groups and industrypartners in support of the “Know Before You Fly” educational initiative to provideprospective users with the information and guidance they need to fly UAS safely andresponsibly.Founded by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI),the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) and the Small UAV Coalition, “KnowBefore You Fly” offers important operational and safety information to those seekingto utilize UAS in a variety of roles, many of which aligns with interests of the businessaviation community

NBAA WELCOMES LAWRENEWING ACCELERATEDAIRCRAFT DEPRECIATIONThe NBAA commended President Obama for signing into law legislation that providesa one-year renewal of expiring tax provisions, including accelerated, or “bonus”depreciation for any new aircraft purchased in 2014 and placed into service by theend of 2015.“NBAA welcomes this bipartisan bill to renew tax policies such as accelerated depre-ciation and commends members of both parties for working together to preservejobs and strengthen American competitiveness,” said NBAA President and CEO EdBolen.Accelerated depreciation allows businesses to take a first-year deduction equal to 50percent of a qualified asset’s cost basis. The tax-extender bill also renews theincreased limitations for Section 179 expensing, allowing businesses to expense,rather than depreciate, assets such as aircraft parts.

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26-27 TRANSATLANTIC USA.qxp 4/02/2015 15:55

By Pau l Wa lsh

Business Aviation professionalshave a tendency to look forbright spots and opportunitiesas opposed to sitting aroundcomplaining about a lingeringrecession. So it’s no surprisethat over the past seven years,we’ve seen a huge focus onemerging markets as theyopened up to the value ofBusiness Aviation.

N ow, however, the pendulum isswinging back in the other direc-tion.

A commodities slump has meantonce buoyant markets like Russia andBrazil have started to dip, while theUS is surging ahead thanks to low fuelprices and an economy that’s on themove again.

In total, the Business Aviation fleetgrew from 33,950 to 34,755, that’s atotal of 805 aircraft representing ahealthy growth rate of 2.3%. Theworldwide jet fleet grew by 2.7% from19,478 to 20,010 units, with turbopropsgrowing by 1.9% from 14,113 to 14,390aircraft.

And according to many aviationexperts, the future is decidedly bright.For instance Brian Foley predicts thatafter almost a decade in the doldrums,Business Aviation is finally expectedto improve noticeably this year.

“I have a deep conviction that 2015will be the indisputable pivot pointwhen the industry, including its lag-gard segments, turns meaningfullyupward,” he says, adding that forsome seven years the market has hada split personality with deliveries ofthe largest, most expensive businessjets relatively unscathed by the greatrecession, while small- and medium-sized jets experienced a sales declineof two-thirds from which they have yetto recover.

This time things are starting to lookup in all market sectors.

First of all he notes that pre-ownedjet inventories are at their lowest lev-els since 2008. According to aviationdata provider AMSTAT, a greater per-centage of the active fleet of businessjets transacted in the first 9 months of2014 than in the first 9 months in anyyear within the last decade. Businessjet takeoff and landing activity is thebusiest in 6 years, and jet maker exec-utives, normally reserved, have beenmore upbeat lately.

A sustaining element is the numberof new jet models being introduced inthe relative near-term. “Between theyears 2014 and 2019 there are 18 newand derivative business jets enteringthe market. New products act as asales catalyst, stimulating the marketby giving customers a reason to buy.This will keep the pump primed fordeliveries to continually increase untilthe 2019 time frame, at which timeFoley expects the next cyclical down-turn.

“The industry’s improved outlookwill manifest itself next year asmarkedly higher manufacturer back-logs, increasing book-to-bill ratios anda jump in unit deliveries in double-digit percentages.”

Deliveries

Confirming this general sense of opti-mism, the General Aviation ManufacturersAssociation (GAMA) reports that generalaviation airplane shipments increased 5.7percent to 1,678, and billings rose to $16.0billion, up 4.0 percent.

Piston-engine airplane shipmentsincreased 9.2 percent to 806 units inthe first nine months of 2014, com-pared to 738 airplane shipments in thesame period last year. Turboprop air-plane shipments were down 3.7 per-cent to 412 units this year and busi-ness jet shipments were up over lastyear, from 421 units to 460 units in2014.

“The optimism about the general avi-ation market on display at NBAA’sconvention this year is reflected in thecontinued recovery of the business jetand piston-engine segments this quar-ter,” says GAMA President and CEOPete Bunce. “New products are help-ing to fuel our industry’s continuedgrowth as we continue to emerge fromthe recession.

The Established MarketsLooking to our fleet report by conti-

nent it seems that much of the goodnews is coming from North Americaand the US in particular where theBizAv fleet grew by 2.5% from 18,756units in 2013 to 19,229 last year.

This is important because as BrianFoley points out; the active US busi-ness jet fleet is five times the size ofthe next largest market. “And now theU.S. economic situation is greatly


ESTABLISHED MARKETSREGAIN DOMINANCE

REVIVE This year’s fleet

report shows theresurgence of

establishedmarkets.

2014 FLEET REPORT B A R T ’ S E X C L U S I V E A N A L Y S I S

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improved, with GDP growth in thepast 6 months the best in a decade,stock markets hitting record levelsand consumer confidence at sevenyear highs. Add to that the lowest oilprices in 4 years which reduces planeoperating costs, and historically lowinterest rates from which aircraft loanand lease rates are derived and you’vepainted a great scenario for an all-encompassing rebound.”Canadian SectorMeanwhile the Canadian Business

Aviation market remains robust andlast year its fleet grew by 3.2% from1,306 to 1,348. Indeed a recent reportfrom the Canadian Business AviationAssociation (CBAA) notes that thesector generates C$5.4 billion (U.S.$4.6 billion) per year in total economicoutput, including C$3.1 billion directlytied to the sector’s operations, andsupports nearly 24,000 jobs.

The 2014 Economic Impact ofBusiness Aviation in Canada study,conducted by InterVistas, estimatesthat Business Aviation in Canadaannually generates about C$800 mil-lion in direct wages from 11,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) jobs. Indirectimpacts, such as jobs at business jetmanufacturers, account for another8,000 FTEs and C$510 million in annu-al wages. Induced impact – which isgenerated by spending of those in thefirst two categories – supports another4,000 FTEs and $220 million in wages,the study found.

“Business Aviation has a sizableimpact on the Canadian economy,”according to the study, “to put theseimpacts into context, the total impactsassociated with business aviation inCanada are similar to the impacts ofthe Vancouver International Airport.”

The industry’s economic contribu-tion also includes sizable tax revenue– such as employee payroll taxes andbusiness property taxes – for theCanadian government, as well as itsprovinces and municipalities.InterVistas calculated that the sectorcontributes C$650 million annually togovernments, 72 percent of whichgoes to the national government, andmost of the rest to provinces and terri-tories.

Operations in Canada vary widelyand while all 13 provinces and territo-ries have at least some business avia-tion activity, most is concentrated inthe country’s four most populous

provinces: Ontario, Alberta, Quebecand British Columbia.

As a country with a very large landmass, Canada presents unique oppor-tunities for Business Aviation to sup-port both companies and communi-ties. For instance, telecommunicationsprovider Telus uses three aircraft –two de Havilland DHC-2 Beavers and aQuest Kodiak – to support a networkof 13.5 million customer connections.

The fleet averages about 60 flighthours per month and is often used toreach remote locations that are other-wise inaccessible, helping ensure thecompany’s Internet, mobile phone andtelevision customers are always con-nected.

European Bright Spots Moving on to Europe we see that the

Business Aviation fell, dropping by2.8%, which means that the totalEuropean fleet now stands at 3,902 air-craft. However there are bright spotson the European horizon, for instancetraffic figures are up and the end ofthis year so the first positive year-endnumbers in three years, according tothe European Business AviationAssociation (EBAA).

Total flight movements – includingdepartures, arrivals, internals and

overflights – increased 0.7 percentduring 2014, and nine of the 12months were in the plus column. Thetraffic rose only slightly, “but at leastwe’re talking about growth,” saysEBAA CEO Fabio Gamba.

Three of the four traditionalEuropean market leaders posted traf-fic gains in 2014: movements inFrance increased 1.1 percent, U.K.traffic rose 2.2 percent and Italyrecorded 0.1 percent growth, respec-tively.

The glaring outlier is Ukraine, whosetraffic dropped 39.6 percent after thecrisis with Russia flared in February.

“Ukraine used to be a relativelyimportant market for business avia-

tion,” Gamba noted, citing the coun-try’s size, location and number of com-panies using business aviation locatedthere. Business aviation traffic inUkraine had grown 13.4 percent in2011, 12.6 percent in 2012, and 6.3 per-cent in 2013.

“It’s now almost at a standstill, and isdefinitely affecting countries that areneighbors.” Moldova, for example, losta quarter of its flight movements lastyear. Belarus and Albania were offslightly as well. “Whether these coun-tries will be able to find solutions bydeveloping ties with countries in otherparts of Europe remains to be seen,”said Gamba.

Gamba said the Czech Republic wasimpacted in the early months of theconflict, but business traffic thererebounded, in part, by implementingsatellite-based approaches (localizerperformance with vertical guidance) atBrno and Ostrava airports.

Gamba is “cautiously optimistic” thatthe upward trend will continue in2015, and is hopeful that growth over-all will be between 1.0 and 1.5 per-cent.” His caveat, however, is that“something unforeseen could blockrecovery” of the European economies.

A particular concern is Greece,which is holding an election on Jan. 25

LEADERThe US remainsthe dominantBusinessAviation player.

TOP TEN BUSINESSFLEETS BY COUNTRYUnited States 19229

Brazil 1635

Canada 1348

Mexico 1268

Venezuela 738

Germany 660

Australia 581

United Kingdom 543

South Africa 446

France 410

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JET SUMMARY BY MODEL AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2014

MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEAIRBUS A310-200 2 0AIRBUS A310-300 17 9AIRBUS A320-200 23 3AIRBUS A330-200 2 0AIRBUS A340-200 7 0AIRBUS A340-300X 2 2AIRBUS A340-500 4 1AIRBUS A340-600 4 1AIRBUS ACJ318 18 4AIRBUS ACJ319 65 33AIRBUS ACJ320 10 1AIRBUS ACJ330 1 0ASTRA 1125 32 0ASTRA 1125SP 33 0ASTRA 1125SPX 58 2AVRO RJ-70 1 1BAC 1-11 4 0BAE 146-100 6 4BAE 146-200 1 0BEECHJET 400 52 1BEECHJET 400A 312 19BOEING 707-120B 3 0BOEING 707-320 7 1BOEING 707-320B 10 1BOEING 707-320C 18 2BOEING 727-100 36 1BOEING 727-200 1 0BOEING 727-200 ADVANCED 18 3BOEING 737-200 4 0BOEING 737-200 ADVANCED 17 2BOEING 737-300 9 3BOEING 737-400 3 0BOEING 737-500 6 2BOEING 737-700 3 0BOEING 737-700C 9 0BOEING 737-800 3 1BOEING 747-200B 2 0BOEING 747-300 1 0BOEING 747-400 6 0BOEING 747-400M 2 0BOEING 747-8I 2 0BOEING 747SP 11 1BOEING 757-200 16 1BOEING 767-200 1 0BOEING 767-200ER 9 1BOEING 767-300ER 5 1BOEING 777-200 1 0BOEING 777-200ER 2 0BOEING 777-200LR 1 0BOEING 787-8 3 1BOEING BBJ 125 17BOEING BBJ2 21 6BOEING BBJ3 6 1BOMBARDIER CRJ100 5 2BOMBARDIER CRJ200 16 2CHALLENGER 300 445 56CHALLENGER 350 21 1CHALLENGER 600 69 0CHALLENGER 601-1A 53 2CHALLENGER 601-3A 130 10CHALLENGER 601-3R 57 1CHALLENGER 604 357 66CHALLENGER 605 245 54CHALLENGER 800 11 0CHALLENGER 850 62 30CHALLENGER 870 10 1

CHALLENGER 890 3 0CITATION 500 247 26CITATION 525 346 70CITATION BRAVO 331 49CITATION CJ1 194 36CITATION CJ1+ 102 31CITATION CJ2 236 50CITATION CJ2+ 223 60CITATION CJ3 404 61CITATION CJ3+ 5 0CITATION CJ4 166 24CITATION ENCORE 163 7CITATION ENCORE+ 65 3CITATION EXCEL 360 32CITATION I 22 6CITATION I/SP 286 27CITATION II 558 55CITATION II/SP 71 17CITATION III 185 10CITATION M2 55 5CITATION MUSTANG 448 97CITATION S/II 150 8CITATION SOVEREIGN 345 38CITATION SOVEREIGN+ 30 3CITATION ULTRA 272 7CITATION V 253 7CITATION VI 35 3CITATION VII 113 11CITATION X 304 16CITATION X+ 7 0CITATION XLS 324 77CITATION XLS+ 170 50DIAMOND I 2 0DIAMOND IA 50 2DORNIER 328JET 12 3DORNIER ENVOY 3 11 5ECLIPSE 550 12 1ECLIPSE EA500 260 22EMBRAER ERJ-135 2 0EMBRAER LEGACY 500 1 0EMBRAER LEGACY 600 167 53EMBRAER LEGACY 650 60 13EMBRAER LEGACY SHUTTLE 18 1EMBRAER LINEAGE 1000 20 1EMBRAER PHENOM 100 304 28EMBRAER PHENOM 300 226 29FALCON 10 115 10FALCON 100 30 4FALCON 200 27 3FALCON 2000 229 37FALCON 2000DX 4 0FALCON 2000EX 26 7FALCON 2000EX EASy 103 33FALCON 2000LX 126 31FALCON 2000LXS 15 4FALCON 2000S 19 5FALCON 20C 80 21FALCON 20C-5 19 3FALCON 20D 27 7FALCON 20D-5 2 0FALCON 20E 35 14FALCON 20E-5 13 6FALCON 20F 78 7FALCON 20F-5 75 2FALCON 20G 5 5FALCON 50 234 34FALCON 50-40 7 0

FALCON 50EX 99 11FALCON 7X 219 96FALCON 900 175 37FALCON 900C 24 4FALCON 900DX 23 9FALCON 900EX 117 27FALCON 900EX EASy 117 35FALCON 900LX 33 9FOKKER 100 3 3FOKKER 70 1 1GLOBAL 5000 164 51GLOBAL 6000 96 39GLOBAL EXPRESS 144 32GLOBAL EXPRESS XRS 153 47GULFSTREAM G-100 21 2GULFSTREAM G-150 103 12GULFSTREAM G-200 240 22GULFSTREAM G-280 45 2GULFSTREAM G-300 13 0GULFSTREAM G-350 10 0GULFSTREAM G-400 23 0GULFSTREAM G-450 295 32GULFSTREAM G-500 9 1GULFSTREAM G-550 457 72GULFSTREAM G-650 88 15GULFSTREAM G-650ER 1 0GULFSTREAM G-II 118 0GULFSTREAM G-IIB 34 0GULFSTREAM G-III 162 1GULFSTREAM G-IV 186 6GULFSTREAM G-IVSP 300 12GULFSTREAM G-V 189 10HAWKER 1000A 45 3HAWKER 1000B 6 3HAWKER 125-1A 17 1HAWKER 125-1AS 8 0HAWKER 125-1B 11 9HAWKER 125-3A 2 1HAWKER 125-3A/RA 7 0HAWKER 125-3A/RAS 1 0HAWKER 125-3AS 1 0HAWKER 125-3B 8 0HAWKER 125-3B/RAS 1 0HAWKER 125-400A 14 0HAWKER 125-400AS 35 1HAWKER 125-400B 13 0HAWKER 125-400BS 3 0HAWKER 125-600A 13 0HAWKER 125-600AS 11 2HAWKER 125-600B 2 0HAWKER 125-600BS 1 0HAWKER 125-700A 154 8HAWKER 125-700B 27 14HAWKER 4000 67 6HAWKER 400XP 240 15HAWKER 750 48 17HAWKER 800A 223 4HAWKER 800B 52 10HAWKER 800XP 414 31HAWKER 800XPI 51 20HAWKER 850XP 99 11HAWKER 900XP 180 25JET COMMANDER 1121 6 0JET COMMANDER 1121B 5 0JETSTAR 6 2 0JETSTAR 731 9 1JETSTAR 8 5 0

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TURBOPROPS

MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEAVANTI II 126 45AVANTI P180 97 43CARAVAN 208 431 37CARAVAN 208B 1.607 93CARAVAN 208B EX 132 9CHEYENNE 400 39 6CHEYENNE I 168 14CHEYENNE IA 17 3CHEYENNE II 348 41CHEYENNE III 74 6CHEYENNE IIIA 51 13CHEYENNE IIXL 74 6CONQUEST I 206 14CONQUEST II 311 9DE HAVILLAND DHC-2T 50 0DE HAVILLAND DHC-3T 81 0GULFSTREAM G-I 61 3JETSTREAM 31 89 16JETSTREAM 32 126 21JETSTREAM 41 89 25KING AIR 100 46 0KING AIR 200 688 48KING AIR 200C 31 1KING AIR 200T 20 2KING AIR 250 92 8KING AIR 300 207 2KING AIR 300LW 18 7KING AIR 350 716 43KING AIR 350C 53 6KING AIR 350i 187 16KING AIR 90 25 1KING AIR A/B90 12 0KING AIR A100 100 4KING AIR A200 220 1KING AIR A90 72 2KING AIR A90-1 114 3KING AIR B100 118 2KING AIR B200 1.084 105KING AIR B200C 118 7KING AIR B200CT 9 0KING AIR B200GT 115 13KING AIR B200SE 5 1KING AIR B200T 23 1KING AIR B90 105 5KING AIR C90 424 33KING AIR C90-1 40 0KING AIR C90A 218 17KING AIR C90B 420 26KING AIR C90GT 96 4KING AIR C90GTi 123 13KING AIR C90GTx 118 11KING AIR C90SE 16 0KING AIR E90 277 13KING AIR F90 187 7KING AIR F90-1 30 3KODIAK 100 112 0MERLIN 300 9 2MERLIN IIA 1 0MERLIN IIB 33 4MERLIN III 27 1MERLIN IIIA 34 6MERLIN IIIB 55 4

MERLIN IIIC 23 3MERLIN IV 6 1MERLIN IV-A 20 3MERLIN IV-C 19 4MITSUBISHI MARQUISE 83 1MITSUBISHI MU-2C 16 0MITSUBISHI MU-2D 1 0MITSUBISHI MU-2F 31 0MITSUBISHI MU-2G 1 0MITSUBISHI MU-2J 22 0MITSUBISHI MU-2K 39 7MITSUBISHI MU-2L 12 0MITSUBISHI MU-2M 19 3MITSUBISHI MU-2N 25 0MITSUBISHI MU-2P 30 2MITSUBISHI MU-2S 17 0MITSUBISHI SOLITAIRE 42 2PILATUS PC-12 NG 478 71PILATUS PC-12/45 568 47PILATUS PC-12/47 201 24PIPER MALIBU JETPROP 256 66PIPER MERIDIAN 531 81SOCATA TBM-700A 106 34SOCATA TBM-700B 88 15SOCATA TBM-700C1 7 3SOCATA TBM-700C2 95 10SOCATA TBM-850 329 37SOCATA TBM-900 41 2STARSHIP 2000A 5 1TURBO COMMANDER 1000 98 1TURBO COMMANDER 690 44 1TURBO COMMANDER 690A 177 9TURBO COMMANDER 690B 182 6TURBO COMMANDER 840 100 5TURBO COMMANDER 900 34 1TURBO COMMANDER 980 69 3Total TurboProp 14.390 1.269

Grand Total 34.309 3.902

World 88.8%

Europe 11.2%

World 91.2%

Europe 8.8%

World 87.2%

Europe 12.8%

Jet Fleet

Turboprop Fleet

Total Fleet

JETSTAR II 16 1LEARJET 23 11 1LEARJET 24 25 0LEARJET 24A 3 0LEARJET 24B 20 0LEARJET 24D 56 2LEARJET 24E 13 1LEARJET 24F 8 0LEARJET 25 24 0LEARJET 25B 65 2LEARJET 25C 10 1LEARJET 25D 121 1LEARJET 25G 3 0LEARJET 28 5 0LEARJET 29 2 0LEARJET 31 34 3LEARJET 31A 202 9LEARJET 35 40 0LEARJET 35A 441 45LEARJET 36 15 0LEARJET 36A 38 4LEARJET 40 40 9LEARJET 40XR 91 4LEARJET 45 237 22LEARJET 45XR 206 13LEARJET 55 110 11LEARJET 55B 6 1LEARJET 55C 13 0LEARJET 60 309 33LEARJET 60XR 111 13LEARJET 70 9 0LEARJET 75 28 0LOCKHEED L-1011-500 2 0MDD DC-8-62H 2 1MDD DC-8-72 1 1MDD DC-9-10 4 0MDD DC-9-30 1 0MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-811 0MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-832 1MCDONNELL DOUGLAS MD-8710 2NEXTANT 400XT 31 3PREMIER I 121 17PREMIER IA 155 29SABRELINER 40 22 2SABRELINER 40A 25 1SABRELINER 40EL 7 0SABRELINER 40EX 2 0SABRELINER 40R 2 0SABRELINER 40SE 1 0SABRELINER 60 33 0SABRELINER 60A 2 0SABRELINER 60AELXM 1 0SABRELINER 60EL 3 1SABRELINER 60ELXM 27 1SABRELINER 60EX 4 0SABRELINER 60SCELXM 2 0SABRELINER 60SCEX 1 0SABRELINER 65 71 0SABRELINER 80 23 0SABRELINER 80A 3 0SABRELINER 80SC 5 0SYBERJET SJ30-2 3 0WESTWIND 1 89 0WESTWIND 1123 6 0WESTWIND 1124 45 0WESTWIND 2 74 0Total Jets 19.919 2.633 © AVDATA/JETNET

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2014 FLEET REPORTNORTH AMERICA

Country Total Executive* Jet Turb.Antigua and Barbuda 1 0 0 1Aruba 4 0 4 0Bahamas 29 2 13 14Barbados 7 0 7 0Belize 21 0 1 20Bermuda 30 1 29 0Canada 1348 10 516 822Cayman Islands 26 0 22 4Costa Rica 28 0 9 19Dominica 1 1 0 0Dominican Republic 49 0 26 23El Salvador 6 1 3 2Greenland 4 0 0 4Guadeloupe 6 0 0 6Guatemala 89 0 29 60Haiti 9 2 0 7Honduras 31 0 7 24Jamaica 4 0 3 1Mexico 1268 8 857 403Netherlands Antilles 5 0 3 2Nicaragua 7 0 0 7Panama 126 0 49 77Puerto Rico 41 0 19 22Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 0 1 0Saint Vincent-Grenadines 5 0 4 1Trinidad and Tobago 3 0 1 2Turks and Caicos Islands 4 0 2 2United States 19229 93 11868 7268Virgin Islands (British) 29 1 18 10Virgin Islands (U.S.) 13 0 7 6West Indies 2 0 2 0Total 22426 119 13500 8807

*Executive aircraft are airliner aircraft converted to privatebusiness use, excluding models originally meant forbusiness use.

SOUTH AMERICACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Argentina 324 1 163 160Bolivia 31 0 8 23Brazil 1635 2 827 806Chile 106 3 36 67Colombia 328 0 42 286Ecuador 40 0 16 24Guyana 14 0 0 14Paraguay 62 1 10 51Peru 51 1 9 41Suriname 8 0 0 8Uruguay 13 0 5 8Venezuela 738 1 304 433Total 3350 9 1420 1921


AUSTRALIA & OCEANIACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Australia 581 2 146 196Fiji 3 0 0 1French Polynesia 5 0 0 4Guam 2 0 1 1New Caledonia 7 0 1 5New Zealand 50 1 8 23Norfolk Island 1 0 0 0Papua New Guinea 23 0 2 10Tahiti 1 0 0 0Tonga Islands 2 0 0 0Vanuatu 2 0 0 2Total 677 3 158 242


EUROPECountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Austria 239 2 208 29Belarus 2 0 2 0Belgium 97 0 55 42Bosnia and Herzegovina 2 0 2 0Bulgaria 19 1 12 6Croatia 12 0 6 6Cyprus 15 0 12 3Czech Republic 77 0 45 32Denmark 88 0 65 23Estonia 20 0 12 8Finland 48 0 33 15France 410 6 213 191Germany 660 9 425 226Gibraltar 3 0 3 0Greece 41 0 26 15Hungary 15 1 9 5Iceland 7 0 0 7Ireland 27 0 18 9Isle of Man 53 0 36 17Italy 197 0 123 74Latvia 10 0 9 1Liechtenstein 2 0 1 1Lithuania 9 3 6 0Luxembourg 94 1 55 38Macedonia 2 0 2 0Malta 72 2 66 4Moldova 2 0 2 0Monaco 4 0 3 1Montenegro 4 0 3 1Netherlands 77 1 42 34Norway 42 1 15 26Poland 38 0 17 21Portugal 135 0 131 4Romania 17 1 11 5Russian Federation 186 5 127 54San Marino 13 1 10 2Scotland 2 0 0 2Serbia 24 0 18 6Slovak Republic 11 0 11 0Slovenia 10 0 8 2Spain 160 4 114 42Sweden 94 0 50 44Switzerland 275 7 180 88Ukraine 44 1 37 6United Kingdom 543 12 352 179Total 3902 58 2575 1269


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GROWTHBART’s fleetreport registeredgains in bothAfrica and Asiathis year.

ASIACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Afghanistan 32 0 0 32Armenia 3 0 1 2Azerbaijan 8 1 7 0Bahrain 16 4 9 3Bangladesh 8 0 2 6Brunei 3 3 0 0Burma 1 0 1 0Cambodia 1 0 1 0China 353 9 262 82Georgia 2 0 2 0Hong Kong 109 0 102 7India 262 3 169 90Indonesia 132 1 43 88Iran 45 6 21 18Iraq 8 0 0 8Israel 87 14 37 36Japan 228 3 80 145Jordan 28 2 18 8Kazakhstan 33 1 25 7Kuwait 27 5 21 1Kyrgyzstan 3 0 1 2Laos 2 0 0 2Lebanon 24 1 20 3Macau 8 1 7 0Malaysia 78 2 43 33Maldives 2 0 0 2Mongolia 3 0 0 3Myanmar 3 0 1 2Nepal 12 0 0 12Oman 13 3 10 0Pakistan 44 1 28 15Philippines 84 2 39 43Qatar 25 5 19 1Saudi Arabia 175 26 119 30Singapore 56 2 47 7South Korea 41 1 28 12Sri Lanka 6 0 0 6Syria 2 0 2 0Taiwan 19 1 12 6Thailand 77 6 30 41Turkey 149 2 117 30Turkmenistan 3 0 3 0United Arab Emirates 134 9 93 32Uzbekistan 1 1 0 0Vietnam 4 0 0 4Yemen 5 3 0 2Total 2359 118 1420 821


AFRICACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Algeria 41 1 10 30Angola 67 6 23 38Benin 0 0 0 0Botswana 46 0 6 40Burkina Faso 6 1 0 5Burundi 1 0 1 0Cameroon 7 1 2 4Central African Republic 4 0 0 4Chad 9 1 2 6Comoros 2 0 0 2Congo 6 0 2 4Cote d''Ivoire 5 0 2 3Dem. Republic of Congo 29 5 14 10Djibouti 2 1 1 0Egypt 46 4 38 4Equatorial Guinea 7 1 5 1Eritrea 2 0 1 1Ethiopia 10 0 0 10Gabon 13 1 8 4Gambia 5 2 3 0Ghana 7 0 4 3Guinea 2 0 0 2Guinea-Bissau 2 0 0 2Kenya 133 2 9 122Liberia 3 0 0 3Libya 18 1 12 5Madagascar 17 0 4 13Malawi 2 0 0 2Mali Republic 5 1 1 3Mauritania 5 1 0 4Mauritius 5 0 4 1Morocco 42 1 23 18Mozambique 8 0 2 6Namibia 29 0 10 19Niger 4 0 1 3Nigeria 88 1 77 10Sao Tome and Principe 1 0 1 0Senegal 13 1 3 9Seychelles Islands 4 0 3 1Sierra Leone 1 0 0 1South Africa 446 3 168 275Sudan 8 0 4 4Swaziland 3 2 1 0Tanzania 80 0 2 78Togo 8 1 3 4Tunisia 4 0 4 0Uganda 19 0 1 18Zambia 25 0 1 24Zimbabwe 11 0 2 9Total 1301 38 458 805


in the wake of its coalition government collapse. Gambafears that if business conditions deteriorate in Greece, itcould have a spillover effect to other fragile southernEuropean states. Italy and Spain are business aviation’sfourth and fifth largest markets in Europe, respectively,and Portugal is home to Europe’s largest fleet, NetJets.

EBAA predicts it won’t be until 2017 that traffic levelsagain reach 2007’s peak.

It’s also worth noting that in the first half of 2014 Russiashowed considerable buoyancy.

French manufacturer Dassault registered as manyRussian orders in the first half as in all of 2013, lead-ing the company to predict an excellent sales year inthe region. Demand has been particularly strong forthe Falcon 5X and the new ultra-long range Falcon8X, unveiled in May. Sales and deliveries have alsobeen led by the popular Falcon 7X, more than 20 ofwhich are currently flying with Russian operators.

“The flexibility, robustness and operating economy of thesix models in our Falcon line have enabled Dassault to cap-

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ture 40 percent of the Russian largecabin market,” said Dassault AviationChairman/CEO Eric Trappier. “TheFalcon 5X and Falcon 8X will permitthe company to consolidate andstrengthen this leadership position inthe coming years.”

Emerging MarketsSo it’s true that established markets,

particularly the US are returning toprominence, but that’s not to say thatthere’s anything particularly bleak

about emerging ones. Indeed, steadyis perhaps the best way to describethem.

For one thing the South Americanfleet grew 5.08% from 3,188 to 3,350aircraft. Here Brazil is still goingstrong, growing from 1,564 to 1,635aircraft, and Columbia grew from 317to 328 aircraft.

Underlining the region’s potential,Gulstream’s Latin American fleet hasgrown by nearly 70 percent since2009. The company has its in-produc-tion fleet — the Gulfstream G650,G550, G450, G280 and G150 — at theannual air show in São Paulo.

“I am very proud to say that one ofevery four business jets based in LatinAmerica is a Gulfstream,” said LarryFlynn, president, Gulfstream. “Thatfigure translates to nearly 180 aircraft.Five years ago, we had 105 aircraft

here. Such remarkable growth, in arelatively short amount of time, is atestament to our aircraft’s value inLatin America as a tool for conductingbusiness. That is very gratifying for usas a company.”

The country with the largestGulfstream fleet in Latin America isMexico, with nearly 80 aircraft basedthere. Also, there are more than 30company aircraft that operate out ofVenezuela. Gulfstream’s popularity inLatin America is particularly evident inthe country with the region’s largestsize, population and economy —Brazil. Since 2009, the Gulfstream in-country fleet has nearly tripled, goingfrom 14 to 40 aircraft. Nearly half ofthe large-cabin business jets based inLatin America are manufactured byGulfstream, including 30 percent ofthe large-cabin jets in Brazil.

Dassault is another companyexpanding in the region and i tsSorocaba faci l i ty wil l undergo amajor expansion in the comingmonths in order to better accommo-date the demands of Brazilian andother South American customers.The expansion wil l add 10,000square feet of hangar space.Currently, the faci l i ty has about23,000 square feet of space.

“We sold our first Falcon, a Falcon10, in Brazil in the late 1970s andsince then have commanded a steadi-ly increasing share of the Brazilianmarket, making Dassault the leaderin the large cabin segment,” saidJohn Rosanvallon, President andCEO of Dassault Falcon Jet. “Wehave strong expectations for contin-ued growth in Brazil and elsewherein Latin America and expect the newfacility to reinforce our ability toserve this anticipated demand.”

The company-owned SorocabaService Center is authorized to per-form line maintenance and airframeinspections on all Falcon modelsexcept the legacy Falcon 20 andFalcon 100.

AsiaAsia’s Business Aviation fleet grew

by 6% from 2,226 units to 2,359 lastyear. China still has the largest fleeton the continent at 353 up from 292last year.

In a sign that the Chinese market isbeginning to mature, says has pointedout recently demand for Caravans isgrowing steadily there. Its joint ven-ture with the China Aviation IndustryGeneral Aircraft Company (CAIGA)assembles and delivers Caravan utilityturboprop aircraft for the Chinese mar-ket.

PROGRESSSouth America’s

fleet grew by5.08%

and Asia’s fleetgrew 6%.


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“The joint venture with CAIGA hasbeen an efficient way to provide solu-tions to the marketplace as BusinessAviation continues to expand inChina,” said Bill Harris, vice president,Sales in the region. “The reliabilityand versatility of the Cessna Caravanmake it particularly well suited forgrowing global markets like China.We’re seeing customers order configu-rations for executive travel, haulingfreight, aerial survey and tourism.”

The Civil Aviation Administration ofChina (CAAC) granted approval forthe Cessna Grand Caravan EX to oper-ate on floats in China in March of thisyear resulting in an increase in ordersfor amphibian models.

Previously unannounced orders forGrand Caravan EX Amphibian aircraftinclude Meiya Air for aerial sightsee-ing in Wuzhizhou Island of Sanya andJoy Air, which recently started chartertourism flights among Shanghai,Zhoushan and Shengsi Islands.

In addition, earlier this year the jointventure announced an order for 10Cessna Grand Caravan EX Amphibianaircraft from Reignwood Group toexpand its aircraft services and oper-ate tourism flights in the southeastpart of China.

“We’re seeing a tremendous float-plane trend in the region as the num-ber of operators increase to meetdemand from tourists here,” Harrissaid. “We are holding the firstFloatplane Operator Conference inDecember at our Shijiazhuang jointventure facility to help build a commu-nity among current and prospectiveoperators. We’re interested in support-ing the long-term growth of the float-plane industry in China and generalaviation as a whole, as our joint ven-ture activity shows.”

The joint venture results from theagreement signed in 2012 with CAIGA,a subsidiary of Aviation IndustryCorporation of China (AVIC). The jointventure began officially operating whenits business license was approved inSeptember 2013 by the Ministry ofCommerce. Cessna’s Wichita, Kansas,operations provide components andparts manufacturing and sub-assem-blies for the Caravan aircraft sold bythe joint venture. The joint ventureoperations in Shijiazhuang include finalassembly, paint, testing, interior instal-lation, customization, flight testing anddelivery of the Cessna Caravan to in-country customers.

Finally Africa’s fleet grew from 1,288to 1,301 aircraft last year. South Africastill has by far the largest fleet on thecontinent with 446 aircraft, followed byKenya with 133 and Nigeria with 88.

Makes and ModelsOnce again all of the manufacturers

should be happy with the growth theyexperienced last year. The Textronfleet which stood at 17,218 aircraftdropped slightly to 17,155 aircraft. ButBombardier now boasts 4,337 units inthe worldwide fleet up from 4,185 lastyear. Gulfstream’s fleet now stands at2,294 up from 2,183 units, the previousyear. Dassault performed well with2,076 in the worldwide fleet up from2038 last year. Finally there’sEmbraer, with 798 aircraft up from 695in 2013, a company which can nowunequivocally state that it’s a majorplayer in Business Aviation.

Cessna’s Caravan 208 is the mostpopular turboprop on the market with1,607 an increase of one unit com-pared to last year. Meanwhile theCessna Citation II is the most popularjet with 558 units in the worldwidefleet, up down from 565 aircraft lastyear. The Gulfstream G550 comes inat second place with 457 units and theCitation Mustang is in third with 448units.

Falling Oil Price Finally it’s worth noting that the fall

in oil prices is also having a significanteffect on the industry’s growthalthough it’s not all positive.

As Brian Foley points out, oil priceshave now fallen some fifty percentrecently, and if sustained it’s bound tohave some implications for an industrythat relies on it, a lot of it, for propul-sion. “One might initially think that a

FUELLow oil pricesare having asignificant effecton industrygrowth.

12 MONTH WORLD WIDE TURBINE FLEET2013 2014 Unit Change Growth

Worldwide 33.950 34.755 805 2.3%

United States 18.756 19.229 473 2.52%

Africa 1.288 1.301 13 1%

Asia 2.226 2.359 133 6%

Europe 4.016 3.902 -114 (2.8%)

North America 21.835 22.426 591 2.7%

Australia & Oceania 671 677 6 0.89%

South America 3.188 3.350 162 5.08%

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46


drop in oil prices would benefit theentire civil aviation industry as awhole, but as one digs a little deeperthere are actually two aspects to it,” hesays.

Foley adds that the obvious benefac-tors are the airlines who only recentlyhad fuel bills that accounted for closeto a third of their total operating costs.While the initial benefit of lower jetfuel may be diminished or postponedwhile unwinding from fuel hedgingcommitments, this will eventually havea huge overall impact on the industry’sprofitability.

Finally he says the low-end of thegeneral aviation aircraft marketwould also benefit. This includes

small piston aircraft such as Cirrus,Piper and Robinson Helicopter upthrough small- and medium-sized pri-vate jets like Cessna Citations andBombardier Learjets. This segmenthas been traditionally driven by theNorth American market (read US)which is now the best performinglarge economy in the world. Lowerfuel prices will further act as a salescatalyst since the smaller segment isvery price elastic, meaning peopleare more inclined to f ly and buywhen fuel is more affordable.

Lastly, aircraft maintenance (MRO)and parts providers would see anincrease in activity if airlines keep cur-rent aircraft longer rather than takingnew ones. And Fixed Base Operators(FBOs), charter and fractionalproviders could get a boost fromincreased flying activity due to lowerfuel operating costs and an improvingeconomy.

There’s a flip-side to lower oil pricesthat negatively affects a much largerswath of the industry’s overall deliveryvalue and one change will be seen inthe sales distribution of business jets,says Foley. Ever since the recessionthe only signs of strength were, sur-prisingly, from the biggest, mostexpensive models the manufacturershad to offer.

A lot of this sales activity was gen-erated by the once hot marketsabroad including China and otheremerging markets. Now with loweroil and commodity prices coupledwith weaker economies, these mar-kets have been great ly compro-mised. In place of big cabin privatejets, the decimated small- and medi-um-sized jets will rise to the occa-sion since this segment’s sales cen-ter of gravity is not aligned withcommodities, but rather with thefortunes of the US economy - whichis now on a tear.

In all, a sustained drop in oil priceswill help some segments of the civilaviation industry while others, repre-senting a much larger economic value,potentially have the most to lose.“Major structural changes are alreadyquietly afoot, and the effects will beprofound.”

OILTurboprop and

light jetmanufacturers

benefit fromfalling oil prices.

The market forlarge luxurious

aircraft maysuffer.


✈

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46

[ reveal ]

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Spend some time analyzingmarket data and you mightget the impression that theglobal market determines thefortunes of Business Aviation.Look closer however and you’llsee that the industry, can incertain cases, be the author ofits own fate by expandingexisting markets and creatingnew ones. One example is thelaunch of new aircraftprograms, which for marketforecasters at both Honeywelland Bombardier, is a clearmarket driver for 2015 andbeyond.

B ased on this and other factors,Honeywell forecasts up to 9,450new business jet deliveries worth

$280 billion from 2014 to 2024, whichis a 7 to 8 percent increase in project-ed delivery value over the 2013 fore-cast. Slightly higher unit deliveries arecoupled with modest list price increas-es and the continued strong showingof larger business jet models in thedelivery mix to generate the growth.

And according to Brian Sill, presi-dent, Business and General Aviation,Honeywell Aerospace, “2015 industrydeliveries are anticipated to be upmodestly again, reflecting momentumfrom several new model introductionsand some gains linked to incrementalglobal economic growth,”

SURVEY FINDINGSIn its latest survey, Honeywell found

that the operators interviewed plan tomake new jet purchases equivalent toabout 23 percent of their fleets overthe next five years either as a replace-ment or in addition to their currentfleet.

They admit that this is slightly lowerthan the past four survey cycles, butadd that they are still in line with resultsof 25 percent or less that were the normuntil 2006. Of the total new business jetpurchase plans, 19 percent are intendedto occur by the end of 2015, while 14and 22 percent are scheduled for 2016and 2017, respectively.

LARGER JETS REMAIN POPULARDespite lower overall purchase

expectations, operators continue tofocus on larger-cabin aircraft classesranging from super midsize throughultralong-range and business liner,implying these types of aircraft willcommand the bulk of the value billedfrom now until 2024. This large-cabingroup is expected to account for morethan 75 percent of all expenditures onnew business jets in the near term.Volume growth between now and 2024will be led by these classes of aircraft,reflecting 60 percent of additionalunits and nearly 85 percent of addi-tional retail value.

“The strong desire for larger-cabinaircraft with greater range andadvanced avionics is seen again inthis year’s survey,” Sill said. “We arealso seeing some improved interestin midsize and small-cabin modelsthis year. As a full-spectrum supplier,we are pleased to see aircraft inevery class with signif icantHoneywell equipment content amongthe most popular models cited in theoperator survey.”

“For many years, the HoneywellOperator Survey has pointed the wayfor the industry,” says Carl Esposito,vice president of Marketing andProduct Management, HoneywellAerospace. “The annual outlookreflects topical operator concerns butalso identifies longer-cycle trends weuse in our own product decisionprocess. It has helped Honeywellfocus on investments such as design-ing and developing flight efficiencyupgrades, optimized propulsion offer-ings, innovative safety products andenhanced aircraft connectivity offer-ings. The survey also contributes toour business pursuit strategy, and


DRIVING THE MARKET FORWARD

LARGEIn the near term

large-cabinaircraft willaccount for

75 percent of allbusiness jet

spending.


28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46

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helps position Honeywell consistentlyon high-value platforms in growth sec-tors.”

Also noteworthy is the improvedinterest in midsize and small-cabin air-craft. While large-cabin models stillgarner the largest share of specificbuying plans, the midsize and smallermodels recovered some share for thefirst time in several years. This meansimproved prospects for existing mod-els as well as stronger interest innewer models

REGIONAL BUYING DETAILSHoneywell points out that emerging

markets generally show higher, buthistorically more volatile, levels ofdemand and a more pronounced pref-erence for larger aircraft.

In the BRIC countries (Brazil,Russia, India and China) in 2011 42percent of respondents reported acqui-sition plans. This has lowered to 29percent in the 2014 survey, butremains above the world average of 23percent. Of the BRIC countries, Brazilremained a bright spot by recordingthe strongest new aircraft purchaseplans in the survey. Overall, the BRICcountries still retain a relatively strongnear-term demand profile with 45 per-cent of intended new jet purchasesscheduled for the next two years.

Meanwhile Sill points out “new air-craft acquisition plans in NorthAmerica are still significant given theregion’s overall size,” Sill said.“Coupled with projected gains in frac-

tional fleet deliveries, North Americandemand should still support industryvolumes as some of the traditionalhigher-growth regions work throughanother year of reduced growth rates.”

Asia PacificOperators in the Asia Pacific region,

where many of the industry’s majorplayers still have high expectations forlong-term future growth, report new jetacquisition plans for 12 percent of theirfleet. This is much lower than the 24percent reported last year and hasslipped below the world average.Honeywell says that disappointinggrowth figures from several majorregional economies, higher levels ofregional tensions and government aus-terity initiatives have muted operatorenthusiasm in the current survey. As aresult, the total share of global demandover the next five years for Asia Pacificis about 3 percent, off two points from2013 levels.

Fleets in this region have been grow-ing at double-digit rates throughout thepast five years and should continue toexpand at strong, if slightly slower,rates over the next few years. This year,almost 30 percent of respondents arescheduling their new purchases withinthe first year of the five-year horizon.When comparing purchase timing inAsia Pacific between the past two sur-veys, it is evident that the front-loadedprofile has resurfaced and should helpbridge the gap to improved operatorsentiments in the future.

BOOST New aircraft like

the Honda-Jetare set to drive

the marketforward next

year.


28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46

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Most operator concerns centered onthe economic tempering, tensions andfiscal austerity affecting several of theregion’s major economies.

However Sill said:“Survey findingsfrom this part of the world rely on asmaller base of operator pools, and wedo not believe the 2014 results repre-sent any long-term structural changein the region’s fundamental underlyinggrowth drivers or commitment to busi-ness aviation.”

Middle East and Africa

The share of projected five-year glob-al demand attributed to the MiddleEast and Africa region moved belowits historical range of 4 to 7 percentthis year.

In the Middle East and Africa, 18 per-cent of respondents’ fleets are project-ed to be replaced or added to with anew jet purchase, down from 26 per-cent last year.

The level of purchase plans is underthe world average and unsurprising inthat it has been a year of significantpolitical upheaval and ongoing conflictin the region as well as a year in whichoil prices have drifted lower andhealth crises have emerged in Africa.Regional distress has taken a toll, withoperators in the region schedulingtheir purchases later in the next five-year window than expected last year,with only 21 percent of purchasesplanned before 2017.

