Buisness aviation news
A survey of US-based family offices that own or lease business aircraft reveals that 93% expect to upgrade to better or newer models within the next five years. The study, commissioned by Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ), reveals that 75% cite a growing focus on operational costs as a reason for wanting to upgrade their business aircraft, followed by 73% who say it is because newer, more fuel-efficient models have been launched.
In the last week, Week 26 (23rd – 29th June), global bizjet activity grew 2% compared to Week 26 last year, marking the 10th consecutive week of year-on-year growth. Global Part135 & 91K activity grew 3% compared to Week 25 last year, the last four-week trend 5% ahead of comparable last year.
Bombardier proudly announces a significant firm order for 50 of its performance-leading Challenger and Global aircraft, combined with a first-of-a-kind service agreement. Together, the firm aircraft and service agreements are valued at US$1.7 billion with deliveries set to begin in 2027.
Flexjet, a global leader in private aviation, and luxury yacht leader Ferretti Group, have unveiled their highly anticipated, design collaboration Riva Volare – a unique cabin design for Flexjet’s aircraft interiors, inspired by the iconic Riva motoryachts.
Business jet activity continues to grow YOY, more than 3% gains in H1 2025 in stark contrast to last year´s stagnant market. The growth is influenced by the US market, notably in Texas and Florida, with the charter and fractional operators flourishing. The bizjet market in Europe is slack, with key markets seeing a drop-off compared to last year´s surge in demand around the EURO tournament. There was a relatively large number of movements in the Middle East, noting flights exiting the region from Jordan and Qatar.
Jet Aviation announced today that it has redelivered two Bell 429 helicopters to a customer in the Middle East. The aircraft were the final two in a total fleet of six modified Bell 429s delivered to this customer.
The Norwegian Air Ambulance and Airbus have signed a frame contract for up to eight H145 helicopters, including the firm acquisition of two helicopters.
Unsurprisingly business jet activity has slowed in the Middle East as a result of the conflict between Israel and Iran, noting also a spike in bizjet flights from Gulf countries. In Europe, the German market was down more than a quarter from its highs during the Euros in 2024. Business jet demand in the US keeps on growing. The US Open was a showcase for spikes in bizjet attendance at airports closest to blue riband sporting events.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced the 300th customer delivery for the Gulfstream G280 fleet. The milestone delivery was completed at Gulfstream’s Dallas-Fort Worth area facility in Texas where the aircraft was outfitted.
JEKTA, the Switzerland-based manufacturer of the Passenger Hydro Aircraft - Zero Emissions 100 (PHA-ZE 100) amphibious aircraft, has begun flight trials with a 1:9 scaled prototype of the PHA-ZE 100 amphibious flying boat. Using a distributed electric powerplant to draw energy from onboard batteries, testing will verify the aerodynamic and hydrodynamic configurations of the production aircraft. The remotely controlled model will generate data representative of the full-size aircraft to verify and confirm the results of computational modeling already completed.
Luxaviation UK is seeing a demographic shift in customer profile, as Millennials now account for 50% of its business jet clientele.
Despite growing economic headwinds, which may be affecting aircraft transactions, bizjet flight activity bounced up this week, with May YOY activity keeping pace with the strong Q1 pace for aircraft utilisation, leading operators continuing to fly at record levels.
Archer announced it has begun the next phase of Midnight’s flight test program showcasing piloted flight. This phase builds on years of safe, autonomous flight testing across its various aircraft platforms, which validated its proprietary 12 tilt-6 VTOL configuration. Midnight cruised at speeds up to 125 mph and reached a maximum altitude of over 1,500 feet above ground level during the flight.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) announced the additions of Robinson Helicopter Company and DeltaHawk Engines as Members and Whisper Aero as an Associate Member EPIC.
Textron Aviation Inc. announced the first delivery of its flagship Cessna Citation Longitude super-midsize business jet into Central America. The long-time Citation customer is based in Costa Rica and plans to use the aircraft for business and personal use.