BUSINESS AVIATION IN BRIEF
Gulfstream Aerospace delivered its 550th Gulfstream 550 ultra-long-range aircraft. Powered by two Rolls passengers and four crew 6,750 nm/12,501 km nonstop, connecting New York with Dubai at Mach 0.80, or London with Los Angeles at Mach 0.85.
The HondaJet received a Air Canada, allowing Honda Aircraft Company to begin deliveries to Canadian registration customers. This follows approvals in the USA (Federal Aviation Administration), Europe (European Aviation Safety Agency), and Mexico (Directorate General of Civil Aviation). Honda’s sales, service and support partner in Canada is Skyservice Business Aviation, which has facilities in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa.
Jet Maintenance Solutions sees an opportunity for third-party MRO services in China, with many business jets delivered from 2010 to 2014 reaching the end of their warranty period. “This may well be an amazing opportunity for MROs to try and establish their presence in one of the mega economies of the world,” says Darius Saluga, CEO of Jet Maintenance Solutions. The country is currently home to 480 business jets.
DC Aviation Al-Futtaim introduced the sale of Jet A-1 fuel to its private and business jet clients at its facility at Dubai South. This new service allows it to offer a full turnkey solution to its clients, including aircraft management, maintenance, FBO and ground handling services, as well as business jet charter.
Deliveries of business aircraft dropped in the for most OEMs. Compared to the same period last year, Embraer’s deliveries dropped from 49 to 39, Bombardier’s from 42 to 36, and Gulfstream’s from 36 to 30. Textron delivered one more aircraft than it did in the same period last year, while Dassault reported an increase in deliveries by two aircraft. Demand is another story, with Gulfstream receiving more G650 and G650ER orders in Q2 2017 than in any quarter of the last 1.5 years. Dassault had net orders of 14 Falcons, compared to 11 in 2016. The various OEMs also observed that orders are taking longer to close.
Falcon Aviation expanded its MRO capabilities with a Pilatus PC-12 service centre at its Al Bateen Executive Airport hangar facility. In partnership with PC-12 charter operator GI Aviation, Falcon Aviation will provide line and base maintenance, plus regional AOG support. The agreement also includes parking, handling and hangarage at Falcon Aviation’s Al Bateen hangar and at its FBO facilities at Dubai South, Al Maktoum International Airport.
Jet Aviation redelivered VVIP Airbus ACJ330 and ACJ319 aircraft to a Middle Eastern customer. Both were designed and completed in Basel, with the ACJ319 completion taking 10 months and the ACJ330 required by the customer, and their cabin interiors blended contemporary design with traditional Arabic motifs and colour palettes. The ACJ330 features a features a majlis area for eight passengers, guest lavatory, mid bedroom with large en suite bathroom, and aft guest seating.
Embraer delivered 24 business jets in the second quarter of 2017. Of these, 16 were light jets and eight were large jets. The deliveries were four Phenom 100, 12 Phenom 300, four Legacy 450, three Legacy 500, and one Legacy 650. The OEM also announced the sale of three Legacy 650Es to launch customer Mexico.