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EUROPE'S PREMIER BUS INESS AVIAT ION MAGAZINE

2011 EXCLUSIVE FLEET REPORT AND ANALYSIS

131 FEB-MAR 2011131 EST. 1988

BUSINESS HELICOPTER The Multi-Purpose Tool P 51

CABIN CONVERSIONS What's Happening In The Elite World P 56

HOW TO BE a Well-Grounded Pilot P 62

BUSINESS AIRPORTS London Calling P 79

1 COVER.qxp 3/02/2011 14:23 Page 1

Falcon GoTeams do whatever-it-takes toturn your AOG into an Airplane On The Go.

Learn more at falconjet.com/Go

GoTeamWhatever it takes

Whatever it TakesAlicante, Spain. Friday, 3:00 p.m. A pilot callsCustomer Service with an AOG—and says hehas a high priority flight the next morning.Dassault’sTech Center locates the part needed.But even express shipping won’t get it there intime. So Customer Service ManagerJean-Yves Nezereau, charters an aircraft fromLe Bourget, France, to Alicante. By 9:30 p.m.,a technician and the part are enroute.By 8:00 a.m. the next morning, the planeis ready for flight. Vincent Cathelain, the chiefpilot for Masterjet – texts back, “Everything isperfect. Nice job, thanks again.” Having advancedtechnology and strong global service is great.But what really makes the difference are Falconservice experts who greet every emergency withone attitude: “Whatever itTakes.”

Jean-Yves Nezereau,Falcon Customer Service Manager

BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2011 - 3

E D I T O R I A L

WHERE THERE IS MONEY, IT USUALLY BECOMES VERY EXCITING FOR PEOPLE IN OURINDUSTRY! This is particularly true in difficult times, when sales department look on anxiouslyat vanishing backlogs. It's the time when "emerging economies" become magic words andtraditional markets are left untended. You know what I mean; you certainly heard the news aboutthose countries that seem to produce a new billionaire every day. Tempting isn't it!The money is there, people have to spend it on something and a private jet fits the bill.Take the Chinese, who not so long ago were not allowed to own a house or a car. Now that theircountry boasts the world's fastest economy, many are attracted by the glamour that surroundsprivate aviation. Of course many Chinese have a penchant for big watches and big cars, so it'sno wonder they are opting for big iron planes loaded with all the bells and whistles.

Bombardier believes that 300 new business jets will be sold over the next ten years andEmbraer expects more than 950 jets over the next twenty years in China. While Dassault,Gulfstream, Hawker, Airbus and Boeing speculate about future Chinese opportunities,Cessna adopt a moderate approach. "There are more airports in the State of Alabama than in thewhole China" said Cessna VP International Sales Trevor Esling at the recent Future of BusinessJet Conference in London. Esling also observed that the business jet market will develop inChina in the medium term.

The presence of the so called High-Net-Worth Individuals is not enough to guarantee theprosperity of a region but Business Aviation can. Business Aviation is not a fancy extravagancebut a real business tool. We have worked since the end of WWII to achieve our place in the sunand the question of whether aircraft are useful for the economy of a region has long beenresolved. Too much corporate growth is attributable to business aircraft to ever again questionthe value and legitimacy of this business tool, too often amalgamated with luxury. We have awonderful piece of professional jargon to explain how to start a Business Aviation operation;"Entry level!" In the standard business model, you start with that "Entry Level Jet" and when thebusiness requires it you trade it for the upper class, not the contrary.

When the NBAA launched ABACE five years ago, there were 46 private jets in China.Today there are 112, an increase of 66. During the same five year period, Europe has added1609 business aircraft on his register, going from 2551 aircraft in 2005 to 4160 in 2010.Traditional markets like the US, Europe, Brazil and even Africa may not be underestimated in

Let's hope that high spirited manufacturers don't get caught in the sort of ordeal that shook theFrench car manufacturer Renault lately. The recent Chinese industrial espionage affair showswhat can happen if companies don't play their cards right on the Chinese market.

As well, there are concerns in the US about Chinese automakers buying a percentage stake inGeneral Motors and Chinese government banks participating in the capital of the company.Personally, I would not like to see one day Chiang Ching-Kuo Xiãnshèng taking the Chair at oneof our OEM.

F R O M T H E D E S K O F …

favor of skylark mirrors that might plunge our industry into engineering and trade trouble.

Fernand FrancoisThe Paper Dragon

3 EDITO.qxp 3/02/2011 10:52 Page 3

Editor and Publisher Fernand M. Francois Senior Editor Marc GrangierManaging Editor Paul Walsh. Editor-at-Large Nicholas J. Klenske.Senior Writers Liz Moscrop, Jack Carroll Contributors Brian Humphries,Michel R. Grüninger, Capt. Giancarlo Buono, Markus Kohler, Aofie O'Sullivan,LeRoy Cook, Louis Smyth, Derek A. Bloom, Eugene Gordon

Director Marketing & Advertising Kathy Ann Francois +32 472 333 636 [email protected] Administration and Circulation Carolyn BerteauProduction Manager Tanguy Francois Photographer: Michel CorynCirculation and Editorial Office: BART International, 20 rue de l'Industrie, BE1400Nivelles, Europe Phone +326 788 3603 Fax +326 788 3623, e-mail [email protected] International Business Aviation Real Tool (USPS #016707), ISSN 0776-7596Governed by international copyright laws. Free subscription obtainable for qualifiedindividuals. Bank account: Fortis 271-0061004-23. Printed in Belgium. Bimestreil.Bureau de depot B-1380 Lasne. Responsible editor Fernand M. Francois, 38 rue deBraine 7110 La Louviere. Periodicals postage paid at Champlain, N.Y., and additionalmailing offices. Address changes should be sent to IMS of N.Y., 100 Walnut St. #3, POBox 1518, Champlain, N.Y. 12919-1518. For details call IMS at 1 (800) 428 3003

SECT IONS3

EDITOR IAL6

FAST TRACK20

EUROPEAN UPDATE24

BUSINESS NEWS82

INS IGHT

FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2011V o l u m e X X I I - N o 1B A R T N o 1 3 1W W W . B A R T I N T L . C O M

Business Aviation Consultants Walter Scharff, Guy Visele

OUR ADVERT ISERS AND THE IR AGENC IESAir BPAMSTAT

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4-5 CONTENTS.qxp 4/02/2011 15:57 Page 4

ARINC

Cessna

EBACE 2011

C O N T E N T S

26EXCLUSIVE FLEET REPORT

The Business Aviation industry has experienced a rocky threeyears but the data from this year’s fleet report shows that the

worst moments of the downturn have past.In this issue Paul Walsh, Avinode, Amstat and Marc Grangier

analyze data which suggests that an upturn is on its way.

51LATEST DEVELOPMENTS

As the global economy pulls itself out of the recession,Marc Grangier reports on the value of a helicopter as a real

business tool. Meanwhile Liz Moscrop reports that changes areafoot in the arena of cabin conversions and aircraft interiors.

62SAFETY FIRST

LeRoy Cook reports “from the cockpit” on ground operationsand then outlines the three key elements of safe flying,

while Michael R. Grüninger emphasizes the importanceof learning from experience.

72THE DETAILS

Aofie O’ Sullivan opens The Docket on private or corporateaircraft ownership. Liz Moscrop reports on a triple triumph atlast December’s MEBA show in Dubai and checks out who’s

going to next March’s Business Airport World Expo in London.Finally Jack Carroll catches up with CEO Bill Boisture

at Hawker Beechcraft.

ADAPTABLEThe flexible interior of this

Lineage 1000 caters for multiplebusiness needs.

M e m b e rB U S I N E S S A V I A T I O N R E A L T O O L

OUR COVERStep 1 is a success for

Eurocopter X3The hybrid helicopter

demonstrator has attained a trueairspeed of 180 kts,

flying level at a reduced stage ofengine power.

© Eurocopter/Patrick Penna.

4-5 CONTENTS.qxp 4/02/2011 15:57 Page 5

6 - BART: FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2011

ALTO PARTNERS WITH AeroTecsAlto Aviation has signed an agreement withAeroTecs nv of Belgium for the representation andsales of its Audio Systems to European OEMs andcompletion centers.AeroTecs nv which represents several aviation-relatedprinciples, is located in Belgium and provides salessupport for all of Western Europe. “By utilizing our tal-ented engineers and sales representatives in Europe,the European customers benefit from outstandingproducts available in other countries, as well as ourexpertise and direct product support,” states LucStultjens, President/CEO, AeroTecs nv. “Alto Aviationis well known in the US for their exceptional cabinaudio and surround sound systems and we want tobring these quality products to the European market.”

DASSAULT AVIATIONEVALUATES LAMINAR DESIGNS IN FLlGHT

Dassault Aviation recentlyperformed a successful flighttest to evaluate potentialapplications of a laminar wingfor large business jets. Theflight was performed with aFalcon 7X at Dassault’s FlightTest Center in Istres, France.The tests are part of the“Smart Fixed Wing Aircraft”,one of the IntegratedTechnology Demonstrators ofthe European Clean Sky ini-tiative.The flight evaluated a newinfrared (IR) camera technol-ogy, developed by FLIR,which is capable of measur-ing temperature gradients inhigh altitude/low tempera-ture and pressure environ-ment. The camera measured

differences in surface temperatures between laminar and turbulent areas of thehorizontal tail plane on the Falcon 7X. While the Falcon 7X is not based on alaminar design, at high altitudes a laminarity of up to 40% was predicted on theupper surface of the horizontal tail.

AGENDABUSINESS AIRPORT1 - 3 MARCH 2011Farnborough, UK

HELI-EXPO5 - 8 MARCH 2011Orlando, US

EBACE17 - 19 MAY 2011Geneva, Switzerland

JET EXPO 2011TO TAKE PLACE AT VNUKOVO-3,

The organizers of Jet Expo have announced that forthe first time the main part of the Jet Expo exhibitionand static display will be situated on the territory ofVnukovo-3 Business Aviation Center, Moscow.Vnukovo-3 is the leading Business Aviation center ofRussia and CIS and its executives say that they areglad to host Jet Expo 2011 which takes placeSeptember 14-16 2011.Business Aviation is one of the most rapidly develop-ing branches of the Russian market and Jet Expo isthe first and only industry show of its kind in Russia.Its organizers said that the event “not only adds tothe prestige of Russia on the world arena but alsoopens new horizons for foreign companies on theRussian market.”

WEST STAR AVIATIONINCREASES PHENOM 100/300 MAINTENANCEWest Star Aviation’s Dallas facility has announced a significant increase ofmaintenance activity on Embraer Phenom 100 aircraft and is expected to seeincreases for the Embraer Phenom 300 aircraft in the near future.West Star has been a service center for Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 aircraftsince 2006. In October of 2008, it was announced that West Star (DAL) wouldserve as the exclusive maintenance provider for the Embraer 100 initial pilottraining program. They initially worked with the factory technicians on twoPhenom 100 aircraft for these training sessions. West Star Aviation has per-formed maintenance on 25 different Phenom 100’s, which is just over 10 per-cent of the entire Phenom fleet.

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 6

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HARTZELL PROPELLERINTRODUCES SCIMITAR TOP PROPS™ FOR PIPER AZTEC

Hartzell Propeller Inc. has developed a new 2-bladed TopProp™ propeller conversion kit for Piper PA-23-250 Aztectwin-engine aircraft. A statement from Hartzell Propellersaid: “The cost-efficient conversion provides Aztec own-ers with improved reliability, performance and noise lev-els.”The new 77-inch diameter propeller uses blade-mountedcounter-weights to provide redundant assistance to thepropeller pitch control and feathering system versus theoriginal configuration that relies heavily on an air pres-sure charge for these functions.

The new propellers are available for Piper Aztec PA-23-250 C to F models, serial numbers 27-2505through to 27-8154030, installed with Lycoming IO-540-C4B5 or TIO-540-C1A engines. They replaceHartzell’s 2-blade aluminum non-counter-weighted propeller models normally installed on these air-craft.

BAHRAIN INT’L AIRPORT TO HOUSE GENERALAVIATION FACILITYBahrain Airport Company (BAC) has signed an agreementwith MENA Aerospace to build and operate one of theregion’s large private and general aviation hangar complexes.The deal involves MENA Aerospace investing in the develop-ment of a dedicated general and private aviation complex atBahrain International Airport (BIA) to provide comprehen-sive maintenance and support services to private and corpo-rate aircraft. Development of the complex has already begunand is located at the North West end of the Airport. Oncecomplete, the first phase’s footprint will be 26,362m² includ-ing hangar, private taxiway and apron in addition to officeand workshop areas.

ROYAL WARRANT RENEWED FOR AIR PARTNERAir Partner startedthe New Yearsecure in theknowledge that itremains the onlyaviation company tohold a RoyalWarrant.

The company’sRoyal Warrant asSupplier of AircraftCharter to Her

Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, originally awarded in 2004, has beenrenewed again until at least winter 2014. Royal Warrants are

HRH The Prince of Wales.

highly coveted, globally recognized marks of excellence and aregranted by HM The Queen, HRH The Duke of Edinburgh or

JETNET LAUNCHES NEWFORECASTING ANDADVISORY SERVICEJETNET LLC, the world leaderin aviation market intelligence,has announced the launch ofJETNET iQ, a forecasting andpremium advisory service forthe Business Aviation market.JETNET iQ is the latest step inJETNET’s spectrum of productsand services. Available on amembers-only basis, this premi-um advisory service consists ofthree main components: JET-NET iQ REPORTS, JETNET iQSUMMITS, and JETNET IQCONSULTING.

CONKLIN & DE DECKERRELEASE UPDATED BUDGETING TOOLConklin & de Decker have announced the latest release of theirLIFE CYCLE COST 2011 Volume I. A statement from the compa-ny said: “The most comprehensive aircraft budget and financialanalysis tool available, LIFE CYCLE COST from Conklin & deDecker, provides aircraft owners, operators, flight departmentmanagers, and aircraft consultants with extensive ownership andoperating cost data for more than 380 jets, turboprops, heli-copters and piston aircraft.”The LIFE CYCLE COST budgeting software is part of a family ofaircraft operating & acquisition products developed by Conklin &de Decker that puts all cost aspects of owning and operating anaircraft into one program. Aircraft acquisition costs, operatingcosts, taxes, final residual values and revenues, if the user’s air-craft is used in commercial operations, are all included in thisBusiness Aviation budgeting tool.

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 8

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FLYING COLOURSDELIVERS FIRST CHALLENGER 850 TO CHINA

Flying ColoursCorp., a globalaviation ser-vices companywith concentra-tion in comple-tions and main-tenance recent-ly deliveredtheir firstBombardierChallenger 850to China for aHong Kong

based client. The new aircraft arrived at Flying Colours Canadianbased facility in the late 2nd quarter of 2010 and was delivered tothe customer prior to year end. The aircraft will be operated andmanaged by Hong Kong based, Metrojet.

GULFSTREAM AIRCRAFT APPROVED TO OPERATE AT MAXIMUM ALTITUDESGulfstream Aerospace Corp. recently received approval from Transport Canada for the company’slarge-cabin, long-range Gulfstream G450 and G350 aircraft to operate at their maximum cruise alti-tude of 45,000 feet.Transport Canada normally restricts flight to 41,000 feet or below, unless special conditions havebeen met to ensure against rapid depressurization of the aircraft cabin.Gulfstream’s Automatic Emer-gency Descent Mode (AEDM) was key to obtaining this higher opera-tional altitude. AEDM mitigates the risk of occupant injury due to rapid depressurization by automati-cally lowering the aircraft to the appropriate altitude. Should the pilots become incapacitated due todepressurization, the AEDM automatically turns the aircraft 90 degrees and lowers it to 15,000 feet(4,572 m) altitude and 250 knots air speed. This maneuver allows the flight crew to regain conscious-ness and assume control of the aircraft.

BANYAN RECEIVESINDUSTRY FIRSTSTC APPROVALIn December 2010, the FAAissued STC ST03901AT to theBanyan Avionics team based atFort Lauderdale ExecutiveAirport (FXE) for the Thrane andThrane AVIATOR 200 WirelessLocal Area Network (WLAN) sys-tem for the Cessna 500, 550, S550,552, 560, and 560XL aircraft.“We are excited to receive thefirst STC for theSwiftBroadBand (SBB) 200class of service in the UnitedStates,” says Brian Wilson,Banyan’s director of avionics.“To receive this STC beforemost vendors have even deliv-ered their products to the mar-ket clearly shows the vision ofboth Banyan and their partnerThrane and Thrane.”The AVIATOR 200 enablespilots and passengers to use Wi-Fi enabled PDA devices includ-ing Blackberry®, iPhone® andiPads to access a multitude ofapplications; such as, email,internet browsing, smart phoneconnectivity and voice commu-nications.

BELL HELICOPTER AND PHI SIGN AGREEMENTFOR TWO BELL 407s

Bell Helicopter has sold twoBell 407 helicopters to PHI, oneof the world’s leading helicopterservices companies, for use inthe transportation of oil and gasworkers in the Gulf of Mexico.PHI has experience in over 43countries, operating a fleet

approaching 250 aircraft. The company’s core business is in off-shore operations supporting worldwide petroleum explorationand production. PHI also offers services to the Onshore Mining,International, Air Medical, and Technical Services industries.“This sale continues the commitment made when PHI started itsinitial operations in 1949 using Bell Helicopters in the Gulf ofMexico. The Bell 407 is a proven, state-of-the- art helicopter,which fits in perfectly with PHI’s long term commitment to quali-ty and safety”, said Larry Roberts, Senior Vice President,Commercial Business, Bell Helicopter.

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 10

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PIPER GROWS SIGNIFICANTLY IN 2010Piper Aircraft has said that it significantlystrengthened its position as a global air-plane manufacturer in 2010. “During 2010,the first full year since Imprimis acquiredPiper, the company made memorable andnotable progress in a number of importantareas,” said Piper CEO Geoffrey Berger.“We delivered considerably more aircraft,introduced and stepped up development ofan all-new single-engine business jet, andreadied the company for an unprecedent-ed global push in 2011.”Production activity at the company’s VeroBeach, Fla., manufacturing campus during2010 was up by more than 75 percent com-pared to 2009.

CESSNA AND BELL HELICOPTERMAKE GAINS IN Q4 2010

Textron Inc, parent company of Cessna and Bell Helicoptershas reported that Cessna's revenues increased $105 million inthe fourth quarter of 2010 year on year reflecting higher over-all volume, including the delivery of 79 business jets vs. 68the previous year.Cessna backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $2.9 billion,down $495 million from the end of the third quarter. Bell's rev-enues increased $173 million in the fourth quarter from thesame period in the prior year. Bell backlog at the end of thefourth quarter was $7.2 billion, up $661 million from the end ofthird quarter.

FLIGHTSAFETY TO OFFERBOMBARDIER CHALLENGER605 AIRCRAFT TRAININGFlightSafety International will offer train-ing for the Bombardier Challenger 605aircraft in Europe. Training is scheduledto begin in early 2012 at the company'sLondon Farnborough Training Center."Offering Challenger 605 aircraft train-ing in Europe is a clear demonstration ofour desire and ability to respond to theneeds of our customers and to providethem with the outstanding quality, valueand flexibility they deserve," said ScottFera, Vice President, Marketing,FlightSafety.

EXECUTIVE FLIGHT BECOMES SEATTLE'S PART145 CERTIFIED REPAIR STATIONExecutive Flight, received certification for its brand-new BoeingField facility in December, clearing the way for the company toprovide comprehensive, value-added maintenance support to arange of turbine jet aircraft. EFI will showcase the new facilityand its capabilities during a March open house.

STANDARDAERO IMPLEMENTS PW100CAPABILITY IN WINNIPEG, CANADAStandardAero has implemented full PW100 engine mainte-nance, repair, and overhaul capability in Winnipeg, Canada.StandardAero’s Winnipeg facility has been fully approved byPratt & Whitney Canada as a PW100 Designated OverhaulFacility (DOF).

“The implementation of the PW100 product line into ourWinnipeg facility will provide us with the ability to move peopleand resources throughout our extensive Winnipeg site,” saidManny Atwal, vice president, Turboprop Programs,StandardAero. “The European Service Center (ESC) team inTilburg, The Netherlands, continues to support our customerswith PW100 and PT6A hot-section level work scopes, includingfull accessory capability, a comprehensive test cell, and substan-tial field service support. From these locations, we can supportall of our PW100 and PT6A customers anywhere in the world in atimely and effective manner.”

AP MALTAOBTAINS EASA PART M Subpart G APPROVALAP Malta a subsidiary of the Maintenance Centre Munich Group,obtained their EASA Part M approval number MT.MG.04 fromthe regulating authority, Transport Malta. A statement from thegroup said: “This is MCM Group’s next step in improving the ser-vices provided in the aviation industry in Malta following the con-struction of a hangar and receiving a base maintenance approvalin June of this year.”AP Malta Ltd. is the first company in Malta to offer a varietyof services for commercial and private aircraft operatorsincluding: airworthiness reviews, issuing and recommenda-tions of Airworthiness Review Certificates (15a or 15b) andothers.

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 12

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CESSNA DELIVERS TWO CARAVANS TO AIRGEOCessna has delivered two new Grand Caravans to AirGEO, a lead-ing Russian operator of passenger and cargo services.Pana Poulios, Cessna’s European sales director for propeller air-craft, said: “We’re delighted AirGEO has chosen these aircraft,which will be based at Krasnoyarsk Yemelyanovo Airport inSiberia and used to support the community through passengerand cargo transportation and other special missions. GrandCaravans are ideal for the needs of such a large region. Caravansare reliable, versatile and economical a proven success for rigor-ous missions across the world.”

AVIDYNE DFC90 AUTOPILOT RECEIVES EASA CERTIFICATIONAvidyne Corporation have received Supplemental Type Certificate (STC) approval from theEuropean Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for retrofit installation of the DFC90 attitude-based digitalautopilot in European-registered Cirrus aircraft.“There is a large installed base of Entegra-equipped aircraft in Europe, and this EASA certificationallows our European-registered Cirrus customers to take advantage of the significant performanceand safety enhancements of our DFC90 autopilot,” said Patrick Herguth, Avidyne’s Chief OperatingOfficer. “The DFC90 has particular value to European pilots with its enhanced attitude-based guid-ance that significantly improves non-GPS overlay approaches such as VORs and NDBs still prevalentin Europe.”

