Buisness aviation news
Honda Aircraft Company officially began production of the first HondaJet Echelon test unit with the start of assembly of the aircraft’s wing structure in Greensboro, North Carolina. The HondaJet Echelon, planned to achieve first flight in 2026, will feature a larger cabin with increased passenger capacity and range over previous HondaJet models, bringing the award-winning design features of the HondaJet to a new segment of the aviation market.
Central Asia, which includes part of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to the border of China and Mongolia in the east, from the Aral-Irtysh watershed in the north to Iran and Afghanistan in the south. This territory, which covers more than 4 million km², not only has a vibrant agricultural sector, but its oil (Kazakhstan) and gas fields (Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan) and deposits of polymetals (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan), rare-earth metals (Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan), and gold (Uzbekistan) have gained global significance. The IT sector and state programs of medical and special aviation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations are also actively developing.
2024 was a very successful year for Pilatus. Despite ongoing challenges, we were able to hand over 153 aircraft to our customers thanks to continued high demand. With total sales of 1.633 billion Swiss francs, EBIT of 243 million Swiss francs and orders worth 2.193 billion Swiss francs, Pilatus reported a very good set of results last year.
Global bizjet traffic is reaching its highest ever levels in 2025, eclipsing the previous high peaks in 2022, primarily due to the renewed demand for bizjet travel in the US since Trump’s election. Even Europe, facing serious economic headwinds, has seen an increase in bizjet traffic this year compared to last, with a surge in the last week reflecting school half-term breaks.
Voluxis, the charter operator and aircraft management company, has added a Hawker 850XP based in London to its expanding fleet.
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) released the 2024 General Aviation Aircraft Shipment and Billing Report during its annual State of the Industry Press Conference. Overall, when compared to 2023, nearly all aircraft segments saw increases in shipments and preliminary aircraft deliveries were valued at $31.2 billion, an increase of 13.3%.
Gogo Business Aviation|Satcom Direct has signed a second three-year preferred supplier agreement with Luxaviation Group, continuing the close relationship first forged between the business aviation operator and Satcom Direct in 2021. The new deal provides even greater flexibility and resilience for Luxaviation, as it includes access to Gogo Galileo phased array antennas and its North American Air-to-Ground connectivity network, following the recent transaction combining the two connectivity providers.
Duncan Aviation is excited to showcase the interior refurbishment of a Gulfstream G200 that was completed at its full-service facility in Lincoln, Nebraska. The aircraft was painted by Duncan Aviation in 2019, and after several years, the owner decided it was time to turn the beige, outdated, and worn interior into something sleek, clean, and sophisticated with a darker, more modern palette.
Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. announced the final Gulfstream G650 has officially completed production. This aircraft will move to the next phase of the completions process at Gulfstream’s Appleton, Wisconsin, facility before making its official delivery to a customer later this year.
The Superbowl saw the biggest surge in bizjets since 2018, with departures on the day after the event 5x higher than the average daily departures this month so far. This reflects a general buoyancy in the US market since November. In contrast the European market is subdued, particularly in the UK, with an alarming 20% drop in bizjet flights this week. There will also be concerns over the impact of new business jet taxes in France, the busiest European market. In the Middle East, where bizjet traffic year to date is up 77% since 2019, demand in Saudi Arabia should get a boost from GACA announcing an opening-up to foreign operators from March this year.
Boom Supersonic, the company building the world’s fastest airliner, Overture, announced Boomless Cruise for its supersonic airliner, enabling supersonic travel over land without an audible sonic boom.
Gogo Business Aviation |Satcom Direct today announced the finalizing of a multifaceted Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Airbus.
Leading aircraft charter specialist, Air Charter Service, has opened its 35th office, and first in Italy, in the city of Milan.
Bombardier Inc. announced solid fourth quarter and full-year 2024 financial results, closing out the company’s fourth consecutive year of sustained growth across all key metrics.
Economic concerns are up this week in the wake of Trump’s trade war declaration. This will certainly worry bizjet OEMs outside the US, although, as a proportion of total activity, international flights to and from the US are a very small part. And flight demand is still seeing the positive effects of the Trump bump, with fractional demand particularly strong, endorsing Flexjet’s bumper billion-dollar new aircraft order this week.
Embraer Executive Jets, a division of Embraer, announced today a purchase agreement with Flexjet. The agreement comprises a fleet of Embraer business jets, which includes the Praetor 600, Praetor 500 and Phenom 300E models, as well as an enhanced suite of services and support.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) of Saudi Arabia is opening the domestic private aviation market to international operators, by announcing the removal of cabotage restrictions for foreign on-demand charter flights within the Kingdom. The decision is part of GACA’s broader strategy to boost the private jet market, supported by the establishment of a sector development committee to engage international and domestic business jet operators.