Latin AmericaLatin America’s survey results indi-

cate 28 percent of the sample fleet willbe replaced or added to with new jetpurchases, which is 11 points lowerthan last year’s result. The 2014results remain above the world aver-age, and planned acquisitions remainmore front-loaded than the world aver-age, with almost 47 percent of thisregion’s projected purchases timed to

EXPANDING In Asia fleets

have beengrowing at

double digit ratesfor the past five

years. Falcon 7Xpictured.


28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46


happen between 2014?2016. As aresult of the current purchase plan lev-els, Latin America’s share of total pro-jected demand holds relatively steadycompared with a year ago at 17 per-cent.

North AmericaNorth America, the industry’s main-

stay market, has seen new jet pur-chase plan levels slip about six pointsto 22 percent, just under the worldaverage of 23 percent, after averagingnear 25 percent for the past six years.Though buying plan levels might be

moderate when compared with emerg-ing markets, North America repre-sents nearly 60 percent of projectedglobal demand for the next five yearsbased on the region’s larger installedbusiness jet base, affirming theregion’s unquestionable importance tothe industry’s future.

EuropeEurope’s purchase expectations

jumped this year, to 31 percent, andare now back in line with the 30 to 33percent levels seen in the three sur-veys before 2013. The European shareof estimated global five-year demandalso moved back in line with norms at18 percent in the 2014 survey.European operators are still contend-ing with sluggish growth andincreased political tensions.

Within the current setting, the buoy-ancy of operator attitudes is surpris-ing. Russia, which supported theregion before 2013 with strong localpurchasing ambitions, has slipped inreported purchase plans in the 2014survey, as Western sanctions expand-ed over the Ukraine crisis. Honeywell

must note that Russian responses inthis year’s survey were again limited,so the small sample has an added ele-ment of volatility

A comparison of the planned timingfor European purchases indicatesuneven proportions of demand in thenext three years of the five-year win-dow, with about 20 percent allocatedthrough 2015 followed by a 13 percentdip in 2016 and a strong rebound toover 30 percent in 2017.

“The long-term macro trends thatsupport demand for business jets arestill in place, notwithstanding the topi-

cal issues we find coloring responsesto the 2014 Operator Survey,” Sill said.“We believe global business aviationgrowth will be aided by structural andregulatory reforms, longer-term eco-nomic growth and aircraft innovation.As a systems supplier, we believeproduct innovation in the form of air-craft connectivity and communicationtechnology solutions like the JetWaveKa-band satellite connectivity system,safety and situational awareness offer-ings like the IntuVue weather radar, aswell as flexible service offerings andvalue-added upgrades, will support theexpanded use of business aircraft as akey tool in the global economy.”

USED JETSAND FLIGHT ACTIVITY

Moving then to used jets and flightactivity we see that the picture is quitemixed. According to Honeywell muchof the ground lost by operations dur-ing the 2009 recession still remains tobe recaptured, while moderateimprovements in international flightactivity and in U.S. operations in gen-eral have continued into 2014.

Among the indices followed byHoneywell, pre-owned jets for sale andflight activity continue to receive spe-cial attention.

The number of pre-owned jets forsale today has fallen from a year ago.Approximately 10 percent of today’sfleet is up for resale, down from ahigh of nearly 16 percent reached in2009. Current levels are normal inlight of the past decade’s history;meanwhile, asking prices continue todrift lower.

REBOUNDEuropeanpurchaseexpectations aregrowing saysHoneywell.PC-12 pictured

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46


Before 2008, younger inventory (10or fewer years old) usually made up 20percent of what was for sale, but thisyear, the percentage of younger usedjets still hovers at just over a quarter ofall listings. This is down from recordaverages of about 30 percent reachedin 2009. In 2014, improvements haveoccurred in the total young jet listingsbut in proportion to the decline inoverall listings, keeping the overallshare stable. Operator respondentsincreased their used jet acquisitionplans moderately again in this year’ssurvey by about two points, equatingto 28 percent of their fleets in the nextfive years.

All regions posted increased used jetbuying plans except Latin America.The used jet purchase plan increasesover the last two surveys mesh nicelywith the observed decline in usedinventory for sale. Honeywell also seesincreases in regions that experienceddeclines in new jet purchase plans,perhaps reflecting a shift in the near

term to a more financially conservativeapproach to upgrading or expandingbusiness jet fleets with used equip-ment.

Prospects for improved levels of fly-ing activity in the near future remainmodest. Honeywell expects U.S. busi-ness jet cycles to close this year withan expansion of about 5 to 6 percent,largely driven by international flightgrowth and relatively strong charteroperations. 2015 should also bringgrowth in the low single digits.

FRACTIONAL MARKETFlight activity for charter-like opera-

tions and fractional ownership appearsto be doing relatively well in the U.S.but not yet translating into many newaircraft deliveries. Fractional operatorshave taken only 11 new jets throughmid-year. Large order backlogs accu-mulated over the past two yearsshould impact delivery performancefavorably beginning in the second halfof 2014 based on delivery schedules.

BOMBARDIER’SMARKET FORECAST

Meanwhile Bombardier notes thatwhile the world economy is growing ata slower than expected rate, signs ofimprovement in the business and com-mercial aircraft markets have startedto emerge. For one things aircraftorders are supported by continueddemand from established markets –such as North America and Europe –and growth potential in emerging mar-kets, which are forecasted to play anincreasing role in the global aviationmarketplace. China is expected to bethe second largest region in terms ofcommercial aircraft deliveries in the20- to 149-seat segment, and the thirdfor business aircraft over the next 20years.

Also, as environmental concerns con-tinue to gain importance and high fuelprices add pressure to the bottom line,operators across both industries willremain focused on finding more effi-cient and sustainable solutions.

INCREASESingle digit

growth isexpected in US

flight activity nextyear. CessnaCJ4 pictured.


28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:46


“At Bombardier, we have a long andproud tradition of pushing the bound-aries of technology, and developingthe next generation of aircraft that willbetter meet the needs of our cus-tomers – both today, and tomorrow,”said Michael McAdoo, Vice President,Strategy and InternationalDevelopment, Bombardier Aerospace.“As such, Bombardier Aerospace withits new category-defining business andcommercial programs is well-posi-tioned to strengthen its leadershipposition in its current markets.”

Business AircraftMarket Forecast

Bombardier is confident in thestrong, long-term potential of thebusiness aircraft industry and fore-casts a total of 22,000 business jet

deliveries from 2014 to 2033 in thesegments in which Bombardier com-petes representing approximately$617 billion US in industry revenues.Bombardier’s Business AircraftMarket Forecast anticipates 9,200 air-

craft deliveries, worth $264 billion USbetween 2014 and 2023, and 12,800aircraft, worth $353 billion US, from2024 to 2033.

The company adds that the marketfor business aviation continues toshow promising signs of recovery.While current macroeconomic indica-tors are mixed, the overall trend forthe world economy is stable to posi-tive. In 2014, the world GDP is expect-ed to grow by 2.9 per cent, with highergrowth expected in 2015 onward.Industry order intake saw incrementalimprovement in 2013 over 2012, allow-ing the industry to record a book-to-bill ratio of one for the second year ina row. Industry deliveries are expectedto increase slightly in 2014 from 2013based on the delivery guidance ofmanufacturers and new aircraft pro-grams.

As far as Bombardier is concernedBusiness aircraft orders are expectedto remain challenging in 2014 acrossthe industry, but projected to improvebeginning in 2015. It is also anticipatedthat with demand for business jetsshifting towards emerging markets,the fleet of large and medium categoryaircraft will grow, with the large air-craft category demonstrating thefastest growth.

Over the forecast period,Bombardier predicts North Americawill receive the greatest number ofnew business jet deliveries between2014 and 2033, followed by Europe,which remains the second largestmarket. China is forecast to becomethe third largest region in terms ofdeliveries over the next 20 yearswith 950 deliveries from 2014 to2023, and 1,275 deliveries from 2024to 2033.

VOLUMEBombardierpredicts a totalof 22,000 aircraftdeliveries overthe next20 years.BombardierGlobal 5000pictured✈

Industry deliveries by region 2014-2023 VS. 2024-2033

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47

By R ichard KoeManag ing D irector Wingx Advance

T welve months ago the forecastsfor Business Aviation were cau-tiously optimistic for a very belat-

ed recovery to a recession which hadlingered for more than 5 years.Broadly, this recovery was expected tobenefit from the improving shape ofthe global economy, which showedgreen shoots in the US, growth inemerging markets, and hopes for sta-bilization in the Eurozone. Few couldhave expected the divergent way inwhich this picture then developed, andits equally varying repercussions forBusiness Aviation activity in 2014.The optimists were right to anticipategrowth in the US Business Aviationmarket, which is a bellwether for theglobal industry, hosting some 65% ofthe aircraft fleet and even more of theflight activity. The broad canvas ofstrengthening industrial activity,record equity market and low interestrates helped. More specifically, cor-porate America sustained its highprofits, had cash to burn and startedto lean back into capital asset invest-ment, including business jets. Analready delayed cycle of aircraftreplacement and upgrade finally gotits catalyst.

The vanguard of this renewed demandfor business aircraft ownership wasflight activity, which grew in NorthAmerica throughout 2014. The yearconcluded with 4.8% more flights oper-ated than in 2013, the equivalent of117,509 additional departures.Approximately a third of this activitywas charter flying, operated by a part-135 fleet of some 4000 aircraft, threequarters business jets. It´s a highlyfragmented market, with the top 30operators managing less than 20% ofthis fleet.

The strong recovery in charter activityin 2013, 11%, was consistent with thefirst phase of the market´s upcycle.Recovery in aircraft ownership, reflect-ed in more jet deliveries and increasedprivate and fractional flight operations,then started to emerge last year. Theconsensus is that this year´s modestincrease of around 3% in new aircraftdeliveries will rise into double digitgrowth in 2015. This should feed through into fraction-al flying, which began to recover inthe 2nd half of last year, and privateflights, which operated some 60% of allactivity, and picking up some 2% lastyear.

North AmericaIf the North American market is goingto regain anything like its pre-crisistrend, there should be much moreupside to come. Even if new aircraftsales pick up 10-15% this year, annualdeliveries will still be 25% off pre-crisispeaks. Likewise, after more than 2years´ gradual improvement in activi-ty, flight activity is still more than 10%below customer demand in 2007.These peak customers left in droves in2009, but having once enjoyed thebenefits of flying private, they shouldstill be an addressable market in thefuture.The recovery in 2014 flight activitywas strong across the key NorthAmerican regional markets, withCalifornia, Texas, Florida and New

York states picking up 5%+ in charterflights, year on year. Key BusinessAviation airport hubs such as VanNuys, Centennial and Palm Beachoperated around 10% more charterdepartures. 90% of all flights weredomestic, though notably transatlanticflights, 5% of the total, were up 8% in2014. Teterboro-Luton, which rankedin the top 50 city pairs flown from, to,or within the US, more than doubledflights operated in 2014.Over the last 5 years the US markethas manifested the industry´s hybridfortunes of the large versus smalleraircraft segments, both in terms of air-craft sales and activity. Before therecession the large cabin end of themarket represented 50% of the value ofnew aircraft sales, last year it was clos-er to 75%. Gulfstream had a particular-ly strong year, especially with sales ofits super-midsize G280 and ultra-longrange G650.For the lower end of the market 2014was a year of stabilization, especiallyfor Textron in consolidating the rem-nants of Hawker with Beechcraft andCessna. Inventory, pricing and deliv-ery numbers at last started to indicatesome hardening in their customers´demand. But this is still a very cau-tious market, as indicated byBombardier´s most recent postpone-ment of the entry into service of itslong awaited midsize jet upgrade, theLear 85.The market´s bifurcation in terms ofjet deliveries was somewhat reflectedin flight activity. Ultra-long range flighthours increased by as much as 20%.77% of this activity was private, whichindicates the predominance of individ-ual and corporate jet ownership at thetop end. Super-midsize jets, likewisemainly part-91 operations, were 6% up,with the Gulfstream 280 andChallenger 300 aircraft extremely pop-ular. Midsize aircraft activity lan-guished in 2014, although only in pri-vate operations. Almost 50% of midsizeflights were charter operated, andthese increased a healthy 7%.A discernible trend of the last fewyears has been the migration of lightjet customers to the Very Light Jetsegment, with regional ´taxi´ opera-tions pioneered by the likes ofCalifornia-based Jet Suite, operatingPhenom-100s. This year the VLJ has


A TURNING POINTFOR BUSINESS AVIATION

TURNAROUNDFlight activity is

on an upwardtrend once again,

after years ofdecline.


28-52 FLEET III.qxp 6/02/2015 14:47


clearly faced increasing competitivepressure from light jets and turbo-props. VLJ charter activity actuallydecreased 1% in 2014, whilst light jetoperations grew 7%. Turboprop char-ter picked up by 9%, within that seg-ment was stand-out growth from thelikes of the PC12, up 12%, and King Air350, up 15%.

EuropeThe overall impression of strengthen-ing recovery in the US market was notmirrored in Europe. The macroeco-nomic backdrop was hardly support-ive. No one expected strong Eurozonegrowth but few could have predictedthat the ousting of PresidentYanukovych in February would spiralinto the current stand-off betweenRussia and the West. This, and theassociated sanctions and trade disrup-tions, explain much of the stutter inthe Eurozone´s economy from Q2onwards, clearly imprinted onBusiness Aviation activity during theyear.The Ukraine crisis had a relatively bigimpact on Business Aviation as theCIS region had until then provided aresilient market for business jets.Between 2008 and 2013, Gulfstreamsold over 50 aircraft into Russia, andBusiness Aviation flights in Ukraineincreased 70%. Since the crisis, aircraftsales into the CIS have stalled andactivity is falling precipitously, 31% inDecember and 23% across the wholeyear. Unsurprisingly Ukraine is mostaffected, with flights down by 50%.Connections between Russia and itsprimary EU trading partner Germanyhave fallen 13% so far.An enduring characteristic of Europe´seconomic malaise has been low invest-ment, particularly corporate invest-ment, reflecting businesses´ uncertain-ty of the Eurozone´s prospects. In par-ticular this has sapped the willingnessof corporate investment in BusinessAviation. Indeed even the notion of pri-vate jets in Europe has carried a publicstigma. Stubbornly high unemploy-ment levels have maintained this sen-sitivity to the luxury image of flyingprivate, and Europe´s governmentshave exacerbated the situationthrough pejorative tax and regulationon the industry.The result has been consistentlyreceding activity in those midsize-lightaircraft segments which have tradi-

tionally appealed to the corporateuser. Midsize aircraft flew 4% less in2014, light jets 3%, with these aircraft,the core of the European fleet, at least20% off their pre-crisis activity levels.Many of their customers have left theindustry, but those that have stayedare more price-sensitive than ever,increasingly migrating to cheaper air-craft such as the VLJ, which hadanother strong year, picking up 9% inactivity. Turboprops also benefitedfrom a value-conscious market, with30 year old King Airs gaining flightsand the PC12 gaining more than 20%in flight operations.Notably Heavy Jets also flew less inEurope last year. This decline wasaccentuated by the Ukraine crisis, asflights from and to the CIS are dispro-portionately heavy jet operated. It´salso due to the rise and rise of theultra-long range jet, now the preferredentry point into Business Aviation forthe super-wealthy individuals whohave done so much to keep the mar-ket moving the last few years. Indeedthis ´ultra-high net worth´ (UHNWI)customer base of multimillionairesand billionaires - 60,000 strong accord-ing to wealth consultancy Wealth-X –increased its population and wealth bya record 7% in Europe last year.The demand for Business Aviation atthe top end of the market saw a surgeof activity in ultra-long range jets thelast several years, with 2014 adding12% growth. Bombardier´s ULR fleethours were up 15%, with its Global5000 series flying 24% more than in2013. Notably this aircraft´s Europeancharter operations picked up 40% yearon year. ULR jets boast a large cabinand non-stop multi-continental connec-tions. But it´s worth noting only 30% ofthis segment´s 2014 flights were over3 hours. More than 45% of its flightswere sub 1.5 hour, comparable innumber of short sectors to those oper-ated by VLJs.The hottest market in Europe for ULRdemand is also the largest market forUHNWI, the UK. The UK displacedRussia in 2014 as the busiest hub forBombardier aircraft activity, flights up12%. The UK Business Aviation mar-ket also benefited from the country´sbroadening economic recovery. As awhole UK flight activity was up 4%,with London the main beneficiary,London airports gaining 7% move-ments in December, Luton as much as14%.

Emerging MarketsThe North American and Europeanmarkets tie up at least 90% of globalBusiness Aviation activity, but theemerging markets, with embryonicthough very rapid growth, have pro-vided a crucial prop for aircraft manu-facturers during the recession. Byand large this demand faltered in2014. The more established CIS andMiddle East markets were afflicted bygeopolitical crisis, whether Ukraineor ISIS. The Latin American industrywas bogged down by economic dol-drums in Brazil and Argentina. Thepurchasing power of business jet cus-tomers in all these regions was fur-ther undermined by falling oil andcommodity prices.

The nascent though potentially enor-mous growth of Asian markets forBusiness Aviation also softened in2014. As one part of China´s ambi-tious reform program to rebalance itsslowing economy, its anti-corruptiondrive is stifling demand for businessjets. Here as in other emerging mar-kets, business jets are largely seen asluxuries not business tools in emerg-ing markets. It explains why govern-ments are broadly unsupportive ofthe industry´s development, withinfrastructure development targetedtowards facilitating scheduled ratherthan private aviation.

The combination of economic slow-down, conflict and declining purchas-ing power is reflected in the patternof flight activity from emerging mar-kets in 2014. Flights from the CIS fell30%; from India, South America andChina, a relatively low 3-5% growth; afall of 1% in flights out of the MiddleEast.

The global sweep of BusinessAviation in 2014 was, overall, quitepositive. The European market didn´trecover, but didn´t collapse either,and shows discreet growth trends;the emerging markets r softened,though selectively still growing, andretain big potential; most importantly,the dominant North American marketaccelerated its recovery, with particu-larly strong growth in charter activity,and in aircraft segments which sug-gest that corporate America willbroadly re-invest in Business Aviationin 2015.

✈

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47

After a very strong year in 2013the good news is that thehelicopter market continues togrow with operating hoursincreasing and new programsboosting the market.

F or instance Honeywell predictsthat 4,800–5,500 civilian-use heli-copters will be delivered during

2014–2018. “Utility helicopter pur-chase interest is trending upward,”says Tom Hart, vice president, defenseand space sales, HoneywellAerospace. “Helicopter replacementcycles and increased operating hoursin the law enforcement and oil & gasindustries helps sustain demand inthose sectors. Several new platformsare scheduled to enter service in thenext few years and this also is expect-ed to bolster overall demand.”

For those operators that plan to buya helicopter within the next five years;the age of their current aircraft, con-tracted replacement cycle and warran-ty expiration were key drivers for theirdecision. Meanwhile range, cabin size,reliability and safety, hot/high perfor-mance, and brand experience willdetermine their make and modelchoice.

In the report Latin America stood outas the continent with the highest fleet

replacement and growth expectationsamong the regions. In terms of pro-jected regional demand for new heli-copters, Latin America now rivalsEurope to claim the world’s second-largest regional market, behind NorthAmerica.

“With demand for new helicoptersremaining steady, and aircraft lastinglonger through replacement cycles,Honeywell is ready to support bothnew installations and fleet upgradesworldwide,” Hart said. “Our propul-sion, safety, navigation, communica-tions and flight services can help air-craft stay efficient, powerful, reliableand safe throughout their entire timein the air.”

Meanwhi le demand in h igh -growth regions remains fluid withstrong results recorded for Chinain the 2014 survey, while Brazilianpurchase plans remained fairly sta-ble and Indian respondents report-ed more conservat ive purchaseplan levels for new helicopters thisyear.

Operator Preferencesby Class of Helicopter

Then in terms of the class of heli-copter preferred by operators, lightsingle-engine helicopters continue tobe the most popular product class,with the Airbus EC130/AS350 series,Bell 407 and Robinson R66 the mostfrequently mentioned models.

Intermediate/medium twin-enginehelicopters are the second most popu-lar product class, with approximately33 percent of total survey participantsplanning to buy a new model of thistype. The most frequently mentionedmodels were the AW139, AW169, Bell412, EC145 and Sikorsky S-76 serieshelicopters.

The light twin helicopter classearned 26 percent of total operatorpurchase plans in the 2014 survey,with the EC135, Bell 429 and AW109series helicopters noted the most fre-quently. And Heavy multi-engine heli-copters, such as the EC225, Mi-8/17and S-92, registered a small decline inpurchase plans in the 2013 survey;


PREDICTIONUp to 5,500

civilianhelicopters will

be deliveredbetween 2014-2018. Bell 407

(top).