GENERAL DYNAMICSPERFORMS WELLIN Q4 2010General Dynamics, the parentcompany of Gulfstream and JetAviation reported 2010 fourth-quarter earnings from continu-ing operations of $729 million,or $1.91 per share on a fullydiluted basis, compared to2009 fourth-quarter earningsfrom continuing operations of$618 mil l ion, or $1.58 pershare fully diluted. Full-year2010 earnings from continuingoperations were $2.63 billion.Aircraft sales of $244 million atGulfstream during the fourthquarter of 2010 impacted GD'sorder backlog which was $59.6billion.

CAE TO ACQUIRE CHC HELICOPTER’STRAINING OPERATIONSCAE and CHC Helicopter have signed an agreement pursuant towhich CAE will acquire CHC Helicopter’s helicopter flight train-ing operations including four full-flight simulators located inNorway, United Kingdom and Canada. Upon closing, CAE willbecome CHC’s long-term partner and will provide training to itsmore than 2,000 helicopter pilots and maintenance engineers.The training partnership also includes general training, pilot pro-visioning and certain search and rescue training in support ofCHC’s global fleet.The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. Afterclosing, CAE’s global training network will include new traininglocations in Stavanger, Norway and Aberdeen, UK, as well asincreased training capacity in Vancouver, Canada.

JetFlight INTERNATIONAL ENJOYS 2010 GROWTHJetFlite International (JFI), a leading provider of aircraft man-agement and charter services worldwide, reported growth in2010 with a 37 percent increase in charter revenues comparedto 2009 and is projecting a greater than 30 percent growth thisyear.“Having major facilities now on both coasts and internationalflights accounting for nearly 55 percent of JFI’s total aircraft char-ter business has contributed to this growth,” said JFI PresidentAlbert C. Pod.“Larger cabin aircraft compose a greater segment of our charterflights than most charter companies,” he said. “Among those isthe addition last year of a new Gulfstream G200 to go along witha Lear 60. JFI has a managed aircraft fleet that spans the nation.

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 14

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Hawker Beechcraft, Piaggio, Pilatus and Twin Otter, we know exactly what matters. Always delivering a bit more that you would expect.


STANDARDAERO SIGNSAGREEMENT WITHPEL-AIR AVIATION FORPT6 ENGINE SUPPORT

StandardAero announced thatit has signed a 10-year mainte-nance agreement with Pel-AirAviation. The maintenanceagreement covers Pratt &Whitney PT6A-42 engines ontheir fleet of King Air B200 air-craft, which will be used to sup-ply fixed-wing air transport toAmbulance Victoria. Included inthe agreement is the option foran additional two-year serviceextension. All work will beconducted at StandardAerofacilit ies in Sydney orWinnipeg, Canada.“Today’s announcement repre-sents another major contract winfor StandardAero in Australiaand underscores the strength ofour reputation as a quality ser-vice provider in the global turbo-prop market,” said Ian Smart,senior vice president, Airlines &Fleets, StandardAero.

CESSNA ADDS MOBILE SERVICE UNITS IN US AND EUROPECessna Aircraft Company isadding three new mainte-nance trucks to its interna-tional ground-based MobileService Unit (MSU) fleetserving Citations acrossNorth America and Europe.

The latest mobile additionsto the Citation Service Centersupport network becomeactive this month. They arepositioned in Colorado andIndiana in the United Statesand in Lyon, France. TheseMSUs will be joined soon by

more MSUs in North America, including five in the US and one in Canada, and anotherunit in Europe.

The units commissioned this December include one positioned at Centennial Airport’sTAC Air facility near Denver, one at Montgomery Aviation at Indianapolis ExecutiveAirport to serve Indiana and parts of Michigan, Ohio, Illinois and Kentucky, and thethird, the first European MSU, will be positioned at Aéroport de Lyon-Bron to coversouthern France, northern Spain, northern Italy and Geneva, Switzerland.

HAWKER BEECHCRAFTREACHES AGREEMENTWITH STATE OF KANSASHawker Beechcraft has reached a formalagreement with the State of Kansas thatsignificantly incentivizes the company tomaintain its presence in Wichita over thenext 10 years. Chairman and CEO BillBoisture and Kansas Governor MarkParkinson announced the agreementalongside Wichita Mayor Carl Brewer andSedgwick County Commissioner KarlPeterjohn at an event at the NationalCenter for Aviation Training. The State’sincentive package requires HawkerBeechcraft to maintain its current productlines in Wichita and retain at least 4,000jobs over the next 10 years.The $40 million incentive package from theState of Kansas is part of the IMPACT pro-gram available through the KansasDepartment of Commerce.

FLIGHTSAFETY’S FALCON 7X SIMULATORQUALIFIED TO LEVEL D BY THE FAA, GACA AND EASAFlightSafety International has announced that its new Dassault Falcon 7X full flight simulator hasbeen qualified to Level D by the US Federal Aviation Administration, the General Authority of CivilAviation of Saudi Arabia, and the European Aviation Safety Agency. Training will begin in January2011 at FlightSafety’s Dallas/Fort Worth Learning Center.“Qualification of our Falcon 7X simulator by the FAA, GACA and EASA demonstrates ouradvanced design and high quality manufacturing capabilities,” said Bruce Whitman, President &CEO. “We are proud to have served as a factory authorized training provider for Dassault Falconfor over 40 years and of our mutual commitment to provide professional training that enhancessafety and offers the highest quality and best overall value.”

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 16

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PEOPLEAircraft ElectronicsAssociationThe Aircraft ElectronicsAssociation has appointed GeoffHill director of communicationsand editor of Avionics News.

ARGUSARGUS International, Inc. haswelcomed Richard G. Smith, IIIto the ARGUS Board ofDirectors. Smith has a back-ground in aircraft maintenanceand operations and aviation safe-ty.

CessnaCessna has promoted Kelly D.Reich to Vice President of productsupport in the Customer Serviceorganization and Peter J.McKernan to Director of Salesand Program Administration forCessna Service Parts andPrograms.

Reich is responsible for provid-ing post-delivery support to cus-tomers of Cessna’s entire aircraftproduct line ranging from theCessna 140 to the Citation X, theworld’s fastest business jet in pro-duction.

ChromalloyChromalloy announced thatSteve Schultz , PrincipalEngineer, has received specialdelegation from the FederalAviation Administration as aRepair Specification DesignatedEngineering Representative (RSDER).

COMLUXComlux The Aviation Group hasappointed Andrea Zanetto as theCEO of Fly Comlux, the divisionin charge of VIP aircraft opera-tions.Andrea Zanetto has experienceworking for more than 20 yearsin the operations of Commercialand Business Aviation andmost recent ly as the Chie fOperating Officer of MeridianaFly in Italy.

CRS Jet SparesCRS Jet Spares has named KirkMeissner to the position ofColorado Sales Representative.Meissner’s role is to build rela-tionships, support customers andspread recognition for the compa-ny within the state.CRS has also increased the role ofStephanie Wilson within the CRSJets Spares organization. MsWilson’s previous role with CRSwas as dedicated MarketingManager. Her new role will nowinclude Outside Sales Managerresponsibilities.

FlightSafetyFlightSafety International hasnamed David Glass Manager ofthe company’s Learning Centerin Houston, Texas. The companyalso has announced that Fabio

Miguez has been promoted toManager of the company’sDetroit Metro/Toledo LearningCenter.And FlightSafety Internationalhas announced that MarkMalkosky has joined the companyas Assistant Director,Maintenance Training BusinessDevelopment and Sales.

Helicopter AssociationInternationalThe Helicopter AssociationInternational has named JimMcKenna as its new director ofcommunications, responsible forall public relations and commu-nications initiatives of the world’sleading helicopter trade associa-tion.

JetFlite InternationalJetFlite International (JFI)announced an addition to itsmanagement team with the hir-ing of Michael Rogers for the newposition of Vice President,Customer Service.

Landmark AviationLanmark Aviation has appointedJeff Miller as General Manager ofDAL, ADS and SPS locations.Jeff comes to Landmark with 30years of aviation experience.The company has also announcedKaren A. Twitchell as ExecutiveVice President and ChiefFinancial Officer.

Million AirRobert Lee has joined Million Airas the General Manager ofMillion Air Houston.

PilatusPilatus Business Aircraft, Ltd.has announced the appointmentof Charles D. Mayer as VicePresident, Marketing.

PremiAir GlobalPremiAir, has appointed two

new Aircraft Sales Managers -Craig Lammiman and GordonPotter - as it moves to focusincreased activity on the fixedwing pre-owned business aircraftmarket in addition to its wellestablished executive helicopterservices. The appointments areeffective immediately with bothCraig and Gordon being based atPremiAir Global’s offices in themain terminal building atFarnborough Airport.

PrivateFly.comRichard Smith has joinedonline private jet booking ser-vice, PrivateFly.com, in the newrole of business developmentmanager. This fo l lows AlexNott's appointment as websitemanager in July, and continuesPrivateFly's UK team expansion- on the back of its successfulfirst round investment fundingearlier this year.Fabio Miguez


David Glass

Mark Malkosky

Robert Lee

6-18 NEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 09:33 Page 18

Smile

Everyone’s happy with online EU-ETS emissionsreporting and verification from Universal.

Completing your EU-ETS emissions reporting and verification couldn’t be simpler. Everything you need to meetthe March 2011 small emitter deadline is available in one convenient, cost-effective, and easy-to-use onlineportal. For one flat fee, you can access historical flight planning data, upload your own data, run customisablereports, and submit them for accreditation. You and your member state will be happy in the knowledge thatyou’ve complied in plenty of time. And happier still that you’ve saved hassle and money along the way.

For solutions, tools, and to subscribe, visit us at eu-ets.aero.

For more information, contact Haylie Mason at +44 (0) 7748 183 483,e-mail [email protected], or visit universalweather.com.

20 - BART:FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2011

EUROPEAN UPDATE

The European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU-ETS) emis-sions reporting deadline for all operations into, from or within the EUin 2010 is March 31, 2011 for most countries and even earlier forsome. Although just weeks away, many operators are still confusedabout what they need to do to comply and what their next steps shouldbe.Universal Weather and Aviation, Inc. Supervisor of RegulatoryServices Adam Hartley fields calls daily to help operators demystify theprocess, understand what they need to do to comply, and provide thequestions they need to ask when choosing support companies. As thedeadline approaches he’s been receiving many questions and he sharedsome of his answers with BART.We’re now in the stretch run for the first year of EU-ETS, with thedeadline of March 31, 2011 for the majority of EU Member Statesjust weeks away. The good news is that for most small emitters,which make up the vast majority of Business Aviation operators,there is still time to complete their emissions report for 2010 in timeto meet the deadline.However, I say that with the caveat that those operators havealready identified their assigned Member State and have anapproved CO2 monitoring plan. Operators who have not com-pleted these preliminary steps, should not panic, however, butshould contact their Member States immediately as a good

faith effort to help avoid any penalties for not meeting the dead-line.At this point in the game, most operators are at least aware of EU-ETS. Most of those who have not filed a monitoring plan are notwillfully avoiding the directive from the EU, but rather are in a stateof limbo because they have not yet been assigned a Member State.Unfortunately, even nearly two years into the process, this remainsan issue as the European Commission’s latest List of Operators wasstill being approved as of January 2011.

Why is the Operator List still being refined just monthsbefore the deadline?The most recent Operator List was due to be released no later thanJan. 31, 2011, giving very little lead time for some operators. Onereason for this is because many operators were incorrectly filedunder the name of the service provider that filed their flight plans.At one time, there were 1,500-plus operators incorrectly assigned toUniversal. Even today, Universal has more than 100 operators and500-plus legs incorrectly listed under our name because we filed theflight plans with EuroControl. It’s taken the European Commissionquite a while to sort through this and produce an accurate list andassign those operators a Member State. This will be an ongoingprocess.

EU-ETS: THE STRETCH RUN

20-22 EURONEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 11:03 Page 20

BART:FEBRUARY - APRIL - 2011 - 21

What is actually required to be submitted to my MemberState by the deadline?The directive requires an operator to submit a verified historicalreport of all flights to, from, and within EU Member states during2010. This report must be verified by a 3rd party that is accredited inthe operator’s Member State. A list of approved verifiers for a vari-ety of different Member States can be found at www.eu-ets.aero.

Are there different deadlines for Member States?Yes. The majority of Member States, including the UK, France,Ireland, and Germany among others, are all requiring submissionby the directive stated deadline of March 31, 2011. Some MemberStates have chosen to move their submission dates up. For exam-ple, Spain is requiring submission by Feb. 28, 2011, and the CzechRepublic by March 15, 2011, just to name a few. It’s important tocheck with your specific Member State to confirm its requirement.

How do I produce an annual emissions report?An operator should collect all historical flights for 2010 to, from, andwithin EU Member states and any data available to validate thoselegs. For example, copies of flight plans, log books, and schedulingsoftware reports. This information can be applied to a genericreporting template available at www.eu-ets.aero. Member Stateshave a variety of processes for reporting. Contact your MemberState to ensure the proper template and method is being used.

When reporting emissions for 2010, should I use the SmallEmitters tool?While it’s true that the Small Emitters Tool has been proven to beinaccurate for many aircraft types at this point, EU-ETS for aviationis currently reporting for 2010 and monitoring 2011 both of whichare pre-trading periods. This means that although the SmallEmitters CO2 estimate may be inaccurate, operators are not buyingcredits this year or next based on these estimates.

Do all operators have to get their reports verified?Although associations like the National Business AviationAssociations and the European Business Aviation Associations haveworked feverishly to try and reduce the burdensome requirementsof EU-ETS such as 3rd Party verification, the Directive that wasadopted by the EU Member States and implemented currently stillrequires verification. Even operators using the Small Emitter Toolprovided by Eurocontrol for fuel consumption estimations will stillhave to receive a Certificate of Verification to send with the complet-ed report to their Member State prior to the posted deadline.

Will historical data and records produced by Eurocontrol’sETS Support Facility take the place of verification?No. The ETS Support Facility will be used initially as anothersource of validating data that operators can provide to their 3rd Partyverifier. The different Environmental Authorities in Member Stateswill also use this data to cross check verified reports that have beensubmitted by operators. The ETS Support Facility’s role in ETSreporting will assuredly continue to expand in future monitoringyears, but currently does not relieve the reporting or verificationrequirements of operators both large and small.

How do I know if a verifier is approved for my MemberState?Some Member States have released specific lists of 3rd PartyVerifiers that have gained EU-ETS for Aviation Activities accredita-tion in their country. Other Member States have chosen to approveverification companies that hold accreditation in their homeMember State. The most prevalent example of this is the multitudeof countries accepting UKAS (United Kingdom AccreditationService) accredited verifiers for the reporting process. Universalhas compiled lists and guidance for these scenarios at www.eu-ets.aero.

I have received many advertisements. How do I choose anaccredited 3rd Party Verifier?The verification market for EU-ETS can be a tough one to navigate.It’s important to talk to more than one verifier and have themexplain their background and processes prior to making a commit-ment. With issues such as possible site visits at the operator’s costbeing left up to the verifier in many cases, it is important to have alevel of trust and understanding with your selected verifier. Relyingon your trip support service company for a recommendation wouldbe a great place to start.

More information on EU-ETS is available in the EU-ETS ReportingResource Center at www.eu-ets.aero. For questions on EU-ETS, youcan contact Universal’s Regulatory Services Team at Worldwide:(713) 378-2734, N. America Toll-Free: (866) 864-8415 or e-mail:[email protected] or [email protected].

✈

20-22 EURONEWS.qxp 3/02/2011 11:03 Page 21

O n 21 January 2011, the EuropeanBusiness Aviation Association(EBAA) concluded a highly suc-

cessful “One Europe” RegionalForum. The forum was sold-out withone hundred participants in atten-dance. Of chief concern was theunlevel playing field that exists withinEurope.

“The forum was subtit led “ARoadmap for Aligning East andWest,” commented Rodolfo Baviera,Chairman of the European BusinessAviation Association, “but as the dis-cussions progressed, it became clearthat there was also still much to do toalign East with West.”

Issues included the lack of harmo-nized rules (most notably in respectof runway performance requirementsand Flight Time Limitations) forcommercial and non-commercialoperations. This often puts AOCholders at a disadvantage, which inmany ways contributes to operatorschoosing to label their activities asprivate when they are in fact com-mercial. And indeed, from country tocountry, the very definition of com-mercial and non-commercial cancarry multiple interpretations.

Access, particularly to Russia,Kazahkstan and Belarus, was anotherfocal point. To that end, the RussianUnited Business Aviation Associationprovided updates on new legislationexpected to be passed within thecoming months that could easeimpediments such as the importationof spare parts and ambiguous cus-toms rules.

Participants agreed that industrystandards such as IS-BAO, plusEBAA’s Emergency ResponsePlanning Manual and FBO andHandling Code of Practice, are high-ly effective tools. As such the groupdebated whether or not more qualitystandards should be created for ven-dors, such as for example insurancecompanies and brokers.

Lack of harmony across EuropeanStates extends to tax, VAT andfinancing as well, and participantsshared how tax rules are enforced in

their own countries, demonstratinghow complex legislative compliancecan be when rules tend to vary everyseveral hundred kilometers.

“This meeting was not all talk andno action, though,” emphasizedEBAA CEO and President BrianHumphries. “The most critical part ofthe event took place during the finalsession when we reviewed all of theissues that had been tabled over thecourse of the two days, and draftedconcrete action points to addressthese challenges.”

Within the coming weeks, smallfocus teams of EBAA members willbe assigned to each action point.These teams will be responsible foraddressing the challenges put tothem and for drafting official posi-tions to be approved and adopted bythe EBAA on behalf of the EuropeanBusiness Aviation community.Thereafter, EBAA members andNational Associations, working inconcert with the EBAA secretariat,will be encouraged to communicateand lobby these positions towardsNational and EU Authorities.

“We’ve demonstrated in the past –for example with tailored Flight TimeLimitations rules for BusinessAviation - that it is vital that we helpofficials understand how BusinessAviation differs in so many ways fromthe airlines and why it requires tai-lored rules,” says Humphries.

“This argument is of course sup-ported by the European Parliament’sAgenda for Sustainable Future inGeneral and Business Aviation,which highlights our role in provid-ing “tailored, flexible, door-to-doortransportation for individuals, enter-prises and local communities,increasing mobility of people, pro-ductivity of business and regionalcohesion.”

“But we still have a way to go, atboth EU and National level. Thisforum and the work that will follow isan important step towards achievingsuitable rules and enabling BusinessAviation to benefit from uniformenforcement across the region.”

EBAA CONFRONTSILLEGAL CHARTER FLIGHTS

The European Business AviationAssociation (EBAA) has launched acampaign for operators, brokers andpassengers to curtail illegal charterflight activity within Europe.

The operation of illegal charters hasbeen a top agenda item for EBAA overthe past year, and the Association istaking this forward into positive actionin 2011. Operating without a valid AirOperator’s Certificate (AOC) and fail-ing to comply with traffic rights arekey concerns for many within theBusiness Aviation community. To helpeliminate such practices, EBAA haspublished “Is My Flight Legal. Ensurethe Safety and Legality of the BusinessAircraft you Charter”, which providesguidance to operators and brokers onthe subject.

“It is in the reputational and commer-cial interest of all in Business Aviationto ensure that the flights advertisedand arranged are legally permissibleand in compliance with the regulatorysafety standards demanded of AOCholders,” stresses Brian Humphries,EBAA President and CEO. “EBAA hastherefore compiled a document thatclearly stipulates what activities fallwithin the realm of permissible flightactivity within Europe, which do not.This electronic document is addressedto operators and brokers, and hasbeen distributed to all EBAAMembers. Furthermore, we encour-age operators and brokers to forwardcopies of it to as many colleagues asthey can to ensure the widest reachpossible for this important campaign.”

Additionally, EBAA has published aprinted brochure entitled “Is My FlightLegal. Your Rights as a BusinessAircraft Charter Passenger”, to helppassengers and all non-specialist inter-ested parties better understand therules and the risk of non-compliance.The Association is urging operators,handlers and brokers to pass these outto their clients to ensure that passen-gers are aware of the hazards of book-ing illegal flights.


EBAA “ONE EUROPE” FORUME B A A U P D A T E

✈

22 EBAA.qxp 4/02/2011 15:52 Page 22

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RUSSIAN HELICOPTERS,JSC CONSOLIDATESASSETSRussian Helicopters, JSC, part of UICOboronprom, consolidated control stock of allRussia’s rotorcraft-building enterprises. Astatement from the company said that thismeant that it had finalized the formation stagesof a united Russian holding that deals in heli-copter design, manufacture and servicing.Russian Helicopter acquired 1,202,973,854ordinary registered shares of Rostvertol, PLCwhich brings its ownership of company’sequity from 22.76 percent to 75.06 percent.In 2008-09 Russian Helicopters, became themanagement company of all enterprises thatmake part of RH holding.Current changes in the Russian Helicoptersownership of assets are linked to the compa-ny’s plans on further development and per-spective projects’ implementation. The com-pany’s strategic aim is to strengthen its posi-tions on the global rotorcraft market.

HAWKER BEECHCRAFTSEES GROWTHIN THE MIDDLE EASTHawker Beechcraft believes there will bestrong growth in the private aviation sectorin the Middle East over the next few years.The company says one of its largest growthareas in the region is its special missionapplications, which range from maritimepatrol and Intelligence, Surveillance andReconnaissance to commercial applications

such as photographic, air ambulance, flightinspection, weather modifications and trans-portation for government officials.“We have made a number of strides in ourMiddle Eastern market – most notably withdelivery of special mission aircraft,” saidSean McGeough, Hawker Beechcraft presi-dent, Europe, Middle East and Africa. “Inaddition to special mission aircraft deliver-ies, we have a large number of HawkerBeechcraft products in the region alreadyperforming a wide variety of special mis-sions every day.”Hawker Beechcraft, which over the pastthree years has delivered the largest shareof business turbines and turboprops in theregion with approximately 34 percent and88 percent respectively, believes there areseveral factors fueling the growth in theregion. These include the increasing eco-nomic strength of the region; a heightenedfocus on privacy and security; an influx ofcompanies that offer corporate jet servicesto their senior executives; and a growingnumber of secondary airports in less popu-lated areas in the region making travel toremote areas easier – a benefit especiallyvalued by oil and gas companies.“To succeed in the Middle East market, youalso need a world class customer serviceorganization,” McGeough said. “It is not suf-ficient to just provide the aircraft; you alsoneed strong aftermarket sales support and arobust parts infrastructure. As part of ourcommitment to this, we have recentlyplaced dedicated sales and support person-nel in the region and signed a new contractwith ExecuJet to provide service for Hawkerproducts in Dubai and other locationsaround the world.”

