The Fireblade fleet of Bombardier Challenger 350s and (left) a Bombardier Global 6500. (Photo: Fireblade Aviation) Although business aviation has prospered in Africa over the past 12 months due to Covid-19’s destabilizing effects on its airlines, several challenges remain to successful operations. Hamish Harding, chairman of Dubai-based broker, Action Aviation, sees big opportunities. “There are always things happening in Africa, and chances to do good transactions,” he said. “Covid lockdowns in different places … carry on causing issues. It’s a bit unpredictable, as to which countries will be open for business, but, absolutely, there’s demand in the usual locations for business jets in Africa at the moment. “Angola, with the oil price higher, is still very strong. Even the likes of Kenya do have requirements.” The focus of Dubai-based Empire Aviation Group (EAG) has remained on Nigeria. It has added a GIV-SP to its Lagos fleet, which currently consists of three airplanes. “We are in discussions for additional aircraft, and it remains a fairly active market for us,” said managing director Paras Dhamecha. He was frank in saying EAG had been slow to explore other African opportunities. “[I]t's a question of where you best employ your resources,” he said. “In business aviation, resources generally end up being stretched thin, especially in areas where there's not necessarily very high quality or experienced aviation talent easily available. At a time like this, when it's difficult to move around, it's not easy to find people to join the team very quickly.” Krimson Aviation The Krimson Aviation management team, left to right: Betelhem Shumu (MarCom Executive), Leul Mesfin (Flight Ops Team Leader), Gideon Girma (Commercial Manager), Dawit Lemma (CEO), Michael Mesfin (Koncierge and Services Manager), Helina Teshome (Managing Director).

Jet Edge's newly coined AdvantEdge charter and management program aims to provide predictable revenues and schedules. (Photo: Jet Edge) A day after KKR announced its $4.5 billion acquisition of Atlantic Aviation, the investment firm is further extending its reach into the business aviation market with the provision of a $150 million credit facility for aircraft charter, management, and brokerage firm Jet Edge. The facility will provide backing as Van Nuys, California-based Jet Edge formally rolls out its AdvantEdge charter management program that CEO Bill Papariella said will further enhance the company’s efforts to expand nationally and add predictability to the ownership experience. In addition, the credit facility will help Jet Edge roll out new digital technologies this year for its client base and strengthen its employment base, which now tops 700. Papariella called the Jet Edge AdvantEdge program a “whole aircraft ownership solution that is a true alternative to both fractional ownership and the antiquated traditional aircraft management model.” The program, he said, will build predictability and the ability to forecast usage and revenue for owners. Describing the program as a cross between whole ownership and fractional with scheduling closer to that of an Airbnb, Papariella told AIN the program essentially packages a number of services that Jet Edge has been building out in recent years and “truly takes our charter/management product nationwide.” The company has been running a number of aspects of the charter and management program since 2018 and built on that with the acquisition of Jet Select announced in early 2020. “We’ve already seen the success over the three years and proved it. AdvantEdge, in more of an institutional way, builds the infrastructure around it.” Heading into the pandemic, Jet Edge had

With the conclusion of its sale to a group of private investment firms, Signature Aviation is now under new ownership. A statement from the company noted it expects "there will be no immediate change to day-to-day operations and remain focused on delivering exceptional experiences to our valued customers and stakeholders." Without any fanfare, the $4.7 billion sale of Signature Aviation to a consortium of private equity firms was completed last week. The groups—Blackstone, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Cascade Investments—combined to establish a jointly-owned company and issued the successful bid, which was approved by Signature Aviation’s shareholders in late March. The purchase was officially sanctioned by a UK court on May 27. “Effective June 1, Blackstone, Global Infrastructure Partners, and Cascade assumed ownership of Signature Aviation, which is now a privately held company no longer publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange,” Signature said in a statement released to AIN. “All three companies have unmatched experience successfully investing across the aviation, transportation, infrastructure, and hospitality sectors. They are deeply committed to accelerating the growth of the Signature Aviation business while making a positive impact on our team, our customers, the environment, and the communities we serve.” In January, Global Infrastructure Partners issued an offer of $4.6 billion to purchase Signature, which operates the world’s largest FBO network with more than 200 locations globally. That prompted responses from Cascade, which handles the bulk of Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates’s personal fortune and owned a nearly 20 percent stake in Signature, as well as from private equity group Blackstone Infrastructure Advisors and Blackstone Core Equity Management Associates, which had previously issued its own $4 billion offer, to combine forces to buy Signature.   Source: AIN

