Hainan Airlines, China’s fourth-largest carrier, hopes to enter leased 787-9s into service from next year, an industry official familiar with the airline’s fleet plans said.

SHANGHAI – Rates for international flights are no higher than for domestic services in the latest version of the jet card program of Chinese business aircraft operator Deer Jet. The package price is also lower than market prices, says Deer Jet, adding that it is offering further benefits with cards sold during the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, held here from April 14-16. Jet cards, a way of selling charter services, allow buyers to purchase blocks of hours of aircraft usage. Deer Jet is a major charter operator in mainland China.

Honeywell, Inmarsat and satcoms technology specialist Kymeta are developing a Ka-band antenna for business and commercial aviation that should offer better broadband service and suit installation in smaller aircraft. It will be the first truly flat-panel antenna for aviation, says Leo Mondale, president of the aviation business at Inmarsat. “The smaller and more compact design will allow the antenna to be installed on a wider variety of aircraft, including smaller business aviation aircraft,” Honeywell says.