EMBRAERCLOSES OUT 2010 WITH246 JETS DELIVERED

Embraer delivered 92 jets during the fourthquarter of 2010 (4Q10), 30 of which to thecommercial aviation market, 61 to executiveaviation, and one to the defense segment.Thus, the Company closed out 2010 with246 jets delivered. The firm order backlog,at the end of the year, came to US$ 15.6 bil-lion, which is 2 percent higher than theamount recorded on September 30, 2010.The last quarter of the year was marked bythe certification and beginning of operationsof a new Embraer executive jet. The largecabin Legacy 650 is based on the successfulLegacy 600 platform. Its spacious and com-fortable cabin can carry 14 passengers andis able to fly nonstop from São Paulo, Brazil,to Miami, Florida, in the US Eight Legacy600 and Legacy 650 jets were delivered fromOctober to December. Also, production ofthe Phenom jets accelerated.In 2010, 100 were delivered, which is sevenmore than the previous year, besides 26Phenom 300s. Embraer also announced anagreement with US-based NetJets, whichresulted in firm contract for the sale of 50Phenom 300s, and another 75 options.Meanwhile Embraer’s Phenom 100 entrylevel executive jet was the most delivered jetin 2010, with 100 deliveries. Together withthe other airplanes of Embraer ExecutiveJets’ portfolio, the Phenom 100’s success isalso reflected in the Company’s increasingmarket share, which is the fastest growingin Business Aviation in terms of units deliv-ered.


$

$

$

24 BIZNEWS.qxp 4/02/2011 15:46 Page 24

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Economic turbulence hasrocked the Business Aviationindustry for the past threeyears, and 2010 was anotherunsettled year. But OEM’s andoperators alike have made theadjustments needed to seeout this recession.Our analysis of this year’s fleetreport indicates that theBusiness Aviation industry willexperience a marked recoveryat the very least by 2012.

by Pau l Wa lsh

B ack in 2007, London ExecutiveAviation (LEA) enjoyed brisktrade and bourgeoning demand.

George Galanopoulos ManagingDirector of the company told BartInternational: “2007 was boomingyear, we were heavily recruiting andwe had big plans for expansion,” oneof the company’s few complaints wasthe short supply of pilots. Thatcharmed period seems very distantnow, and in the wake of a chasteningrecession, operators like LEA are hesi-tant about expanding their businesses.Guy Lachland of the British Businessand General Aviation Association(BBGA) said: “Twice shy operatorshave been bitten badly over past twoyears and will think very carefullyabout buying new aircraft.”

BART International’s 2011 BusinessAviation fleet report confirms thatreluctance among operators, compa-nies and private individuals to ordernew planes is putting the brakes onfleet growth. A large used aircraftinventory and banks’ unwillingnessto lend is adding to the malaise.The global Business Aviation fleet,which now totals 31,110 units, isgrowing, but at a slightly slower pacethan last year. In 2010 the worldwidefleet grew by 3.7 percent; down from4.8 percent in 2009. The worldwideTurboprop fleet grew from 12,499 to12,874 units (3 percent) while theworldwide jet fleet grew from 17,382to 17,872 units (2.81 percent).This year North America’s fleet grew

by 0.9 percent after growing by 0.34percent last year. The European fleetgrew by a disappointing 5 percent in2010 down from 9.7 percent in 2009.

The most heartening news in thereport comes from South America,where the Business Aviation indus-try appears to have ducked the moresevere effects of the global reces-sion. In 2010 the South Americanfleet grew by 14.9 percent after grow-ing by 10.10 percent and 13.3 percentin 2008 and 2009 respectively. TheOceania market, which is largely pro-pelled by a booming Australian econ-omy, has grown by 14.37 percent,much higher than the 3.8 percentgrowth which it posted last year.

Though markets in Asia and Africashow promise, on both continentsfleet growth is more sluggish than2009. The Asian fleet grew by 12 per-cent in 2010, down considerably from27.1 percent in 2009. In Africa fleetgrowth is impressive at 8.5 percentbut the figure is still down on 2009when the continent’s BusinessAviation fleet grew by 15.3 percent.

A Brighter FutureThis year’s fleet report contains

some dispiriting results but weshouldn’t forget that from Vnukovoto Villaroche operators like LEA areexpanding their fleets, - LEA hasgrown its fleet by one aircraft a yearsince 2008 - and drop by drop confi-dence returning to the industry.Galanopoulos said that as far as hiscompany is concerned, the worst ofthe recession has past and many inthe industry agree. Rolland Vincent,a Business Aviation analyst said thatgrowing company profits andincreased Business Aviation flightsshow that “the darkest days of thiscurrent downturn” appear to be over.Brian Foley another analyst has pre-dicted there will be a new surge oforders in 2011.

Worldwide economic growth bodeswell for the industry. From March2009 to June 2010 the MSCI worldindex, an aggregate stock marketindex and a decent estimate ofwealth creation, grew by 20 percent.The S&P 500, a measure of 500 pub-licly traded US equities, hasrebounded and is up 86 percent froma low in March 2009. The IMF pre-dicts that world output will grow by4.4 percent in 2011.

Business Aviation traffic - anotherindicator for the Business Aviationindustry growth – is starting to pickup. In 2010 a report by Eurocontrolshowed that European BusinessAviation traffic grew by 11 percent

dicts that traffic will grow by 5 per-cent in 2011.


in March 2010 and the organiza-tion’s medium term forecast pre-

MOVING ONGeorge

ManagingDirector London

ExecutiveAviation,

says the worst ofthe recession

has past.

R E P O R T 2 0 1 0 B U S I N E S S A I R C R A F T F L E E T

TOP TEN BUSINESSFLEETS BY COUNTRYUnited States 17937

Brazil 1225

Canada 1117

Mexico 1035

Germany 664

United Kingdom 639

Venezuela 587

Australia 480

South Africa 464

France 424

THE WORST IS BEHIND US

Galanopoulos,

26-42 FLEET REPORT.qxp 3/02/2011 11:45 Page 26

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MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEAIRBUS A300 1 0AIRBUS A310 21 12AIRBUS A318 ELITE 16 6AIRBUS A319CJ 56 31AIRBUS A320 7 1AIRBUS A320 PRESTIGE 4 0AIRBUS A340 11 2ASTRA 1125 32 0ASTRA 1125SP 36 1ASTRA 1125SPX 58 3AVRO RJ-70 1 1BAC 1-11 18 1BAE 146-100 6 4BAE 146-200 4 1BEECHJET 400 60 1BEECHJET 400A 344 25BOEING 707-120B 4 0BOEING 707-320 28 5BOEING 707-C 4 0BOEING 707-E 5 0BOEING 727-100 47 3BOEING 727-200 24 3BOEING 737-100 1 0BOEING 737-200 34 1BOEING 737-300 14 3BOEING 737-400 5 0BOEING 737-500 3 0BOEING 737-700 7 0BOEING 747-300 1 0BOEING 747-400 12 1BOEING 747SP 11 1BOEING 757 4 0BOEING 757-200 17 2BOEING 767-200 8 0BOEING 767-300 6 2BOEING 777-200ER 2 0BOEING BBJ 114 17BOEING BBJ2 19 5BOEING BBJ3 2 0CANADAIR RJ 28 4CHALLENGER 300 290 60CHALLENGER 600 78 6CHALLENGER 601-1A 61 7CHALLENGER 601-3A 132 14CHALLENGER 601-3R 59 3CHALLENGER 604 361 77CHALLENGER 605 123 40CHALLENGER 800 3 0CHALLENGER 850 54 28CHALLENGER 870 3 1CHALLENGER 890 2 0CITATION 500 268 33CITATION 525 349 84CITATION BRAVO 333 78CITATION CJ1 197 53CITATION CJ1+ 100 33CITATION CJ2 237 74CITATION CJ2+ 166 62CITATION CJ3 348 82

MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPECITATION CJ4 16 2CITATION ENCORE 163 13CITATION ENCORE+ 61 6CITATION EXCEL 365 64CITATION I 24 8CITATION I/SP 293 30CITATION II 581 71CITATION II/SP 73 19CITATION III 194 14CITATION MUSTANG 333 94CITATION S/II 154 9CITATION SOVEREIGN 296 47CITATION ULTRA 275 15CITATION V 258 19CITATION VI 36 5CITATION VII 118 13CITATION X 300 23CITATION XLS 329 104CITATION XLS+ 65 19DIAMOND I 4 1DIAMOND IA 69 3DORNIER ENVOY 3 52 21ECLIPSE EA500 256 23EMBRAER LEGACY 600 170 63EMBRAER LEGACY 650 4 3EMBRAER LEGACY SHUTTLE 11 1EMBRAER LINEAGE 1000 8 1EMBRAER PHENOM 100 186 29EMBRAER PHENOM 300 22 0EMIVEST SJ30-2 4 1FALCON 10 146 16FALCON 100 33 11FALCON 200 33 5FALCON 2000 231 50FALCON 2000DX 4 1FALCON 2000EX 25 7FALCON 2000EX EASy 129 52FALCON 2000LX 50 19FALCON 20C 87 23FALCON 20C-5 20 5FALCON 20D 31 7FALCON 20D-5 3 0FALCON 20E 36 14FALCON 20E-5 15 9FALCON 20F 83 9FALCON 20F-5 78 5FALCON 20G 5 5FALCON 50 240 39FALCON 50-40 6 0FALCON 50EX 100 16FALCON 7X 96 49FALCON 900 34 11FALCON 900B 142 35FALCON 900C 25 9FALCON 900DX 24 12FALCON 900EX 117 31FALCON 900EX EASy 119 45FALCON 900LX 1 0FOKKER 100 7 3

MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEFOKKER 70 1 1FOKKER F28 2 0GLOBAL 5000 92 26GLOBAL EXPRESS 148 37GLOBAL EXPRESS XRS 122 52GULFSTREAM G-100 22 2GULFSTREAM G-150 84 10GULFSTREAM G-200 230 30GULFSTREAM G-300 13 0GULFSTREAM G-350 11 0GULFSTREAM G-400 23 0GULFSTREAM G-450 188 16GULFSTREAM G-500 9 0GULFSTREAM G-550 277 66GULFSTREAM G-II 160 1GULFSTREAM G-IIB 39 1GULFSTREAM G-III 182 1GULFSTREAM G-IV 210 11GULFSTREAM G-IVSP 286 12GULFSTREAM G-V 186 17HAWKER 1000A 44 4HAWKER 1000B 7 3HAWKER 125-1A 17 4HAWKER 125-1AS 9 0HAWKER 125-1B 11 9HAWKER 125-3A 3 1HAWKER 125-3A/RA 7 0HAWKER 125-3A/RAS 3 0HAWKER 125-3AS 2 0HAWKER 125-3B 9 1HAWKER 125-3B/RAS 1 0HAWKER 125-3BS 1 0HAWKER 125-400A 16 0HAWKER 125-400AS 49 3HAWKER 125-400B 14 1HAWKER 125-400BS 3 0HAWKER 125-600A 20 1HAWKER 125-600AS 12 1HAWKER 125-600B 2 0HAWKER 125-600BS 1 0HAWKER 125-700A 170 10HAWKER 125-700B 32 18HAWKER 4000 40 3HAWKER 400XP 244 43HAWKER 750 39 14HAWKER 800A 227 3HAWKER 800B 61 14HAWKER 800XP 421 43HAWKER 800XPI 52 25HAWKER 850XP 99 16HAWKER 900XP 132 24JET COMMANDER 1121 10 0JET COMMANDER 1121B 7 1JETSTAR 6 2 0JETSTAR 731 12 3JETSTAR 8 7 0JETSTAR II 24 1LEARJET 23 13 1LEARJET 24 35 1

JET SUMMARY BY MODEL BY WORLD AREA AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010


MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPE-LEARJET 24A 4 0LEARJET 24B 25 0LEARJET 24D 66 1LEARJET 24E 15 0LEARJET 24F 9 0LEARJET 25 29 0LEARJET 25B 68 3LEARJET 25C 13 1LEARJET 25D 136 1LEARJET 25G 4 0LEARJET 28 5 0LEARJET 29 3 0LEARJET 31 35 4LEARJET 31A 208 13LEARJET 35 43 0LEARJET 35A 469 43LEARJET 36 15 0LEARJET 36A 38 4LEARJET 40 40 15LEARJET 40XR 85 13LEARJET 45 237 35LEARJET 45XR 162 13LEARJET 55 116 15LEARJET 55B 8 1LEARJET 55C 13 2LEARJET 60 311 51LEARJET 60XR 69 21LOCKHEED L-1011-500 3 0MDD DC8 1 0MDD DC9 11 0MDD MD80 14 2PREMIER I 126 23PREMIER IA 145 36SABRELINER 40 23 2SABRELINER 40A 27 1SABRELINER 40EL 7 0SABRELINER 40EX 2 0SABRELINER 40R 4 0SABRELINER 40SE 1 0SABRELINER 50 1 0SABRELINER 60 41 0SABRELINER 60A 3 0SABRELINER 60AELXM 1 0SABRELINER 60EL 3 1SABRELINER 60ELXM 32 0SABRELINER 60EX 4 0SABRELINER 60SC 2 0SABRELINER 60SCELXM 1 0SABRELINER 60SCEX 1 0SABRELINER 65 75 1SABRELINER 80 26 0SABRELINER 80A 3 0SABRELINER 80SC 7 0WESTWIND 1 104 0WESTWIND 1123 6 0WESTWIND 1124 53 0WESTWIND 2 79 0Total Jets 18,054 2,913© AVDATA/JETNET

MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEAVANTI P180 98 44AVANTI II 99 37CARAVAN 208 397 32CARAVAN 208B 1,423 87CHEYENNE 400 40 7CHEYENNE I 171 15CHEYENNE IA 17 4CHEYENNE II 366 46CHEYENNE III 80 9CHEYENNE IIIA 53 15CHEYENNE IIXL 75 6CONQUEST I 207 16CONQUEST II 317 9GULFSTREAM G-I 66 3JETSTREAM 31 113 9JETSTREAM 32 123 8JETSTREAM 41 89 3KING AIR 100 63 1KING AIR 200 704 62KING AIR 200C 31 2KING AIR 200T 20 2KING AIR 300 212 4KING AIR 300LW 19 7KING AIR 350 659 51KING AIR 350C 29 3KING AIR 350i 32 4KING AIR 350iC 8 0KING AIR 90 29 1KING AIR A/B90 12 0KING AIR A100 111 4KING AIR A200 234 1KING AIR A90 77 4KING AIR A90-1 122 2KING AIR B100 122 0KING AIR B200 1,094 128KING AIR B200C 107 6KING AIR B200CT 9 0KING AIR B200GT 110 21KING AIR B200SE 5 1KING AIR B200T 23 1KING AIR B90 113 5KING AIR C90 442 38KING AIR C90-1 40 0KING AIR C90A 225 18KING AIR C90B 425 31KING AIR C90GT 98 9KING AIR C90GTi 120 16KING AIR C90GTx 18 3KING AIR C90SE 16 0KING AIR E90 292 18KING AIR F90 188 11KING AIR F90-1 30 3MERLIN 300 9 2MERLIN IIA 2 0MERLIN IIB 36 4MERLIN III 27 1MERLIN IIIA 35 4MERLIN IIIB 58 5MERLIN IIIC 24 2

MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEMERLIN IV 9 1MERLIN IV-A 23 4MERLIN IV-C 22 3MITSUBISHI MARQUISE 94 3MITSUBISHI MU-2B 3 0MITSUBISHI MU-2C 16 0MITSUBISHI MU-2D 1 0MITSUBISHI MU-2F 39 0MITSUBISHI MU-2G 6 0MITSUBISHI MU-2J 40 1MITSUBISHI MU-2K 43 7MITSUBISHI MU-2L 19 0MITSUBISHI MU-2M 19 3MITSUBISHI MU-2N 26 0MITSUBISHI MU-2P 32 2MITSUBISHI MU-2S 17 0MITSUBISHI SOLITAIRE 42 1PILATUS PC-12 776 91PILATUS PC-12 NG 230 46PIPER MALIBU JETPROP 222 60PIPER MERIDIAN 416 67SOCATA TBM-700A 111 37SOCATA TBM-700B 91 23SOCATA TBM-700C1 8 4SOCATA TBM-700C2 94 10SOCATA TBM-850 208 38STARSHIP 2000A 5 0TURBO COMMANDER 1000 100 3TURBO COMMANDER 690 47 1TURBO COMMANDER 690A 186 10TURBO COMMANDER 690B 191 4TURBO COMMANDER 840 105 6TURBO COMMANDER 900 34 1TURBO COMMANDER 980 73 3Total TurboProp 13,112 700

Grand Total 31,166 1,135© AVDATA/JETNET

TURBOPROPS

World Europe

World Europe

World Europe

World Fleet

Turboprops Fleet

World Turbine Fleet



ShipmentsGAMA’s 2010 third quarter report on shipments shows

that the decline in general aviation shipments is startingto level out. In first nine months of 2010, total general avi-ation airplane shipments fell 14.5 percent, from 1,588 unitsin 2009 to 1,357 units this year. Billings for general avia-tion airplanes totalled $13.47 billion in the first ninemonths, down 2.5 percent.

R E P O R T

EUROPECountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Austria 269 1 238 30Belarus 1 0 1 0Belgium 103 2 60 41Bosnia and Herzegovina 3 0 2 1Bulgaria 28 1 19 8Croatia 9 0 6 3Cyprus 15 0 14 1Czech Republic 55 0 32 23Denmark 100 0 67 33Estonia 10 0 9 1Finland 50 0 30 20France 424 4 216 204Germany 664 8 430 226Gibraltar 3 0 3 0Greece 57 2 38 17Hungary 8 0 6 2Iceland 5 0 1 4Ireland 40 1 30 9Isle of Man 63 0 53 10Italy 247 0 169 78Latvia 10 0 8 2Liechtenstein 3 0 2 1Lithuania 5 0 3 2Luxembourg 75 1 39 35Macedonia 2 0 2 0Malta 14 0 13 1Moldova 1 0 1 0Monaco 6 0 4 2Montenegro 5 0 5 0Netherlands 90 1 51 38North. Ireland 3 0 3 0Norway 53 0 15 38Poland 37 0 18 19Portugal 194 0 187 7Romania 19 2 14 3Russian Federation 143 5 119 19San Marino 4 0 3 1Scotland 1 0 0 1Serbia 24 0 19 5Slovak Republic 17 0 11 6Slovenia 16 0 12 4Spain 183 4 133 46Sweden 87 0 55 32Switzerland 332 5 237 90Ukraine 43 1 34 8United Kingdom 639 13 448 178Total 4,160 51 2,860 1,249

*Executive aircraft are airliner aircraft converted to privatebusiness use, excluding models originally meant for busi-ness use.

NORTH AMERICACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Antigua and Barbuda 1 0 0 1Aruba 13 1 10 2Bahamas 25 1 8 16Barbados 10 0 9 1Belize 17 0 1 16Bermuda 46 1 42 3Canada 1117 9 440 668Cayman Islands 26 1 21 4Costa Rica 32 0 11 21Dominica 1 1 0 0Dominican Republic 39 0 18 21El Salvador 8 1 2 5Greenland 1 0 0 1Guadeloupe 2 0 0 2Guatemala 73 0 25 48Haiti 4 2 0 2Honduras 13 0 4 9Jamaica 6 0 5 1Martinique 1 0 0 1Mexico 1035 10 687 338Netherlands Antilles 4 0 2 2Nicaragua 8 0 0 8Panama 100 0 30 70Puerto Rico 60 0 27 33Saint Kitts and Nevis 1 0 1 0Saint Lucia 1 0 0 1Saint Vincent-Grenadines 2 0 2 0Trinidad and Tobago 1 0 1 0Turks and Caicos Islands 4 0 2 2United States 17937 119 10861 6957Virgin Islands (British) 15 0 12 3Virgin Islands (U.S.) 9 0 6 3West Indies 4 0 4 0Total 20616 146 12231 8239


SOUTH AMERICACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Argentina 262 1 123 138Bolivia 18 0 4 14Brazil 1,225 3 593 629Chile 90 2 31 57Colombia 250 0 26 224Ecuador 30 0 15 15Guyana 10 0 0 10Paraguay 32 1 8 23Peru 38 1 6 31Suriname 5 0 0 5Uruguay 11 0 4 7Venezuela 587 1 214 372Total 2,558 9 1,024 1,525




While nothing to celebrate the figures are a considerableimprovement on 2009 when general aviation shipmentsfell by 46.8 percent and total industry billings were down23.5 percent.And GAMA’s president and CEO Pete Bunce is optimistic:

“Despite another drop in total shipments and billings, webelieve that the longer-term outlook for general aviation ispositive. We are encouraged by the sales announcementsand a more positive outlook overall as discretionary spend-ing starts to pick back up on a global level,” he said.

ASIACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Armenia 2 0 1 1Azerbaijan 6 0 6 0Bahrain 19 5 11 3Bangladesh 6 0 1 5Brunei 3 3 0 0Burma 1 0 1 0Cambodia 1 0 1 0China 112 7 82 23Georgia 1 0 1 0Hong Kong 51 0 49 2India 224 3 137 84Indonesia 85 4 19 62Iran 39 3 19 17Iraq 8 0 1 7Israel 78 15 28 35Japan 225 3 73 149Jordan 25 4 15 6Kazakhstan 21 1 15 5Kuwait 13 3 10 0Kyrgyzstan 1 0 0 1Laos 2 0 0 2Lebanon 19 1 17 1Macau 12 1 11 0Malaysia 60 1 35 24Mongolia 3 0 0 3Nepal 2 0 0 2Oman 7 3 4 0Pakistan 33 2 22 9Philippines 53 0 26 27Qatar 17 2 15 0Saudi Arabia 158 25 117 16Singapore 31 0 26 5South Korea 37 1 25 11Sri Lanka 2 0 0 2Syria 2 0 2 0Taiwan 11 1 7 3Thailand 52 4 16 32Turkey 112 0 87 25Turkmenistan 5 2 3 0United Arab Emirates 127 8 103 16Vietnam 2 0 0 2Yemen 4 3 1 0Total 1,672 105 987 580


AFRICACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Algeria 34 1 9 24Angola 57 4 22 31Benin 3 0 3 0Botswana 34 0 3 31Burkina Faso 5 1 0 4Cameroon 6 1 2 3Canary Islands 3 0 2 1Central African Republic 3 0 0 3Chad 9 1 2 6Congo 8 0 2 6Cote d''Ivoire 7 1 2 4Dem. Republic of Congo 18 4 7 7Djibouti 1 1 0 0Egypt 48 3 39 6Equatorial Guinea 4 0 3 1Eritrea 1 0 0 1Ethiopia 5 0 0 5Gabon 12 0 9 3Gambia 2 1 1 0Ghana 2 0 1 1Guinea 3 0 1 2Guinea-Bissau 1 0 0 1Kenya 96 0 6 90Liberia 2 0 0 2Libya 21 3 12 6Madagascar 14 0 3 11Malawi 3 0 1 2Mali Republic 8 6 0 2Mauritania 3 1 0 2Mauritius 3 0 3 0Morocco 39 1 19 19Mozambique 3 0 1 2Namibia 28 0 7 21Niger 2 1 0 1Nigeria 57 1 46 10Reunion Island 0 0 0 0Sao Tome and Principe 2 1 1 0Senegal 7 1 0 6Seychelles Islands 2 0 1 1South Africa 464 6 171 287Sudan 7 0 4 3Swaziland 1 1 0 0Tanzania 55 0 1 54Togo 6 1 1 4Tunisia 5 1 4 0Uganda 16 0 1 15Zambia 15 0 1 14Zimbabwe 10 0 2 8Total 1,135 42 393 700


AUSTRALIA & OCEANIACountry Total Executive* Jet Turb.Australia 480 1 163 316Fiji 3 0 0 3French Polynesia 3 0 0 3Guam 4 0 4 0New Caledonia 5 0 1 4New Zealand 48 1 17 30Papua New Guinea 13 0 1 12Tahiti 0 0 0 0Vanuatu 1 0 0 1Total 557 2 186 369




“I am especially encouraged bythe resources general aviation man-ufacturers are expending on theresearch and development of newproducts,” said Bunce. “Recoveryindicators continue to fluctuate, butone positive indicator - the invest-ment in new airplanes and technol-ogy – is solid. GA manufacturersare clearly looking toward thefuture and wil l be poised for astrong return when the economyfully recovers.”

Slow Growth in the USThe North American Business

Aviation industry has started toshow signs of l i fe. In 2010, theCanadian fleet grew by 4.5 percentto 1117 units and Mexico’s grew by7.8 percent. In 2010, the US fleetgrew by 0.17 percent to 17937 unitsafter shrinking by 1 percent in 2009.Analyst Brian Foley notes that buy-ers from outside North Americahave been active on the US marketand that this is partially responsiblefor the slow growth in the country’sfleet. Foley added: “The next phase(this year) will be a resurgence ofnew aircraft orders led by a nowmuch-recovered US, particularlysince the pre-owned market willhave been largely picked over leav-ing few alternatives except to buynew.”

George Tsopeis an analyst withZenith Jet said: “In the last businesscycle, the prominence of the interna-tional market garnered whateverdemand was available for that peri-od further impacting the USinstalled fleet.”

Tsopeis added that 2010 was thetrough year and that 2011 will see amarginal rise in unit deliveries.

EuropeWhile commentators sometimes

seem giddy about the prospects forgrowth in places like Brazil andChina, it would be foolish to overlookthe potential for growth that stillexists in Europe. In 2010 manyEuropean countries like Russia, Italyand France posted impressive results.

Germany is at the top of theEuropean leader board with a com-bined Turboprop and Jet fleet of 664aircraft, (no change from last year)the UK’s fleet has grown by 4.6 per-cent from 611 in 2009 to 639 in 2010.

France posted growth of 6.5 per-cent, going from 398 units in 2009 to424 units in 2010. Other Europeancountries with large and growingfleets include, Switzerland 332 (up 19or 6 percent), Austria 269 (up 2 or .4percent) Italy 247 (up 17 or 7.5 per-cent) Russia 143 (up 15 or 12 per-cent) and the Isle of Man 63 (up 21or 50 percent).

Brian Humphries of the EBAAacknowledged that 2010 was a verytough year for the European industrybut said that the figures look encour-aging. He told Bart International thata large backlog of unsold aircraft isholding things back but that “weexpect growth to resume.”

And Rob Wilson, President,Business and General Aviation,Honeywell Aerospace pointed outthat the “strong major trading part-ner currencies, such as the Euro,Pound, Swiss Franc and the Ruble,against the dollar, act as a purchaseincentive for new aircraft.”

Wilson sees a bright future forBusiness Aviation in Europe. “Thedollar is projected to show seculardeclines against most of these cur-rencies for some time, as interestrates remain low and deficits are siz-able. This trend should result insome potential tailwind for new jetdemand, driven by improving ratesof growth and business expansionexpected in Eastern Europe andRussia after 2010.”

South America, Africa and AsiaThe South American industry has

weathered the recession better thanany other continent. Brazil’s fleetswelled by 215 units and is now 21percent larger than last year.Venezuela’s fleet grew by 27 units(4.8 percent), Argentina’s fleet grewby 29 units (12.4 percent),Columbia’s grew by 22 units (9.6 per-cent) and Chile’s grew by 12 units(15.3 percent).

On the African continent, SouthAfrica still boasts by far the largestBusiness Aviation Turbine fleet with464 units, up 20 units (4.5 percent)on last year. African countries whichhave posted impressive growth in2010 include Kenya where the fleetexpanded by 9 units (10.3 percent)and Egypt where the fleet grew by 6units (14.2%).

The total Business Aviation turbinefleet in Asia now stands at 1672 unitsup from 1508 units in 2009. Japan

INNOVATIONSInvestment innew airplanes

and technologyis solid.

R E P O R T 2 0 1 0 B U S I N E S S A I R C R A F T F L E E T

12 MONTH WORLD WIDE TURBINE FLEET2009 2010 Unit Change Growth

Worldwide 29,998 31,110 1,112 3.70%United States 17,905 17,937 30 0.16%Asia 1,508 1,672 194 12%North America 20,425 20,616 191 0.90%S. America 2,226 2,558 332 14%Europe 3,959 4,160 201 5%Africa 1,046 1,135 89 8.50%Oceania 487 557 70 14.37%



RECOVERYThe indicatorsshow thatbusiness hascertainlyresumed in theindustry.

still has the largest fleet in Asia with225 units, up 2 units on last year,India is in second place with 224units up 23 units (11.4 percent) onlast year. China’s fleet is still growingsteadily, although not at the rate thatsome of the recent hype about thecountry would suggest. Its fleet grewby 27 units so that its fleet now totals112 units.

The Business Aviation industry inthe Middle East appears to be backon track, as was evidenced by astrong showing at MEBA lastDecember. The Saudi Arabian fleetgrew by 7.4 percent in 2010 and theUAE’s fleet grew by 10.4 percent.Manufactures like Dassault are confi-dent about the potential for growth inthe area. Dassault plans to grow itsMiddle Eastern fleet by 30 percentover the next three years, thanks to asolid aircraft order book from region-al buyers.

“The Middle East business environ-ment still remains challenging butconfidence levels appear to be ris-ing,” said John Rosanvallon,President and CEO of DassaultFalcon. “Dassault has seen muchgreater demand over the last twoquarters of the current financial year,with larger cabin jet sales and pricesholding up better than smaller jets.The indicators for recovery are start-ing to show but even if this is not atrue rebound, business has certainlyresumed.”

In Oceania 62 new aircraft beenadded to the Australian fleet, ajump of 14.8 percent on last year.Growth in New Zealand’s f leet,which went from 41 units to 48units, was also strong.

Jet versus Turboprop/Models and Makes

The turboprop market has shownsteady results for 2010. Last year theworldwide turboprop fleet grew by375 units (3 percent) down from 3.06percent in 2009. The worldwide jetfleet grew by 754 units (4.4 percent)to 17872 units.

In terms of which jet makers aredominating the market, there is lit-tle change at the top. Cessna main-tains peak position, with 5932 jets inthe worldwide fleet, up from 5769 in2009. The success of Cessna’sCitation Mustang entry level jet isdoing much to support the compa-

ny’s growth. In 2010 Cessna’sCitation Mustang fleet grew by 77units (30 percent) and now totals333 units.

Like last year Bombardier is in sec-ond place with 3,802 units up from3672 units in 2009. Bombardier’svaried portfolio has helped to shieldthe company from the economicdownturn. The Learjet 40XR’s fleethas grown well (up 11 units) so toohas the Learjet 45XR’s (up 7 units)and the Learjet 60XR’s (up 15 units).Hawker Beechcraft is in third placewith 2423 units, up from 2,113 unitsin 2009. The Hawker 900 XP isdoing well with 21 units added tothe global fleet in 2010 and the 750is up four units. Gulfstream is infourth place with 1986 units up from1852 in 2009. The G-550 is up 38units on last year and the G-200 isup 9 units.

Dassault has 1913 units in theworldwide fleet up from 1834 in 2009.Embraer, while still in sixth place inthe Business Aviation OEM rank-ings, is carving out market share foritself at a very impressive rate. In2009 it had 254 jets in the worldwidefleet but now the company boasts astriking 401 jets. 186 of these arePhenom 100s while 170 of these areLegacy 600s. Embraer delivered 92jets during the fourth quarter of2010, 61 to executive aviation, andEmbraer’s Phenom 100 was the mostdelivered executive jet in 2010.

The most popular aircraft on themarket is still the Citation II,although its fleet dropped by five thisyear to 581. And there are otherCitations with large fleets too, includ-ing the Excel with 365, the Bravowith 333 and the CJ3 with 348. Thefleet of Learjet 35A still boasts 469units and the Hawker 800XP has 421units in the worldwide fleet, downfrom 423 in 2009. Other top aircraftinclude the Challenger 604 whichhas 361 units and the Beechjet 400Awith 344 units.

The Caravan 208B takes up thelargest portion of the turboprop fleetwith 1423 aircraft up from 1,311 lastyear. Next in line in the turboproprankings is the King Air B200 with1094 units, followed by the PilatusPC-12 (776), the King Air 200 (704),the King Air 350 (659), the King AirC90 (442) and the Piper Meridian(416).

Shift in FocusThis year’s fleet report highlights

that the centre of gravity forBusiness Aviation sales activity ismoving away from the US. HawkerBeechcraft says that it expects salesgrowth outside of North Americacontinue to outpace sales growthwithin North America. In January2011 Sean McGeough, HawkerBeechcraft President of Europe,Middle East and Africa said: “Wehave developed new aircraft that arecreated with more than just the USmarket in mind.” He cited the newBeechcraft King Air 250 and Hawker200 as two examples.

In November 2010 Trevor Esling,Cessna’s vice president forInternational Sales said internationaldemand will make an important con-tribution to the business jet market’sgradual recovery and account for anincreased proportion of future sales.He added: “Cessna expects thatincreased customer demand will firstbecome apparent in certain interna-tional markets, and that regions suchas Eastern Europe and Russia, LatinAmerica and the Middle East willbecome more significant marketsalongside the United States andEuropean Union.”

In 2011 the shift from mainstayslike the US to rising markets willcontinue at pace. As David J.Wyndham from Conklin andDeDecker said: “Aircraft brokerswith strong international connectionsshould be in for a good year.”

✈



While 2010 has been anotherdifficult year for BusinessAviation, market indicatorssuggest that the industry willstart to pick up in earnest at thevery least by 2012. Forecastsand reports published byBombardier, ForecastInternational, Honeywell andZenith Jet in 2010 have saidthat factors like wealth creation,increasing globalization oftrade and high purchaseintentions in Asia, Africa andthe Middle East will contributeto the long awaited BusinessAviation recovery.

Forecast InternationalA 2010 Forecast International report

predicts that the drop in business jetproduction, which began in 2008, willcontinue through 2011. The reportalso predicts that from 2010 until 2019manufacturers will produce a total of11,437 business jets with an estimatedvalue of $217.5 billion.

ON TRACKThe long termmarket drivers

for growthremain solid.

R E P O R T M A R K E T A N A L Y S I S

EXIT STRATEGY



OPTIMISMBombardierAerospace’s20 year outlookpredicted thatfrom 2010 to2029 there willbe a return togrowthin BusinessAviation.

A statement from ForecastInternational said that the worst ofthe industry downturn is over but thatreal market improvement has yet tobegin. The group said that economicgrowth won’t immediately translateinto growth in the Business Aviationindustry. “Corporate profits, normallya prime leading indicator of improvedbusiness jet sales, are on the rise.However, corporations are opting tohold onto their profits, as they arehesitant to make major expendituresin a time of economic instability anduncertain government policies.” Themessage from ForecastInternational’s report is that people inthe Business Aviation industry needto be patient. “Continued economicimprovement....will help free up someof the huge amounts of cash nowbeing safeguarded in corporate cof-fers, with business jet sales being oneof the beneficiaries.”

Bombardier’s Business AviationOutlook

Bombardier Aerospace’s 20-yearoutlook said that from 2010 to 2029,there would be a return to growth inBusiness Aviation. It’s outlook esti-mated that business jet manufactur-ers will deliver a total of 26,000 busi-ness jets in all segments in whichBombardier competes (from light tolarge categories but excluding verylight jets).

The 26,000 deliveries forecastedover the 20-year period representtotal revenues of approximately $661billion for the industry, of which10,500 deliveries worth $254 billionare anticipated in the period from2010 to 2019, and 15,500 deliveriesworth $407 billion in the period from2020 to 2029.

A statement from Bombardier saidthat despite continuing economic chal-lenges, the long-term market driversof growth for the business jet industryremain solid. It added that toward thesecond half of calendar year 2009,these indicators began showing signsthat the market segment was stabiliz-ing.

Barry MacKinnon, Director ofMarket Development, BombardierBusiness Aircraft told BARTInternational: “We believe that 2010was probably a trough year for busi-ness jet deliveries into the US marketas a result of the depth of the reces-sion of 2008-2009.”

He said that there are encouragingsigns that the US has started to showsustained growth during late 2010.“According to the US Bureau ofEconomic Analysis the US economygrew by 2.5 percent year-over-yearduring the 3rd quarter of 2010. Webelieve that business jet deliverieswill follow the growth trend in theeconomy in 2011 and beyond,” hesaid. “Bombardier’s 2010 Business

Aircraft Market Forecast predictsthat the North American (which ismainly the US) business jet fleet willgrow from 9,635* aircraft (*exclud-ing very light jets and large corpo-rate airliners) in 2009 to 11,300 air-craft by 2019. This constitutes a 2percent compound annual growthrate (CAGR) of the f leet , net ofretirements.”He also said that the economicrecovery in Europe is lagging that ofthe U.S. , with 1.9 percent GDPgrowth within the Eurozone beingrecorded during the 3rd quarter of2010. But he added that:“Bombardier’s forecast indicates thatthe European business jet fleet willresume growing significantly in thecoming years. Bombardier predictsthat the European business fleet willgrow from 1,780* aircraft in 2009 to3,700 aircraft by 2019. This repre-sents a fleet growth CAGR of 8 per-cent, net of retirements.”

Industry Expansion in 2012In 2010 Honeywell revised its fore-

casts for business jet deliveriesbetween 2010 and 2020 up by 10 per-cent, the group now estimates thatindustry sales will be in excess of $225billion for that period.

While Honeywell expects that deliv-eries to fall below 700 in 2011 itexpects the market to grow again in2012.

BUSINESS JET INDUSTRY 20-YEAR DELIVERIES OUTLOOK Source Bombardier Forecasting Model


IMPRESSIVEBombardier's

outlook says thatthe Business

Aviation marketis stabilizing.


Rob Wilson, President, Business andGeneral Aviation, HoneywellAerospace said: “Despite a torpidrecovery, there have been relativelyfew program cancellations and delaysso the pipeline of new high-value mod-els supporting long-term growthremains strong. Our survey indicatesthat international demand will stillremain significant and contribute tolonger-term growth.”

He added that the retail value of jetshipments is “registering mid-to-highsingle digit erosion this year, due to therelative strength of large cabin aircraft,”and that “the industry should beginanother period of expansion by 2012.”

Zenith Jet Sees Potentialfor 2011 Recovery

Zenith Jet, a Business Aviation consul-tancy based in Canada is more opti-mistic about the immediate future ofthe industry. It says that the industryhas reached a trough and will recoverat a steady pace over the next ten years.According to the group improving eco-nomic conditions will result in growingdeliveries of aircraft, these will thensteadily increase to a 9 percent com-pounded annual growth rate in theyears between 2010 and 2019. The


REGIONAL 10-YEAR DELIVERY OUTLOOK Units, calendar years, 2010-2019


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group added that unit deliveries willreach 11,000 units representing $208billion in revenues for that period.

Zenith Jet believes that Brazil,Russia, India and China are likely tobe strong contributors to OEM orderbooks, especially given the apprecia-tion of their respective currenciesagainst the US dollar. But the groupadds that capital must be invested inaviation infrastructure in these coun-tries if they are to contribute to a glob-al Business Aviation recovery.

And the group is confident that theNorth American market will reboundonce corporate profits in the region startto show signs of discernable growth.

OEM Highlights

Zenith Jet has also put its neck onthe line and listed a series of OEMhighlights which it thinks will takeplace between 2010 and 2019. It saysthat Bombardier will stop produc-ing the L40XR & the L45XR by 2014and withdraw from the l ight andsuper l ight segments. Zenith Jetcomments that the Lear 40 & 45have not had the sales successBombardier expected, especiallyinternationally and that the Learjet85 will allow Bombardier to wipe theslate clean and breathe new life intoLearjet.

Based in part on the frenziedengine development activity in the10k to 12k lbs thrust range ZenithJet predicts that Gulfstream will

develop a clean sheet large aircraftwhich they will in turn stretch into asuper large model to be ready forentry - into -service in 2015. AndZenith Jet notes that HawkerBeechcraf t may design a superlight product. A statement fromZenith Jet said: “A stand-up cabin,2,000 nm range (based on 4 passen-gers) and a true lav wrapped up in asleek airframe would present a seri-ous challenge to Cessna’s long-in-the-tooth straight-winged XLS+.”Zenith Jet says Cessna will re-initi-a te the Columbus program.“Despite this uncertainty, Cessnawill secure the largest unit deliver-ies market share over the forecastperiod ie 35 percent.”

Although Dassault will bring theirsuper midsize program to market,Zenith Jet anticipate a slow launch,development and entry into servicecycle. “Our forecast has 2018 slated asthe timeline for its first deliveries. Withperiodic upgrades to its other aircraftprograms i.e. their F2000 & F900 vari-ants and their newer ultra long rangeF7X, Dassault’s unit deliveries shouldtranslate into an average of 68 annualaircraft deliveries over the forecast peri-od, but not much more,” the groupsaid. On Embraer Zenith Jet is opti-mistic. It says that Embraer will solidi-fy itself as the sixth major BusinessAviation OEM in coming years secur-ing the #2 spot in terms of unit deliver-ies market share with 18 percent.


✈

PREDICTIONSConsultancy

Zenith Jetpredicts thatCessna will

relaunch theColumbus

program soon(top).

Lear 45 (center).



As the leader in providingresearched market informationto the industry, AMSTAT onceagain takes the opportunity toprovide some insight into thestate of the Business Aviationmarket.

As of this January, 14.7 percent ofthe worldwide fleet of business jets isfor sale, compared with 15.5 percentjust a quarter ago. This representsone of the steepest single quarterdrops we’ve seen in this metric inrecent history. Although still highcompared to its 20-year average of12.5 percent, this metric seems to bepicking up steam after a recent flat-tening trend in which improvementhad nearly stalled.

For turboprop aircraft, 11.9 percent ofthe worldwide fleet is currently for sale,compared with 12.0 percent last quar-ter. While the decrease for turbopropsis less pronounced, the recent improve-ment has been steady, and this metricis now less than one percent above its20-year average of 11.2 percent.

The fourth quarter of 2010 also gaveus the historically typical spike in resaleretail transaction activity. For businessjets, just over 2.6 percent of the world-wide fleet changed hands, which repre-sents the most transaction activity sincethe third quarter of 2008. For turbo-props, retail resale sales represented 2.5percent of the fleet, which was also themost activity seen for this categorysince 2008. Although these figures arestill well below their historical quarterly

averages of 3.4 percent, the improve-ment in transaction activity seen in Q4is nonetheless welcome news.

As we have mentioned previously,the Business Aviation market nearlyalways experiences an increase in pre-owned aircraft sales in fourth quarters.At the end of 2009, we saw a spike inpre-owned aircraft sales that was thenfollowed by a significant drop in Q1

activity and a lacklustre 2010. It is cer-tainly possible that 2011 will follow asimilar pattern, and the recovery weall yearn for will remain elusive.

However, because in Q4 2010, wewitnessed not only the expectedincrease in transaction activity, butalso a significant drop in pre-owned forsale inventory, we may be entering2011 in better shape than we’veentered any of the past few years. Infact, the last two times the business jetmarket experienced both a fourthquarter transactions spike and a signif-icant drop in for sale inventory wereQ4 of 2006, which was in the middle ofthe best run the market has ever seen,and Q4 of 2003, which turned out to bethe beginning of the true recoveryfrom the last market downturn. Thefact that we saw similar conditions inQ4 of 2010 could be entirely coinci-dence, or it could be the most promis-ing sign that the market has given usin a while.

This AMSTAT Market Analysis arti-cle was written by Tom Benson,Executive Vice President of AMSTAT.AMSTAT is the leading provider ofmarket research information and ser-vices to the corporate aviation industry.Founded in 1982, and based in TintonFalls, NJ, AMSTAT introduced the con-cept of providing researched informa-tion to corporate aviation professionals.

GOOD OMENSA drop in saleinventory and atransactionsspike in Q4 2010could be a verygood signfor 2011.

✈

A M S T A T M A R K E T U P D A T E

PROMISING SIGNSBUSINESS AIRCRAFT RESALE RETAIL TRANSACTIONS(as % of Worldwide Fleet)

PRE-OWNED BUSINESS AIRCRAFT FOR SALE INVENTORY(as % of Worldwide Fleet)

By Tom Benson



Once again BART Internationalteams up with Avinode, anindependent European onlinecharter network to give anoverview of the charter market.This year’s report shows that themarket is buoyant after a sharpfall in charter requests in 2009.

2 010 saw a dramatic recovery inthe charter industry. After a dis-appointing 2009 when 473,572

charter requests were sent, brokersand operators sent a total of 891,377requests in 2010, an impressive 88 per-cent increase. Charter requestsclimbed steadily from a low of 43,475

December. Magnus HenrikssonBusiness Manager at Avinode toldBART International that the charter

market has slowly recovered after acatastrophic year in 2009. “Events likethe Icelandic ash chaos and the FIFAworld cup in South Africa have causeda big demand for Business Aviation,”he said.