STEADY GROWTHIN THEHELICOPTER SECTOR

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47

PISTON MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEENSTROM 280 SHARK 7 1ENSTROM 280C SHARK 123 30ENSTROM 280F SHARK 15 1ENSTROM 280FX SHARK 103 25ENSTROM F-28 3 0ENSTROM F-28A 110 22ENSTROM F-28C 67 8ENSTROM F-28C-2 29 1ENSTROM F28F FALCON 99 8ROBINSON R22 70 15ROBINSON R22 ALPHA 57 4ROBINSON R22 BETA 1101 305ROBINSON R22 BETA II 1585 314ROBINSON R22 HP 70 6ROBINSON R22 MARINER 112 22ROBINSON R22 MARINER II 41 15ROBINSON R44 ASTRO 548 131ROBINSON R44 RAVEN I 1264 315ROBINSON R44 RAVEN II 3197 739SCHWEIZER 300CB 92 21SCHWEIZER S-300C 479 173SCHWEIZER S-300CBI 194 32Total Piston 9.366 2.188AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119 KOALA 87 15AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119KE 97 24AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW119Kx 23 0BELL 204B 30 1BELL 205A-1 132 8BELL 206A JETRANGER 57 4BELL 206B JETRANGER II 951 62BELL 206B-3 JETRANGER III 1.905 196BELL 206L LONGRANGER 97 9BELL 206L-1 LONGRANGER II 410 23BELL 206L-3 LONGRANGER 476 24BELL 206L-4 LONGRANGER IV 407 6BELL 210 3 0BELL 214B BIGLIFTER 33 2BELL 407 1.070 66BELL 407GX 200 14BELL/AGUSTA AB-206A JETRANGER 25 12BELL/AGUSTA AB-206B JETRANGER II 80 59BELL/AGUSTA AB-206B-3 JETRANGER 78 66ENSTROM 480 31 13ENSTROM 480B 116 11EUROCOPTER AS-350B ECUREUIL 304 55EUROCOPTER AS-350B-1 ECUREUIL 50 23EUROCOPTER AS-350B-2 ECUREUIL 1.204 159EUROCOPTER AS-350B-3 ECUREUIL 1.044 322EUROCOPTER AS-350B-3E ECUREUIL 361 113EUROCOPTER AS-350BA ECUREUIL 504 125EUROCOPTER AS-350D ASTAR 56 5EUROCOPTER EC-120B COLIBRI 622 296EUROCOPTER EC-130B-4 ECUREUIL 424 57EUROCOPTER EC-130T2 70 3EUROCOPTER SA-315B LAMA 196 99EUROCOPTER SA-316B ALOUETTE III 130 49EUROCOPTER SA-318C ALOUETTE II 74 38EUROCOPTER SA-319B ALOUETTE III 27 9MD MD 500E 354 68MD MD 520N 96 10MD MD 530F 116 2MD MD 600N 62 8ROBINSON R66 432 27SCHWEIZER 330 14 4SCHWEIZER S-333 49 11Total Single Turbine 12.497 2.098Turbine Make/ModelAGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A 58 25AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A MK II 92 48AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109C 64 19AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109E POWER 373 110AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109K2 29 18AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109S GRAND 174 61

AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109SP GRANDNEW 108 39AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW139 624 156AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW189 9 5BELL 206LT TWINRANGER 4 2BELL 212 472 49BELL 214ST 30 0BELL 222A 36 6BELL 222B 17 3BELL 222SP 6 2BELL 222UT 46 3BELL 230 35 3BELL 412 113 26BELL 412EP 523 35BELL 412HP 68 19BELL 412SP 31 2BELL 427 79 12BELL 429 GLOBALRANGER 186 27BELL 430 115 10BELL/AGUSTA AB-412 28 26BELL/AGUSTA AB-412EP 17 17BELL/AGUSTA AB-412HP 4 3BELL/AGUSTA AB-412SP 22 16EUROCOPTER AS-332C1E SUPER PUMA 3 1EUROCOPTER AS-332L SUPER PUMA 63 22EUROCOPTER AS-332L1 SUPER PUMA 68 31EUROCOPTER AS-332L2 SUPER PUMA 45 25EUROCOPTER AS-355E ECUREUIL II 2 0EUROCOPTER AS-355F ECUREUIL II 120 46EUROCOPTER AS-355F-1 ECUREUIL 63 26EUROCOPTER AS-355F-2 ECUREUIL 159 50EUROCOPTER AS-355N ECUREUIL II 151 75EUROCOPTER AS-355NP ECUREUIL II 53 31EUROCOPTER AS-365C DAUPHIN 2 46 21EUROCOPTER AS-365N DAUPHIN 2 100 34EUROCOPTER AS-365N-1 DAUPHIN 2 35 14EUROCOPTER AS-365N-2 DAUPHIN 2 123 29EUROCOPTER AS-365N-3 DAUPHIN 2 181 66EUROCOPTER AS-365N-3E DAUPHIN 2 5 0EUROCOPTER BK-117A-1 57 0EUROCOPTER BK-117B-1 58 21EUROCOPTER BK-117B-2 59 19EUROCOPTER BK-117C-1 52 25EUROCOPTER EC-135P1 45 15EUROCOPTER EC-135P2 155 61EUROCOPTER EC-135P2e 2 0EUROCOPTER EC-135P2I 372 150EUROCOPTER EC-135T1 89 50EUROCOPTER EC-135T2 147 106EUROCOPTER EC-135T2e 7 5EUROCOPTER EC-135T2I 203 114EUROCOPTER EC-145 658 114EUROCOPTER EC-145T2 4 3EUROCOPTER EC-155B 30 18EUROCOPTER EC-155B1 132 46EUROCOPTER EC-225LP SUPER PUMA 143 54EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117A-1 11 0EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117B 86 1EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117C-1 9 0MD MD EXPLORER 115 58SIKORSKY S-76A 118 3SIKORSKY S-76A+ 35 1SIKORSKY S-76A++ 37 6SIKORSKY S-76B 77 16SIKORSKY S-76C 27 5SIKORSKY S-76C+ 147 12SIKORSKY S-76C++ 211 18SIKORSKY S-76D 47 9SIKORSKY S-92A 253 81Total Multi Turbine 7.966 2.224Grand Total 29.829 6.510© AVDATA/JETNET

HELICOPTER SUMMARY BY MODEL AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2014

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47


however, demand from large oil andgas fleet operators not included in thesurvey continues to support overallvolume in the heavy class.

Satisfaction With Aircraft In terms of operator satisfaction

the highest scoring models are theAW139, Bell 407, Bell 412, EC120,

EC130/EC350 series and SikorskyS-76.

The other piece of good news is thathelicopter fleet use is expected toincrease this year. For instance inNorth America: 20 percent of opera-tors plan increases, and only 7 percentplan decreases, in Europe: 22 percentof operators plan increases, and 6 per-cent plan decreases, in Latin America:36 percent of operators plan increases,and only 4 percent plan decreases, inthe Middle East and Africa: 23 percentof operators plan increases, and only11 percent plan decreases, while inAsia: 29 percent of operators planincreases, and 6 percent plan decreas-es.

Oil and gas had the highest annu-al average usage of approximately720 hours per aircraft, followed bylaw enforcement at more than 400hours per year . Tourism, emer-gency medical services and generalut i l i ty were c lose ly grouped a tapproximately 375–400 hours peryear. The lowest average use wasrepor ted by corporate segmentoperators at just over 300 hours perhelicopter per year.

2014 Fleet FiguresAs we move on to our 2014 fleet fig-

ures, once again North Americaremains the market leader with 12,404

BUSINESSCorporate use

remains at 300hours per

helicopter peryear.


PISTON VERSUS TURBINESWorld Area Pistons Single Multi TotalAfrica 536 560 377 1.473Asia 568 1.052 1.684 3.304Central America 272 630 261 1.163Europe 2.188 2.098 2.224 6.510North America * 3.809 6.246 2.349 12.404Oceania 1.391 860 339 2.590South America 874 1.336 801 3.011Unknown 0 343 185 528Total 9.366 12.497 7.966 29.829

TOP TEN FLEETSBY COUNTRY

United States 9.146

Canada 2.390

Brazil 1.830

Australia 1.718

United Kingdom 1.075

France 859

South Africa 856

Japan 764

Germany 721

Italy 716

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47


up from 12,152 units last year. It’s fol-lowed by Europe which has 6,510rotorcraft up from 6,455 units in theprevious year. Asia is in third placewith 3,304 units in the global fleet upfrom 3,035 in the previous year andthen there’s South America (3011),Oceania and Australia (2590) andAfrica (1,473).

In Asia multi-engines are the mostpopular helicopter type with 1,684based there compared with 1,052singles and 568 pistons, whereas inEurope helicopter types are evenlydistributed with 2,188 pistons, 2,098singles and 2,224 multis. Singleshowever are still by far the mostpopular helicopter type in NorthAmerica where 6,246 are based andin South America where 1,336 arebased.

Once again the US leads the top tenfleet leader-board with a rotorcraftfleet of 9,146 up from 8,551 up from8,151 last year. And again Canadacomes is in second place with 2,390 upfrom 2,272. Then there’s Brazil(1,756), Australia (1,718), South Africa(865), Japan (764) New Zealand (700)and Mexico (686).

ManufacturersThen if we look to the earnings fig-

ures from manufacturers a positivepicture also emerges.

In the third quarter of 2015 Bell rev-enues increased $20 million, primarilythe result of higher V-22 program vol-ume, partially offset by lower first halfand commercial deliveries.

Bell delivered 12 V-22’s and 4 H-1’sin the quarter, compared to 10 V-22’sand 7 H-1’s in last year’s third quarterand 41 commercial helicopters, com-pared to 54 units last year and theirsegment profit increased $15 millionprimarily due to favorable perfor-mance.

Its backlog at the end of the thirdquarter was $5.3 billion, down $499million from the end of the secondquarter.

Bell’s 429 is a standout performer forthe company; last year it announcedthat it had delivered the 50th Bell 429in Europe to an operator in the UnitedKingdom. The aircraft will be used toaccomplish corporate/VIP transportacross the region.

“The Bell 429 offers customersexceptional performance and a

PERFORMERSBell 429, theEC130 T2 andthe R66 allexperiencedpositive salesgrowth last year.

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47


smooth, comfortable ride, and thesecapabilities are quickly being realizedin the region,” said Patrick Moulay,vice president of European sales. “Thismilestone delivery demonstrates thegreat success we have seen in Europewith the Bell 429, and we look forwardto growing our global and regionalfleet even further in the years tocome.“

“The Bell 429 has been successfullyperforming key operations across allof our mission segments in the region,and has truly showcased its versatili-ty as it continues to take on new mis-sions all over Europe” added Moulay.“The corporate configuration has

proven to be the most sought-afterchoice, making up nearly 35 percent ofthe Bell 429’s customer base inEurope.”Sikorsky also had a positive year

and one milestone was its announce-ment that it has begun delivering S-76D™ aircraft equipped for ExecutiveTransport services.

“The S-76 aircraft line has a longlegacy of reliability, safety and service,and we are confident VIP customerswill be pleased with the comfort andperformance the new S-76D helicopterprovides,” said Dan Hunter, director,Platforms, Sikorsky CommercialSystems & Services.

Sikorsky delivered the first S-76D air-craft to Bristow Group, Inc. for off-shore oil worker transport inDecember 2013. It also announcedthat it has begun delivering S-76D air-craft equipped for search-and-rescue(SAR) service.

Meanwhile Airbus Helicoptersannounced the handover of the firstEC145 T2 to DRF Luftrettung markingyet another milestone in the programfor the BK117/EC145 family. In spring2014, the latest addition to the familyreceived EASA certification and is nowready to take on a wide variety of mis-sions. More than 100 orders havealready been placed for the new heli-copter, which was developed and manu-factured in Donauwörth.

Dr. Wolfgang Schoder, CEO of AirbusHelicopters in Germany, handed overthis first EC145 to German air rescuecompany DRF Luftrettung, which hasordered 20 of these helicopters.

“The handover of the first EC145 T2 isa significant event for all of us at AirbusHelicopters and we are thrilled to bedelivering this aircraft to one of our mostloyal customers—DRF Luftrettung. TheEC145 T2 embodies our aim to offer ourcustomers the best helicopters for their

missions, with economical operatingcosts and tailored support and servicepackages,” said Schoder.

“We’re proud today to be the first oper-ator in the world to take delivery of anEC145 T2,” explained Steffen Lutz, amember of the DRF Luftrettung Boardof Directors. “We’re expecting this heli-copter to enter service at our 24/7 airrescue station in Munich around the endof the year. We’ve been using nightvision goggles there since 2009, whenwe became Germany’s first air rescueorganization to do so, and the newEC145 T2 is ideal for nighttime rescuemissions.”

Finally Augusta Westlandannounced that its new generationAW169 light intermediate 4.5-tonneclass helicopter has entered full scaleproduction, with the first aircraft now onthe final assembly line at its Vergiatefacility in Italy. The event marks a majormilestone ahead of EASA certification,with deliveries to the first batch of cus-tomers set to start in the 2nd quarter of2015. The AW169 is the first all new air-craft in its weight category to enter themarket in nearly forty years. TheAW169 flight test program, utilizingfour prototypes, has so far amassedover 1200 flying hours during flight test-ing in Italy, the UK and USA.

A second AW169 final assembly lineis planned at AgustaWestland’sPhiladelphia plant in the US, whileAgustaWestland’s Yeovil plant in UK isalready playing a key role in the pro-duction of rotor blades and tail rotortransmission system.

OEMSManufacturers

includingSikorsky and

AugustaWestland

reported positiveresults in 2014.

AW139 (top)and S76 D

(center).


✈

28-52 FLEET III.qxp 4/02/2015 15:47

BUSINESS AVIATION CONVENTION & EXHIBITIONNOVEMBER 17, 18, 19 | LAS VEGAS

Join 25,000 industry professionals for the most important three days of business aviation, with over 1,000 exhibitors, 100 business aircraft on static display, and dozens of

education sessions. Save the date and visit the NBAA2015 website to learn more.

www.nbaa.org/2015/bart

T HE WORLD HELICOPTER com-munity will converge on Orlando,Florida, March 2-5 for the annual

Heli-Expo 2015 helicopter trade showand exposition, where organizersexpect some 20,000 visitors and morethan 700 exhibitors.

According to the organizingHelicopter Association International,the 2014 show drew 19,038 attendees,714 exhibitors and the total value ofgross sales contracts resulting fromthe show was approximately $2.5 bil-lion. “Right now,” said HAI PresidentMatt Zuccaro on January 20, “we aretracking ahead of last year in most cat-egories. Six weeks out, we have moreexhibitor square footage spoken forthan last year, and attendees andexhibitors are also ahead of the samepoint in 2014. The general trend sug-gests we are going to have anotherrecord-breaking year.”

While the show opening is set forMarch 2, activities begin well beforewith a number of events, includingthe Helicopter Tour Operators

Committee Meeting March 1, the four-day series of professional educationcourses February 27 through March 2.The HAI Safety Symposium, and theWelcome Reception are also sched-uled for March 2.

Safety continues to be HAI’s focus,said Zuccaro, and Heli-Expo 2015reflects that theme. Numerous ses-sions are devoted to safety in one formor another, including the HAI SafetySymposium discussing risk manage-

ment in public helicopter operations,the Safety Directors Forum on what todo following a helicopter crash, andthe Tour Operators Program of Safety.All three are scheduled for officialopening day, March 3.

One of the more popular features ofHeli-Expo is the HAI Rotor SafetyChallenge which will present 52 safetyeducation events free to attendees andexhibitors. Eight of the events are newto the program. New features include

replay sessions to provide additionalaccess and in-depth sessions longerthan 60 minutes, allowing greater cov-erage of some subjects. Topics willcover such issues as fuel manage-ment, post-accident next-steps, safetyculture and social media applicability.

While no advance registration is nec-essary for the Rotor Safety Challenge,Zucaro noted that seating is limited,“and it was standing-room only lastyear.”


HELI-EXPO 2015 SET TOBOOST THE INDUSTRY

BRIGHT2014 is going to

be a record-breaking year for

Heli-Expo saysHAI PresidentMatt Zuccaro.

Swiss HelicopterMarenco (top).

P R E V I E W H E L I - E X P O

54-55 HELI EXPO.qxp 5/02/2015 10:22


A Town Hall of industry associationCEOs includes leadership of theAircraft Owners & OperatorsAssociation, Experimental AircraftAssociation, General AviationManufacturers Association, HelicopterAssociation International, National AirTransportation Association, NationalAssociation of State Aviation Officialsand the National Business AviationAssociation. The session will include aQ&A period.

Zuccaro emphasized the associa-tion’s focus on collateral areas criticalto the civil helicopter industry, with anemphasis on expanding military out-reach to assist those transitioning tothe civil side of the industry. And healso took note of HAI’s efforts toencourage students at universities andtechnical schools to visit the show anddiscuss careers in the helicopterworld. “If you are a student, HAI mem-bership is free for three years,”Zuccaro pointed out.

In addition to approximately 65 heli-copters on display inside the OrangeCounty Convention Center, manufac-turers and operators will conductdemonstration flights with six heli-copters, flying from a heliport set upoutside the center.

As usual, exhibitors will include themajor helicopter manufacturers withnew products and services.

AgustaWestland came away fromHeli-Expo 2014 with 32 orders andexpects even better results this yearwith AW169 assuming a prominentrole. Full production of the light inter-mediate helicopter began in January atthe OEM’s Vergiate, Italy facilities anddeliveries are expected to begin in thesecond quarter 2015.

Airbus Helicopters is set to drawattention this year with the announce-ment in January that the deployedfleet of Airbus Helicopters in servicein the oil and gas industry has accu-mulated more than 10 million flighthours as of December 31, 2014. Newsof a more immediate nature is anupgrade of the AS365 Dauphin full-flight simulator at the AirbusHelicopters training center inSingapore. It now provides “highlyrealistic training” in both day andnight search and rescue operations,incorporating a CMA9000 flight man-agement system with the AS365motion-based flight simulator.

Bell Helicopter comes to the 2015show following a very successful 2014event at which it accepted commit-ments-of-purchase for nearly 200 newhelicopters, including nearly 100 let-ters of intent for the new Bell 404 JetRanger X. This year at Heli-Expo, FortWorth, Texas-based Bell celebrates 80years of “changing the way the worldflies” and will provide updates on theBell 525 Relentless and Bell 505 at itsexhibit. State-of-the-art integrated digi-tal avionics in every weight class willbe featured at the Bell exhibit.

“Last year was our busiest showever,” said Enstrom marketing manag-er Jackie Campf. It included “severalorders taken at Helo-Expo 2014 andseveral more since.” This year theexhibit will feature the TH180 trainer,the turbine-powered 480BG, “andhopefully the turbo-charged 280FXShark,” said Campf.

Robinson Helicopter of Torrence,California plans to have an R44 Ravenmodel on display, equipped with the

dual Garmin GTR 225B communica-tion suite and GTN 725 GPS, as well asthe Aspent EFD 1000H primary flightdisplay and accessory bar. The latestR66 Turbine model will be at theexhibit and equipped with a Garmin500H flight display system, GTN 750GPS/com/nav, and Genesys HeliSASautopilot. The HeliSAS autopilot isoptional on the R66 at a list price of$46,000.

Sergei Sikorsky, the son of founderIgor Sikorsky, will be present at theSikorsky exhibit, along with a displayof the Stratford, Connecticut-basedOEM’s most recent commercial heli-copter line, as well as Sikorsky ser-vices and support products and thePinpoint tool control system.

Discussing the 2015 show, Zuccarodescribed Heli-Expo as the best per-forming helicopter show in the worldfor exhibitors. “This is the one showpeople from the helicopter communityare going to every year,” he conclud-ed. “And it’s the premier place forattendees to network.” Attendees andexhibitors alike at Heli-Expo representa global helicopter community, withparticipants from as far away as NewZealand.

“Some exhibitors say they do morebusiness at our show than they do therest of the year,” Zuccaro. “Where elseare you going to get exposure to20,000 potential customers?” he asked.

EXHIBITThere will bearound 65helicopters ondisplay duringHeli-Expo.✈

HELI-EXPO HIGHLIGHTS❍ Helicopter Foundations Silent Auction (HFI),24/7, bids accepted atwww.biddingforgoods.com/hfi.❍ HFI Scholarship Fundraising Golf Tournament,Monday, March 1, 10 a.m. check-in, 11:30 shotgunstart, Falcon’s Fire Golf Club. ❍ HAI Welcome Reception, Monday, March 2,7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. at the Hilton Orlando Hotel.If invitations arrive too late, a business card willserve for admission.❍ HAI Membership Meeting & Breakfast, Tuesday,March 2, 8 a.m. – 10 a.m., at Orange CountyConvention Center.❍ Heli-Expo Opening Ceremony, March 3,10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.,exhibit hall, Orange County Convention Center.❍ HAI Helicopter Industry Career Fair, Tuesday,March 3, 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Entrance is free butpre-registration is required: [email protected] call 703-683-4646, ext. 8442.S❍ alute To Excellence Awards, March 4, 8 p.m.to 10:30 p.m., Hilton Orland Hotel. Tickets may bepurchased Online when registered.

54-55 HELI EXPO.qxp 5/02/2015 10:22

By K irby Harr ison

A s the business jet cabin comple-tion industry embarks on NewYear 2015, it faces a shifting

landscape of new technology, fromnew composite aircraft, to Internetconnectivity with speeds approachingcurrent cable systems, to seats thatfeature both style and comfort.

There has been a growing use ofcomposite materials in the construc-tion of business jets, most notably theill-fated Starship twin turboprop push-er from Beech Aircraft certified in1988, and later the Hawker BeechcraftPremier 1. More recently, there is theHondaJet from Honda Jet Aircraft,which is expected to be outfitted byHonda at its Greensboro, NorthCarolina center, and the Learjet 85from Bombardier.

The first wide-body composite fuse-lage business jet cabin completion isthe new BBJ787, for which indepen-

dent completion centers have beenpreparing for years, and which are nowarriving in completion centers. Thecomposite fuselage Airbus ACJ350 isnext but no date for the first delivery toa completion center has beenannounced.

Associated Air Center said 40 of itscompletion team received specializedtraining for the BBJ787 at its DallasLove Field facility from teams ofBoeing engineers, and a number ofAAC’s maintenance people traveled toBoeing facilities in Washington Statefor additional training. “We also hadweekly conference calls and there is a787 representative in the Dallas metro-

politan area who made frequent visit tothe center,” said AAC President JamesColleary.

Greenpoint Technologies of Kirkland,Washington took delivery of its firstBBJ787 late last year but has been col-laborating with Boeing for more thanseven years, including licensed accessto the maximum amount of Boeingdata, according to Greenpoint ChiefTechnical Engineer Mike Weisner.

“Our design approach for the 787 hasmatured into interior provisions thatmake installation easier than in a ‘con-ventional’ aluminum airframe,” heexplained.


INTERIOR SPECIALISTSFACE GROWING DEMAND

ADVANCEAssociated Air

Center’scompletion team

has receivedspecialized

training on theBBJ787.

Learjet 85(center)

Honda Jet(bottom).

S P E C I A L R E P O R T A I R C R A F T I N T E R I O R S

56-60 INTERIORS.qxp 5/02/2015 10:54


He pointed out that the standard787-8 frame has a series of open holeson most frames to provide some sup-port capability, and the floor has thefull complement of seat tracks.Further, Boeing assistance for theinterior attach points consists of pro-viding “data approvals” of our designsas part of Greenpoint’s certificationprocess.

The next composite-fuselage giant isthe recently certified ACJ350 fromAirbus. However with an airline backlogof more than 750 orders, “the corporatejet version is still a little way in thefuture” according to a companyspokesman.

Meanwhile Jet Aviation was recentlyissued certification for a BBJ1 cabininterior developed at its Basel,Switzerland completion center. Theairplane was delivered three monthsahead of schedule. The interiorincludes accommodations for 13 pas-sengers and wireless cabin connectivi-ty, satellite communications. Thedesign was by the company’s JetAviation Basel Design Studio. The stu-

dio recently placed among the top 25global designers and architects asselected by Design et al magazine forits hardbound publication, The World’sLeading Design Names 2015.

The Seat Becomes A ChairThe executive seat in the modern

business jet is no longer just a place toplant your posterior. It is no longer sim-

ply an oversized collection of foambuildup and a covering of fine leather. Ithad been based on the idea that onesize fits all, despite the fact that someowners insisted that the final product beshipped to them for what was referredto by a few designers, with someamusement, as “the butt test.”

