The rising inventory of used business jets “portends a major deterioration in the new aircraft market quite soon,” a JPMorgan market analysis warned last week. “Let there be no doubt the used market is rapidly falling apart, which should lead to a deteriorating market for new aircraft in short order,” the Sept. 4 report said, adding that “used aircraft inventories were up 80 basis points (bps) to 9.4 percent, bringing inventories to the highest level since September 2003 and representing the seventh monthly increase in a row.”
Strong business jet sales and a buoyant railway sector helped offset a second-quarter dip in Bombardier’s regional aircraft division and pushed the Canadian manufacturer’s net financial performance from the red to the black.
Eclipse Aviation installed a new management structure as the company continues with a major reorganization designed to provide a stronger financial footing and improve its manufacturing processes. The announcement of a new divisional structure within Eclipse comes just a few weeks after the company began laying off 38 percent of its work force (BA, Aug. 25/86). Eclipse last week said it was advancing its “operational excellence strategy” with the creation of separate divisions focused on manufacturing, customer support and infrastructure.
Southwest told FAA it would not pay its $10.2 million fine by the agency’s Aug. 29 payment deadline, leaving the FAA to decide whether to follow through with its Aug. 12 threat to refer the case to the U.S. Attorney’s office if the airline refused to comply. For the time being, the FAA’s official response is, “We continue to talk to Southwest.”
September 10 – National Business Aviation Association, Regional Forum, Hanscom Field (BED), Bedford, Mass. For more information, contact NBAA at (202) 783-9000 September 10-11 – Technology Training Corporation’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Conference, Holiday Inn, Arlington, Va., (310) 563-1223 September 15-18 – Arinc’s Flight Simulator Engineering and Maintenance Conference, Hilton Salt Lake (Utah) Center. For more information call (410) 266-2008 or see www.arinc.com
The economic slowdown in the U.S. affected BBA Aviation’s Signature Flight Support fixed-base operations in the first half of 2008, resulting in “an organic reduction in sales of 4 percent for the first half of the year,” the U.K.-based parent company said in releasing its financial statement late last month.
The Supreme Court of Texas denied an appeal by engine manufacturer Lycoming, effectively ending a six-year legal battle in favor of Navasota, Texas-based Interstate Southwest, Ltd., a metal forging and fabricating company that had manufactured crankshafts for Lycoming.
MATT HUHN was appointed to the newly created position of scheduling director, product support for Gulfstream Aerospace. Huhn will oversee scheduling service center activities at 12 sites: five Gulfstream Service Centers and six General Dynamics Aviation Services facilities in the U.S. and a Gulfstream Service Center in the United Kingdom. He has 15 years of aviation experience, previously serving as business sales manager for the Gulfstream Service Center in Dallas.
JAY HEUBLEIN is the new vice president of sales and marketing for Flight Options, the Cleveland, Ohio-based fractional aircraft operator. Heublein returns to Flight Options, where he began his aviation career as a regional sales director. In his new role as vice president he will lead the national sales force and create and execute the company’s sales and marketing strategies. More recently, Heublein was a regional sales director for another fractional aircraft provider. He holds a bachelor’s degree from Truman State University.
Two students enrolled in the flight training curriculum at the University of Dubuque were seriously injured last week when their single-engine airplane crashed while on approach to a rural Wisconsin airport. The students, juniors Cory Alsip, of Glendale Heights, Ill., and Grant Vogt, of Dubuque, Iowa were flying a university-owned 1997 model Socata TB-20 Trinidad aircraft that was attempting to land Sept. 3 on a 3,000-foot runway at the Cassville, Wis. Municipal Airport.
FAA is changing the threshold at which airports must close runways in adverse winter weather conditions. In an amendment to its Airport Winter Safety and Operations advisory circular, FAA is changing its guidance on shutting down runways due to icy conditions, said Rick Marinelli, manager of FAA’s airport engineering division. Now, an airport will be required to close a runway if a pilot reports that there is “nil braking action,” Marinelli said.
The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a contract to Integrated Coast Guard Systems to missionize the fourth HC-130J Long Range Surveillance (LRS) aircraft at Lockheed Martin in Greenville, S.C. The C-130Js replace the legacy HC-130H aircraft in the Coast Guard fleet. The new Hercules is based on the standard C-130 airframe, but with beefier engines, propellers, avionics and cargo-handling equipment. The missionized C-130J boasts a 20 percent increase in speed, 40 percent increase in range and 40 percent higher cruising altitude than its predecessor.
