Buisness aviation news

Satcom Direct, the business aviation solutions provider, is celebrating type approval of the SD Plane Simple Ka-band terminal for Viasat’s Jet ConneX inflight broadband service. The approval follows months of meticulous testing and optimization by both companies.

Business jet activity was stronger this week than last, picked up 4%, with particularly big increase in the UK, flights up 26%; this may indicate the peak ski season around school break. Business jet activity in South America is hitting peak levels. In Turkey, activity is a lot lower than the high demand last year, during the earthquake. The Middle East is seeing substantially lower demand year on year. The overall market is only modestly behind 2023, due to the stability in the US market, where Texas and Florida still have strong demand.

Joby Aviation, a company developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, today announced it has signed a definitive agreement with Dubai’s Road and Transport Authority (RTA) to launch air taxi services in the Emirate by early 2026, with Joby targeting initial operations as early as 2025.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has launched the public consultation of Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA) 2024-01 to proactively support aviation stakeholders in the efficient and proportionate implementation of the regulatory framework for innovative air mobility (IAM) with manned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL)-capable aircraft (VCA), more commonly known as air taxis.

Dassault’s Falcon 6X long-range twinjet will be on display for the first time at the Singapore Air Show, opening February 20 at the Changi Exhibition Centre. The aircraft will be showcased alongside Dassault’s ultra-versatile Falcon 2000LXS.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) has certified ExecuJet Haite to perform heavy maintenance checks on Gulfstream G650 and G650ER aircraft.

The New South Wales Ambulance Fixed Wing Aeromedical Operations brings its first PC-24 into service, demonstrating how this aircraft continues to live up to its namesake as the world’s only Super Versatile Jet.

The FAA recently released a SAFO that provides information and guidance to operators and manufacturers regarding operations in a GPS/GNSS disrupted environment.

Satcom Direct, the business aviation solutions provider, is strengthening its customer offering with the opening of a new office in Basel, Switzerland. Strategically positioned in the heart of one of Europe’s major business aviation hubs, the increased regional footprint demonstrates SD’s commitment to enhancing customer support and establishing a center of excellence for partners and clients.

Archer Aviation Inc. announced that they are well underway in constructing the Company’s first three conforming Midnight aircraft, with the first aircraft set to begin final assembly in the coming weeks.

NetJets has reached an agreement with Gogo Business Aviation that provides NetJets the ability to upgrade their U.S. aircraft to Gogo AVANCE L5, Gogo 5G, and Gogo Galileo, the company’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite service. NetJets Owners in Europe will also have the benefit of Gogo Galileo.

Piper Aircraft, Inc. announced a new model in its PA46 line of high-performance aircraft—the Piper M700 FURY—a single-engine, 700 shaft horsepower, cabin-class turboprop.

Robinson Helicopter Company has secured FAA approval for a new empennage configuration for its R44 aircraft. This accomplishment follows the FAA’s prior approval for the same configuration on the R66 Turbine, announced in September 2023.  The development and testing of the new empennage design spanned several years, resulting in enhance handling characteristics during high-speed flight.

Global Jet Capital (GJC) recently surpassed $4 billion in aircraft financing originations to users of new and pre-owned aircraft. This major milestone coincides with the Company’s commemoration of a decade in business and affirms GJC’s unwavering commitment to providing a distinctive, customer-centric financing experience.

Due to high demand, Vista, the world’s leading global private aviation group, brings the state-of-the-art Bombardier Global 7500 aircraft to the U.S. under Vista America. This reinforces the Vista group’s commitment to offering clients guaranteed availability, anytime and anywhere, through its leading global and regional infrastructure.

To help our members predict the trends that will shape the year to come, we’re keen to learn from the past. Our network of nearly 2000 operators and brokers globally is maybe the most extensive source of behavioral data available in air charter. Harry Clarke continues the tradition of summing up the yearly trends we see in our extensive Avinode data.

Archer Aviation, a leader in electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, announced today that the company’s Midnight aircraft has hit another key milestone with completion of Phase 1 of its flight test program. Utilizing learnings from the previous four years of flight testing, Archer’s Midnight aircraft finished the flight test phase in approximately three months, which is significantly faster than Archer’s full-scale prototype aircraft - Maker.

Honda Aircraft Company today announced delivery of the 250th HondaJet since it began customer deliveries in late 2015. The milestone underscores the aircraft's prominence in the business aviation market. The 250th HondaJet recently rolled off the production line and completed the Standard Certificate of Airworthiness (SCoA), and Honda Aircraft Company associates celebrated the milestone with a special event at the company's global headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina.