BUSINESS AVIATION IN BRIEF

Bombardier launched its new Smart Services offering, which will allow its customers to tailor to their needs. The program will enhance parts replacement cost protection and budget predictability, thus improving return on investment. “We intentionally designed this feedback from our customers,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, vice president and general manager of customer experience for Bombardier Business Aircraft. Smart Services will be available to both entry-intoservice customers and all existing Bombardier business jet operators’ aircraft with up to 20 years of service.

Embraer launched the new Phenom 300E during the 2017 National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (NBAABACE) in Las Vegas. The aircraft is an enhanced version of the Phenom 300, and comes with a redesigned cabin and Lufthansa Technik’s Nice HD It features new seats designed and manufactured by Embraer, as well as a more spacious layout. Improvements were also made to the upper technology panel, as well as to tables, side ledges, side walls, and valances.

Embraer announced enhancements to its Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 business jets to ensure readiness for the Future Air Navigation System and to add new internet connectivity and seating options. By Q4 2017, customers of the Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 will be able to incorporate FANS 1/ A+ technology, which allows datalink communications the technology. Gogo’s AVANCE L5 air-to-ground internet connectivity system may also be installed in Legacy 450 and Legacy 500 business jets come Q1 2018. The AVANCE L5 system delivers data rates of up to 9.8 Mbps for downlink, covering the Continental U.S. and portions of Alaska and Canada.

Embraer delivered to a US customer the Legacy 500 assembled at its Melbourne plant. The expanded facility’s two assembly lines also produce the Phenom 100, Phenom 300, and Legacy 450. It commenced operations in 2011 and was expanded in 2016.

Nextant Aerospace successfully completed the . “The initial system integration went very well and the fact and collaboration that has taken place between the teams at Nextant and Rockwell Collin,” said Nextant executive Mark O’Donnell. The Pro Line Fusion cockpit addresses pending regulatory and obsolescence requirements that the Challenger faces.

In response to the growing number of global cyber-attacks on the aviation community, Satcom Direct introduced a suite of comprehensive cyber security products and services at NBAA-BACE. SD’s free Cyber Smart Kit summarizes the issues related to cyber-attacks on executive jets, while SD’s Cyber Security Solutions product will be used for delivering operational applications. SD also detects and blocks intrusion attempts in real time by providing continual threat analysis and active monitoring.

Honeywell’s 26th annual Global Business Aviation Outlook adjusted its forecast for the business aviation industry of near-term orders. The report forecasts 8,300 business jet deliveries valued at $249 billion through 2027. Of the total purchase plans for new business jets, 19 per cent are scheduled for the end of 2018, while 17 per cent and 14 per cent are projected to occur in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Business jet operators will focus on large-cabin aircraft purchases. Large-cabin business jets, ranging from super mid-size through to ultra-long range, will account for more than 85 percent of all expenditures on new business is down two to three percentage points from the 2016 10-year forecast, Honeywell took into account a combination of economic and political uncertainty and a highly competitive used aircraft market.

S&P 500 companies from 2012 to 2017, conducted by NEXA Advisors, LLC, revealed that the use of business aviation is a sign of a well-managed enterprise. S&P 500 companies that used business aviation to support their mission and goals outperformed those that did not do likewise. The use of business aviation was shown to have positive impact on study after study, from one decade to the next, have repeatedly found: smart entrepreneurs and companies understand the value of business aviation and competitive,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “As this report makes clear, these are America’s most innovative companies, most admired companies, best brands, best corporate citizens, and best places to work.” The report was commissioned for the No Plane No Gain advocacy initiative, which is cosponsored by NBAA and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association.

Believing that Asia’s demand for long-range business jets will soon outpace that of Europe and the US, Dassault Aviation is eyeing Thailand as a potential