“Design has been very challengingover the past years because of the tech-nology boom” said Cindy Halsey,Gulfstream Aerospace vice president ofcompletion planning and design. “It hasbeen clearly driven by client expecta-tions. Twenty years ago the cabin was aone-off endeavor [but] today it is ablend of engineering and artistry for aone-of-a-kind personalized experience.”

When Italian interiors specialistIacobucci launched a line of executiveseats in 2010, they announced theapproach to development and designwas “strongly customer-oriented, thusensuring the new product line reflectedthe real needs of customers and the lat-est seating market trend, both in termsof product specifications, function andcustomizable options.”

In short, the entire product line was tobe both comfortable and stylish, andBMW Group’s DesignsworksUSA wasbrought aboard to create a mix of “tech-nology, innovation and design to themarket.”

A little more than five years later,established as a preferred supplier,Iacobucci showed up at the MiddleEast Business Aviation show with anewly certified collection of shellseats, available in a range of configura-tions, functions, styles and finishing.The latest was been delivered toComlux Aviation in Indianapolis forinstallation in a BB.

No less impressive is what thedesign team at Lufthansa Technik inHamburg, Germany prefers todescribe as a “chair,” in deference tothe comfort and different styles thatmight be found in a library, diningroom, office or bedroom.

Ten or twenty years ago, when theobjective was to buy an airplane, saidJacques PierreJean, president andfounder of PierreJean DesignStudioof Paris, which consulted withLufthansa Technik in creating itsnew line of chairs. “Our goal was tofit the upholstery and density buildupof foam to build in the greatest possi-ble comfort, and to reshape the exte-

TECHNOLOGYCompletioncenters aregetting to gripswith advancingaircrafttechnology.Greenpoint 747-8Lounge Aft(top left),Jet Aviation BBJ1 (top right),Iacobucciexecutive seat(bottom right),Cindy HalseyGulfstream VPcompletion(bottom left).

56-60 INTERIORS.qxp 6/02/2015 14:46


rior and interior to create a true‘wow’ factor.”

Lufthansa Technik came up with achair that incorporates a tilting seatpan so the passenger doesn’t slip for-ward when reclined, and a rockingmechanism to allow “active sitting.”

Lufthansa Technik and PierreJeandid the initial conceptual work, andthen went to German seating specialistDräxlmaier Aviation for production.”We gave them the concept and con-tracted them for final engineeringdesign work and 80 percent of the pro-duction. Certification of the “chair fam-ily” was handled by Lufthansa Technikand deliveries are expected to beginthis year.

Aeria Luxury Interiors, a division ofSingapore-based giant ST Aerospace,was launched a bit more than twoyears ago and has a growing businessthat currently includes a green BBJ infor cabin completion and a larger exec-utive wide-body for nose-to-tail majorinterior refurbishment and heavymaintenance.

The BBJ cabin is being outfitted witha dedicated forward crew area, galleyfor meal preparation, a dining suiteand master stateroom. Electronicamenities include Inmarsat andIridium sitcom and WiFi. Delivery isexpected in late 2015.

ST Aerospace announced in mid-January more work in the form ofheavy maintenance for three executive757 aircraft – two for VIP customersand the third for an unidentified headof state. “We pride ourselves as a one-stop specialist for VIP completions[and] we can also leverage STAerospace’s global network for allmaintenance, repair and overhaul,”said Ron Soret, vice president and gen-eral manager of completions at Aeria.

The San Antonio Texas-based com-plex includes three bays totaling100,000 square feet to accommodatemaintenance, completion and refur-bishment work and has just brokenground for a new, 14,000-square-footexpansion to accommodate cabinetryand upholstery shops.

Fully flat, the Aïana is a 6 feet 6 inch-es long and adjustable to 25 incheswide (2 meters and 65.3 centimeterswide). With four Aïana seats, the cabincan sleep four persons. It can also beadapted for installation in mid-size andlight business jets, “introducing a total-ly new and enhanced quality of flight,not just for the high-end, ultra-longrange corporate jets.”

A second generation family business,Aero Seating Technologies of SanGabriel, California has its own unique“flavor,” with an integrated audio feed-back massage that interacts with theaircraft entertainment system. “It is areally great interactive experience,”said Peter Perera, vice president ofoperations for AST.

The Executor seat featuresadjustable massage with heat andmemory pre-sets. For additional lower-back comfort, there is a dual bladderwith six-way adjustment.

Perera emphasized the AST goal ofintegrating innovative designs withcomfort and style, “for the ultimate incraftsmanship and luxury for the ulti-mate business travel experience.”

Cabin Technology Is All About Co“There have been a lot of changes in

business jet cabin design,” said CindyHalsey, vice president of completionplanning and design at GulfstreamAerospace. “In general, there aren’tany changes that are not driven bytechnology. It’s the catalyst for anychange in any industry.”

At this year’s Consumer ElectronicsShow, January 6-9 in Las Vegas, it wasall about technology. The show wasfilled with gadgets, and occasional newtechnology that may find its way intothe business jet cabin; from egg-shaped 360-degree “ring radiation”speakers and a 27-inch 4K ultraHDmonitor to Internet-enabled television.

While it may be years before some ofit is available in the air, there is noshortage of new cabin technologyalready available. Much of it is relatedto high-speed Internet connectivityand cabin entertainment, which gohand-in-hand, said Rockwell CollinsARINCDirect senior director of salesDave Stanley. “It’s no longer a perk,but a necessity,” he said. “Passengerswant connectivity, no matter wherethey are.”

Moving ahead, Rockwell CollinsVenue cabin management and enter-tainment has been limited to AppleiOS PED (personal electronic device)control systems. As of January, the

EVOLUTIONThe seat

becomes a chair:Pierre-Jean

design studio(top left)

Aeroseatingtechnologies

(center).


56-60 INTERIORS.qxp 5/02/2015 10:54


company now offers cabin controlusing Android PEDs. The inclusion ofAndroid also applies now to control ofthe Airshow system.

The new Venue HD upgrade fromRockwell Collins will be available forthe Global business jet line in mid-2015. The Venue HD operates on afiber-optic backbone which is toutedas lighter than copper, provides highbandwidth and is scalable.

Gogo Business Aviation has justlaunched its wireless-enabled Text &Talk for SwiftBroadband, a softwareupgrade that permits customers to usetheir own smartphones to send and

receive text messages, as well as makevoice calls without dialing specialnumbers or codes, said GogoBusiness Aviation Senior ExecutiveJohn Wade. “You don’t have to knowwhether the person you are calling ison the ground or in an airplane. Andinstallation takes less than an hour,”he added.

Danish connect iv i ty special istSatcom1 recently updated i tsAvioPhone application to permit pas-sengers to use personal iPhone andAndroid phones without need of apicocell system. U.S. and Europeanphones are supported by the updateand the AvioPhone was scheduled togo into service early this year.

Satcom1 research and develop-ment is also developing aggregationtechnology, using SwiftBroadbandchannels to increase data transferspeeds. The technology recentlydemonstrated an ability to reachrates as high as 1.4 mbps. It wasalso expected to be released earlythis year.

Honeywell Aerospace recentlysigned an agreement with GDCTechnics to bring the HoneywellJetWave satellite communications sys-tem to in-service Airbus and Boeingbusiness jets. JetWave is Honeywell’sbrand name for is range of satelliteconnectivity hardware that exclusivelysupports Inmarsat’s coming JetConneX WiFi service. When it comesonline in the second half of 2015, theservice will bring “consistent, high-speed, in-flight WiFi to aircraft acrossthe globe, over both land and sea.

Honeywell’s Aspire 200 has receivedSTC approval for both the Challenger

300 and Challenger 604 and operatorsand operators can take advantage ofvoice and data via an Inmarsat cabinsolution that supports one channel ofSwiftBroadband connectivity.

Cabin CompletionIs A Growth Industry

At this point, with the first BBJ747-8delivered to a customer by GreenpointTechnologies and deliveries of greenBBJ787s to completion centers justbeginning, those centers will be busyfor some time to come with widebodybusiness jets.

As for narrow-body single-aisle com-pletion business, orders are just begin-ning to accumulate for Boeing’s newBBJ737 MAX, and Airbus reports twoorders for its new ABJ350. WhileAirbus is busy filling some 750 ordersfrom the airlines for the recently certi-fied giant, however, “the corporate jetversion is still a little way in thefuture.”

Further, demand for cabin refur-bishments, minor and major, are con-

tinuing to grow as a 12-year mainte-nance requirement is gatheringsteam. Associated Air Center’s JamesColleary said the center has alreadydone twelve BBJ 12-year inspectionsand just signed for a 13th, due toarrive in the first quarter 2015.Owners typically chose to have cabinrefurbishment done concurrent withthe inspection. “Some of them justwant a soft goods refurbishments andothers want to totally upgrade thecabin management and entertainmentsystems.”

Colleary also noted that refurbish-ment is a fiercely competitive market

and, “If you did the original comple-tion, you have a slight advantage.”Associated is currently bidding onthree aircraft for which the center didthe original cabin outfit.

Based in recent interviews, it appearsmost of the independent centers arebusy.

Airbus Corporate Jet Center inToulouse, France recently deliveredits 21st ACJ320, this one to a MiddleEast client. The twinjet has a subtleArabic pattern using a variety of mate-rials and ornamental glass partitions.Most remarkable, said Sylvain Mariat,head of the ACJC Creative DesignStudio, the 52-inch television monitoris hidden under a smooth glossy sur-face. It appears when electrically com-manded, and can rotate through 30-degrees.

AMAC Aerospace in Basel,Switzerland announced in Decembertwo more interior contacts, one for aBBJ1 and the other an ACJ320 majorrefurbishment. Also in the hangarthere is a BBJ747-8i for a Middle

NEWNew Cabintechnologyincludes VenueHD fromRockwell Collinsand text and talkfrom GogoBusinessAviation.

56-60 INTERIORS.qxp 5/02/2015 10:54


Eastern customer, an ACJ319 forAMAC’s first customer in Asia, and aBBJ777-200 for a head-of-state. Tomeet growing demand, the company isnow working on its fourth hangar, a7,208 square meter facility scheduledfor completion in late 2015. The newhangar will enlarge the total hangarspace by nearly 35 percent and accom-modate one wide-body and two nar-row-body aircraft simultaneously.

Associated Air Center is working ona BBJ747-8 and a BBJ787-8 and has agreen ACJ320 arriving later this year.Also in the works are a BBJ747 and aBBJ1 for maintenance and refurbish-ment.

Comlux America recently announceda completion contract for an AirbusACJ330. The airplane is expected toarrive in September this year and willrequire approximately two years tocomplete. The delivery of an AirbusACJ321 and a BBJ1 last year openedroom for an ACJ320 completion due inAugust 2015. Parent company ComluxGroup in Zurich, Switzerland has alsoannounced an order for two BBJ737MAX aircraft, both of which will beoutfitted at Comlux America inIndianapolis, Maryland.

GDC Technics in San Antonio, Texasis working concurrently on twoBBJ787s and expects deliveries in2016. In 2009, parent company MAZAviation of Riyadh, a commitment topurchase six Airbus ACJ350 executivejets a deal then valued at about $1.5billiion. However, Airbus CorporateJets has since pointed out that not allof those orders have been maintained.

At Jet Aviation in Basel, the comple-tion and MRO specialist delivered aBBJ2 and a BBJ3 in 2014 and is cur-

rently working on An Airbus ACJ340-600, an ACJ320 and a BBJ1. Also in2015, the maintenance center expectsto take in a Falcon 7X. It is the first 7Xto come in for a C-check and will havea complete cabin refurbishment at thesame time.

L-3 Platform Integration in Waco,Texas had two 747’s in outfitting as oflate 2014 and was expecting to deliverboth by the end of that year, one ofthem about a month behind the other,and one of them a head-of-state aircraft

At the Lufthansa Technik shop, thecompletion and MRO specialist is outfit-ting two BBJ747-8s. The shop there hasdone cabin completion work on a totalof 17 head-of-state 747s, as well as alarge number of major modifications orrefurbishments of various 747 models.

Growing U.S. Economyand Healthy Sales Forecasts

Aircraft sales are the best indicator ofthe health of the completion businessgoing forward, and both the U.S. econ-omy and the recent forecasts havebeen encouraging.

Forecasters are cautiously optimisticregarding the U.S. economy. GoldmanSachs 2015 outlook predicts three per-cent growth, above the trend by aboutone percent. The InternationalMonetary Fund forecasts U.S. GDPwill hit 3.2 percent in 2015. All ofwhich bodes well for the business avia-tion industry.

In its 23rd annual “Business AviationOutlook,” Honeywell is forecasting upto 9,450 new business jet deliveriesvalued at $280 billion from 2014 to2024. The outlook also reflects aseven-to-eight percent increase overthe 2013 projected delivery value.

While the U.S. economy continues torecover, slowly, other economiesappear to be tanking. In part due tothe dramatic decrease in the price ofcrude oil, the Russian economy is nearshambles with no near-term help insight. The Brazilian economy, whichwas leading the way in business jetsales in Latin America, has fallen onhard times and the GDP in the thirdquarter 2014 was down five percent.Forbes sees continued growth inChina in the near term, but not withsome rocky patches.”

Avinode of Sweden, a leading Onlinemarketplace for buying and selling aircharter, is predicting the continuedrecover of the U.S. business jet chartermarket in 2015, with a 3.5 percentincrease in flights over 2014.

As for the used aircraft contributionsto the cabin refurbishment side of theindustry, Jet Effect managing directorand co-founder Bryan Comstock said “Last year was our best ever in termsof transactions.” He noted that buyerswatch that market closely and jump inwhen prices for any particular seg-ment reach a tipping point.

As to whether cabin refurbishmentwill benefit he pointed out that buyerswill cherry pick the best aircraft,which translates to minimal require-ments for a cabin upgrade. “Nobodyreally wants to put their aircraft downfor 90 or 120 days for refurbishment,”he explained. “They’ll take a nicer air-plane, rather than a ‘project’ airplane,although some buyers will take a busi-ness jet that needs a lot of work if theycan get it for a bargain price.”

So the question remains, whethergrowth in the new and used aircraftmarket will support continued growthof the completion and refurbishmentmarket. Most of the indicators cau-tiously suggest a healthy industry inthe near term. But there are a lot ofeconomic factors to be considered; theprice of oil, continued violencethroughout much of the Middle East,threats of military interventions inEastern Europe, and uncertain eco-nomics throughout various countries.As one completion center executiveput it, “In general, the completionindustry is not for the risk averse.”

RETURNAvinode predicts

the continuedrecovery of the

US business jetmarket.


✈

56-60 INTERIORS.qxp 5/02/2015 10:54

Emerging market countries arefrantically building airports, andadapting regulations althoughit still seems they’re always onestep behind BizAv demand.

I n this sense the Middle East is anexception in that it has both the willand the resources to keep pace with

Business Aviation growth. And as wasamply evident at this year’s MEBAevent, which ran from 8-10 Decemberlast year, the region has made the tran-sition from an emerging to an estab-lished Business Aviation market.

As the show drew to a close, thenumber of visitors had reached 8,314and the show hosted 422 exhibitorsplus featured 44 aircraft on static dis-play.

“It has been an incredible show. Wehave seen so many people exhibitingand attending from all over the worldthis year,” said MEBAA’s foundingchairman, Ali Al Naqbi. “Exhibitors aredelighted with the quality of visitors, allof whom come to do business.Highlights from MEBAA’s perspectiveinclude the ‘Business Aviation Aroundthe World panel session, and the enthu-siasm shown by exhibitors to talk tothe students who attended Futures day,on the final day of the show.”

“As MEBAA Show goes fromstrength to strength, we are followinga careful, measured growth plan,launching the first business aviationshow in Morocco next year (MEBAAShow Morocco).”

It’s also worth noting that the showwasn’t all about corporate business.MEBAA donated US$25,000 to Fly &Feed, the recent initiative betweenWorld Food Program and MEBAA,kicking off an annual pledge fromMEBAA members to support the vitalhumanitarian work of the charity.

MEBAA’s ‘Fly & Feed’ initiativeenables MEBAA operator members todonate US$20 to the United Nations’World Food Program for every flight.Al Naqbi says: “It gives me great plea-sure to donate $25,000 on behalf of theorganization to the WFP, fulfilling itsobligation as a partner. With morethan 230 members, MEBAA member’spotential contribution to the worldhunger fighting charity could make areal difference.”

In terms of the OEMs Dassaultstood out on the static with a displaythat included the Falcon 7X and 900LXlong range trijets and a full-scale mock-up of the new Falcon 5X ultra widebody twinjet, introduced last year.

The Falcon range of business jets isundergoing a major expansion, includ-ing the new Falcon 8X ultra long rangetrijet, unveiled last May, in addition tothe Falcon 5X, which will enable thecompany to meet new customer

demand with a full range of wide bodybusiness jets, from super midsize onup. Both aircraft have been warmlyreceived by operators in the MiddleEast, who place a high premium onspaciousness, range, operating flexibil-ity and economics.

The region accounts for 20% ofworldwide sales for the Falcon 5X,which can whisk passengers nonstopfrom Dubai to Cape Town or fromRiyadh to Tokyo. The 5X is on trackfor a first flight in the second quarterof 2015 and is expected to begin enter-ing Middle East inventories in the sec-ond half of 2017.

Due to roll out on December 17 andto take flight in the first quarter ofnext year, the 8X can fly from Jeddahto Boston, New York to Dubai or fromGeneva to Rio.

“The early success of our two latestmodel offerings reflects the wide pop-ularity the entire Falcon fleet has longenjoyed in the Middle East,” saidDassault Aviation Chairman & CEO


MEBAREACHES MATURITY

BUSTLINGThere was plentyof activity on the

static at MEBA2015. DassaultFalcon 7X (top)

Ali Al Naqbi(left),

GulfstreamG650ER(bottom).

R E P O R T M E B A 2 0 1 4

By Pau l Wa lsh

62-65 MEBA.qxp 5/02/2015 11:39


Eric Trappier. “Operators in theregion truly appreciate the operatingperformance, flexibility and technolog-ical excellence offered by Falcon air-craft.”

Dassault’s best-selling business jet inthe Middle East is the 5,950 nmFalcon 7X, which accounts for half ofall Falcon sales in the region over thelast five years. The 7X which recentlypassed the 250 aircraft productionmark is the company’s fastest-everselling business jet. This year, the 7Xset a new speed record betweenTeterboro, New Jersey and LondonCity Airport and will shortly be thefirst business jet approved for opera-tion at Daocheng, China, the world’shighest commercial airport.

Over a quarter of all Falcons sold inthe region consist of the long runningFalcon 2000 model. The first of thenew Falcon 2000S entry-level twin-engine jets in the Middle East wasdelivered to a Saudi Arabian customerlast October. The 3,350 nm 2000S, cer-tificated in 2013, combines wide bodycabin comfort, competitive operatingeconomics and flexibility, at a priceclose to that of a super midsize jet.

Falcon jet sales in the Middle Eastare supported by a solid after marketpresence. Dassault Falcon operates anAuthorized Service Center, spares dis-tribution center and regional salesoffice in Dubai, UAE, and anAuthorized Service Center and techni-cal office in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Finally it’s worth noting thatDassault’s regional network is backedby a global web of support services,including a newly introduced FalconAirborne Service that will provide pas-sengers with alternative transportationoptions in the event of an AOG (air-craft on ground). Falcon AirborneService support for Middle East cus-tomers will be made available througha dedicated Falcon 900 aircraft basedat Paris Le Bourget, France.

Meanwhile Gulfstream’s focus wason solidifying its presence in theregion after signing a Memorandum ofUnderstanding with Qatar Airways forthe purchase of up to 20 aircraft, twomonths previously. The agreementwas announced in conjunction withGulfstream’s introduction of an all-newfamily of business jets, the GulfstreamG500 and G600.

The Memorandum of Understandingestablishes the initial agreement forQatar Airways to order up to 20

Gulfstream aircraft, including firmorders and options for the all-new,wide-cabin G500 and the flagshipG650ER. Today’s Memorandum ofUnderstanding marks the beginningof a new relationship between QatarAirways and Gulfstream.

“This agreement is evidence of theindustry-leading performance ofGulfstream’s flagship aircraft, theG650ER, and of our commitment todeliver on the promises we have madefor our new family of aircraft, whichincludes the G500,” said Larry Flynn,president, Gulfstream. “With theirunmatched high-speed capabilitiesand class-leading cabin comfort, theG650ER and G500 will allow QatarAirways to introduce a new level ofservice to their customers in theMiddle East and abroad.”

“Qatar Executive has been on anaccelerated growth path since itsinception and is held to an exceptionalstandard of quality that is widelyknown by our global clientele,” saidMr. Akbar Al Baker, group chief exec-utive, Qatar Airways. “In order to keeppace with the future strategic growthplans of our private jet division, thefleet is being expanded with aircraftthat meet the needs of our guests, pro-viding a wide range of options.Today’s announcement of theMemorandum of Understanding forG650ERs and G500s signals a nextstep for Qatar Executive’s relativelyyoung and buoyant history.”

From its start in 2009, QatarExecutive has rapidly risen to becomea leader in air charter services for indi-viduals, families, businesses, corpora-tions and governments. As part ofQatar Airways, one of the world’s lead-ing airlines, Qatar Executive’s clientsare assured an excellent charter expe-rience.

The first flight of the G500 is sched-uled for 2015. Gulfstream projects itwill receive type certification from the

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) and European Aviation SafetyAgency in 2017.

For Bombardier on the other handthe focus was on customer supportand it announced that it had addedArabasco as an Authorized ServiceFacility (ASF) for Challenger 605 air-craft customers based in or flying toSaudi Arabia.

Under the ASF agreement, Arabascowill offer Bombardier Business Aircraftcustomers a full range of maintenanceservices from its 2,921 square meter(approximately 31,446 square feet)maintenance facility located at thePrivate Aviation Terminal of KingAbdul-Aziz International Airport inJeddah, Saudi Arabia. The facility,which has been providing maintenanceon business aircraft for 32 years, is cer-tified by the General Civil AviationAuthority (GCAA), Federal AviationAdministration (FAA), BermudaDepartment of Civil Aviation and theCivil Aviation Authority of the CaymanIslands and employs over 40 people.

“This agreement will provide ourChallenger 605 aircraft customersacross Saudi Arabia and the surround-ing countries with greater access toquality and first-class customer sup-port in their own backyards,” said ÉricMartel, President, BombardierBusiness Aircraft. “Arabasco has asolid knowledge of our Challenger air-craft, as well as over three decades ofmaintenance experience, and we areconfident they will meet the needs ofour customers in the region.”