He added that operators are nowmore willing to try new business mod-els with one way pricing and floatingfleets, which has also contributed tothe increase. “This is a strong trendespecially in the US but somethingwe’ve also started seeing in Europe,”he said.

Avinode data shows that demandfor heavy jet charter services hasgone up considerably on last year. In

UPTURNEvents like theSouth African

World Cupcreated

improveddemand for

BusinessAviation in 2010.

R E P O R T C H A R T E R I N D E X

in January 2010 to a peak of 101,441 inJuly before leveling off at 84,451 in

A RETURNTO FORM

YEAR MONTH TOTAL SENTREQUESTS

2010 Jan 43,4752010 Feb 48,7872010 Mar 62,7722010 Apr 75,9922010 May 69,8842010 Jun 86,2412010 Jul 101,4412010 Aug 90,7022010 Sep 75,8352010 Oct 76,8142010 Nov 74,9832010 Dec 84,451

NUMBER OF CHARTER REQUESTS SENT PER MONTH


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January 2010 40 percent of charterrequests were sent for heavy jets,compared to around 34 percent inJanuary 2009. And in November2010, demand for heavy jets hit 44percent, compared to 36 percent in2009. Requests for turboprop char-ter services as a percentage of totalcharter services have dropped slight-ly on last year. December 2010demand for turboprops dropped to 5percent.

London and Moscow are the two ofthe most requested regions for depar-ture airports. In 2010 8.7 percent ofrequests for departure airports werefor the London area, a drop of 0.2 per-cent on last year and 18.3 percent ofcharter requests were for the Moscowarea, up 0.5 percent on last year. Themost popular departure airports in theturboprop sector tend to be in westernand northern European cities.

London andMoscow aretwo of themostrequestedregions fordepartureairports.

DISTRIBUTION OF REQUESTS PER AIRCRAFT CATEGORY

Requests Heavy Jet Light Jet Midsize Jet Turbo Prop

2010 1 Jan 40% 35% 15% 9%2 Feb 40% 35% 17% 8%3 Mar 40% 36% 16% 8%4 Apr 43% 34% 17% 7%5 May 36% 39% 17% 8%6 Jun 36% 39% 19% 7%7 Jul 34% 42% 18% 6%8 Aug 34% 41% 19% 6%9 Sep 37% 38% 18% 7%

10 Oct 42% 33% 19% 6%11 Nov 44% 31% 20% 6%12 Dec 43% 32% 20% 5%

DISTRIBUTION OF REQUESTS PER AIRCRAFT CATEGORY

UUWW 17.8%

LFPB 4.2%

LFMN 3.9%

EGGW 3.5%

LSGG 2.6%

EGLF 2.1%

KTEB 1.7%

LSZH 1.7%

OMD 1.5%

LIML 1.2%

DEPARTURE AIRPORTSPER REQUEST

R E P O R T


EBACE2011BUSINESS AVIATION – LINKING COMMUNITIES AND ECONOMIES


In the mid-sized jet and heavy jet sec-tion Moscow’s Vnukovo airport is themost popular departure airport, taking24.8 percent of all requests for mid-sized jets and 28.3 percent of allrequests for heavy jets. Dubai is alsodeveloping as a mid-sized jet destina-tion, taking 2.2 percent of requests fordeparture airports compared to 2.0percent last year. Most of the popularlight jet destinations are within west-ern Europe, whereas popular heavy jetdestinations have a more internationalspread; the top ten includesTeterborough, Geneva and Dubai.

Vnukovo is still the most popularairport for arrival requests. It took4.2 percent of arrival requests in2010 down from 4.8 percent in 2009.And like last year southern Europeanairports like Cote d’Azur (3.5 per-cent), Malaga (1 percent) and Linate(1 percent) are proving popular, usu-ally with flights arriving from north-ern European destinations.Henriksson said: “We saw a surpris-ingly strong demand during the sum-mer months for flights to typical holi-day destinations such as Nice, Olbia,Linate and so on.” He added thatdemand was significantly higher dur-ing the summer of 2010 than the restof the year.

SEASONALCharter demandwas significantly

higher during thesummer of 2010than the rest of

the year.

R E P O R T C H A R T E R I N D E X

✈

Turbo Prop Light JetLFPB 6.1% LFPB 5.5%EGGW 2.5% EGGW 4.5%LSGG 2.5% LSGG 3.9%EHAM 2.2% LFMN 3.9%LFMN 2.2% UUWW 2.7%EGKB 2.1% EGLF 2.7%EHRD 2.0% LSZH 2.3%EGLF 1.7% EGKB 1.8%EBAW 1.5% LIML 1.7%EBBR 1.1% LFMD 1.4%

Mid Size Jet Heavy JetUUWW 24.8% UUWW 28.3%EGGW 2.9% EGGW 4.2%LFMN 2.8% LFPB 3.1%ULLI 2.8% KTEB 2.8%KTEB 2.6% LFMN 2.8%OMDB 2.2% LSGG 2.0%LFPB 2.0% EGLF 1.8%UKBB 1.7% OMDB 1.7%LSGG 1.5% ULLI 1.7%

DEPARTURE AIRPORTSPER REQUEST AND AIRCRAFT CATEGORY


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By Marc Grang ier

Last year, in our analysis of the2009 World Helicopter Fleet wesaid: “2009 had been a badyear in terms of worldhelicopter fleet increase, as ithad grown by only 5.6percent”. Unfortunately 2010has been much worse than lastyear. The world helicopter fleetgrew by only 2.7 percent, from25,480 to 26,175 units, thepiston helicopter fleet shrunk by0.3 percent, from 8,833 to8,807 and the single turbinefleet grew by 2.9 percent, from10,696 to 11,012. The strongestof the three categories was themulti turbine fleet, whichswelled by a phenomenal 7.2percent, from 5,925 to 6,356units, a sign that big helicoptersare still in demand, especiallyin the oil exploration industry.

“It looks like we’re coming outthe other side”

B ART International asked MattZuccaro, president of theHelicopter Association

International (HAI), for his opinionabout the state of the industry. Hesaid: “As I travel and talk to people inthe US and internationally, the generalsense I get is that things are stable.There have been pockets where peo-ple have had difficult times. This hasbeen the case with air tours as a result

of a drop in international travel.Corporate flight activity was reduced,and corporate acquisitions meantsome mergers of flight departmentsand cuts in equipment and staff. Publicservice flying was down as a result ofthe economic bad times facing state,county and municipal governments.Electronic newsgathering flight activi-ty also dropped off.”

Zuccaro said that the helicopterindustry has gotten through the eco-nomic downturn reasonably well, andhe thinks that this has had a lot to do


GETTING READY FOR RECOVERYR E P O R T 2 0 1 0 W O R L D H E L I C O P T E R F L E E T

PISTON VS TURBINE BY WORLD AREA As of end 2010

World Area Pistons Single Multi TotalAfrica 533 469 249 1,251Asia 374 802 1,253 2,429Central America 212 539 223 974Europe 2,273 2,052 1,973 6,298North America 3,746 5,736 1,949 11,431Oceania 1,289 727 260 2,276South America 592 987 560 2,139Unknown 0 239 112 351Total 8,807 11,012 6,356 26,175

EXPANSIONMore than 140

Eurocopterhelicopters

operatethroughout

Russia and theCIS countries.

46-50 HELI FLEET.qxp 3/02/2011 14:01 Page 46

HELICOPTER SUMMARY BY MODEL AS OF DECEMBER 31, 2010

PISTON MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEENSTROM 280 SHARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 . . . . . . . . .1ENSTROM 280C SHARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126 . . . . . . . .35ENSTROM 280F SHARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . .1ENSTROM 280FX SHARK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .108 . . . . . . . .29ENSTROM F-28 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . .0ENSTROM F-28A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .124 . . . . . . . .26ENSTROM F-28C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69 . . . . . . . .11ENSTROM F-28C-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 . . . . . . . . .1ENSTROM F28F FALCON . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100 . . . . . . . .10ROBINSON R22 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80 . . . . . . . .16ROBINSON R22 ALPHA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 . . . . . . . . .4ROBINSON R22 BETA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1208 . . . . . . .346ROBINSON R22 BETA II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1487 . . . . . . .335ROBINSON R22 HP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .73 . . . . . . . . .6ROBINSON R22 MARINER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 . . . . . . . .27ROBINSON R22 MARINER II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41 . . . . . . . .14ROBINSON R44 ASTRO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .603 . . . . . . .160ROBINSON R44 RAVEN I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1087 . . . . . . .316ROBINSON R44 RAVEN II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2661 . . . . . . .685SCHWEIZER 300CB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98 . . . . . . . .23SCHWEIZER S-300C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .515 . . . . . . .194SCHWEIZER S-300CBI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .177 . . . . . . . .33Total Piston . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8,807 . . . . .2,273

SINGLE TURBINE MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEAGUSTA/WESTLAND A119 KE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 . . . . . . . .22AGUSTA/WESTLAND A119 KOALA . . . . . . . . . . . .90 . . . . . . . .17BELL 204B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 . . . . . . . . .1BELL 205A-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .135 . . . . . . . . .9BELL 206A JETRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 . . . . . . . . .5BELL 206B JETRANGER II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.024 . . . . . . . .74BELL 206B-3 JETRANGER III . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.970 . . . . . . .212BELL 206L LONGRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .102 . . . . . . . .10BELL 206L-1 LONGRANGER II . . . . . . . . . . . . .429 . . . . . . . .26BELL 206L-3 LONGRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .495 . . . . . . . .24BELL 206L-4 LONGRANGER IV . . . . . . . . . . . . .373 . . . . . . . . .9BELL 210 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 . . . . . . . . .0BELL 214B BIGLIFTER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33 . . . . . . . . .2BELL 407 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .942 . . . . . . . .71AB-206A JETRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 . . . . . . . .15AB-206B JETRANGER II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84 . . . . . . . .67AB-206B-3 JETRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .78 . . . . . . . .68ENSTROM 480 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 . . . . . . . .18ENSTROM 480B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .88 . . . . . . . .16EUROCOPTER AS-350B ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . . .344 . . . . . . . .67EUROCOPTER AS-350B-1 ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . . .57 . . . . . . . .25EUROCOPTER AS-350B-2 ECUREUIL . . . . . . .1.052 . . . . . . .164EUROCOPTER AS-350B-3 ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . .882 . . . . . . .320EUROCOPTER AS-350BA ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . .529 . . . . . . .136EUROCOPTER AS-350D ASTAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . .76 . . . . . . . . .8EUROCOPTER EC-120B COLIBRI . . . . . . . . . . .550 . . . . . . .269EUROCOPTER EC-130B-4 ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . .316 . . . . . . . .61EUROCOPTER SA-315B LAMA . . . . . . . . . . . . .218 . . . . . . .115EUROCOPTER SA-316B ALOUETTE III . . . . . . . . .151 . . . . . . . .64EUROCOPTER SA-318C ALOUETTE II . . . . . . . . . .78 . . . . . . . .31EUROCOPTER SA-319B ALOUETTE III . . . . . . . . . .32 . . . . . . . .10MD MD 500E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .354 . . . . . . . .71MD MD 520N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 . . . . . . . .15MD MD 530F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .90 . . . . . . . . .1MD MD 600N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 . . . . . . . .12ROBINSON R66 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 . . . . . . . . .0SCHWEIZER 330 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 . . . . . . . . .5SCHWEIZER S-333 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 . . . . . . . .12Total Single Turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11,012 . . . . .2,052

MULTI TURBINE MFG/MODEL TOTAL EUROPEAGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A 62 28AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109A MK II . . . . . . . . . . . .97 . . . . . . . .53AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 . . . . . . . .25

AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109E POWER . . . . . . . . .346 . . . . . . .122AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109K2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 . . . . . . . .19AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109S GRAND . . . . . . . . .143 . . . . . . . .61AGUSTA/WESTLAND A109SP GRANDNEW . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . .12AGUSTA/WESTLAND AW139 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .258 . . . . . . . .73BELL 206LT TWINRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . . . . .3BELL 212 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .483 . . . . . . . .59BELL 214ST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 . . . . . . . . .0BELL 222A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 . . . . . . . . .5BELL 222B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 . . . . . . . . .4BELL 222SP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 . . . . . . . . .2BELL 222UT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52 . . . . . . . . .4BELL 230 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37 . . . . . . . . .3BELL 412 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127 . . . . . . . .17BELL 412EP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .415 . . . . . . . .38BELL 412HP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 . . . . . . . .16BELL 412SP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 . . . . . . . . .2BELL 427 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 . . . . . . . .11BELL 429 GLOBALRANGER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 . . . . . . . . .0BELL 430 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 . . . . . . . .12BELL/AGUSTA AB-412 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27 . . . . . . . .26BELL/AGUSTA AB-412EP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17 . . . . . . . .17BELL/AGUSTA AB-412HP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 . . . . . . . . .3BELL/AGUSTA AB-412SP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 . . . . . . . . .7EUROCOPTER AS-332L SUPER PUMA . . . . . . . . .66 . . . . . . . .25EUROCOPTER AS-332L1 SUPER PUMA . . . . . . . .66 . . . . . . . .27EUROCOPTER AS-332L2 SUPER PUMA . . . . . . . .48 . . . . . . . .24EUROCOPTER AS-355E ECUREUIL II . . . . . . . . . . .2 . . . . . . . . .0EUROCOPTER AS-355F ECUREUIL II . . . . . . . . .138 . . . . . . . .55EUROCOPTER AS-355F-1 ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . . .58 . . . . . . . .26EUROCOPTER AS-355F-2 ECUREUIL . . . . . . . . .159 . . . . . . . .53EUROCOPTER AS-355N ECUREUIL II . . . . . . . . .152 . . . . . . . .89EUROCOPTER AS-355NP ECUREUIL II . . . . . . . . .30 . . . . . . . .25EUROCOPTER AS-365C DAUPHIN 2 . . . . . . . . . .54 . . . . . . . .29EUROCOPTER AS-365N DAUPHIN 2 . . . . . . . . .112 . . . . . . . .42EUROCOPTER AS-365N-1 DAUPHIN 2 . . . . . . . .35 . . . . . . . .15EUROCOPTER AS-365N-2 DAUPHIN 2 . . . . . . .123 . . . . . . . .31EUROCOPTER AS-365N-3 DAUPHIN 2 . . . . . . .146 . . . . . . . .64EUROCOPTER BK-117A-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 . . . . . . . . .1EUROCOPTER BK-117B-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .75 . . . . . . . .33EUROCOPTER BK-117B-2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43 . . . . . . . . .9EUROCOPTER BK-117C-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51 . . . . . . . .27EUROCOPTER EC-135P1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 . . . . . . . .16EUROCOPTER EC-135P2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .145 . . . . . . . .59EUROCOPTER EC-135P2I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .243 . . . . . . .110EUROCOPTER EC-135T1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .87 . . . . . . . .54EUROCOPTER EC-135T2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 . . . . . . .101EUROCOPTER EC-135T2I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 . . . . . . . .83EUROCOPTER EC-145 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370 . . . . . . .101EUROCOPTER EC-155B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31 . . . . . . . .19EUROCOPTER EC-155B1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81 . . . . . . . .34EUROCOPTER EC-225LP SUPER PUMA . . . . . . . .72 . . . . . . . .31EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117A-1 . . . . . . . . .12 . . . . . . . . .0EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117B . . . . . . . . . . .83 . . . . . . . . .1EUROCOPTER/KAWASAKI BK-117C-1 . . . . . . . . . .9 . . . . . . . . .0MD MD EXPLORER . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .110 . . . . . . . .56SIKORSKY S-76A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .132 . . . . . . . . .7SIKORSKY S-76A+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 . . . . . . . . .6SIKORSKY S-76A++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 . . . . . . . . .3SIKORSKY S-76B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .83 . . . . . . . .19SIKORSKY S-76C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30 . . . . . . . . .4SIKORSKY S-76C+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .143 . . . . . . . .12SIKORSKY S-76C++ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .190 . . . . . . . .22SIKORSKY S-92A . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123 . . . . . . . .38Total Multi Turbine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6,356 . . . . .1,973

Grand Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26,175 . . . . .6,298© AVDATA/JETNET




with the diversity of missions peoplecan fly with helicopters. He noted thatwhen there is a downturn in one seg-ment, it’s possible to move equipmentand personnel around to work inanother segment that isn’t doing asbadly.

Zuccaro also emphasized that theflexibility of helicopter operationsgives them a real advantage over otherindustry segments: “Single-mission-profile segments of aviation, such asfixed-wing corporate aviation or air-lines, don’t have that flexibility to gen-erate revenue. If the price of fuel goesup and passengers drop on airlines, orthe demand for corporate jets changefor whatever reason, operators tend toall suffer the same. There’s nothingmore they can do with the personneland equipment other than to scaledown. With helicopters, we have multi-ple options for using the assets andthe people.”

For Zuccaro the good news is that allof the helicopter segments that weresuffering are now recovering well.“Tour operators are getting ready tohire seasonal staff in most areas, justas they normally do. The public ser-vice segment is seeing some increasedactivity and starting to acquire and

upgrade aircraft again. That is evi-denced by the orders announced atshows in the last year, such as theAirborne Law EnforcementAssociation show in July and the AirMedical Transport Conference inSeptember. Likewise, manufacturershave made some announcementsabout delivering new aircraft to corpo-rate operators. There’s definitely anincrease in activity. I believe the indus-try has seen the bottom of the down-turn. It looks like we’re coming out theother side.”

When it comes to worldwide trendsacross helicopter segments, it is worthnoting the percentage change in salestransactions. The percentage of tur-bine helicopters for sale in 2010 aver-aged 7.2 percent up 0.4p on last year’sfigure. By contrast, the percentage ofpiston helicopter for sale droppedfrom 7.2 percent to 7 percent in 2010.According to Michael Chase, researchanalyst for JETNET LLC, all businessaircraft categories took longer to sellin 2010, ranging from 34 to 79 moredays in the YTD comparisons. Thepre-owned piston helicopter segmentwas the only aircraft market sectorwhere sale transactions fell (theydropped by 8.1 percent).

EASTWARDSikorsky Aircraft

delivered ninenew S-76 (top)

and S-92helicopters to

China in 2010.

R E P O R T 2 0 1 0 W O R L D H E L I C O P T E R F L E E T

TOP TEN BUSINESSHELICOPTER FLEETS

United States 8,090Canada 2,133Australia 1,548Brazil 1,204United Kingdom 1,168France 865South Africa 796Italy 728Japan 690Germany 671



AUSTRALIA& OCEANIA

Australia 1,548Fiji 3Guam 2New Caledonia 19New Zealand 618Norfolk Island 2Pap. New Guinea 76Solomon Islands 2Tahiti 2Vanuatu 4

SOUTHAMERICA

Argentina 167Bolivia 16Brazil 1,204Chile 177Colombia 152Ecuador 35French Guiana 2Guyana 5Paraguay 7Peru 78Suriname 3Uruguay 9Venezuela 284

ASIAAzerbaijan 9Bahrain 10Bangladesh 14Brunei 6Cambodia 10China 180Georgia 6Hong Kong 35India 233Indonesia 104Iran 30Iraq 15Israel 46Japan 690Jordan 7Kazakhstan 26Kuwait 6Laos 3Lebanon 4Malaysia 125Myanmar 1Nepal 20Oman 21Pakistan 78Philippines 145Qatar 33Saudi Arabia 47Singapore 32South Korea 98Sri Lanka 28Taiwan 20Thailand 127Turkey 91Turkmenistan 5UAE 111Vietnam 10

AFRICAAlgeria 23Angola 54Benin 1Botswana 11Burkina Faso 2Burundi 2Cameroon 10Canary Islands 2Comoros 1Congo 2Cote d''Ivoire 6Dem. Republic of Congo 5Egypt 39Equatorial Guinea 5Ethiopia 5Gabon 4Ghana 3Kenya 25Lesotho 1Libya 18Madagascar 5Malawi 4Mauritius 4Morocco 9Mozambique 11Namibia 18Niger 49Nigeria 104Reunion Island 16Rwanda 3Senegal 2Seychelles Islands 9Sierra Leone 2South Africa 796Swaziland 1Tanzania 10Togo 3Tunisia 11Uganda 10Zambia 7Zimbabwe 7

NORTHAMERICA

Antigua & Barbuda 3Aruba 3Bahamas 3Barbados 2Belize 2Bermuda 6Canada 2,133Cayman Islands 6Costa Rica 23Dominica 69Dominican Rep. 69El Salvador 28Greenland 24Guadeloupe 4Guatemala 168Haiti 1Honduras 17Jamaica 17Martinique 1Mexico 632Neth. Antilles 3Nicaragua 2Panama 102Puerto Rico 61Trin. and Tobago 21Turks and Cai. Isl. 1United States 8,090Virgin Isl. (British) 7Virgin Isl. (U.S.) 4West Indies 3

EUROPEAlbania 1Andorra 1Austria 164Belarus 4Belgium 171Bosnia and Herzegovina 4Bulgaria 14Croatia 15Cyprus 9Czech Republic 88Denmark 102Estonia 7Faeroe Islands 1Finland 82France 865Germany 671Gibraltar 3Greece 91Hungary 42Iceland 9Ireland 144Isle of Man 6Italy 728Latvia 13Liechtenstein 1Lithuania 10Luxembourg 13Macedonia 2Malta 5Monaco 23Netherlands 95Northern Ireland 5Norway 221Poland 116Portugal 76Romania 49Russian Fed. 190San Marino 6Scotland 16Serbia 10Slovak Republic 31Slovenia 33Spain 464Sweden 192Switzerland 292Ukraine 43UK 1,168

BUSINESSHELICOPTER

FLEETAS OF DECEMBER 2010

© AVDATA/JETNET



Fleets by continents

Looking at helicopter fleets by conti-nents, it’s clear that Europe’s fleet wasstable. However it has only grown by15 units, from 6,283 to 6,298, a meager0.2 percent. The big loser was the US:North America’s fleet fell by 1.1 per-cent, from 11,564 to 11,431 units, theUS’s fleet fell by 2.6 percent, from 8,303to 8,090, while Canada’s fleet grew by3.2 percent, from 2,067 to 2,133 units.

In all other continents fleets havegrown: Africa saw its fleet grow from1,136 to 1,251 units (+10.1 percent),Oceania’s fleet went from 2,153 to2,276 (+ 5.7 percent). The big winnerswere Asia and South America, wherefleets grew by 11.8 and 13.2 percent orfrom 2,172 to 2,429 units and from1,888 to 2,139 units respectively.

Country rankings

The list of the top ten helicopterfleets looks roughly the same as lastyear. The US remains on top with8,090 units, followed by Canada with2,133 units. Australia which is thirdon the list enjoyed an 8.8 percent fleetincrease last year, from 1,422 to 1,548units. Thanks to a 15.6 percentincrease, Brazil has overtaken the UKto move into fourth place. The UK’shelicopter fleet plunged by 10.4 per-cent. In sixth place, France nowboasts 865 helicopters, a 5.4 percentfleet increase, while South Africa’s

fleet increase was nothing to writehome about– 793 to 796 units. Italyhad a 4 percent increase (700 to 728),while Japan dropped a unit (691 to690). Germany’s fleet, number ten onthe list, grew by 1.2 percent, from 663to 671 units. Mexico may make it intothe top ten next year, it recorded a10.6 percent fleet increase in 2010,from 571 to 632 units. It is also clearthat the oil exploration industry isboosting the size of fleets. For exam-ple Norway saw its helicopter fleetgrow by 9.4 percent, (202 to 221units) last year.

Russia’s fleet continues on its upwardtrend, it grew by 13 percent, from 168to 190. More than 140 Eurocopter heli-copters are currently operatingthroughout Russia and the CIS coun-tries – bringing the EurocopterGroup’s share of the Russian and CISgas turbine market for Western tur-bine-engine helicopters to more than70 percent.

China’s fleet is regularly increasing,and last year, it gained 43 units (+31.3percent), from 137 to 180. This may bequite a small fleet compared to othercountries, but it shows that the“Sleeping Giant” is awakening. Forexample, Sikorsky Aircraft deliverednine new S-76 and S-92 helicopters toChina in 2010 through a steady streamof deliveries that include two S-76C++search and rescue (SAR) helicoptersto the Ministry of Transport (MOT)and two S-76C++ to Eastern GeneralAviation Company (EGAC). Anotherexample of the helicopter’s popularityin China is the recent delivery of aEurocopter EC225 for police opera-tions and firefighting water bombermissions. Today, there are 22 SuperPuma helicopters in China, this figurewill grow to 27 by the end of next year,and 10 of these will be the EC225 ver-sion. There are already 21 Bell heli-copters in operation in China and lastSeptember Bell Helicopter received itsfirst 429 customer order in the coun-try.

GROWTHChina's fleet is

regularlyincreasing and

last year itgained 43 units.

A109 Power(top), EC135

(center) .

R E P O R T 2 0 1 0 W O R L D H E L I C O P T E R F L E E T

✈



By Marc Grang ier

People from all areas ofcorporate life are waking upto the value of a businesshelicopter. It is now commonfor an executive to hop froma business jet to a helicopterin the same day and withmany charter companiesoffering the two services,doing so is getting easier. Ontop of this rotary-wing aircraftnow offer an array of servicesto different industries; they arepopular in the corporate andVIP domain, they serve theoil/gas industry and assist inmedical and surveillanceendeavors.

I t is true that the problems associat-ed with excessive noise along withaccident rates have curbed the

growth of business helicopter opera-tions. But manufacturers haveresponded by reducing the noise oftheir propulsion systems. As well theAcoustics/Environmental Committeeof the Helicopter Association

International (HAI) has set up noiseabatement programs that encouragepilots to adopt a “Fly neighborly” atti-tude. Accident rates have alsodropped, thanks in part to the HAI’ssafety enhancement programs.According to the latest US civil heli-copter statistics, there were 19 acci-dents in the first quarter of 2010, com-pared to 29 in the first quarter of2009), and the accident rate per100,000 flying hours was 2.45, com-pared to 3.58 in the first quarter of2009. Matt Zuccaro, President of HAI,states “that the industry should strivefor no accidents, and not adopt a phi-losophy that in any activity involvingman and machine, accidents are a sta-tistical certainty”.

Corporate and VIP FlightsCorporate and VIP flights represent a

growth area for helicopter operationsand of late specially designed corporateand VIP helicopters have entered themarket. Since June 2010 Spedition &Helicopterservice Linke GmbH, aNorthern Germany-based logistic com-

pany, has operated a VIP-configuredEC145 Stylence helicopter for corporatetransport missions. And at EBACE lastyear, Eurocopter announced that it hadteamed up with Mercedes-Benz todevelop a special edition of the EC145twin-engine turbine helicopter with ahigh-end interior, which will be availablefrom the fourth quarter of 2011.

OFFERING VERSATILITY ANDCONVENIENCE LIKE NEVER BEFORE

CORPORATEEC145 operated byHelicopterserviceLinke for corporatetransport missions.

A N A L Y S I S B U S I N E S S H E L I C O P T E R O P E R A T I O N S

MANNERSWe must flyneighborly in thebest interest ofeveryone saysMatt Zuccaro.

51-55 HELI OPS.qxp 3/02/2011 13:30 Page 51


Based at Geneva InternationalAirport, Swiftcopters has a fleet of tenhelicopters (Eurocopter EC120 B,AS350 B2, SA365N1, SA330 Puma, andAgustaWestland A109C), that aremostly devoted to corporate and VIPmissions. Helicopters fly to Gstaad, StTropez, Monaco, Courchevel, Zermattand Davos almost every day, andsometimes several times a day, cater-ing for customers who want a quick,reliable yet stylish way to movearound.

In spite of his company’s success,Fabiano Forte, Director of Swiftcopters,worries about the State of Geneva’sdesigns to limit flights over Geneva’s

territory. Every winter, residents in thevicinity of Geneva airport complainabout low and noisy overflights by heli-copters that take clients directly fromthe airport to up-market ski stations.The problem highlights a point maderecently by Matt Zuccaro President ofthe Helicopter Association Internatio-nal: “Flying safely and in compliancewith regulations is not enough. Wemust also fly neighborly, it is in thebest interest of everyone.”

VIP Flights in the UKAt the end of 2009 Sikorsky delivered

a new S-76C++ helicopter to the RoyalTravel Office for use by the BritishRoyal Household. According toCaptain Christopher Pittaway,Manager and Chief Pilot of TheQueen’s Helicopter Flight: “The newS76C++ provides the Royal Familywith a high quality and efficient heli-copter travel service.”

Cabair Helicopters, headquartered atElstree North London, began servingthe City of London in 1978, providinghelicopter charter services. Today, thecompany operates four AS355s, oneAS350, two EC120 Colibris (one ofwhich is floated), one Bell JetRangerB206 and two R44 Clippers (one float-ed). Cabair provides flights for heads ofstate, pop stars, film and television per-sonalities and company directors all ofwhom can fly directly to and from theirdestination. The company often allowsits clients to land in car parks or on thelawn beside a specific venue. But like inGeneva helicopter noise often grateswith residents in London. According toobservers: “There are pockets of intenseactivity associated with Wycombe AirPark, East Midlands Airport,Harpenden/Luton, Biggin Hill and FairOaks, as well as continued disgruntle-ment in those London Boroughs affect-ed by the Heliport at Battersea, and heli-

copter overflights around Heathrow andStansted. But not many offers by opera-tors to reduce helicopter movements.”

Also in the UK, Sloane Helicoptersrecently signed a contract for ten addi-tional helicopters includingAgustaWestland AW109 Power andGrandNew models. This order will ben-efit Sloane’s VIP and corporate cus-tomers. Overall, almost 150 customershave placed orders for around 290 heli-copters from the Grand series.

Vinair AeroserviçosLast October, Vinair Aeroserviços

S.A. of Cascais/Portugal took deliveryof an AgustaWestland GrandNew lighttwin helicopter. A provider of privateVIP/corporate transport services,Vinair has a mixed rotary and fixwinged fleet to meet a large range ofcustomer transport requirements con-necting Cascais and nearby Lisbon toa number of destinations in Europe.

ARRAYSikorsky S-76++or the UK Royal

Travel Office(top).

EurocopterEC120 operated

in london byCabair

Helicopters (left).Dauphin 2

operated byGeneva based

Swiftcopters(right).

A N A L Y S I S B U S I N E S S H E L I C O P T E R O P E R A T I O N S

51-55 HELI OPS.qxp 3/02/2011 13:30 Page 52


VERSATILITYMEDEVAC AirAmbulace (top),PrivateVIP/Corporatetransport (centerleft) or ferryingworkersoffshore,helicopters aremulti-missionmachines.

For VIP transportation,AgustaWestland recently deliveredtwo GrandNew helicopters in Franceand Monaco. These two deliveries fol-low the appointment of SMS as anauthorized AgustaWestland ServiceCenter. SMS has a hangar facility atthe heliport in Monaco and a base inArchamps, close to Geneva. SMS’sparent company SkyGroup owns sev-eral affiliated companies, includingSkyCam of France (which operatesand manages approximately 15 singleand twin-engine helicopters), andMonacair, headquartered at theMonaco Heliport.

Aerogulf Services, based at DubaiInternational Airport, has been pro-viding offshore helicopter supportsince 1976. But in recent years, it has

begun offering touring services andhas become a key player in the localtourism industry. Although shakenby an economic crash Dubai is still akey leisure and five star luxury desti-nation. Aerogulf believes that show-casing the region from the skiesboosts local tourism revenues. Thecompany operates six Bell heli -copters: one Jet Ranger, one LongRanger and six 212.

In India, Span Air, headquartered inNew Delhi, operates single-engineBell 407s, and received its first 429 atthe end of last year. Its second 429 isscheduled for delivery in early 2011.For Capt. S.K. Malik, head of Span Air,its company serves business execu-tives and VIPs who need to travel toremote sites in comfort and privacyand to major cities on their own sched-ules. The company also serves exclu-sive holiday destinations. LastDecember AgustaWestland announ-

ced the sale of three AW119 to Indianbusinessmen who plan to float an avia-tion company together to cater forgrowing air transportation needs.

Last July the Kingdom of SaudiArabia’s Ministry of Interior (MOI)signed a contract to procure 12 S-76DTM helicopters with Sikorsky forcorporate transport and security func-tions. The ministry also took optionsto acquire eight additional S-76Ds.Delivery of the first helicopter isscheduled for early 2012.

VIP and corporate services are devel-oping rapidly in Russia. Recently,UTair Aviation signed a contract withEurocopter for the acquisition of 20AS350/AS355 helicopters. Deliverieswill begin in mid 2011 and continuethrough to Spring 2013. UTair‘s fleet

of 233 units currently includes anAS350B3, AS355N and BO105. Itsoperations enjoyed stable growth inJanuary-October 2010, having logged79,804 flight hours, 23.1 percent morethan for the same period in 2009.During that 10 month period, its fleetcarried 370,195 passengers, 27 percentmore than for the same period lastyear.

Eurocopter also signed a contractwith Vinacopter for four helicoptersto develop the corporate helicoptermarket in Vietnam and serve as thelaunch fleet for its newly createdsubsidiary, HeliVietnam, a new char-ter venture. The fleet, which willconsist of one AS355NP, twoAS350B3 aircraft and one EC135, willbe used for tourism and VIP trans-port. Delivery of the AS355NP tookplace in mid 2010 while the remain-der of the fleet will be delivered inthe second half of 2011.

Air Ambulanceand Evacuation Missions

“When lives hang in balance, a heli-copter air ambulance may be the dif-ference between life and death”, anemergency doctor working forInternational SOS told BARTInternational. Large US medical orga-nizations clearly understand this andin contrast to their European coun-terparts, operate impressive fleets ofhelicopters for air ambulance andevacuation missions. At the last AirMedical Transport Conference, AirMedical Group Holdings (AMGH),one of the largest independentproviders of helicopter emergencymedical services in the world,announced the purchase of 16 Bell206L4 LongRanger IVs. The aircraftwil l be operated by AMGH sub-sidiary Air Evac Lifeteam, with deliv-eries in 2012 and 2013. Air EvacLifeteam is a West Plains, Missouri-

51-55 HELI OPS.qxp 3/02/2011 13:30 Page 53


based provider of air ambulance ser-vices operating over 100 medicallyequipped Bell 206 LongRangers. Ithas flown more than 220,000 patientssince its foundation in 1985.

During an official ceremony inmid 2010, Eurocopter presented acert i f icate to ÖAMTC AirAmbulance Services, for accom-plishing 100,000 flight hours with itsEC135s. Based in Vienna, Austria,ÖAMTC is one of the largest privateoperators of the EC135, with a fleetof 28 aircraft. With a vast number offlight hours and about 15,000 opera-

tions every year, the company setsbenchmarks for successful opera-t ions with EMS hel icopters .ÖAMTC recently flew its 200,000thmission. An EMS helicopter can bedeployed to almost any location inAustria within 15 minutes, greatlyimproving survival chances.

A week before Christmas, Poland’spublic air medical rescue operatorLPR received the final two EurocopterEC135 helicopters of the 23 acquiredby the Polish Ministry of Health tomodernize the country’s helicopter-based medical evacuation services.These helicopters are operated from17 bases across the country. TheEC135 has become the helicopter ofchoice in the world of emergencymedical services. More than 800 ofthese aircraft – including 400 in theEMS configuration – have been deliv-ered to 160 customers in 40 countriessince the aircraft was launched in mid-1996.

Film and Photography Flights.Even if it represents only a small

share of helicopter operations, filmingand photography flights are often criti-cal for people working against theclock. Last October, Japan’s leadingnewspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, tookdelivery of an AgustaWestlandGrandNew helicopter which will beused for news gathering and aerialphotography missions. The aircraft isthe first GrandNew to be sold in Japan,and the first of its type to be used forelectronic newsgathering. It is config-ured with six forward facing seatsallowing for cameras to be more easilyused through the cabin doors and win-dows. The aircraft, which will be cus-tomized in Japan with the installationof a gyro-stabilized camera under thetail boom, will enter operational ser-vice in early 2011.

Based in France next to Geneva,Mont-Blanc Helicoptères/MBH,which operates a fleet of over 30 heli-

copters (mainly from Eurocopter), car-ries out a lot of corporate and VIPflights, though for the last 20 years, ithas also specialized in photo, TV andfilming missions. Several of its heli-copters are equipped with Wescamand Spacecam gyro-stabilized imagingsystems and have been used for filmssuch as James Bond, Purple River, SkyDance, etc.). In winter, the companyalso provides medical evacuations mis-sions in the Alps with its AS350 B2 andAS355 N.

Helicopters for the Oiland Gas Industry

Probably the largest helicopter fleetsare used for personnel transportationto and from oil rigs. When it wasfounded in 1961, Heli-Union wanted tooperate corporate missions in Francebut over the years its scope changedand now the company has a fleet ofover 30 helicopters (EurocopterAS350B3, EC145, AS365N, AS365N3,AS332L1), operated on behalf of oiland gas companies mainly in the Gulfof Guinea and the Angola basin(Western Africa), and also in SouthAmerica, the Middle East, and Asia.Last June, it decided to diversify itsfleet with the purchase of six S-76C++.

Last September, Eurocopter deliv-ered the first EC135 T2i helicopters toGazpromavia, part of a purchase con-tract for eight EC135 helicopters inpassenger configuration. This EC135T2i is the first Eurocopter helicopterequipped with Russian-built missionavionics, produced by TransasAviation – a Russian avionics manufac-turer based in St. Petersburg.Gazpromavia, the general air carrier ofRussia’s Gazprom energy company,

DUTYMont-BlancHelicopters

specializes inphoto, TV and

filming missions(top).

Oil and gasindustry make

the most ofhelicopter fleet.

First EC 135delivered to

Gazpromavia(center).

A N A L Y S I S

51-55 HELI OPS.qxp 3/02/2011 13:30 Page 54


ENFORCEMENTAW139 operatedby the police ofGuanxi, China(center). The UKWest Midlandspolice operates anew EC 135(bottom).

has a fleet of 108 rotary-wing aircraft –mainly of Russian origin. EC135 T2ihelicopters will be operated through-out Russia.

Last year Pawan Hans Helicopters,the largest civil helicopter operator inIndia, signed a contract for seven newDauphin AS365 N3s expanding itsfleet to 33 Dauphins. Pawan Hansstarted operating Dauphins in 1986and since then, the company haslogged over 340,142 flying hours andover 1.58 million landings. Its fleet isused for transportation of personnel tooffshore platforms, for shuttle flightsbetween drill barges and for the trans-port of State officials and VIPs. It alsoprovides charter services for tourists.

Giant companies like Era Helicopters,UTair, CHC or Bristow operate hun-dreds of machines all over the world.Bristow itself owns 550 helicopters,with some 40 orders pending. At the

end of last year, its fleet included 49 Bell206, 26 Bell 212, 47 Bell 407, 87 Bell412, 35 AS350, 31 AS332L, 112 S-76, 38S-92 and 19 AW 139, plus a number oftrainers and other utility helicopters.

Surveillance MissionsThe helicopter can serve as the

ideal surveillance tool for policeforces. In June 2010, the CzechPolice Aviation Department loggedthe 10,000th f l ight hour with itseight Eurocopter EC135s. TheCPAD has broad operat ionalresponsibilities – ranging from aeri-al surveillance and emergency med-ical airlift to firefighting and search& rescue. In 2004, the Czech PoliceAviation Department was the firstlaw enforcement organization inEastern Europe to selectEurocopter helicopters for this typeof mission. The agency also oper-ates two BO-105s.

During the 2010 Farnborough AirShow, Eurocopter handed over a newEC135 to West Midlands Police AirSupport Unit. The EC135 represents75 percent of the UK police helicopterfleet in operation. In 2010, the Frenchmanufacturer delivered six helicoptersto British police services.

Last November, AgustaWestlandannounced that the police force for theprovince of Guanxi in China had placedan order for an AW139 medium twinhelicopter. This aircraft will be used toperform a number of roles including lawenforcement and civil protection/disas-ter relief across the province. TheAW139 adds to the AW109 Power lighttwin helicopter recently delivered to theNanning Public Security Bureau, furtherstrengthening the operational capabili-ties in the area. This is the third AW139ordered in China for law enforcementduties.

✈

Heli-Union AS332mainly on behalfof oil and gascompanies.

51-55 HELI OPS.qxp 3/02/2011 13:30 Page 55

SPECIALIZATION

What’s happening in the eliteworld of VIP cabin conversions?Liz Moscrop steps inside

W ill widebody aircraft everbecome unpopular with theworld’s elite? It seems not,

with completions houses reportingstrong orderbooks and interest in thelatest large aircraft due to hit the mar-ket. Although the Boeing 747-8 andA380 hog headlines, there is a greatdeal of interest in steady workhorseslike VIP variants of the B777, theAirbus A320 family (especially sincethe advent of the new NEO type withbetter engines and airframe design)and the B737. By all accounts capacityremains tight at OEM and aftermarketcompletion centers for larger aircraft.

Completions centers, too, are seizingthe opportunity to expand into devel-oping markets. The Middle East inparticular looks set to be a region ofgreat opportunity. For example, airlineMRO specialists SR Technics aremuscling in on the rarified space ofbusiness jet interiors, in partnership

with fellow Swiss firm TAG Aviation.The Zurich-based company has pairedwith Geneva’s TAG, which will nowadd completions to its plethora of ser-vices to customers. SR Technics is asubsidiary of Abu Dhabi state invest-ment giant Mubadala, which has madeno secret of the fact it wants to domi-nate the world’s MRO sectors –although completions will initially takeplace in Switzerland.

Toronto-based Flying ColoursCorporation has its eye on the lucra-tive Middle East market, too. At theMEBA show in November itannounced that it is currently scout-ing, evaluating, and has had prelimi-nary discussions with a number of rep-utable companies about establishing ajoint venture “outside of NorthAmerica.” Given that the announce-ment came during the MEBA show, itlooks likely that the Middle East couldbe a potential venue.

John Gillespie CEO said: “We haveseen a very active growth in our inter-national client base from our greenBombardier Challenger completion

program, which has also led to numer-ous other maintenance and refurbish-ment opportunities from clients out-side of North America.” He added:“90% of our new green completions aregoing overseas and we are committedto supporting them.”

Flying Colours said it is “leaningtoward” partnering with an establishedcompany that is educated about theculture, infrastructure, and workforcein the location in which the JV willtake place.

Key Widebody PlayersSeveral aircraft manufacturers have

their own completion centers. Theyare also able to direct customers to alist of their recommended partners.Airbus, Gulfstream, Cessna andHawker Beechcraft also offer after-market completions. In addition tothose that cater for green aircraft,there are several world-renowned cen-ters that can revamp older jets.

Airbus Corporate Jet Center (ACJC)set up shop in Toulouse in 2007 at acost of nearly $4 million and, until the


DEALINGCompletions

houses arereporting strong

order books.

CABIN CONVERSIONS R O U N D U P

INTERIOR MOTIFS

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CHOICEJet Aviation's JetFalcon program(left). GoreDesignCompletions(right) took on itsfirst Boeing777-200LR forcompletion.

end of 2009, was a joint subsidiary ofAirbus and Zurich-based ComluxCompletion. In December ACJC deliv-ered its sixth VIP aircraft – an A320Prestige - to a Middle East customer.The company has a growing backlogof orders and is booked out until mid-2012. Benoit Defforge, CEO said:“With the brand-new Airbus GSMonboard system, an exceptionally lownoise level of significantly less than50dB in the bedroom, and a cabinlighter than its target weight, this lat-est outfitting reaffirms our technologi-cal know-how and leadership in ACJcabin completion.” Of the seven ACJcabins planned, four are currentlybeing outfitted in the center’s facility.

Former ACJC investor Comlux wasapproved as a BBJ Completion Centerin early 2010. Comlux America subse-quently received a new order for abrand new Boeing aircraft. DavidEdinger, CEO of Comlux Americasaid: “Our team is highly experiencedin Boeing products and is really excit-ed by this new project.” He added:“This is the fourth order for a largecabin VIP completion only two yearsafter the launch of our company atNBAA 2008: we have now one A320Prestige, one ACJ and one undisclosedBoeing aircraft in our order book, inaddition to a 767 VIP refurbishment.”The company is set to double itshangar space capacity this year.

Rival Jet Aviation’s renowned centerat Basel is one of the world’s largest.Open since 1977, the facility is able tooutfit green aircraft, not only for small-er and medium-size jets but also forairliner conversions, such as theAirbus A319/320, A330, A340, A380,Boeing 727, 737, BBJ as well asBoeing 747, 757 and 767. In 1996, JetAviation Basel also began installing

interiors in Dassault Falcon aircraftand has subsequently completed morethan 120 of the type.

In December last year it announcedthat it is launching a new cost-effectivecabin refurbishment program. BerndHeinrich vice president operationssaid: “Our newly launched “JetFalcon” program provides Falcon 2000owners and operators with the choiceof upgrading their aircraft during amaintenance cycle at a very competi-tive pricing.”

The modular process minimizesdowntime by offering three standardpre-produced interiors, which can beinstalled in stages. People upgradingtheir cabins can also use the time to

paint the exterior, or for airframemaintenance. There are three optionsfrom which to choose: “Classic,”“Style” or “Fashion.”

Jet Aviation bought MidcoastAviation in 2006, which was thenacquired by General Dynamics in2008. As of January 1 this year, thecompany was rebranded as JetAviation, since it is moving in on thenarrowbody completions business.

Gore Design Completions is anotherspecialist widebody completions cen-ter. Last October the San Antonio,Texas based company took on its firstBoeing 777-200LR for completion in itsrecently expanded hangar. The air-craft, for a central Asian head of state,is the first of its kind to be modified atGDC. Despite being the third aircraftfor the same customer, the projectstands alone in its design scheme. Co-owner Kathy Gore-Walters said:“Every inch of this aircraft wasdesigned from scratch. Knowing thecustomer’s preferences helps us buildan interior that they will love, but atthe same time it is important for us to

keep the design fresh and interesting.”Delivery of the aircraft is slated forlate this year.

The company also recently took onits second Airbus A320. The aircraft,designated for a Central Asian head ofstate, will come to GDC from Airbuswith a modified airline configuration.Delivery to the customer is expectedearly 2012. The new interior willinclude a presidential suite and confer-ence room.

Lufthansa Technik (LHT) is one ofthe world’s biggest players in the com-pletions sector and works on bothwidebody and narrowbody types. AtEBACE last year the Hamburg basedcompany introduced a practical VIPcabin quick-change kit for Airbus andBoeing narrowbody types. The kitallows customers to switch between aVIP and a commercial aircraft cabinconfiguration overnight using theexisting seat tracks. LHT alsoannounced new offerings for its NICEcabin system at the show. One suchwas “nicemate”, a new small, light-weight, powerful multi-tasking unit,



which can host multiple applicationssimultaneously.

A few months later LHT deliveredthe third A318 Elite to Swiss businessjet operator Fly Comlux. After a com-pletion time of just four months andone week, the German center deliv-ered the tenth Airbus A318 Elite sincethe start of the completion program in2006. Richard Gaona, Chairman of theComlux Group, said: “I would like tothank the Lufthansa Technik employ-ees for the excellent cabin and on timedelivery. We are proud to have partici-pated in the development of the cabinof the A318 Elite, as a launching cus-tomer of the program.”

Tepe Arizona’s Associated AirCenter is another key player in the

widebody arena. In April the DubaiAerospace Enterprise subsidiaryannounced a Lower Cabin Altitudepackage for BBJ aircraf t , whichhitherto had been certified for an8,000-foot cabin altitude while flyingat a maximum service cei l ing of41,000 feet.

Smaller PlayersThere are several smaller, but

renowned players around the world.Texas-based Comtran Internationalconverts Dornier 328 jets into execu-tive configurations. The aircraft formsnumber one of the company’s“Revolution Series.” Number two in

the Revolution Series is the brand newAsian Business Jet (ABJ) a convertedMcDonnell Douglas MD-87 airliner,which it is building in conjunction withHong Kong’s Ritz Pacific. First deliver-ies are due 2011.

Italy’s Delta Interior specializes ininterior design, refurbishment, andmodifications for business aircraft.The company provides either designonly services, or a design and projectmanaged ‘turnkey’ option.

Michigan based Duncan Aviationspecializes in Falcon 50EX revamps.The company’s “Design Collection” forthe 50EX features a shell package thatimproves passenger comfort by pro-

viding an increase of one and a quarterinches of additional seated headroom.

Geneva based Burnet Interiors has a5,249 square feet facility in Geneva.Founded by designer Franck Burnet,the company is increasingly involvedin converting smaller airliners, such asFokker jets and ATR turboprops, intobusiness aircraft.

Two years ago Oberpfaffenhofen-based Ruag Aerospace announced ajoint venture with List of Austria tooffer customers a one-stop shop forsimultaneous maintenance and interi-or refurbishing of executive aircraft inits facilities in Bern, Geneva, Lugano,Oberpfaffenhofen, Stuttgart and

PROMPTLufthansa

Technik hasdelivered a thirdA318 Elite (top)to Fly Comlux.

The AvroBusiness JetExplorer One

(center)




ELEVATINGBoeing 787Dreamliner(center).GreenpointTechnologies'ground-to-maindeck elevator forthe VIP 747-8(bottom).

Zurich. Then last year the companyappointed Philip Berner as CEO ofRUAG Aviation and board member ofRUAG Holding. Berner had formerlybeen head of the company’s militaryaviation business unit and a memberof its management board.

Design InnovationsThe completions houses would be

lost without their designers. Last yearBAE Systems Regional Aircraft andBritish design consultancy Design Qoffered one of the quirkier concepts tohit the market. They introduced con-cepts for the world’s first camper jets.The Avro Business Jet Explorer Oneand Explorer Four are the first of fiveinteriors that BAE has commissionedDesign Q to develop for the ABJ. Thefocal point is a unique viewing plat-form that powers out from the aircraft

when they are on the ground. Thehuge cargo side door swings openhydraulically, magically revealing aconcealed platform that extends outfrom the fuselage to become a bal-cony.

Not to be outdone with innovativethinking Last year GreenpointTechnologies launched a full-sizemock-up of its “Aerolift,” a ground-to-main deck elevator for the VIP 747-8.Greenpoint also provides the“Aeroloft,” which may be installed atthe same time as the Aerolift prior toan aircraft’s arrival at a completioncentre. The Aeroloft consists of sleep-ing berths and lounge modules locat-

ed above the main deck in the aft sec-tion of the aircraft. Sloan Benson,Greenpoint’s Executive Vice Presidentsaid: “This program has turned out tobe a very popular option among the747-8 VIP customers.”

ConnectivityThe office in the sky is what cus-

tomers want, and last year two of thebig players in the bizav sectorannounced cabin innovations.Rockwell Collins’ Venue CabinManagement System (CMS), was cer-tified for the Cessna Citation CJ4under a type certificate achieved bylaunch customer Cessna. MeanwhileHoneywell received EASA certificationfor its satellite communications sys-tem on the Dassault Falcon 7X. ItsMCS-7120 satellite communicationssystem is an integrated system for

both cabin and cockpit comms, whichprovides fast, reliable, global connec-tivity via the Inmarsat SwiftBroadbandor classic satellite network.

In order to make such calls Thrane& Thrane debuted its next generationwireless handset at the MEBA show.Designed specifically for in-flight com-munications, the compact and light-weight Aviator wireless handset offersusers an extensive range of advancedfeatures for voice and data communi-cations including echo and noise can-cellation to ensure unmatched audioquality.

Looking AheadWhile the future looks rosy for the

big players in the market, how is itshaping up for the smaller guys? Prettywell, actually, according to YankeePacific subsidiary Cabin Innovations.

Owner Ken Goldsmith said: “Our busi-ness is steady and robust and we con-tinue to provide engineered productsfor VIP products.” The company ser-vices all the major completions house,offering turnkey solutions that allowproduction and installation of efficientcompletions.

With a nod to what is coming roundthe corner, not just the in-productionaircraft, but also the A350XWB andthe Boeing 787 Dreamliner, Goldsmithadded: “We are cautiously optimisticabout the advent of larger jets andlook forward to serving our comple-tions center customers with our prod-ucts.”



Dassault Falcon Jet’s Arkansas-based Little Rock centre is afusion of ultra moderntechnology and ancientcraftsmanship, ensuring thatmultimillion dollar aircraft rollout of the facility in beautifulcondition. Liz Moscrop went tosee what they do.

IMAGINE PUTTING the operatingsystem of your Falcon jet onto your I-PAD and it letting you know whensomething is awry. The technology isnot there quite yet, however the aircraftdoes distil down into chunks of digitaldata, which Dassault Falcon Jet storeson sophisticated computers at its HQ.This digitization means that the air-framer can create interiors that exactlyfit the aircraft shell, and is able to repairor modify them in future years.

Although the interiors are bespokein the sense that they are designed tofit each aircraft individually, to makethings more cost efficient for its cus-tomers Dassault is offering severaldefault interior choices. AndrewPonzoni, Dassault Falcon Jet’s seniormanagement communications said:“Generally we urge customers to takethe standard option, which is cheaperfor them, but there is still a great dealof choice within that.”

He means it. More than 80% of eachnew aircraft can be customized –whether it is In-flight entertainment,

or fabrics, or the floorplan or the woodused. Each aircraft has a unique serialnumber that matches the EASy soft-ware that drives it. This means that itis easy to pinpoint exactly where aproblem is, should one arise. Anotherbonus is that despite the ultra-moderntechnology on offer at Little Rock, theworkforce is highly skilled in tradition-al crafts.

Dassault uses a system called theProduct Lifecycle Managementprocess to keep its aircraft in shape.Designers originally create a com-pletely accurate virtual model, whichdrives the entire manufacturingprocess. Since there is a full digitalmodel of the aircraft specification, theOEM is able to build cabinets or install

wiring, for example, which are totallycompliant with the aircraft’s shell.

The raw Falcon fuselage comesdirectly from 3D definition and is com-pleted using automatic tooling. DFJhas built rigs that can bend metalparts into the exact shape required.There are other systems that can scana piece of leather to determine themost efficient cut for its size and thick-ness. This translates into great effi-ciency, since cutting leather for a fullseat set now takes a few hours, ratherthan four to five days with scissors.

Not everything is automated at LittleRock. Dassault is careful to maintainthe exclusivity and service require-ment of the private aviation industry.There are expert staff on site to helpcustomers choose their options. They

will offer samples of leathers, carpets,textiles, veneers, cabinetry, and otherfurnishings, as well as 3D renditions ofinteriors configurations.

Thanks to the default options onoffer it usually takes around four tofive months to complete a standard air-craft. However, should a customerwant something like eucalyptus onboard they would have to wait sincethere are no two identical sheets,which makes for a time-consuminginstallation process.

Although the default options are bet-ter value for customers, Little Rock ishappy to design any interior the cus-tomer wants. There’s something todraft on your I-PAD.

SERVICEExpert staff on

site at LittleRock (center).


✈

LITTLE ROCK ROCKS


FARNBOROUGH, LONDON, UK, 1-3 MARCH 2011

Exhibitor list updated 18 January 2010ABS Jets | ACC AvServ | Access Flight Support FZE | Aerolux | Aeroport Lyon Bron | Air Link International | Air Service Basel GmbH | Air Support | Airchef Holdings LLC |Airops Limited | Alaska Aerofuel - PAFA | ALPAR AG | Ambassador Jet Center | An-Aviation | Argos Vip Private Handling S.r.l. | ASE Handling | Astra Aviation Services | ATCLasham | Avionicare | AviOne | Avjet Routing | Baia Mare Airport | Baltic Air Charter Association | Bangor International Airport | BART International | Bilen Havacilik Ltd Sti |Birk Flight Services | Blackbushe Airport Limited | Blackpool International | British Business and General Aviation Association | Conciair Ltd | Cotswolds Airport | DC AviationLimited | Delta Aerotaxi | Ecclesa Aviation | Enniskillen Airport | Equity Aviation Services (T) Ltd | EVA International | ExecuJet Aviation Group | Executive Aircraft Services |Exeter Airport | ExxonMobil Avitat | Farnborough Aerospace Consortium | First Class Cars | Flightworx | Flughafen Bern-Belp | Fly Aviation Services | Friendly Skies Aviation| GBS Designs Ltd | GDN Airport Services sp. z.o.o | German Aviation Services GmbH | GGR Group | Global Flight Solutions | Global Fuel Ehf | Gozen Air Services | Grafair JetCenter | Granitize Aviation EU. Ltd | Hadid International Services | Hadley Executive Chauffeurs | Harrods Aviation | Hayward Aviation Limited | Hytena Aeronautics | IAM JetCentres of the Caribbean | Inflite The Jet Center | Innotech Execaire Aviation Group | Jet Assist | Jet Aviation (UK) Ltd | Jet Services | Jet Support | Jordanian Airports forDevelopment & Services (JADS) | Kemble Air Services Ltd | KLM Jet Center | Lektro/Aerospecialities | LimoLink Inc | LimousinesWorldwide.com | London Biggin Hill AirportLtd. | London Oxford Airport | London Southend Airport | LOT Services FBO | Martyn Fiddler Associates Limited | Morristown Municipal Airport | MS4 Aircraft ManagementGroup Ltd | Munich-Executive (Oberpfaffenhofen) Airport | Newquay Cornwall Airport | Northbrook College | Ocean Sky Jet Centre Ltd | Port City Air | Powerplan | RedBox International | Rheinland Air Service GmbH | Robin Hood Airport | Royalblue Executive Services | Saudia Private Aviation | Shannon Airport | Signature Flight SupportCorporation | Sky Aviation Services | Skylink Services, Ltd | SW Business Aviation | TAG Farnborough Airport | The Fujairah International Airport | Tristar Worldwide | UltimateJet & Helicopter Magazine | United Aviation Services - HDQ | Vienna Aircraft Handling | VIP Aviation | Vipport | Westair Aviation Ltd | Weston Aviation | World Fuel Services |Yarmouth International Airport Corporation | Zela Aviation Ltd

Discover new partners, destinations and routesFBOs and business airports exhibiting from all over the world!

www.BusinessAirportWorldExpo.com

By LeRoy Cook

I was lost; I had to admit it. Notthat I didn’t have a generalidea of where I was, but Icertainly didn’t recognize anyof the places I was seeing as Irolled past. There were peoplewho were urgently expectingme to arrive on their doorstep,but I didn’t know how to getthere. And, worst of all, I wasn’tin my auto, I was in theairplane, taxiing around anunfamiliar airport, and, at thispoint, I wasn’t even sure if I wason a taxiway...

M ost of us have been there, atone time or another. In the air,we have GPS or DME distance-

to-go, bearings, VOR radials, radarvectors and multi-function displaymaps to keep us oriented, and we gen-erally pay rapt attention to them. Onthe ground, however, we often try to


VIGILANCEObstruction to

visibility shouldput us onthe alert.

FROM THE COCKPIT G R O U N D O P E R A T I O N S

HOW TO BE A WELL-GROUNDED PILOT

62-66 COCKPIT.qxp 3/02/2011 13:38 Page 62


CAREDon't just fall intoa queue andassume you canfollow the herdto your parkingspot.

bluff our way through. I mean, howtough can it be, accepting a clearanceto follow Taxiway Alpha? Except, as Iwander along, all the signs I’m seeinghave a yellow “G” in a black squareand the lighting seems to be awfullypoor out here...where’s that terminal?

For the past several years, therehave been semi-official crusades toreduce runway incursions, and whilethey sometimes come across as wast-ing resources on a minor problem,there’s no denying that ground-opera-tion blunders do happen, and they canbe frighteningly serious. One only hasto dredge up memories of the horrorat Tenerife on 27 March, 1977 tounderstand the potential conse-quences. Calling attention to the chal-lenge, the hazards and the conse-quences associated with mistakes dur-ing ground operations is a good startat reducing these transgressions.

The conventional wisdom is to sim-ply offer fatherly advice to check yourairport diagram, use the “safe taxi”software in your MFD, if so equipped,and ask for help if you’re not sure thatyou are proceeding correctly. Justpractice safe taxiing, we’re told, andeverything will be fine. The fallacywith these platitudes is that pilots whocommitted acts of incursion obviouslydidn’t know they were lost until it wastoo late. Had they known it, theywould have rung up ground controland asked for a DF steer or somethinginstead of blundering out onto anactive runway. To get ahead of thegame, we need to be a little moreproactive in our approach to sensibleground operations, by learning whatthe red flags look like.

Obstruction to visibility is certainly awhipping red flag that should raise ouralert level. Disorientation is another,perhaps the result of darkness or twi-light, when your normal sense ofdirection goes out the window or anovercast day with no sun visible.Precipitation or low-RVR fog hides

buildings and even signage, easilycausing us to lose orientation. On anybut severely sunny days, you shouldwatch even more carefully for taxicues. Some of my worst lost-on-the-ground scenarios have been on a nightarrival at a strange airport. I’ve learnedto stop, ask and read, in these cases.

Write down the route given in yourtaxi instructions, using your ownshorthand, to make sure you can referto it after you’ve read it back. If theground controller asks “Are you famil-iar?”, take it as a sign that you looklike a stranger in these parts. Be hon-est, don’t just fire back an “affirma-tive”; be willing to take some progres-sive taxi instructions, if there’s even achance they are needed. You mayhave been on this airport at one time,ten years ago, but the layout can bedifferent now.

Don’t get too comfortable afteryou’ve requested progressive taxiinstructions. Rather than roll blithelyalong in the absence of verbal guid-ance, remain aware of the signsstreaming past. The most well-inten-

tioned ground controller has other air-craft to watch and deliver clearancesto, and holding your hand might notbe his most urgent task. You still havea duty to bring the airplane to halt ifthere’s the slightest doubt that you’recleared to proceed. Resolve the situa-tion, then resume.

Don’t just fall into a queue andassume you can follow the herd toyour parking spot. Their destinationmay be far across the field from yourown; you should only follow assignedtraffic. I once ambled into a nest ofcargo gates because I presumed theother general aviation planes weretourists like me.

Electronic or paper diagrams arevital when running a maze of alientaxiways. A GPS-derived depiction ofyour little airplane running along amoving map’s taxiway is wonderfulreassurance; but don’t trust it to avoidmissing a vital turning point. The dis-play is for orientation, not steering.The IFR book’s diagram oftenrequires you to have reading glassesat the ready; match up the signage

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you’re seeing out the windshield withwhat you have in your lap. Turn yourapproach plate holder into a taxi chartclip. Most importantly, let no sign passunread.

You may have seen taxi charts with“hot spots” showing where that airporthas experienced the most foul-ups.These are intersections and sneakyrunway ends with a particularly badhistory. Rather than fixate on each air-port’s “hot spots”, however, use thecharts to heighten your awareness ofwhat sort of layouts are universallyentrapping, so a similar spot will raisea red flag at other airports, even if itlacks the designation. Runway endsthat abut each other, taxiways that

curve around ramps, short routes thatlead into crossing traffic flow; theseare things that appear time and againas “hot spots”, and as you learn thepattern of errors they bring, you canspot a warning flag when youencounter them.

The most often-overlooked tool inthe panel for staying oriented duringground operations is the heading indi-cator. You should know what yourapproximate heading should be,because most taxiways run parallel torunways, so if you’re not aimed in theright direction it’ll show up on the HSI.Pay attention to your heading.

Such a confirmation would havesaved 49 lives at Lexington, Kentuckyin the early morning hours of 27August, 2006, when a Comair CRJcrew hurried to line up on runway 22.Unfortunately, they chose the

entrance to the easier-to-locate, buthalf as long and wide, runway 26. Inthe semi-darkness, the runway’s signs,size and direction went unnoticed andthe jet roared off to destruction at thedeparture end of the short pavement,which was some 200 feet less than therequired length.

Confirmation is particularly impor-tant before you launch down the run-way. The old “HAT” check during line-up is still worthwhile for every depar-ture; is the Heading right, is theAltitude alert set and is theTransponder enabled? That headingcheck can save an embarrassing orhazardous departure from the wrongrunway. Pilots have also taken off fromtaxiways by mistake; note the color ofthe centerline and the edge lights. Ifsomething doesn’t look right, don’t gothere.

In the foregoing personal scenario,the ground controller and I agreedthat I should pull out of line until Icould find myself on the airport dia-gram, trace a safe route to the tran-sient ramp and announce that I wasready to proceed. My waiting passen-gers would just have to bide their timefor one more minute, since we hadalready taken a detour.

In one of the most-regrettable foul-ups in recent memory, on 22November, 1994, a Cessna 441 occu-pied runway 30R at a mid-field inter-section on the St. Louis, Missouriairport, while an airliner was takingoff on the same runway. The airlin-er ’s wing decapi tated theConquest’s cabin, resulting in the

RESEARCHUse taxi charts

to heighten yourawareness.


62-66 COCKPIT.qxp 3/02/2011 13:38 Page 64

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death of the pilot and passenger. Asoften happens, it was not just onesimple mistake that lead to thetragedy, but rather a chain of subtleblunders.

The unfamiliar pilot had just arrivedvia runway 30R. When departingshortly thereafter, his taxi instructionswere to “runway 31”, which was amakeshift G/A departure-only VFRrunway that had been, and now onceagain is, a taxiway. He assumed hewould be leaving in the same manneras he arrived, overlooking the subtlechange in runway designation. Thus,he taxied out to line up and wait on theadjacent 30R, unseen in the darkness.Had he been more alert, he wouldhave questioned a ground controller’sauthority to issue line-up instructions.However, the cause of the accidentcan be equally charged to poor airportdesign and procedures.

Always make sure the controller andyou are on the same page of the script.When making an intersection depar-ture downfield, I’ve been mistakenmore than once for the airplane hold-ing at the full-length end. Listen up formiss-identification of your location—you may very well know where youare, but does the controller know? At abusy field, it’s common for look-alike

airplanes to be moving around. Eventwelve-inch-tall registration legendsaren’t readily readable from a nautical-mile away, so let the ground controllerknow you’re the Citation at Alpha 3,not Alpha 1. Take extra care to con-firm instructions when there’s a lan-guage or accent problem.

Communication is of paramountimportance; in its absence, assump-

tions rule, and that can be a very badthing. A few months ago, I was clearedto line up and wait about 500 feetbehind a departing large twin-jet airlin-er, and like all good G/A pilots wanti-ng to cooperate with the heavy iron, Ihastened to comply. That was a badidea—the preceding air carrier appliedits takeoff power while I was still mov-ing broadside to his backside, anddespite my best efforts to the contraryI wound up scooting sideways andweathervaning into the gale-force jetblast. I had every right to reply“unable”, but I didn’t want to delay theBoeing behind me. Let the controllerknow if it won’t work for you, in timefor him or her to make another plan.

No controller likes surprises, and adisoriented yet uncommunicative pilotis a surprise waiting to happen. If youshow up where you weren’t expectedto be, you’ve joined a list of registra-tions on a watch list, and you reallydon’t want to gain such status.

