EBACE is not a defense exhibition – but the effects of the weekend’s 53% referendum decision by Switzerland not to buy 22 Swedish Saab Gripen fighters could be felt by some local companies represented here. The issue is one of offsets. When their aircraft was selected over two years ago, Saab and its associated companies had placed or promised $2.5 billion worth of business with local companies just to earn the right to participate in the competition against France’s Dassault Rafale and the Eurofighter Typhoon.

Fokker Services, in an exploratory collaboration with Boeing Business Jets, has introduced here at EBACE the Panoramic Window, “The first of its kind to be developed and certified for the business aviation community.” The window, described as setting “a new standard for personalizing and designing VIP aircraft interiors,” is 138.43 cm (54.5 inches) wide and has a height of 49.53 cm (19.5 inches). It is being designed for the Boeing Business Jet (BBJ), based on the 737-700 NG model, and will also be available on the new BBJ MAX.

328 Group CEO Dave Jackson says growth within the company is coming from special mission versions of the Dornier 328 turboprop and associated Part 21J design engineering activities. The firm’s largest single order to date was the conversion of 17 Dornier 328 turboprop ex-regional airliners for Sierra Nevada for supply to U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to be operated by the U.S. Air Force and since designated by them as C-146A Wolfhound. The last of these aircraft was handed over last July. The total deal is believed to be worth over $200 million.

When asked about Gulfstream’s plans to develop a supersonic business jet, company president Larry Flynn said the company “continue[s] to invest in a very small way,” while concentrating on its core business.

After some delay, it is all coming together for HondaJet. We might just see one at Geneva next year. HondaJet president and CEO Michimasa Fujino is in Geneva this week to relate the latest good news of his brainchild business jet, now on final approach for certification in the first quarter of next year. With the assessment by FAA pilots now under way, Honda has been emboldened to build the first production machine, which was recently rolled out in Greensboro, North Carolina, and will fly soon.

Rolls-Royce’s CorporateCare engine maintenance program is making a real difference to aircraft resale values, says Stephen Friedrich, VP, Sales and Marketing, Civil Small and Medium Engines. “We now have 1,600-plus aircraft signed up, and more than 70% of all new Rolls-Royce deliveries are enrolled,” he says. “We’re no longer seeing market acceptance but market demand.” Indeed, the sign-up rate exceeds the number of new deliveries as used aircraft five, 10 or even 20 years old are enrolled.

Switched-on PrivateFly, the U.K. online private jet booking company, now accepts payment in Bitcoin digital currency via BitPay. Monaco-based Olivier Janssens is the world’s first private jet customer to publicize his use of Bitcoin to pay for air travel, doing so for a trip booked through PrivateFly. Janssens, the Belgian tech entrepreneur and Bitcoin tycoon, revealed that his first Bitcoin-powered flight occurred on the evening of 27th January, from Brussels to Nice Cote D’Azur.

The Press Office at London City Airport had a tough time in early April batting off a media assault that grew to epidemic proportions. It was caused by a report from the New Economics Foundation suggesting that London City Airport should be closed and re-developed for housing. NEF’s challenge: Does it make sense to locate an airport in such precious inner-city space? What if we reclaimed this historic site and built a new neighborhood, incorporating the best thinking about sustainable urban design?