The Russian St. Petersburg Pulkovo International Airport is a hub of business aviation activity this week during the International Economic Forum (IEF), which is being held June 2 through 5 at the St. Petersburg ExpoForum Convention and Exhibition Centre. With one day still remaining before the four-day forum closes, the airport operator reported servicing more than 120 business jets arriving for the event at FBO Pulkovo-3, the airport’s business aviation terminal. However, business aviation traffic for the forum is still about 30 percent off from pre-pandemic levels. As in previous years, some of these business jets flew in from the U.S., whose delegation, with more than 250 people, is the largest foreign group at this year’s IEF. While Pulkovo-3 has been the major business aviation hub in both St. Petersburg and the entire Russian Northwest, there is a possibility that this situation will change. Russian natural gas producer Gazprom recently announced plans to build an airport that will serve the needs of business aviation in Russia in the Lvashovo district of St. Petersburg.

The aviation industry is approaching a time when the use of pen and paper will become nearly obsolete, underscoring the importance of ensuring the accuracy of data, industry leaders agree. Speaking during an EBACE Connect session on “The Importance of Data and Why EVERYTHING Must Be Connected,” which Tim Ford moderated, president of air operations software provider myairops, executives from an operator, and multiple data providers explored the growing uses of information throughout business aviation. “We are in the very early stages of digitizing aviation and automation will come very soon on top of that,” said Diego Magrini, CEO of airport and operational data service aviowiki. Magrini noted the importance of having accurate, up-to-date information in areas such as airports. “We all realize that we cannot follow 28-day cycles in modern days. With airport data, we are now talking about near real-time information about the availability of these airports.” Information that is a day or two old can be outdated, he added. “It's no surprise that we get some information updates on airport closures for example, from Twitter quicker than from the notams,” he said, stressing a need for “information that you can trust” and update quickly. This is true for other information such as visa, permit, and other requirements. “We cannot rely anymore on pen and paper.” Shay Har-Noy, general manager of space-based flight and weather data provider Spire Aviation, stressed the importance of adding data that is useful, reliable, current, and actionable. “If you're missing any one of those [qualities], you're back to pen and paper and logbooks,” Har-Noy said. While conceding that pen and paper “have kept pilots alive for the last a hundred years…so let's not throw them out,” he added, “we can do better. We should strive to do

A Battlefield Airborne Communications Node-equipped E-11A aircraft rolls out on the flight line at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts in July 2018. On June 1, the BACN program office at that base awarded a $464.8 million contract to Learjet, Inc., a Wichita, Kansas subsidiary of Bombardier's specialized aircraft division, for six Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft. (Photo: U.S. Air Force/Mark Herlihy) The U.S. Air Force has awarded a $464.8 million contract to Learjet Inc., a Wichita subsidiary of Bombardier’s specialized aircraft division, for the purchase and modification of six Global 6000s as Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) aircraft. Designated as the E-11A and assigned to Air Combat Command, the modified large-cabin business jet model serves as a high-altitude, loitering communications node to air and ground forces, providing them with the ability to communicate by voice as well as share data, video, and images. Bombardier’s Global Express served as an earlier version of the E-11A with four copies in the Air Force's inventory beginning in 2007. This new contract, announced yesterday by the Department of Defense, calls for deliveries to occur over the next five years, through May 2026. Procurement funds in the amount of $70 million have already been made available for an initial delivery order, according to the Air Force. Source: ainonline