“This authorization firmly strength-ens Arabasco’s position as the premierprovider of aircraft maintenance ser-vices in Saudi Arabia,” said HRHPrince Abdullah Bin Turki Al Saud,Chairman of Arabasco. “It is one of theseveral steps Arabasco has takenthroughout its history in supportingbusiness jet customers in theKingdom.”

PRIZELayali Zein ofBlue I Jetsreceiving awatch fromUniversalWeather andAviation at a VIPcustomer event.

62-65 MEBA.qxp 5/02/2015 11:39


There are 100 Bombardier BusinessAircraft in the Middle East. Arabascowill join a network of more than 50ASFs worldwide and work in closecollaboration with Bombardier’smaintenance network of service cen-ters and ASFs in the same time zone,as well as its network of parts hubsand depots.Textron Aviation exhibited its

Cessna Citation Sovereign+ andCitation M2 for the first time in Dubaiat the show.

It also featured a Beechcraft SpecialMission King Air 350ER and a KingAir 250.

“Our Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawkerbrands have been and remain strongthroughout the Middle East, particularlyin the Gulf states,” said Bill Harris, vicepresident, Sales. “The CitationSovereign+ and Citation M2 are the lat-est in a string of newly certified Citationsintroduced in the past year that havegarnered significant interest throughoutthe region.”

Textron Aviation companies support afleet of approximately 125 business jetsin the Middle East and a similar numberof turboprops for business and specialmission applications. Harris said thatwhile larger jets have traditionally beenmost popular for business travel withinthe region, newly developed and efficientlight jets such as the Citation CJ3+, CJ4,M2 and Mustang are gaining widerattention for both business travel andpilot training roles.

The Citation Sovereign+ features alarge cabin for up to 12 people, a range of3,188 nautical miles (5,904 km), a topspeed of 460 knots (529 miles per hour)and a direct climb to 45,000 feet.

“The Citation Sovereign+ also excels inhigh-temperature, short-runway perfor-

mance and needs as little as 3,530 feetfor takeoff, which is a key advantage forthe Sovereign+ in this region,” Harrissaid.

The Citation M2 has a maximumcruise speed of 404 knots true airspeed(460 miles per hour) and a range of 1,580nautical miles (2,926 km). The aircraftcan operate at airports with runways asshort as 3,210 feet (978 m) and will climbto 41,000 feet in 24 minutes. The CitationM2 is certified for single-pilot operationwith room for seven passengers and fea-tures two Williams FJ44 engines.

Meanwhile Boeing Business Jetschose the first day of MEBA toannounce the appointment of its newglobal president, David Longridge, whowill take the reins from BBJ stalwart,Capt. Steve Taylor. Longridge moves

from commercial sales, while Taylor isremaining with Boeing, as chief pilot forBoeing Commercial Airplanes. Taylor isleaving on a high, with 13 jets on order –the most year-to-date sales in six years.

Around 35 per cent of BBJ’s fleet isused in the Middle East. Taylor pointedout the region has more wide-bodied air-craft than any other region, (some 55 percent of its wide bodied craft are in theMiddle East) making it the most impor-tant global market for BBJ in terms ofdollar sales value.

BBJ also chose the Middle East’slargest business aviation event toreveal an order from charter opera-tor, Comlux, for two BBJ Max 8s;the Swiss VIP company’s first BBJorder.

Richard Gaona, President and CEO,Comlux, said the two aircraft “givecustomers the flexibility to fly fartherand more comfortably thanks to thelower cabin altitude.”Embraer Executive Jets President

and CEO, Marco Tulio Pellengrini,announced his company’s rise topower, with the phenomenal successof the Phenom – there are 500 of thesesmaller private jets in operation global-ly. Its portfolio includes the ultra-largeLineage 1000E – on static display atMEBA.

DISPLAYAircraft on

display includedthe Citation

Sovereign (top),the Challenger

350 (center),the Beechcraft

250 (bottom) andPhenom 300

(opposite page).

R E P O R T M E B A 2 0 1 4

62-65 MEBA.qxp 5/02/2015 11:40

The company also announced delivery of its second Legacy500 aircraft is to a Middle East customer, in December 2014.

And shortly following the show the Legacy 500 was grantedcertification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA)during a ceremony at its headquarters, in Cologne, Germany.The approval enables entry into service of the aircraft in theMember States of the European Union as well as in EASA asso-ciated countries.

“EASA’s certification is a very important achievement forthe Legacy 500, which is introducing advanced technologiesand superior comfort in the midsize class,” says Marco TúlioPellegrini, President and CEO of Embraer Executive Jets.“The approval of this revolutionary aircraft is a testament toour commitment to deliver true innovation to the market.”Jet Aviation also proved that it is part of the Middle Eastern

growth spurt. It has recently added a Gulfstream G450 and a

Gulfstream G550 to its managed fleet in the Middle East. Thecompany now operates a total of 24 aircraft in the region.

Demand for aviation services in the Middle East remainsstrong as Jet Aviation continues to grow its management fleet.The company recently signed two full aircraft managementagreements, adding a Gulfstream G450 and a GulfstreamG550 to its managed fleet of 24 aircraft in the Middle East.

“Our goal is to provide a positive customer experience byupholding the highest business aviation standards,” saysClaudio Peer, vice president of sales for aircraft managementand charter services in EMEA & Asia. “This fleet expansionhighlights the value our customers place on our capabilities, pro-fessionalism and integrity.”

Jet Aviation now manages more than 250 aircraft from itsfour strategically located flight operation centers in Dubai,United Arab Emirates; Hong Kong; Teterboro, N.J.; andZurich. The company was recently named winner of the2014 Balt ic Air Charter Associat ion (BACA) GlobalExcellence Award in recognition of its outstanding perfor-mance and service.

Finally Royal Jet, one of the Middle East’s oldest privatecharter companies, confirmed a raft of new aircraft are join-ing its fleet, including two Bombardier Learjet 60 XRs andtwo Global 5000 business jets.

Royal Jet also confirmed it is renewing its collaborationwith Boeing; with plans to take delivery of two new Boeingbusiness jets, modeled on the 737-700. The new purchasesare part of a fleet upgrade and expansion program, that willsee Royal Jet’s fleet increase to 20 by 2020, at a cost of U.S.$700 million.

✈

62-65 MEBA.qxp 5/02/2015 11:40

When an Australian air ambulance is AOG after a Thursday evening bat strike, who provides a rental engine that weekend?

When Jeff’s work cell phone rang on a Thursday night, he knew it had to be an emergency. The engine shop project manager was enjoying a day away from office at a local park when he answered a call from an Australian air ambulance customer who hit a fruit bat and was grounded.

“That bat had a wing span of almost six feet. We knew the engine was going to be in-house for a while, so we arranged to have a rental engine arrive there that weekend,” says Jeff. “That timetable on the weekend was no easy feat, but the customer had to be in the air, so we made it happen.”

For the rest of the story visit www.DuncanAviation.aero/experience/jeff.php.

Experience. Unlike any other. +1 402.475.2611 | 800.228.4277

BART_DuncanAviation_Due-Jan14-2015.indd 1 1/9/2015 2:53:19 PM

By Ao i fe O ’ Su l l ivan

To all owners and financiers oflarge aircraft, new regulationhas been introduced, iscoming into force soon and itaffects you very personally.

R egulation (EC) No 216/2008 (theBasic Regulation) entered intoforce on 8 April 2008. Operators

and personnel involved in the opera-tion of certain aircraft have to complywith the relevant essential require-ments set out in Annex IV to thisEASA Air Operations Regulation. Therule applies to non-commercial opera-tors of complex aircraft with a princi-pal place of business or residence in aMember State of the EuropeanAviation Safety Agency (EASA).Therefore it applies to EASA and non-EASA registered aircraft.

The new Implementing Rules(Regulation EC 965/2012 & 800/2013)came into force on 28 October 2012.However, Member States have theflexibility to postpone the applicabilityof the rule by up to two or three years.For those states who decided to optout, the final cut-off date is 25 August2016, by which time the non-commer-cial operation of business jets andother complex motor-powered aircraftwill have to comply with a new regula-tion called “Part-NCC”.

Most professional operators willhave been aware of the impendingrules for some time and will havealready adapted their systems, proce-dures and manuals accordingly. In thecase of aircraft which are not managedby a professional operator or indeedmanaged by an operator who is not upto date on the new changes, the own-ers and financiers of such aircraft areat risk.

The regulation has highlighted anunderlying risk within private and cor-porate aviation and the resulting expo-sure to financiers and owners.Furthermore, the regulation extendsbeyond EASA registered aircraft – thefocus is instead on the “operator”. Ifyour N Reg aircraft is based in the EUand operated from the EU, this regula-tion will apply to you.

If the aircraft is not operated by aprofessional operator, responsibility

for the safe and proper operation ofthe aircraft usually defaults to theowner and that owner must ensurecompliance with the regulation. Notknowing what standards are requiredwill not protect these owners fromlegal responsibility. More worryinglyhowever in the case of many privatelymanaged aircraft, there is no certaintyas to who is in fact the “operator” ofthe aircraft and if not properly defined,the default position will most likely bethe owner.

Private operations -who is the legal operator?

Article 3(h) Reg 216/2008 defines anoperator as “any legal or natural per-son, operating or proposing to operateone or more aircraft”. Depending onthe underlying or surrounding opera-tion and management of the particularaircraft, the definition can apply tomany different people who oversee theday to day operation of the jet includ-ing the pilot, the flight departmentwithin a corporate group, aircraft man-agers or “consultants”, or the owneritself.

The operator has full legal and regu-latory responsibility for the aircraft

and each flight. The operator isresponsible for such things as:

I. Maintenance managementII. Employment of flight crewIII. Preparation and maintenance of

operations manualIV. Responsibility for entering into

contracts for particular operationsV. Flight planning, fuelling and

repairing the aircraftVI. Keeping the required aircraft

records e.g. log booksVII. Briefing the flight crewVIII. Control of the operation in the

sense of deciding when the aircraftwill take off, where it will go, and whatit will carry

IX. The ability to abort the operationX. Compliance with regulation and

lawsxi. Safety oversight and systemsIn the event that any supporting

functions are contracted out the ownermay still retain overall responsibility:full operational control of private air-craft cannot be easily contracted outand the ability to do so depends onmany factors, not least the state of reg-istration of the aircraft. For example ifthe aircraft is registered as a privateaircraft with the FAA, Part 91 of theFAA regulations confirms that theowner retains full operational respon-sibility for the aircraft at all times andthis responsibility cannot be fullytransferred from the owner (withsome carve outs for leases and frac-tional ownership models). The possi-bility for a legal nightmare arises inthe context of a Part 91 aircraft basedin Europe. If the FAA say the operatoris the owner and he lives in the US butEASA say the operator may be themanager based in the EU, which regu-lation applies? Sadly this is not clearand is an issue EBAA will be tacklingin the coming months at various work-ing groups organised on topic.

Private useWhen an aircraft is operated private-

ly, in very general terms it means thatthe aircraft cannot be used for charteror “Commercial Air Transport”. Insuch cases the aviation authoritieshave relaxed certain rules around the


WHO IS AT RISK?

REGULATIONA new regulation

has beenintroduced andwill soon affectaircraft ownersand financiers

warns Aoife O’Sullivan ofKennedy’s

Aviation.

T H E D O C K E T E U R O P E A N R E G U L A T I O N S

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operation of these jets - the main rea-sons owners tend to want to keep theaircraft as a privately operated aircraftare as follows:

1. Flight time limitations - flying pri-vately does not have the same restric-tions on flying hours for pilots so effec-tively you can push them to fly forlonger.

2. Runway length - some runways aredeemed too short for commercial air-craft but you can land privately (e.g.Cannes).

3. Cabotage - a commercial aircraft isobliged to request flight permissionsto fly point to point within a territory.So for example an EU registered air-craft would need permissions to flypoint to point within the US. The per-missions tend to be readily grantedbut the paperwork is an additionaltask.

In many cases, the structures put inplace to manage and operate these air-craft remained unscrutinised by theregulatory authorities. Not only that,many owners have not engaged theservices of professional advisors whenputting these structures in place andare not aware that they may haveexposed themselves to full responsibil-ity for the operational control of the jetwhen they thought they had passed itoff to the “aviation consultant” theytrusted to do the job, usually at a verymodest cost. An owner is at liberty tohire whoever he wants to operate thejet and in many cases many ownershired ad hoc consultants who providedvarying services to keep the aircraftflying. Which one of them is the opera-tor? Do you as an owner really want towait to find out that it was you allalong?

EASA has quite rightly identified thepotential risk of allowing owners to dowhatever they want with complex

machines and under the new regula-tions the requirements for proper andsafe operation of private aircraft(referred to in the regulations as non-commercial complex aircraft) hasbeen increased. For example, all oper-ators of such aircraft will be requiredto create and maintain an OperationsManual, a Safety Management System(SMS) and will be required to submittheir aircraft to a CAMO. If the owneris the operator, this responsibility fallssquarely on him.

There are many areas of risk forowners and operators of privatelyoperated jets quite aside from the newresponsibility introduced by the EASAAir Operations Regulation. Someexamples are set out below.

1. When an aircraft is operated pri-vately the owner is on board or guestsof the owners may be on board provid-ed they are not paying for the flight. AtEASA level, any payment for the flightis illegal unless the aircraft is operatedby an AOC holder that is a licensedoperator with an “Air OperatorsCertificate” (AOC). In the UK, the AirNavigation Order uses the definitionof “public transport” which is a similarconcept to “commercial air transport”

save that “any consideration” mayinclude non-cash payments. For exam-ple if I let you fly on my jet in returnfor a free room in your hotel, this isconsidered to be “valuable considera-tion” for the flight. If the flight is notoperated by an AOC holder, technical-ly it is an illegal flight, known colloqui-ally as “grey charter”.

2. When aircraft are operated “pri-vately”, the default position by law isusually that the owner is the legaloperator. It is possible to delegate thisresponsibility to a professional opera-tor but under many regulatory sys-

tems, the owner remains liable for thesafe operation of that flight and isdeemed by law to be in “operationalcontrol” of the flight. This goes waybeyond the authority of the pilot incommand – the person having opera-tional control has regulatory responsi-bility and is accountable for safety andall other aspects of the aircraft opera-tion.

Many professional operators willagree to provide management servicesfor the operation of an aircraft private-ly but the wording of such contracts isdeliberately construed to ensure thatthe owner remains the legal operator.

Certain services will have been dele-gated or subcontracted to the profes-sional operator but the owner remainsultimately responsible and answerableif for example aviation regulation werebreached in any way. It is very impor-tant in negotiating these agreementsthat the owner does hire an operatorto provide management services andthen unwittingly absolve the profes-sional operator of all responsibility byacknowledging that the ownerremains ultimately responsible.

3. Many owners have historicallybought aircraft in their own name or

DANGEREASA sees therisk in allowingtoo muchfreedom forowners ofaircraft.

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even in the name of a company withother assets. This person or companybecomes the owner and the legal oper-ator and is the responsible party forthe due and safe operation, mainte-nance and control of the aircraft. Thebuck stops with you. If you do not usespecial purpose vehicles to protectyourself from claims or the conse-quences of a major loss, now is cer-tainly the time to review your holdingstructures. Even if you delegate theresponsibility you will never be able todelegate it completely.

If your corporate service providertells you they will become the operatorand they even allow you to register theaircraft with their name on the registeras the “operator”, this will not helpyou. For one they are not really air-craft operators and calling them anoperator won’t fool the regulators.

You may not have divested opera-tional responsibility (see above) andyou certainly would have some awk-ward questions to answer as to whyyou think hiring a CSP as an operatorinstead of a professional aircraft opera-tor should divest you of corporate (orDirectors) responsibility for the safeoperation of the jet.

4. In many cases, owners run theirown flight departments which will atleast consist of one or two pilots. If theaircraft has always been operated as aprivate aircraft, it is very unlikely thesepeople will know or be sufficientlyexperienced to ensure the aircraft asan NCC aircraft is operated to AOCstandards.

Being licensed to fly an aircraft doesnot necessarily translate into being anexpert on operational requirementsand to some degree it is unfair toexpect this of the pilots. However, ifthe owner is the operator, the fact thatthe flight department does not work tothe requisite standard is an exposurefor the owner. Non-compliance andthe resulting breach of regulationexposes the owner to penalty but evenmore seriously has the potential tonegate the insurance policy, a pre-con-dition of which tends to be that the air-craft be operated to aviation regulatorystandards.

Similarly the on-going covenants ofmost financing documents requireproper and safe operation to the requi-site regulatory standard and failure to

do so is an immediate breach of theloan or lease entitling the financier torepossess and in most cases sell theaircraft. This is particularly the case infinance leases where the lender is thelegal owner of the aircraft. The financedocumentation ensures that opera-tional responsibility passes to the bor-rower. Many financiers do not appreci-ate that it may not be legally possibleto divest all operational responsibilityfor the safe and proper operation of anaircraft. The financier as the legalowner may be the legal operator and isultimately responsible.

Grey charter –who is the legal operator?

An aircraft which is intended to beoffered for third party charter (i.e.operated commercially or for publictransport) must be operated by a pro-fessional operator with an AOC. Assoon as the aircraft is added to theAOC, that operator becomes the“operator” and the owner is absolvedof operational responsibility.

Many privately operated aircraftshould be on an AOC because they areunwittingly breaching the rules andregulations surrounding charter of air-craft. Quite simply, if considerationpasses for a flight, that is commercialair transport and the aircraft must beon an AOC with a professional opera-tor. Failure to do so is illegal and willnegate the underlying insurance poli-cy. One of the biggest underwriters inthe aviation insurance market told usrecently that if they were aware of anincident involved an illegally operatedaircraft, they may not even have achoice in terms of whether they wouldcover the loss. Insurance cannot cover

illegal acts. If the act is illegal, theunderwriter is restricted by insurancelaw from paying out.

So when is the flight illegal? Mostimmediately consider the flagrantbreach of regulation as the obviousexample. I own a jet which is regis-tered on a private register and I adver-tise that jet as being available for char-ter. This is a clear breach.

The “grey” aspect of illegal chartercan however arise in the context ofcharge backs for flights. So for exam-ple a corporate owns an aircraft andcharges throughout the Group for theuse of the jet – this is a sensible corpo-rate policy and is a way of defrayingboth the fixed and operational costs ofrunning the aircraft.

The Group benefits from the use ofthe aircraft for the benefit of the busi-ness as a whole and no one subsidiaryhas to carry the on-going costs. Theproblem arises when the “Group” isnot really a group. The definition ofGroup in the context of aviation regu-lation does not necessarily marry withthe definition of Group within IFRSaccounting rules. The definition isquite restricted and generally includeswholly owned subsidiaries of a com-mon parent company. Affiliates are notincluded where the equity share fallsbelow 51%.

Any company outside that definitionis not within the Group for aviationregulation purposes and charging thatentity for a flight is third party charter.If the operation of that flight is not car-ried out by an AOC holder, it is illegal.Taking an unconnected client onboard the aircraft and allowing them toshare in the fuel cost is illegal.

PILOTSOwners

shouldn’t rely ontheir pilots aloneto be operations

experts.

T H E D O C K E T E U R O P E A N R E G U L A T I O N S

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Allowing the same client to pay for thehotel room in return for the flightmakes the flight an illegal charter. Insome countries even conducting a busi-ness meeting on board the aircraftwhereby some benefit passes is “valu-able consideration” and potentially ille-gal.

The potential exposure to the ownerof the aircraft is immense – the owner isthe operator and if the owner hasallowed illegal charter on the aircraft,the owner is ultimately responsible. TheDirectors of that owning company havea duty of care to the company and to theshareholders and hiring a flight depart-ment will not absolve them from liabili-ty.

If the illegal flight has an incident,the owning entity will be responsibleas the operator and the Directors willneed to answer some very difficultquestions surrounding their approvedoperation. If you are one such ownerand you have never audited your flightdepartment now is the time to do so.In many cases the flight departmentthemselves have not appreciated thelegal subtleties. This is even more pro-nounced in comparing EASA and FAAregulation.

The FAA has quite sensibly intro-duced a type of licensing or oversight ofprivately operated aircraft (Part 91) andpermits what is known as “time shareagreements”. Under these agreements,sharing the cost of fuel on the flight incertain circumstances is permitted (upto two times fuel). In an EASA context,this is illegal because somebody who isnot connected to the owner is payingfor the flight.

So how do you resolve it? You eitheraudit your flight department thoroughlyor re-assess your charge back systemsthroughout the Group or you place theaircraft with an AOC holder and youcan charge whoever you want for theflights with the comfort of knowingsomeone else has taken legal responsi-bility for the safe operation of the air-craft.

If your passengers pay market ratefor the charter and you use that todefray the fixed costs, this is all permis-sible and even helps with any benefit inkind issues created by your Directorsand management using the jet. Theadded bonus is that there are some veryattractive tax reliefs and structuresavailable for commercially operated air-craft.

AOC holdersand the disadvantages

In reality there are very little disadvan-tages to placing an aircraft with an AOCholder apart from possibly cost? If youreally do want to push your pilots thatlittle bit more or land in Cannes on agood day with the wind in front of you,you can still have the aircraft managedby an AOC holder as a private aircraft.

Some registries (e.g. UK and Malta)even permit you to flip from commercialto private so you get the best of bothworlds (but beware that when you do“flip” to private, you the owner may bethe deemed operator of that flight). Themanagement fee should be assessedagainst the cost of running your flightdepartment but also against the cost orexposure to the corporate, HNW, Trustor financier as the legal owner of the air-craft.

Why do we like the AOC holders?They have paid good money to put sys-tems and procedures in place and evenone poor individual with his head on theblock (known as the AccountableManager) who must account for thesafe operation of Every Single Aircraft.He or she is personally liable.

They are audited by the regulatorson a regular basis. Best of all theybecome the legal operator of the air-craft and the responsibility for safeoperation falls squarely on their shoul-ders. In terms of corporate responsi-bility you and your Directors (andsenior management) can rest easy.Unless you have a top class flightdepartment or management team, areyou really doing enough to protectyourself from scrutiny in terms of thesafe and proper operation of a verycomplicated machine?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions andaudit your team if you are operating anaircraft privately. Ask them if theyknow what the new regulations are butreview to make sure they are livingthose standards. Pretty operationsmanuals on shelves and safety man-agement systems are no good to youunless the practices within them areenshrined in the daily ethic of yourteam.

If you don’t do this, the questionsyou will be asked will be far moreloaded with consequences in the eventof an incident. You’ll need to show thatyou considered the risks and that youtook a proper risk mitigant approachto the operation of your aircraft assetin the same way you do for all othersystems and procedures in your busi-ness.