BUT CANDIDATES for national office do need to get around, so Palin will be traveling in a newly painted and upgraded Embraer E190 for at least the next couple of months. The aircraft, which features a bright blue McCain/Palin logo on the front right side of the fuselage, was outfitted by Global Aircraft Solutions, Inc. of Tucson, Ariz. and configured to seat about 100 people, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Personnel from JetBlue Airways will operate Palin’s aircraft during the campaign.
ROBERT SULLIVAN was named vice president of human resources for fractional aircraft operator Flight Options of Cleveland, Ohio. Sullivan has more than 15 years of human resources experiences. He previously served as director of human resources for Flight Options from 2002 to 2005. Most recently he worked for Mercury Air Centers and Corporate Wings. Sullivan holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Campbell University and a master’s degree in organizational management.
Bombardier is becoming embroiled in a lawsuit between Kuwait Airways and Iraqi Airways following a court decision that could permit the seizure of CRJ900s ordered by the Republic of Iraq. The Aug. 29 ruling by the Quebec Superior Court enforces a U.K. judgment allowing Kuwait Airways to seize assets owned by Iraqi Airways, and to a lesser degree the Iraqi government, as compensation for the loss of aircraft and other assets during the invasion of Kuwait in 1990.
MAX ALLEN was named to the newly created position of director, continuous improvement and component repair, for BBA Aviation Engine Repair and Overhaul in Dallas, Texas. Allen will coordinate all ERO component repair businesses – located in Lafayette, La., Dallas and Portsmouth, N.H. – with the goal of optimizing work processes, reducing duplication of capability, developing new repairs and growing the business. Allen joined BBA Aviation in 2004 as director of operations at the company’s Forest Park, Texas overhaul facility.
CENTENNIAL AIRPORT’S NOISE COMPATIBILITY PROGRAM received overall approval by the FAA, but the agency denied the Arapahoe County Public Airport Authority’s proposed ban on nighttime operations of Stage 2 aircraft under 75,000 pounds at APA. However, the FAA did approve a ban on Stage 1 operations, along with voluntary measures to encourage pilots to minimize aircraft noise.
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT you’d ever see a bunch of Republicans cheering derisive marks about a business jet? But that was the case Wednesday evening at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. Immediately after claiming credit for passage of ethics reform legislation in her state, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP’s vice presidential candidate, turned her attention to the Westwind business jet her predecessor had purchased with state funds.
FIRSTFLIGHT, INC. added a Gulfstream GIV to its fleet of managed aircraft. The Gulfstream will be based in Van Nuys, Calif. FirstFlight will initially manage the aircraft under Part 91 for the owner, but anticipates that the GIV eventually will be added to the company’s Part 135 charter certificate.
NATIONAL AIR TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION President James Coyne this week is traveling through Ohio and Illinois to host Town Hall meetings with aviation businesses and airport executives. The meetings also will include representatives from the United States Underwriter’s Association to discuss the NATA Worker’s Compensation Program and other insurance issues. The meetings will be held Sept. 10 at Chicago Executive Airport (PWK) in Wheeling, Ill. and St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) in Cahokia, Ill.; and Sept. 11 at Toledo Express Airport (TOL) in Swanton, Ohio.
SUSIE CORN was appointed operations manager at West Star Aviation’s facility at Dallas Love Field. Corn will be responsible for maintenance, avionics and customer service and support operations at the Dallas facility. She previously was regional sales manager for all West Star Aviation sites. Before joining West Star, Corn held a number of positions with McKinney Aerospace.
AIRCRAFT SECURITY RECOMMENDATIONS for aircraft owners and fixed-base operators were updated by the Transportation Security Administration. See article on Page 114.
Making the transition as quickly as possible to the NextGen air traffic control system is one of several recommendations made in a new energy task force report by the American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE).
The Transportation Security Administration continues to tweak its general aviation voluntary programs, this time with the release of recommended “Security Action Items” (SAI) for aircraft operators and fixed-base operations. Most of the measures in the SAIs are not new. The SAIs for aircraft operators “consist largely of a reorganization and amplification of recommendations” previously released by the TSA in the May 2004 Information Publication, Security Guidelines for General Aviation Airports, the agency said.
The Federal Aviation Administration this month will review two separate reports recommending improvements of its safety system and airworthiness directive management. The reports were part of a series of measures launched this spring to improve the FAA’s inspection and personnel policies after its Aviation Safety organization came under intense congressional scrutiny in the wake of an investigation into the Southwest Airlines AD violations.