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The Falcon 10X will enter service at the end of 2025, with the biggest and most comfortable cabin on the market, and multiple interior configurations. Large windows and pure air will be popular with passengers. Dassault Aviation has announced an all-new Falcon jet that it says will deliver a level of comfort, versatility and technology unmatched by any purpose-built business jet. Featuring a range of 7,500 nm, the Falcon 10X will fly nonstop from New York to Shanghai, Los Angeles to Sydney, Hong Kong to New York or Paris to Santiago. Top speed will be Mach 0.925. “Today we are introducing a new benchmark in business aviation,” says Dassault chairman and CEO Eric Trappier. “The Falcon 10X will offer an unrivalled passenger experience over both short and long duration flights, along with breakthrough safety features from Dassault's frontline fighter technology. We have optimised every aspect of the aircraft with the passenger in mind and established a new level of capability for ultra long range aircraft.” The Falcon 10X will enter service at the end of 2025. The 10X will have the biggest and most comfortable cabin on the market and offer greater modularity than any other aircraft in its class, with a selection of multiple interior configurations. The 10X is large enough to accommodate four cabin zones of equal length but owners can configure their cabin to create a truly customised interior, including for example an expanded dining/conference area, a dedicated entertainment area with a large screen monitor, a private stateroom with a queen size bed or an enlarged master suite with a private stand-up shower. “The 10X will be more than just another big step forward in business aviation. It will be absolutely the

2020 will be remembered as a year like no other, when coronavirus forced everyone to find new ways to live and work. For Luxembourg airport-based European Air Ambulance (EAA), this meant adapting quickly but safely, using its experience to navigate 2020 and inform the way ahead into 2021 and beyond. Despite the difficulties, there were many positives and some major achievements for the EAA family. The most immediate was developing COVID-secure transport methods, a crucial requirement to be able to operate safely in the new reality of life in the pandemic. EAA already had experience of transporting patients with infectious diseases, most notably Ebola, and this gave it a head start in finding ways to deal with COVID while keeping patients and staff safe. New and streamlined procedures were put in place, along with protocols for staff to follow at every stage of a mission, depending on whether patients had a positive, negative or unconfirmed COVID status. In many cases EAA's infectious disease unit (IDU) was used. This tent-like module was originally designed for the transport of Ebola patients, but was adapted and is now being used solely for COVID missions. It ensures the patient and their belongings remain isolated from the aircraft and crew, but allows medical teams to administer necessary treatment, even intensive care, through pockets in the enclosure. Smaller isolation systems such as the Iso-Pod or EpiShuttle are also available for transport where appropriate. Other measures include airlock entry to and exit from the IDU, bagging of possessions in sealed and disinfected containers, staff disinfecting their colleagues and the secure bagging and incineration of all PPE. At the height of the first pandemic peak last summer, and at the request of the

Leading aircraft charter specialist, AirCharter.com , is predicting a summer ‘boom’ in travel bookings for its private jet division this year. Despite seeing a surge in private demand directly after the US's first lockdown last year, the global aircraft company is forecasting a 20% year on year increase in new customer enquiries between June and August 2021. It suggests that chaotic travel conditions this summer are set to drive more new customers to the private aviation sector – both in business and leisure travel. AirCharter.com has already seen an 80% increase in new enquiries in March compared to February, as confidence in the ability to travel this summer is evidently growing. Booking figures did not see the same increase (by only 22%), as the majority of new enquiries came from customers that were making summer travel preparations without committing until the situation is more clear. John Harrison, Chief Executive Officer of AirCharter.com LLC, comments: "What we are hearing from customers is that the lingering fear of coronavirus infection, along with the inevitable delays at airports, is driving this surge in interest. Travellers do not feel confident that flying by scheduled service will be a smooth process, as the Covid-19-related immigration requirements at airports will cause delays and additional stress. Travellers do not experience the same delays at private terminals and, as the pandemic continues to evolve, customers want to be able to fly back quickly if it looks like quarantine regulations will change.” AirCharter.com is also expecting a resurgence in high-level business travel this summer and suggests that the economic benefits of private aviation have been overlooked in recent years. John continues: “We believe that business leaders are starting to realise that they are losing competitive