Aoife O’Sullivan is lead partner in theAircraft Finance Department atKennedy’s Aviation, an internationallaw firm. In 2014 she was nominatedas a leading lawyer by Best Lawyers -the oldest and most highly-respected peerreview guide to the legal profession.

OPTIONThere are fewdisadvantages toplacing anaircraft with anAOC holder.

✈

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The six firms offering MROservice at the airport arediverse in their technical focus.But most are looking for newstaff as well as training theirown apprentices. And all ofthem are growing.

By Bernard F i tzs imons

H ome to a growing fleet of corpo-rate jets that now numbers morethan 60 plus another 200 general

aviation aircraft, Biggin Hill is host tothree FBOs, including its own execu-tive terminal. It also offers an expand-ing range of support services, notablyin the MRO field.

Dassault ASCA new management team at JETS

Biggin Hill, the former Jet AviationMRO facility acquired in December2012 by 328Group, is aiming forgrowth by expanding its customerbase throughout the EMEA region.JETS is a Dassault Authorized ServiceCenter. The company divested theFBO business, and is now focused ongrowing its MRO services, partly byattracting customers from the MiddleEast and Africa.

The Middle East is “a very open mar-ket but full of business opportunities,”says David Elam, who joined JETS inSeptember as Sales and CommercialManager. “We want a piece of that.”The response from UAE and othercustomers in the region at MEBA inDecember was “great,” he says: “A lotof them already come to Europe formaintenance. They have to overfly fiveor six other MROs to get to us, but wefeel it’s worth the trip because of ourvalue.”

The 328Group’s other UK MRO, JETSBournemouth (the rebranded JetEngineering Technical Support), hasthree hangars capable of accommodat-ing 15 aircraft. A Hawker Center OfExcellence, it also works on Learjet 45sand Challengers. JETS Biggin Hill hasroom for eight aircraft.

The Dassault ASC approval covers theFalcon 900 and 2000, which should pro-vide half the workload at Biggin Hill thisyear. JETS Biggin Hill also supports theChallenger 300/601/604 and 605, theCessna 500 series, and Hawker700/800/900. A rapid response team(RRT), launched in April to offer 24/7AOG call-out has been “very successfulso far in getting market traction,” saysElam. “It really helps promote our capa-bilities and brand visibility”.

Another group company, 328 SupportServices at Oberpfaffenhofen, inGermany, has EASA Part 21G and Jdesign and manufacturing approvals.“We work with them on modificationsand design,” he says. “The in-housedesign capability allows us as a group tohave even more savings to pass on tocustomers.” Pre-purchase inspectionsare another offering. “We’re looking forlong term partnerships,” says Elam. “Wewant people to try us and come back.”


BIGGIN HILL’SEMERGING MAINTENANCE HUB

FACILITY JETS (top) and

RASCompletions

(center) workclosely to

provide the bestpossible service

for customers.

MAINTENANCEMATTERS

70-72 MAINTENANCE.qxp 6/02/2015 11:00


JETS is “as competitive as anybodyin the industry,” he adds, and as asmaller organisation can offer muchmore flexibility: “London is a destina-tion of choice, but Luton andFarnborough are becoming too expen-sive”. Biggin Hill has a lot of pricingadvantages. Especially considering thelocation and proximity to the Londonarea.”

Completions specialist

Formed at Biggin Hill in 1996, RASCompletions has become the UK’sleading painter of corporate aircraft.Four years ago the company added aninteriors division and business seemsto have taken off. Engineering manag-er Carl Ebdale says there were fivepeople in the division when he joinedfive years ago: now the number is upto 55.

Recent projects include the completerefurbishment of a Learjet 60 for actorAntonio Banderas, and the company iscurrently working on what Ebdaledescribes as “a very aggressive refur-bishment” of 10 Falcon 2000s in fivemonths for a major European fraction-al operator.

The aircraft arrive at three-weekintervals and RAS is able to removethe interior, strip and repaint the air-frame and replace the interior in thespace of five weeks. It takes one weekat the beginning to remove the interiorand another at the end to replace therefurbished furnishings. In betweenthey are replaced if necessary, orrepaired, repainted and relacqueredwhile the airframe undergoes mainte-nance at JETS.

The company has an in-housedesign capability and is a Part 21Gapproved production organisation. Itmanufactures a full range of interiorfurnishings, and has completed pro-jects for airlines, including BrusselsAirlines, Air Astana and AmericanAirlines, plus monuments for a newhead of state A330, as well as busi-ness jets. Another speciality is the

application and polishing of Tefloncoatings to protect newly paintedexterior surfaces.

On the hangar floor, environmentallycontrolled modules – tent-like struc-tures that can be collapsed when air-craft need to be moved – house uphol-stery cutting and other activities inorder to maintain the physical separa-tion of production and maintenancerequired by regulations.

“The reason we won so many highprofile customers so quickly is thateverybody in the company has at least20 years’ experience,” says Ebdale.The current staff are people he hasworked with at other companies, andthe firm is now looking to recruit addi-tional skilled fitters. RAS also runs anapprentice scheme, with three current-ly in training and a fourth due nextyear.

There is ample maintenance capabili-ty at the airport, and RAS works close-ly with JETS. The company also sendsstaff to work on interiors at other loca-tions, including BombardierAmsterdam. “We’re interior experts sowe send teams all over the place to dointeriors while heavy maintenance isbeing done,” says Ebdale.

AgustaWestland ASCCastle Air is a relative newcomer to

Biggin Hill, having started operationsthere in 2013, though its main facilityat Liskeard in Cornwall has been oper-ating and maintaining AgustaWestlandAW109s and other helicopters formore than 30 years. Castle’s heli-copters are responsible for much ofthe aerial footage featured in UK TVprograms, as well as providing VIPand air taxi services.

Graham Charman, maintenancemanager at the Biggin Hill base, saysthe hangar is very busy with a lot ofthird party work as well as support forthe Castle Air charter fleet. Castle isan ASC for the AW109, maintainingaround 30 UK-based examples, andlast year added approval for theAW139, at 6.8 tones more than twiceas heavy as the AW109.

“The AW139 is the market we’rebreaking into,” says Charman. “Therearen’t many around in the VIP market,but they’re out there so we’re goingafter them.” Charman himself went tothe manufacturer in Italy for trainingto qualify as a licensed engineer onthe type; by the end of last year anoth-er two were qualified on the AW139and he expects to add two more.

Castle Air also maintains theJetRanger and S-76 and the yet to bereleased Agusta Westland AW169 isvery much in Castle’s plans. BothBiggin Hill and Liskeard are approvedfor AW109, AW139 and Bell 206JetRanger base and line maintenance.

The workload includes some exten-sive projects, including one N-regis-tered AW119 Koala being restored toas-new condition. Charman expectsthe work to take about six months,including a full avionics suite refurb,the machine will be flown to theLiskeard base for painting.

Another Castle Air strength isEurope’s most extensive stock ofAW109 spares, including main rotorblades and engines. Most are held atLiskeard, Charman says, “but we’rebuilding up the spares holding atBiggin Hill now.”

Globals and HawkersThe newest and most striking of the

MRO facilities at the airport is the dou-ble award winning Rizon Jet; gleamingnew hangar and three-storey FBO.From his top floor office CEO AllanMcGreal enjoys a commanding view ofthe airfield framed by the London sky-

SERVICES Castle AirServices includeVIP and air taxi.

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line beyond, while the hangar is fin-ished to such a high standard that itdoubles as a gallery for aviation-themedart and a venue for high-end events.

Rizon Jet opened its MRO four yearsago, McGreal says, and its currentcapabilities are line and base mainte-nance for Hawker, Citation andBombardier business jets, but withmore to follow. The initial EASA andQatar approvals have been supplement-ed by Bermuda, Aruba and Cayman,with FAA repair station approvalexpected imminently – “a remarkableachievement in only four years from astanding start,” he comments.

The facility is approved to work on allBombardier aircraft except the Learjet60, with Bombardier ASC status “anaspiration,” McGreal says. The basedfleet includes five Global Expresses,and 16 Globals are booked for mainte-nance, which he reckons is “close to agood viable business” on the type.

The 100 meter open span hangar – oneof the longest of its kind in Europeaccording to McGreal — features anunderfloor utilities network that includesfive stations on the apron for silent run-ning of ground power units. Two over-head cranes are capable of lifting a fullydressed Global Express engine. And thephysical facilities are backed by a sub-stantial investment in training. “We havea good apprentice program and we spent£250,000 on training engineers in 2014,”McGreal says.

Making the hangar as much show-room as workshop reflects McGreal’sview that MRO is often the missing partof aircraft ownership. “Owners don’tusually see the investment,” he says,“but by informing clients about ourcapabilities,investment in technologyand skills, and giving access as we do,we invite them to feel more involved.”

Special mission specialistPrivately owned Avalon Aero, which

has operated at Biggin Hill since thestart of the millennium and moved intoits current hangar in 2009, seems tohave cornered something of a nichemarket in special mission BAe 146s. Itis also a newly appointed ASC for thePiaggio Avanti and EVO, and hasapprovals to work on a wide range ofother types.

Managing director and founder JohnGlancey works with a company thatmaintained the two 146s operated bymotor sport organiser Formula OneManagement. Following a project toinstall in-flight entertainment in the twoaircraft, he and another engineer wonapproval to do all their maintenance.That in turn led to work on other pro-jects, including the equipment of theNatural Environment ResearchCouncil’s atmospheric research 146 andtwo Avro RJs modified for flight testwork with the Empire Test Pilot Schooland research firm Qinetiq.

“We specialize in one-offs,” saysGlancey — a fisheries protectionCessna 406 was one of the aircraft in thehangar in mid-December – “as well ascorporate and light aircraft.” The com-pany is a family business, withGlancey’s wife, Coral, a fellow directorand son Chris as general manager. “Wetreat all the staff as family,” he says ofthe 43-strong workforce. “The first 30were friends and family, but we’ve takenon others since.” An apprentice schemehas been running for eight years andthis year Avalon will have two appren-tices.

“We are not corporate in any way,”Glancey says. “The company was start-ed by two engineers and we try to keepcustomers happy by being open andhonest. When we meet customers wetalk engineering, not sales and market-ing. It’s important to some customersthat they’re talking to the guys who cando the job rather than just people whoknow people who can do the job, wedon’t say ‘yes we can’, when we knowthat ‘no we can’t.’”

Avalon has also provided line stations“all over the world” for customers, hesays. “We can do up to eight weeks linemaintenance away from base.”

Learjets and ChallengersMoving on then to Zenith Aviation

which started in September 2013 whenthe Markerstudy Group bought whatwas then the UK aircraft managementarm of Swiss private aircraft sales,charter and consultancy group PerfectHolding.

Quality Manager Barry Hollowaysays the renamed Zenith Aviationoperates two Learjet 45 aircraft underits own AOC and offers maintenancecapability on the Challenger 300 andChallenger 604/605 as well as theLearjet 45/40. The company has a staffof 20, including pilots, with aMaintenance Manager, two engineersand technical teams as well asHolloway himself on the maintenanceside.

“We also look after some of the otherLearjet 45 aircraft on the field and alsoa number of visiting aircraft,”Holloway says. One recent project wasa double engine change on a cus-tomer’s Learjet 45. “Because we are asmall organization and also an opera-tor, we understand the needs of otheroperators and recognize that they liveand die by the response to AOGs.”

The company actively seek thirdparty work, he says, but many opera-tors are contractually tied in withother organizations and a lot of newaircraft can only go to a manufactur-er’s service center for maintenance.Our main focus is to support theZenith Aviation operation.”

Zenith also liaises with other mainte-nance organizations on the airfieldHolloway adds. “We help each otherout with equipment and personnel dur-ing times of high maintenance activi-ties. Biggin Hill is a good airfield forworking together.”

RANGERizon Jet offers

line maintenancefor Hawker,Citation andBombardier

aircraft. ✈

MAINTENANCEMATTERS

70-72 MAINTENANCE.qxp 5/02/2015 11:01

Aviation safety and quality training

Safety and quality auditing

SMS implementation support

IS-BAO preparation and audit

Management

MELs and technical publishing

Bahnhofweg 2 · CH-6048 Horw / Luzern · phone + 41-41 460 46 60 · [email protected] · www.gcs-safety.com · Great Circle Services AG

Your Swiss Partner for Aviation Safety and Quality...Now celebrating 100 years of combined aviation experience

1300

25 · s

li.ch

by LeRoy Cook

V ision is vital to pilots of all typesof aircraft. In the old days ofclose-quarters dogfighting

between fighter pilots, the man withthe best visual acuity came home thevictor. By spotting the bogies beforethey could see him, he could get intoposition for the shot early in the game.Of course, diving down out of the sunnegated such an advantage, and theenhancement of superior equipmentwas hard to beat. But, all things beingequal, the eyes made the difference.

Today’s combat tends more towardradar lockons and launching a missileto do the finish work. But the pilot’svision remains a paramount considera-tion, even in civilian flying. In our elec-tronic-dashboard world, we may think

that mid-range acuity, optimized forthe instrument panel’s displays, ismore valuable than distant vision outthe windscreen—until we have a near-miss with unreported traffic.

Taking care of one’s eyes is definite-ly important. Cockpits are dry environ-ments, and lighting is often less thanoptimum. Fatigue affects vision; theeyes tire along with everything else.Aging pilots are particularly suscepti-ble to eyestrain from attempting to off-set the natural progression of presby-opia, the loss of one’s ability to focusat different distances.

Did You See What YouThought You Saw?

Accident investigations sometimesdetermine the cause of the accident tobe “failure to maintain terrain clear-ance” or “loss of control for undeter-mined reasons”. The pilot’s apparentmistake could very easily have result-ed from not seeing the altitude limiton the procedure or misidentifying thebearing to be flown from a fix. Onelocal approach plate I use frequentlyhas a VOR and ILS almost co-located,with frequencies of 110.2 and 110.7,respectively. In dim light, or when

working hurriedly at single-pilot pace,you can understand that it’s easy tochoose and dial-in the wrong number.If one doesn’t verify the ID code, thelack of a glideslope while trackinginbound can be confusing.

Mistakes made when keying in rout-ings on an FMS, hurriedly typing num-bers with the “fat finger syndrome” thatplagues many of us, can just as easilybe blamed on not clearly seeing thereadout. Having two sets of eyes to ver-ify that the flight plan is entered cor-rectly is critical; hopefully, one of thepairs will be younger, or better correct-ed.

And so, it is important to treat visionas the critical component of successfulpiloting that it is. Very likely, you willneed corrective vision aids as yourcareer progresses; it is, to put it in myfather’s terms, “part of growing up.”Whether or not your medical certificatecalls for “must possess corrective lens-es for near vision”, keep some readingglasses handy, to make your job easier.As they become more important, carrya spare set to replace a broken or mis-laid one.

The problem with reading glasses isthat your ability to accommodate differ-ing distances can become more limitedover the years. Instrument panels andoverhead switch panels are at vastly dif-ferent focal lengths. I’ve found the pro-gressive-correction eyeglass lenses tobe a workable solution, allowing vari-ous distances to be brought into focus


THE EYE OF THE PILOT

SIGHTVision is still a

criticalcomponent in

successfulpiloting.

FROM THE COCKPIT V I S I O N

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by rocking one’s head to the exactangle so I can look through therequired section of the glasses. It takestime to adjust to progressives, but theydo work.

A tri-focal lens, with corrections setfor 12-inch, 30-inch and infinity, maywork almost as well as progressivelenses. The places requiring the mostneck-craning are (1) attempting to readlabels on an overhead panel, when theclose-up correction at the bottom of theglasses is needed, and (2) trying tolook down at a ground feature throughthe side cockpit window, when thenear-vision correction is in the way.

Regular visits to your ophthalmologistis one way to stay ahead of the game.Regular pressure checks to spot glau-coma early is very important. Dry eyeirritation is easily treated with eye-drops. If you use contact lenses, becareful to observe length-of-wear limita-tions and watch for signs of infection.Carry regular glasses with a currentprescription to allow changing out ofthe contacts.

Never rub your tired eyes with yourknuckles, particularly in a dry-eye sce-nario. Instead, massage the facial areaaround the eyes. When possible, closeone eye at a time to briefly lubricate theeye with a drooped eyelid.

Avoid Unprotected BrightnessMost pilots know the importance of

good sunglasses, particularly at high-altitude and above a sun-drenchedwhite cloud deck. Those of us who havehad to deal with cataracts would advisefellow pilots to employ eye protectionanytime you’re out of the clouds. Whenabout to descend into a low cloud layeron an approach, it’s helpful to don thesunglasses to partially dilate the iris,because the dark gloom below is goingto require the most vision you canobtain.

Flash-blindness, or sudden exposureto a bright light when one’s eyes aredark-adapted, can be a real hazard, par-ticularly in single-pilot operation. Fullyrecovering from loss of night vision cantake 30 minutes or more. In the dayswhen dealing with thunderstorms inunpressurized aircraft meant getting upclose and personal with lightning,young copilots were advised to droptheir seat to the lowest position behindthe glareshield, pull the bill of their capdown, and be ready to close one eye tosave at least some of their vision.

The hazard of laser-pointing terror-ism, a progression from the childhoodprank of shining a flashlight up towardan airplane on its approach to landing,has required serious countermeasureactions lately. Looking directly into alaser beam can do serious eye damage;the natural reaction to an unexpectedillumination in the cockpit is to looktoward the light. Instead, it’s importantto focus away from it until it departs.

Ground operation at night on a busyairport presents many hazards, evenwith normal vision. Having a landinglight or strobe flash turned directlyinto one’s eyes can result in loss of

acuity or depth perception. While taxi-ing at night, be as respectful as youcan with your lights when aroundother airplanes. Most SOPs requirethe use of strobe lights while occupy-ing a runway, to avoid any possibilityof ATC or another pilot assuming therunway is clear, but give as muchspace as possible before hitting theswitches. Douse the big landing lightsas soon as they are not needed afterrolling off onto the exit, especially ifyou see a taxiing aircraft ahead.

When can you do to enhance safety iflow visibility is an issue? Keep thecockpit maplight or hand-held flash-light ready to verify a chart or dia-gram. If flashed by an external light,look toward the taxiway centerline,where your taxi light may be mosteffective, and maintain your orienta-tion. Stop if you’re not sure yourwingtip is going to remain clear.

The opposite of low-light operation isflying sunward, when the bright glare

pouring through the windshieldobscures vital details. It helps to havea clean windshield, and freshly-cleaned sunglasses, as well as correct-ly-positioned sunvisors. Fog and mistwith sunlight breaking through are dif-ficult glare-producing situations, and ifforced to use a runway oriented intothe sun, be particularly alert for loom-ing hazards seen at the last second.

Fading visual acuity can be partiallyoffset by experience, fortunately, butone has to understand the limitationsthat exist in later years.

PROTECTUse eyeprotectionanytime you’reout of theclouds.✈

74-75 FROM THE COCKPIT.qxp 5/02/2015 11:02

By Michae l R . Grün ingerand Capt . Car l C . Norgren

of Great C irc le Serv ices AG (GCS)

A trough that extended from theNorwegian Sea to the Bay ofBiscay was blowing mild, humid

and sometimes unstably stratified airover the Alps towards the northeast.While the surface front crossed theairport of St.Gallen-Altenrhein(Switzerland), the crew of Dalia 211was preparing their flight in Geneva.They planned a flight from Geneva toAltenrhein in the early afternoon of6th of August 2012. Due to the topog-raphy and resulting waves along thefrontal zone, the weather in Altenrheinwas challenging for the pilots. Butboth Altenrhein runways were open.Runway 10 offers an ILS approachwith a 4 degree gradient. A circlingapproach was available for runway 28.

The Embraer EMB-505 Phenom 300(CN-MBR) proceeded quickly acrossSwitzerland with 70 knots tailwind.The approach was fast. On the ground,9 knots tailwind were to be expected.Local rain showers were causing visi-bility problems. The crew opted for arunway 10 ILS approach. The firstapproach did not succeed.Immediately the crew attempted a sec-ond approach.

On its second attempt, the Phenomwas half-way down the wet runway,when the co-pilot, who was pilot non-flying, said “hopefully it will work”.The captain, who was pilot-flying onthis short flight replied “That’s what Itold you..”.

Seconds later the aircraft reachedthe end of the runway, still travellingat 44 knots IAS. The aircraft exited therunway, broke through the perimeterfence, crossed a road and came to restin a cornfield. The crew and one pas-senger exited the aircraft unaided.The Phenom 300 suffered substantialdamage.

ApproachesThe crew performed a go-around

from the first ILS approach after con-tinuing well below the decision heightwithout sufficient visual references fora landing. When the commander final-ly initiated the go-around, the tireswere only one foot (!) above the run-way.

The first approach had been flown atvery high speed. With a strong tailwindthe aircraft intercepted the localizerand glideslope at high speed and thenstruggled to slow down and configure.The gear was extended while descend-ing on the glideslope at 222 Knots IASat 2’000 ft AAL. Flap 1 was selected at1’000 ft AAL. At that point the comman-der requested flap 2 followed by fullflaps. The co-pilot selected full-flaps,and 3 seconds later selected flap 3,which was the maximum flap certifiedfor this aircraft. At that point the “FLAPFAIL” warning indication illuminatedand the flaps stopped moving. The flapsstayed “jammed” in the Flap 1 positionfor the remainder of the flight. The air-craft was at this point passing the deci-sion height of 500 ft AAL.

The crews decided to continue theapproach, while they were faced withan abnormal situation late in an unsta-bilized approach without visual con-tact.

Unstabilised ApproachDuring the initial descent the crew

prepared for the approach toAltenrhein. After receiving the ATISthey prepared for an ILS approach torunway 10 followed by a circling forrunway 28 due to the prevailingWesterly winds. The navigation equip-ment was set and the approachreviewed on the cockpit screens.

Critical altitudes, approach speeds,the non-standard approach angle of 4degrees as well as the missedapproach procedure were not men-tioned in the briefing.

Considering that it was the first timethat either crew member flew intoAltenrhein airport this lack of prepara-tion for an approach into an unfamiliarairport in cloudy, rainy and windy con-ditions is incomprehensible. It wassymptomatic of the crews lack ofadherence to standard operating pro-cedures throughout the flight.

Poor Decision-Makingand Poor Preparation

According to the ATIS the crew pre-pared for an ILS approach to runway10 followed by a visual circling for run-way 28. The prevailing wind accordingto the ATIS was 340 at 8 Kts. Afterestablishing on the ILS for runway 10the crew contacted the Tower atAltenrhein. The tower passed an actu-al wind of 280 at 9 Kts and asked Dalia211 which runway they would prefer.At this point the aircraft was below2’000 ft AAL with only the gear extend-ed and travelling at over 200 Kts IAS.Without consulting the captain the co-pilot requested a straight-in landing onrunway 10.

