John was editor of Aviation Week's ShowNews for nearly two decades. He retired in 2020. His background in business journalism before joining Aviation Week includes stints at Reuters, the American Banker daily banking newspaper and as business news editor at the Milwaukee Journal and the Cincinnati Enquirer.
A lifelong aviation enthusiast, John has been a private pilot for 34 years and won an award at EAA Oshkosh for his restoration of a vintage British Auster army spotter aircraft. He is currently building a 1920s Staaken Flitzer biplane from plans. John attended his first Farnborough Air Show in 1952, when just eight months old.
For the last decade, analysts have predicted growth in Europe’s business aviation market. And every year their forecasts have proven over-optimistic as the giant stirs but never really wakes up.
The plan to relaunch Italy’s Piaggio Aero Industries as a civil and defense aircraft manufacturer is gaining momentum some 20 months after moving production from an aging plant in Genoa to a $150 million, clean-sheet design factory in Villanova d’Albenga, about 56 miles southwest.
Leading aviation charter broker Air Partner began a transformation in 2014 that would profoundly change the company. A long-term strategy that places the customer first is not only reshaping its Private Jets business, but has also led it into aviation safety. That focus could well have an impact on the charter industry in years to come