This was a significant change to theplanned approach. Had the crew evalu-ated their situation properly, i.e. by


HASTE MAKES WASTE

BLURREDA lack of a clear

hierarchybetween pilot

and co-pilot leadto an accidentfor EMB-505.

S A F E T Y S E N S E R U N W A Y E X C U R S I O N S

76-78 SAFETY SENSE.qxp 5/02/2015 11:03


taking some time to discuss theiroptions, they would have realized thattheir altitude, configuration and air-speed did not allow them to success-fully accept a straight-in approach forrunway 10.

The circling minimum (864 ft AAL)is higher than the minimum of the ILSfor a straight-in approach (500 ft AAL).Given the weather conditions withheavy rain reducing visibility thestraight-in approach might haveoffered a higher chance of a successfullanding.

Without any verbal communication itremains unknown what went throughthe crews minds and what caused theco-pilot to request this change to thelanding runway and the captain to

accept this change at such a late stagein the approach without having pre-pared for this option.

At no point was a briefing for astraight-in approach to runway 10 per-formed.

Don’t Jam Your Flaps and Don’tMishandle the ResultingAbnormal Situation

Shortly after accepting the firststraight-in approach into runway 10Dalia 211 received the landing clear-ance for runway 10.

As the crew lowered the flaps the co-pilot mishandled the Flap SelectorLever and selected Full Flaps. A posi-tion not certified for the aircraft andforbidden by the manuals. To prevent

such mishandling a mechanical stopshould have been installed to blockselection of full flaps on the FlapSelector Lever. This mechanical stopwas missing on the accident aircraft.As a result the flaps jammed just pastthe Flap 1 position and remainedjammed for the remainder of the flight

At this point the crew should havediscontinued the approach as therewas no chance to slow the aircraftdown and to achieve a stabilizedapproach. Instead the captain contin-ued encouraged by the co-pilot. Onlyat the last moment did the captain per-form a go-around and only narrowlyprevented a collision with terrain.

After performing the missedapproach the crew did not ask for a

READYPilots should beprepared for theshort runway atAltenrheinairport.

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holding pattern or radar vectors inorder to perform trouble-shooting ontheir technical malfunction as well asto evaluate the reasons for the unsuc-cessful approach and what theiroptions were.

At this point the flight was affectedby a minor technical abnormality. Theflaps were jammed in Flap 1 position.This does not pose any direct dangerto the aircraft or its occupants.

A jammed flap introduces a numberof operational restrictions such ashigher approach speeds, longer land-ing distance required, more time anddistance to slow down.

Considering the fact that Altenrheinhas a steeper than normal approach of4 degrees, considering the length ofthe runway and its wet condition andconsidering the approach and landingwith a tailwind the decision to attempta second approach and landing intoAltenrhein’s runway 10 cannot beunderstood.

What is however most astonishing isthe lack of an evaluation of their situa-tion as well as the alternative optionsavailable to the crew. At no time werethese discussed. The abnormal check-list for the FLAP FAIL warning wasconsulted briefly, but not completed.No structured trouble-shooting wasperformed to establish the cause ofthe jammed flap.

Instead the co-pilot without coordina-tion with the captain repeatedly anderratically cycled the flap lever duringthe flight and second approach with-out any effect on the flap position.

If the abnormal checklist had beencompleted the crew would have real-ized that the factored landing distancewith the adjusted Vref for Flap 1 con-figuration for a wet runway was longerthan the runway available atAltenrhein.

Instead the crew requested radarvectors for a second approach andrushed into a second unstableapproach.

Take Your TimeMost importantly, the flight had

another 3 hours of fuel on-board for anextended holding time followed by adiversion to a number of airports inthe vicinity with longer runways andapproaches into wind.

Unclear Roles in the CockpitThe captain was the pilot-flying and

the Commander of this flight. In addi-tion to his flying duties he held amanagement function as the deputyof the director of flight operations.The co-pilot was employed as qualityand flight safety manager at the com-pany. At 53 he was 13 years olderthan the commander. Previously hehad been a commander in theMoroccan military on the C130-H air-craft and had been an instructor onsingle-engine aircraft.

The co-pilot’s management positioncombined with his considerable flyingexperience affected the authority gra-dient on the flight deck and con-tributed to a break-down in the normalcrew cooperation. The co-pilot tookdecisions without prior consultationwith the captain on numerous occa-sions.

During the first approach the co-pilotaccepted the change in landing run-way without discussing this with thecaptain. After the aircraft had passedthe Decision Height the captain, whowas pilot-flying, repeatedly said “Here,one can’t see anything.”. But the co-pilot, who was pilot non-flying, encour-aged the captain to continue below thedecision height with the words “goon..descend, descend!”.

Also the co-pilot made numerousconfiguration changes without consul-tation.

In his role as pilot non-flying the co-pilot failed to monitor the pilot-flyingon numerous occasions. During thego-around the pilot-flying forgot toraise the landing gear. This remainedunnoticed by the co-pilot and the gear

remained extended during the go-around and for the second approach.

The lack of a clear hierarchy on theflight deck prevented an effectiveteamwork between the two crew mem-bers and ultimately the crew failed intheir primary role of ensuring flightsafety.

Haste Makes WasteThe pilots induced the jamming of

the flaps. The weather was challeng-ing. The airport had a short runwayand was unfamiliar. The crew did notadhere to standard operating proce-dures. They did not work properlytogether and forgot about the limita-tions of the flap system. The real showstopper though was not the combinedeffect of all the factors mentioned.

Had the pilots found a way out oftheir press-on-itis and chosen to takesome time to consider the optionscalmly and act in an enlightened way,the flight will most likely have endedsuccessfully, and not in a cornfieldbehind a cold front.

Michael R. Grüninger is ManagingDirector and Capt. Carl C. Norgren is aConsultant of Great Circle Services(GCS) Safety Solutions. GCS assists inthe whole range of planning and man-agement issues, offering customizedsolutions to strengthen the position of abusiness in the aviation market. Its ser-vices include training and auditing (IS-BAO, IOSA), consultancy, manualdevelopment and process engineering.GCS can be reached at www.gcs-safety.com and +41-41 460 46 60. Thecolumn Safety Sense appears regularlyin BART International.

HASTENot taking the

time to considerall the options

led to thisaccident.

S A F E T Y S E N S E R U N W A Y E X C U R S I O N S

✈

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Universal Weather and Aviation opened itsfirst FBO at Le Bourget in 1989. Now it hastwelve, along with four kitchens operated bycatering subsidiary Air Culinaire Worldwide.Judith Milne, who became Universal’sregional vice president for Europe, theMiddle East and Africa in May 2014, discuss-es the company’s current activities and visionfor the futureBART: What services and products doesUniversal offer in your EMEA region?Milne: We have a specialized European oper-ations centre, which is the equivalent of thetrip support service in Houston, and fromthat centre we offer all the trip managementservices that help reduce operating risk suchas flight planning and weather, regulatoryexpertise and rallying our global network tosupport our clients as needed. We have per-mit offices in London and in Tanzania cover-ing the whole of the region for diplomaticpermits. And we have our Universal Aviationground handling locations and FBO services.They cover everything from full aircraft andpassenger handling to working with ourUVair Fuel Division to coordinate fuelling,managing VAT, reclaim of VAT on fuel andother services, managing tax, particularlyaround fuel, and fuel planning. We also sendout staff to meet flights at difficult or remoteairports all over Europe, the Middle East andAfrica, where our clients are flying in interna-tionally and they may be unfamiliar with anairport or we know it’s a difficult airport fortransiting through.BART: What experience do you bring to theRVP role? Milne: I was a customer of Universal in the1990s when I was working as ops managerfor Shell Aviation, and I started my careerwith an airline, so operationally I’m very aufait with the industry, how airports work andthe complexities of an actual practical opera-tion. More recently, with Bombardier , I waslooking after an international region —Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific —but also very close to the clients, understand-ing from an owner’s point of view what it real-ly means using a private jet, the level of ser-vice they’re used to, how it feels when thingsgo wrong and what response you need.BART: Universal has been active in Europefor a long time. How do you see the future ofBusiness Aviation here and in the rest of theEMEA?

Milne: Business Aviation is driven by theeconomy and it’s driven by business. Werealise there’s not going to be a hugeamount of growth in Europe in the shortterm, so we’re starting to look around themargins of our territory, the opportunitiesfor business, the areas where our clients areexpanding their own operations and thechallenges that they will face when they getthere. So we align our vision around ourcustomers’ requirements and our cus-tomers’ businesses.We know that the business opportunitiesare in the margins, the more challengingenvironments. It’s always been the case inBusiness Aviation that where it really comesinto its own is where infrastructure is themost difficult. So we’ve started to look atAfrica, for instance. We realise that there’smining ands oil exploration going on in par-ticular parts of Africa, and that will lead toinfrastructure development, roads andbridges and airports being built. Our clientswill need to get there to do that sort of busi-ness, to create that infrastructure, andBusiness Aviation is a big enabler of thatinfrastructure growth. So we have beenbuilding a strategy around that. We’re notjust looking for where the big bucks aregoing to be, we’re working in the long termas partners with our clients and workingtogether to support them.

BART: Is Universal looking to expand intonew locations and services?Milne: We are trying to create an organi-sation that is nimble and able to reactquite quickly. Because we are globallylocated with teams all over the world in dif-ferent locations we’re able to send individ-ual support out. So it ’s not just aboutwhere the large volumes of flights are. Ifwe have one flight going into the Congo,for instance, we can supply someone to goand help and support that one flight onthat particular day.We also realise that local expertise is reallyimportant — local languages, being able tomake relationships with local governmentorganisations and understand how the envi-ronment works in-country. I think the west-ern view has been in the past that we canjust do everything our way all over theworld. That’s not the case. For African oper-ators used to working in the African operat-ing environment, coming into Europe or fly-ing into the states or flying into Asia, that’s aforeign environment for them. What we con-sider to be easy and normal and everyday,for a less experienced international operatorfrom another continent is not as straightfor-ward. So we are trying to make sure that wehave that local presence, the local knowl-edge and the local understanding of thechallenges that our clients are having toface.There’s a difference between being a west-ern company with international officesaround the world and being a truly globalcompany.BART: Your subsidiary Air CulinaireWorldwide now has flight kitchens at Luton,Biggin Hill, Stansted and Le Bourget: howimportant is catering to your service offer-ing?Milne: I used to run a charter company and90 per cent of all complaints were aboutcatering. Catering is a fundamental part ofthe customer experience and a critical partof the mission for us. So the Air CulinaireWorldwide acquisition was strategicallyreally important and as we roll out and growglobally the catering part of the organisationwill grow with us. Having that integratedorganisation providing the catering meansthat they have a lot more information aboutthe customer’s likes, dislikes and prefer-ences, right down to the most minute detail.And it’s been a raging success from a cus-tomer point of view, we get lots of positivefeedback.

REINVENTING TRIP SUPPORTI N S I G H T W I T H J U D I T H M I L N E / U N I V E R S A L W E A T H E R A N D A V I A T I O N V P T R I P S U P P O R T E M E A

✈

79 INSIGHT.qxp 5/02/2015 11:04

By Pau l Wa lsh

P restige, passion for aviation and aFrench touch was how Dassaultdescribed the atmosphere at the

roll-out event for their long rangeFalcon 8X; the latest addition to thegrowing Falcon business jet family.

It’s true that the atmosphere wasrefined, although the aviation enthusi-asts at the event we’re focused less onthe food – prepared by legendaryMichelin two star chef Thierry Marx -and more on the aircraft that followeddessert.

This is not surprising when you con-sider that the Falcon 8X will offer thegreatest range and the longest cabinin the Falcon line, along with the mostextensive selection of cabin configura-tions available on any executive jet.

Performance It builds on the technological

prowess of the popular 7X long rangetri-jet, but offers a greater range of6,450 nm (11,945 km) – and a cabin3.5 feet longer than the 7X whileaffording the same low operating eco-nomics and remarkable operating flex-ibility for which all Falcons are known.

“Dassault’s tradition of innovationand excellence helps explain the suc-

cess of the Falcon 7X. More than 250aircraft have been built in the sevenyears since service introduction, anddemand remains strong. We antici-pate a similarly bright future for the8X.” said Eric Trappier, Chairman andCEO of Dassault Aviation.

Final assembly and testing of the 8Xis taking place at the CharlesLindbergh hall at Merignac. The facili-ty was built to handle production ofthe Falcon 7X, and the 8X will draw onthe same advanced digital design andmanufacturing techniques pioneeredwith the 7X.

Wing mating and engine installationon the first Falcon 8X were completedin July and first power up occurredshortly after. Ground tests, includingflight control system testing, vibrationtests and fuel system testing, conclud-ed in November. The first engine runup took place in early December andthe aircraft is on track for a maidenflight in the first quarter of 2015.

“We are extremely happy withprogress on our new Falcon flagship,”said Olivier Villa, Senior VicePresident, Civil Aircraft, DassaultAviation. “The program is right onschedule and all systems are perform-ing exactly as designed.”

A total of three aircraft, includingone fully outfitted with a cabin interior,will be used in the flight test and certi-fication campaign and deliveries areexpected to begin in the second half of2016.

Range

With eight passengers and threecrew, the Falcon 8X will be capable offlying 6,450 nm at M.80 non-stop. Itwill be powered by an improved ver-sion of the Pratt and Whitney CanadaPW307 engine that equips the Falcon7X. Combined with improvements towing design, the new power plant willmake the 8X up to 35% more fuel effi-cient than any other aircraft in theultra-long range segment, affording acorresponding savings in operatingcosts.

It is also fitted with a redesignedultra-efficient wing derived from theFalcon 7X. The wing structure hasbeen redesigned to minimize the over-all aircraft drag during cruise whileachieving a 600 lb weight saving. Itwill also feature optimized leadingedge profile and winglets. Theseimprovements are expected toincrease significantly the lift to dragratio.


ALLUREDassault

introduced their8X at a

glamorous eventin Merignac.

R E P O R T D A S S A U L T F A L C O N 8 X R O L L - O U T

DASSAULT UPS ITS GAME

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There’s an array of innovativeonboard systems largely proven onthe 7X, including an enhanced versionof the 7X’s Digital Flight ControlSystem. It will also come with aredesigned cockpit featuring anoptional combined synthetic/enhanced vision head-up display.

Like the 7X, the Falcon 8X will becapable of approaches up to 6 degrees,allowing it to serve challenging air-ports such as London City Airport andLugano, Switzerland that are normallynot accessible to large cabin aircraft.The aircraft will have a balanced fieldlength of about 6,000 ft and anapproach speed at typical landingweight of 107 kts.

The 8X will also be able to performan extensive list of one-leg missions,including Beijing to New York, HongKong to Seattle and New York toDubai.

SpaceIn terms of space the cabin is 6 ft 2 in

(1.88 m) high and 7 ft 8 in (2.34 m)wide and 42 ft 8 in (13 m) long,enabling it to offer the most diverseselection of cabin layouts on the mar-ket. More than 30 configurations willbe available and customers will beable to choose from three galley sizes

– two with a crew-rest option – andlounges of varying lengths capable ofsupporting a range of lavatory layouts,including a lavatory with shower.

“The Falcon 8X will be the longestcabin of any Falcon. But, more impor-tantly, it will feature the highest levelof customization of any large cabinbusiness jet on the market,” saidTrappier.

In choosing the cabin customers cannow benefit from two recently openedtwo new state-of-the-art interior designand showroom centers intended toease the selection of interior designsolutions and options for Falcon cus-tomers. Located at Paris-Le Bourgetand Teterboro Airport, the multimil-lion dollar facilities provide a pleasantinteractive environment that allowscustomers to specify their aircraft inte-riors and pick and choose from avail-able onboard equipment hardware andmaterials in the easiest and most effi-cient manner possible.

Specification areas are equipped withhigh-definition screens and advanced3D tools that interface directly withDassault’s industry leading digitalmodeling software, greatly simplifyingthe cabin design process.

Showrooms feature a stylish and ele-gant decor that permits seats, in-flight

entertainment equipment, galley appli-ances, lighting, paneling and otherinterior features to be displayed in anenvironment reminiscent of a typicalFalcon cabin. The design of the facili-ties drew heavily on ideas and sugges-tions from Falcon operators “The inte-rior spec and design process hasevolved greatly over the past severalyears with the wide use of digital tools,3D processes like Dassault SystemesCATIA and a greatly expanded selec-tion of options and new products,” saidEric Trappier, Chairman and CEO ofDassault Aviation.

“These new facilities enhance andstreamline the total spec and designexperience and bring it to a level thatis unlike anything available in busi-ness aviation today. Our customersnow have a very accurate vision of theaircraft interior they are designing,several months before the first part ismanufactured.” In addition to onboardequipment, the two facilities showcasea wide range of Falcon interiorsincluding full scale or partial mockupsof the Falcon 7X, 900LX and 2000 fami-ly aircraft and the new Falcon 5X veryextra wide body twinjet.

Getting back to the 8X it’s clear thatin a market always looking for extrarange combined with low operating

CHOICEDassault claimsto offer the mostdiverse selectionof cabin layoutson the market.

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costs, this aircraft will appeal to a size-able number of owners and operators.It’s also encouraging that the aircraftit’s based on, the 7X has sold morethan 230 aircraft since it was launchedin 2005.

Customer ServiceThis naturally brings us to the ques-

tion of how Dassault plans to maintainthese aircraft. And what you see is thatits service network is expanding. Forinstance Dassault subsidiary DassaultFalcon Service has announced plans tobuild a heavy maintenance, repair andoverhaul facility at Bordeaux-Mérignac Airport in southwesternFrance.

The 7,200 sq. meter facility will bebuilt on a parcel of land adjacent to theDassault Aviation manufacturing plantand will serve Falcon 7X, 8X and 5Xlarge cabin aircraft. It will complementDFS’s existing MR&O installations atLe Bourget Airport near Paris.

“The new Mérignac service centerreflects Dassault Falcon Service’s com-mitment to keep up with the steadyexpansion of the Falcon fleet, whichnow numbers more than 2,000 aircraftworldwide, and make sure customerscontinue benefiting from the top-notchservice they’ve come to enjoy,” saidJean Kayanakis, General Manager,Dassault Falcon Service.

The new facility, capable of accom-modating six aircraft, is expected tocommence operations in mid-2016, intime to handle initial C Checks for thefast-selling Falcon 7X, and will eventu-ally employ up to 70 specialists andtechnicians. More than 230 Falcon7X’s are now in operation and the fleetleaders (the oldest aircraft in the fleet)

will begin requiring heavy mainte-nance by 2016.

The decision to locate the new main-tenance facility in Mérignac was moti-vated by the large pool of skilled avia-tion workers and subcontractors in theBordeaux area and the multiple bene-fits offered by the nearby DassaultAviation assembly plant, such as paintshops.

Then there’s the fact that Dassaulthas introduced a new airborneresponse service that provides notonly rapid AOG support but also alter-native transportation options for pas-sengers.

“We already use charter and compa-ny aircraft to expedite AOG solutions,but with our new service we are takingairborne support to the next level,”said Eric Trappier, Dassault AviationChairman/CEO. “Our large cabin,long-range Falcon 900s will play animportant role in making sure our cus-tomers get to their next destination asquickly and efficiently as possible.”

The service, part of a major rein-forcement of Dassault’s customer sup-port portfolio, will involve two Falcon900 aircraft, one based at Teterboroairport in New Jersey and another atLe Bourget outside of Paris.

The Teterboro 900 will serve NorthAmerica, Central America and parts ofSouth America. The Le Bourget-basedaircraft will serve Europe, Russia,North Africa and the Middle East.

Each will be able to carry DassaultGoTeams and the necessary parts andtools to put an AOG aircraft back intoservice and provide alternative lift forpassengers if needed.

“Our belief is that, if an AOG occurs,the impact to passengers should beminimal and, they should be support-ed entirely throughout all phases ofthe event,” said Trappier.

Trappier noted that Dassault is in themidst of a massive expansion of itscustomer support services, includingparts, people, service locations anddigital services. The company hasalready achieved the highest level ofspare parts availability in the industry,filling more than 98 percent of orderswithin the timeframe requested bycustomers. Dassault Customer Servicehas also reduced prices on tens ofthousands of parts through its ongoingRight Size Pricing program.

"We have a 'Whatever it Takes' atti-tude here at Dassault, and it's more thanjust a slogan: it's a true commitment.This new airborne response service isevidence of that," said Trappier.

RANGEThe Falcon 8X

can fly 6,450 nmat M.80 non-stop.

R E P O R T D A S S A U L T F A L C O N 8 X R O L L - O U T

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80-82 DASSAULT.qxp 5/02/2015 11:06

uasc.com

It’s like Einstein and an F-16 had a baby

Integrated Flight Deck

UASC_2015_BART_Feb_March_Ad.indd 1 1/19/15 8:26 AM

KEEPING YOU IN THE AIR WITH EUROPE’S LARGEST SERVICE NETWORK.

With the largest, most extensive service network of any aviation manufacturer,

we keep your aircraft fl ying no matter where you are. Whether you fl y a

Beechcraft, Cessna or Hawker it’s essential to us that you are never grounded.

That’s why our European centers service it all. textronaviation.com

6 Company-Owned Facilities

» Doncaster, United Kingdom» Düsseldorf, Germany» Paris, France» Prague, Czech Republic» Valencia, Spain» Zürich, Switzerland

Mobile Service Support

» 3 Mobile Service Trucks» AOG Support» Field Service Engineers

3 Line Service Facilities

» London, United Kingdom» Cannes, France» Geneva, Switzerland

Client: Textron Aviation/CessnaAd Title: Keeping you in the air.Publication: BART International - Feb/March/April - Issue #155Trim: 8.25” x 11.25” • Bleed: 8.5” x 11.5” • Live:

U. S . +1 . 8 4 4 . 4 4 .T X TAV | INTERNATIONAL +1 . 3 1 6 . 517. 8 2 70

©2015 Textron Aviation Inc. is a registered trademarkof Textron Innovations Inc., used by permission.

Service Network_Euro Campaign_BART Int.indd 1 1/23/15 3:08 PM

PREMIER TRANSATLANTIC BUSINESS AVIATION MAGAZINE

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BART ExclusiveFleet Report page 28EstablishedMarkets RegainDominanceDriving the MarketForward page 38

COMPLETION CRAZE Interior SpecialistsFacing a Shifting Landscape of New Technology

FEB-APR 2015

Kirby Harrison reports on Page 56

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