What we need to do is to place asmuch emphasis on navigating on theground as we do in the air. Stayingahead of the moving airplane, notingall landmarks as they pass and negoti-ating with ATC in a timely manner arejust as important on the surface asaloft.

INTERACTIONMake sure the

controller and youare on the

same page.


✈

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By LeRoy Cook

The dull, dry delivery of alecture on “How to Fly Safely” isbest enlivened by using visualaids and props. For thatpurpose, I’ve often employed asimple assembly of threelengths of lumber, connectedby swivel joints. It illustrates thesolid bracing of three physicalelements arranged in atriangle, each leg dependingon the other two for support.The cluster sits on a lectern instable repose—as long as theconnectors are attached toone another.

E ach side of the triangle bears alegend, to be unveiled at keypoints in the diatribe by rotating

the inscription into view. I contendthat the supportive elements of flightsafety are knowledge, skill and judg-ment. Each are equally important inthe art and practice of aviation, eachuseless by itself. If I disconnect one ofthe links joining the legs of the trian-gle, it falls into a heap, no longer ableto support itself. Thus, my point ismade—to be safe, we need all three.

This elementary device, my SafetyTriangle, may be crude, but it works.Aeronautical decision making is basedon respect for limitations, and under-standing limitations requires aware-ness of these three elements. We facecertain hazards when we take an air-craft into the air, and we prepare forthose perils by studying their sourceand making preparation to counterthem. It is by employing our SafetyTriangle that we manage the risksinvolved.

Oftentimes, we grow inured to whatis really a marvelous conquest of ahostile environment, as we roll down arunway, climb away into the upper

destination. Our marvelous automatedequipment lulls us into a serene feel-ing of security—while it works. But,we must never lose sight of what ittakes to keep flying a safe endeavor.

An example of a perfectly-flown flightending in disaster took place severalyears ago, when a Rockwell Sabrelinerbusiness jet landed by mistake at thesmall Cotton Woods airport instead ofthe Columbia, Missouri airport tenmiles away, on a dark night with goodvisibility. Both runways were alignedsimilarly, and the crew simply execut-

ed an approach to the first set of lightsacquired during the visual arrival.Unfortunately, the Woods runway wasonly 2,400 feet long, instead of the6,500 feet at the Columbia airport, andthe Sabreliner’s brakes and reversethrust were not enough to prevent anover-run into the open field beyondthe runway, resulting in total loss ofthe aircraft.

The crew’s skill could not be fault-ed—the jet was landed under perfectcontrol, on target. Their knowledgewas ostensibly adequate, because theyhad briefed the arrival at the correctairport. However, they were not awareof another airport in the vicinity, andby not using an IAP they had littleinformation other than that providedby their eyes. Judgment, then, was theweak link of their safety triangle—itshould have waved a caution flagwhen visual cues didn’t match expec-tations.

A flight isn’t safe because it followsregulations to the letter, or meets theinsurance policy’s provisions, or isconducted in full accordance with theairplane’s flight manual. These are allimportant, but they don’t guarantee asafe flight. Beyond the framework ofestablished procedures lie thespecifics of each flight’s challenges,

MANAGING THE SAFETY TRIANGLE

atmosphere and settle back for arobotically-guided flight to our chosen

The supportiveelements of flightsafety areknowledge, skilland judgement.

FROM THE COCKPIT S A F E T Y

CONNECTED

67-69 COCKPIT TRIANGLE.qxp 3/02/2011 13:41 Page 67


some of which don’t fall into rigid cate-gories. What actually supports flightsafety is the Safety Triangle of thethree interlinked elements in our flightkit: Knowledge, Skill and Judgment.

Limits of KnowledgeNone of the three elements can sup-

port safety on its own. To be sure,knowledge is vital if we’re going tostay out of trouble with an airplane.We need to read up on the aircraft’ssystems, its limitations and the proce-dures that have been worked out togive the best possible results. Beyondthe aircraft, we should keep up on thechanging air traffic control environ-ment, the latest improvements to flightplanning and the best methods of data

acquisition. Airports don’t oftenremain in a fixed state of operable run-ways and taxiways, so we need to con-tinue in the learning mode by studyingnot only the airport directory listingbut Notices to Airmen and even post-ings on the local bulletin boards.

Without proper knowledge of eventhe simplest aircraft’s systems, we areliable to mishandle a minor failure,turning an inconvenience into anemergency. All of our vaunted skillswill be unable to save us if we don’tunderstand the aircraft or environ-ment. Blundering into a crisis becausewe didn’t have adequate knowledgeputs a severe strain on our skills.

As important as knowledge is, itrequires integration with the other ele-ments of safety. By strictly focusing ontextbook learning you can become, asmy self-taught father was wont to say,an educated fool. I knew most of the

procedures required to operate an air-plane when I first walked out to thetraining aircraft as a blithe 16-year-old.I’d been soaking up aeronautical triviafor years, none of which aided mewhen I began my attempts to taxi. Iknew lots of stuff, but I was sorelylacking in the application of it. Theother two legs of my safety trianglehad yet to be developed.

SkillSkill is that hands-on interface

between a pilot’s sensors (eyes, ears,touch and visceral movement), dataprocessing center (also known as thebrain) and actuators linked to the con-trols, commonly called hands and feet.More than just banking and yanking,skill involves the acquisition of feed-back from the airplane so we knowjust how much control input is goingto be enough. Our goal is to stabilize

the airplane in the correct attitudewith no further adjustment needed. Inthat way, over time, we learn how topaint the tires on the runway withscarcely a jar or when to massage theautopilot’s modes to minimizedetectable wiggles perceived by thepassengers.

It’s a humbling experience to watcha master at work with the controls,so smooth and precise are the under-stated inputs. There is no wastedmotion—the airplane responds as ifit were pivoting on ball bearings. Ihave flown with such pilots, alwaysinspired to attempt emulation, neverdestined to achieve it. Such skill as Ihave has been attained at the cost of50 years in a cockpit , ploddingthrough thousands of hours in atedious quest.

You won’t acquire skill by just read-ing about it or taking one pass througha practice maneuver. Flying any air-craft is much like gaining proficiencywith a musical instrument; progresscomes with frequent practice, bit bypainful bit. The disgusting attribute ofyouth, wasted as it is on the young,can be helpful, but we do find thatolder sets of skills readily transfer tonewer ones when we transition into anunfamiliar airplane.

Make no mistake about it, however;skill alone doesn’t assure a safe flight.Without the dual support of bothknowledge and judgment, skill lacksdirection. The aircraft can move intohazardous regimes while our skillwaits for a signal to act.

PARAMOUNTKnowledge is

vital if we’regoing to stay out

of trouble withan airplane.

FROM THE COCKPIT S A F E T Y



SHORTCOMINGSSupport fromknowledge andjudgement canalso point toimprovementin skill.

Tempered by JudgmentThe third member of the safety trian-

gle’s support structure is the judgmentwe need to keep a check on the para-meters of our flight. Skill is needed toassure that we can operate the air-plane to the best of its ability to per-form. Knowledge is required if we’reto use the airplane and operating envi-ronment as intended. But judgment isthe human element that says “I knowhow to do it, and my skill will let metry it, but my judgment leads me tothink that this is not something Ishould do.”

Judgment is not necessarily a nay-sayer, although it frequently does setboundaries that weren’t established bythe other two legs of the safety trian-gle. Judgment can just as easily weighin with a positive vote, if the flight iswithin the capabilities of the aircraft,pilot and environment. The comfortlevel of judgment is dependent onexperience; have we flown this tripbefore, with this equipment, underthese weather and time conditions? Afirst-time venture requires a judgmentcall, while a routine milk-run will hard-ly stir a glance from our watchful judg-ment.

Examples of some attempts to oper-ate with a two-sided triangle abound.Years ago, I trained a young man forthe commercial license who hadacquired skills already far superior tomy own. He possessed a natural abilityto handle an airplane smoothly andprecisely. He had also learned the req-uisite knowledge, well enough to passthe preliminary tests and gain myendorsement. But in the years to fol-low it was reported he frequentlycalled upon his superior skill to pullhim out of situations that judgmentshould have prevented. He had littlecommon sense to temper the boldnesspropagated by his skill and knowl-edge.

Judgment is difficult to teach, or eval-uate. Humans, being inventive, cansubvert instruction by participating inan approved manner, in order to passa course, after which they go out anddo as they please. Some people arejust good at taking tests, but not atapplying judgment—even if their skillsare adequate and knowledge scoresare high, deviations from acceptableperformance may arise due to lapsesin judgment.

Judgment based on insufficientknowledge, on the other hand, leadsto thinking “I don’t see why I can’tmake this flight; it feels okay to me.”This situation arises when there’sweather over the horizon that wasn’tchecked out, or the performancecharts of the aircraft haven’t yet beenproven in actual use. There is bookknowledge, and then there is knowl-edge gained from experience. Muchgood judgment is gained from experi-ence, it’s been said, while that sameexperience is gained from bad judg-ment.

A number of years ago, a commuterairliner made an unscheduled landingat our pastoral general aviation airport,parking at the fuel pit. The Captainhad determined that one of his trans-fer pumps wasn’t working and that hismain tank would not have enough fuel

to reach his destination. He tookextreme action by landing at our air-port and adding enough fuel to themain tank to assure a successful out-come. Unfortunately, some of the pas-sengers reported the incident to theauthorities and he was cited for usingpoor judgment, supposedly for flyingwith inadequate fuel—I felt he shouldhave received credit for employing hissuperior judgment to avoid a haz-ardous situation.

Pooling one’s ResourcesHow do you keep your safety triangle

intact? By making sure that input isobtained from each side of the trianglebefore every flight. Are your skills cur-rent and appropriate for the challengesof the trip? Perhaps you’ve flown to acertain country years ago, but notrecently. Knowledge, obtained from up-to-date sources, can lend the weaker

“Skill” leg of your triangle some valu-able support. Obtaining the latest infor-mation on the area through web sites,association services, handlers, and,most importantly, recent visitors whohave made a similar trip will gain theneeded insight. Without the support ofjudgment, you might not make theeffort to buttress your knowledge.

Support from knowledge and judg-ment can also point to a need forimprovement in skill. You can read upon high-elevation performance anddetermine that you should avoidattempting to depart from a high coun-try airport when the temperatureexceeds ISA. No matter how adequateyour skills, there’s no point in makingthe attempt if the airplane lacks thepower do it. Thus, when you find your-self scheduled to make a trip to themountains, your other two safety trian-

gle legs will support delaying depar-ture until the temperature declines.

Examples of a broken safety triangleare evident in every accident report. Atsome point, the pilot in commandignored one of the three pillars of safe-ty, whether it was deciding to take thetrip in the first place or to continuewhen equipment or weather was notsupportive of the effort. An accidentinvolving mechanical failure might bethe result of using poor judgmentregarding maintenance, a lack ofknowledge regarding the signs ofimpending failure, or inadequate skillsthat would have otherwise kept the air-plane flying.

Skill, knowledge and judgment—allthree are equally important in the sup-port of flight safety. Don’t try to oper-ate without linking each one to theother two.

✈


By Michae l R . Grün inger ,Markus Koh ler and Capt . G iancar lo Buono

of Great C irc le Serv ices AG (GCS)

What Seemed Like a Decent Start

O n February 12, 2009, a Falcon10/100 carrying two crew mem-bers and one passenger closed

in on Samoan (LSZS) its destinationairport which is located in the SwissAlps. The flight had passed withoutincident and the wintery weather wastypical of the area; conditionschanged rapidly, there were lowclouds, snow and reduced visibility.LSZS is the highest aerodrome inEurope and lies at 5600 feet AMSL.The airport is non-controlled and maybe used only under visual flight rules.A flight information service officer(FISO) gives information to flightcrews, but there is no air traffic con-troller.

The crew had already cancelled theIFR flight plan and continued underVFR. Snow had fallen recently and theFISO informed the crew that snowclearance work was taking place onthe runway, delaying the approach byten minutes. The pilot in command(PIC) was 69 and very experienced.He had clocked up over 17,000 hoursand was familiar with the airport andits surroundings. Radar tracks showedthat, while waiting for the snow to becleared in the vicinity of the surround-

some point the circuit breaker waspulled and the EGPWS was deactivat-ed. After approximately 15 minutes thecrew started the approach into the nar-row mountain valley and then thingswent wrong. It was later found thatthere were inadequate visual refer-ences and that the aircraft was in an

Warning Signs

The pilot in command (PIC) was fly-ing the plane, and had an incident his-tory. In 1999, he overshot the end of arunway by 220 meters on landing andseverely damaged the aircraft. Thecompetent Austrian AAIB concludedthat the pilot did not follow the provi-sions of the flight operations manualregarding training and that he demon-strated a lack of procedural awareness(operating limits, approach speeds,knowledge of AFM and FOM, radiocommunication procedures). TheAAIB also noted that the pilot didn’tseem to have adequate knowledge ofthe route to be flown or of the aero-drome he was destined towards. TheAAIB also said that the pilot didn’tcomply with Cockpit ResourceManagement principles and didn’t ini-tiate a go-around even though the air-craft was not stabilized on finalapproach.

In 2007, flying the same aircraft, thepilot veered off the runway inSamedan and skidded past the glideraircraft winch. The aircraft came torest a few meters in front of the tar-mac, where other aircraft wereparked. The pilot blamed the eventon a defective left-hand reverser andan unresponsive nose wheel steering.But he didn’t mention the incident inthe aircraft logs, and no one informedthe maintenance organization respon-sible for this aircraft, about the inci-dent.

Just two weeks later, the same pilotveered off the runway in Samedanonce again barely missing the gliderwinch. Once again, the pilot cited tech-nical reasons for the runway excur-sion, didn’t record the incident in theaircraft logs, and the company respon-sible for maintenance was notinformed. And as with the incident twoweeks prior, functional system checksdidn’t reveal any technical discrepan-cies.

In 2008, one year after these events,the same pilot landing the same air-craft at the same aerodrome toucheddown short of the threshold on a smallasphalted patch. The airport authorityconfronted him but the pilot said hehad a normal landing. Fortunately,thanks to a hefty measure of luck,these incidents only caused materialdamage and no injuries.


WHEN LUCK RUNS OUT

ing mountains, he maneuvered in tightturns with very high bank angles. At

unfavorable position for an approach.

COMPLACENCYIf you depend

too much onyour bag of luck,

one day it willreally be empty.

S A F E T Y S E N S E P R O C E D U R E

70-71 SAFETY SENSE.qxp 3/02/2011 13:43 Page 70


UNISONIf defences areto work allstakeholdersmust work insynch with oneand other.Source forpictures: AAIBSwitzerland FinalReport 2074

On the fateful flight in 2009, luck ranout. It was reported that the runwaywas in sight and ten seconds later theaircraft touched down on the runway,135 m beyond the threshold. The lon-gitudinal axis of the aircraft was point-ing 6 to 8 degrees to the right of the

the misaligned aircraft drifted to theleft, until the left wingtip scraped abank of snow running parallel to therunway. As a result, the aircraft rotat-ed around its vertical axis and theright side of the fuselage collided withthe corner of a compact snow bank,while still travelling at a speed ofapproximately 107 kts (200 km/h).The fuselage broke into two piecesand skidded for some 150 metersbefore coming to rest. The two pilotsdied on impact and the passenger andowner of the aircraft suffered seriousinjuries.

The accident investigation by theSwiss AAIB ruled out technical ormedical issues as contributing factors.But the investigation found numerousweak and strong indications that therewas an accident waiting to happen. Itseems inconceivable that the exten-sive aviation safety management andoversight system failed to see theseindications. With hindsight, it is hardto believe that there was no mecha-nism, process or authority that couldhave prevented the accident.

In terms of the flight, the privateoperator followed the legal require-ments and while competent authori-ties might have intervened, due to alack of proper reporting, they didn’thave the necessary information to be

able to. From an operational oversightpoint of view private operators werenot obliged to exercise direct opera-tional supervision. The companywhich was the registered owner andoperator of the aircraft, didn’t engagein any operational activities and exer-cised no operational oversight. It wasmerely a contractual partner of compa-nies which provided the services sothat the flight could be undertaken. Inthe company’s opinion, the operationalcontrol and responsibility was delegat-ed to the commander of the accidentflight. Numerous discrepancies werefound over the course of the accidentinvestigation, involving manuals anddocuments, crew training and qualifi-cation, pre-flight and flight proce-dures, and more.

Obviously, many things went wrongin the system. In this column you mayhave read about some of the processesthat are being implemented to makeaviation even safer, such as perfor-mance based regulation, safety man-agement systems, safety culture devel-opment etc. But quite frankly, thisaccident illustrates that for thesedefences to work, all of the relevantstakeholders must work in synch witheach other. Defences can completelyfail, and a huge amount depends onthe pilot.

Bag of Luck – Bag of ExperiencePiloting involves skill, knowledge,

and experience – and a little luck. Awell known saying says that everypilot starts out with a full bag of luckand an empty bag of experience. Thetrick is to fill the bag of experiencebefore the bag of luck is empty.However, lucky outcomes in certainsituations may give a pilot a “can do”

attitude and he or she may begin tolook upon procedures and limitationsas mere guidelines. Flight crewsshould consciously interpret signifi-cant incidents and “fender benders” aslast chance warnings. The real trick isto depend on the bag of luck as littleas possible.

Unfortunately, experience does notguarantee expertise. Experiencebuilds up when you have done some-thing many times, expertise is aboutknowing what you have done.Learning from experience is an activeprocess and requires mindfulness anda positive attitude to safety issues.This accident report shows howimportant it is to learn from one’s ownexperience, but also to learn from

phies, such as approved flight proce-dures and available guidance.

If you depend on the full bag of expe-rience, while still drawing heavily fromthe bag of luck, one day it will reallybe empty.

Michael R. Grüninger is theManaging Director of Great CircleServices (GCS) Aviation SafetyAdvisors. GCS assists in the wholerange of planning and managementissues, offering customized solutions tostrengthen the position of a business inthe aviation market. Its services includetraining and auditing (IS-BAO) con-sultancy (IS-BAO, IOSA), manualdevelopment and process engineering.He can be reached at [email protected] or +41-79 44244 89. His column, Safety Senseappears regularly in BARTInternational.

✈

centerline axis. The aircraft made firstground contact with the right wingtipsome two meters left of the centerline.The main wheels touched down, but

other people’s experience by followingrecognized safe practices and philoso-

70-71 SAFETY SENSE.qxp 3/02/2011 13:43 Page 71

Aofie O’ Sullivan, Partner withGates and Partners looks at thelegal implications of ownershipof a private or corporate jet.

T he demand for flexible and fastbusiness transport around theworld is constantly growing.

Businesses have a desire to move keypersonnel in a cost-efficient, highlyflexible and safe manner. In addition,there is an increased recognition ofthe value of executive time and themotivational aspects of convenientbusiness travel within Europe.

There are a variety of ways in whichinterests in an aircraft can be acquired– direct ownership by an individual,joint ownership, ownership through acompany (onshore or offshore), char-tering, fractional ownership etc - thelist is long and each option carries itsown merits and drawbacks.

This article does not look at the ben-efits of buying, leasing or taking ashare in an aircraft but instead sets out

the legal implications of outright own-ership as opposed to buying eithertime (e.g. jetcards/chartering) or ashared interest in aircraft (eg fraction-al ownership).

Some CommonOwnership Structures

The simplest ownership structurewill tend to be an acquisition of an air-craft by an owner (private or corpo-rate) for his or her exclusive personalor business use. For example, somecompanies will buy an aircraft for useby its senior employees and manage-ment. In each case, the owner willneed to carry all the costs (includingof course the large capital outlay) andwill need to hire its own crew and willbe subject to regulation by the rele-vant aviation authority. For a numberof reasons, many owners choose tocreate a specially formed legal entityto hold the asset – whether for tax rea-sons or corporate structures or insome cases to gain access to an air-craft register.


TAKING THE PLUNGE

DECISIONThere are a

variety of waysin which an

aircraft can beacquired.

T H E D O C K E T O W N E R S H I P O F A P R I V A T E O R C O R P O R A T E J E T

❍ Outright OwnershipIt is extremely rare and certainly

ill advised in most cases for anindividual or a company to own anaircraft in its own name without atleast some attempt to ring fenceliability and protect other assets ofthat individual or company.Ownership of an aircraft carrieswith it inherent risks associatedwith both ownership and opera-tion. An asset with inherent risksshould be separated from otherassets in order to protect them.Generally, the liability incurred in atotal loss of an aircraft results fromoperations of the operator, not theowner. It is therefore importantthat the operation of each of theowner and the operator is distinct-ly separated, so that the negli-gence of one is not imputed to theother. The same theory applies toaircraft owned and flown by pilots.Negligence of a pilot will attach tohim personally regardless of hisemployer/employee relationship. Itis therefore important that he pro-tect his personal assets by isolat-ing his aircraft ownership from thebalance of his assets. In this wayand in the event of an accident

should be protected from thehands of creditors and claims.

❍ The LimitedLiability CompanyThe corporate concept of incor-

porating a limited liability company(or special purpose vehicle) iscommon in aircraft ownership.Reasons for doing so are varied –in some cases to keep the nameof the beneficial owner confidentialbut in many cases it is intended touse such legal structures as a wayof ring-fencing any liability attach-ing to that aircraft. The idea is thatif the aircraft is involved in an acci-dent, the owner of the company isthe limited liability company andliability stops at the company (usu-ally only capitalized to a paltry fewpounds). The ultimate or beneficialowner (in this case the sharehold-er), is protected from claims.

caused by the owners own negli-gence as a pilot, other assets

72-75 Docket.qxp 3/02/2011 13:45 Page 72


Aircraft Finance and itsImplications on Ownership

Aircraft finance in the business andprivate jet world remains relativelystraightforward. On an internationalbasis there tends to be two options –straight loan finance or leasing. Thesecurity granted to the bank tends tobe similar in both cases but the legaleffect of the two structures is entirelydifferent and indeed varies from caseto case. In the context of straight loanfinance, the bank finances the pur-chase of the aircraft by way of a loanfacility – the money is granted to thebuyer and the buyer uses the moneyto buy an aircraft. The buyer becomesthe full legal owner of the aircraft andthe bank is granted security in theform of an aircraft mortgage and other

arrangements. If the buyer defaults onpayments, the bank will move in toenforce its security. The bank will nothave an immediate right to own theaircraft and will usually have to applyto the courts for an order allowing it torepossess the aircraft and to sell theaircraft to recoup any costs or lessees.

In a leasing arrangement however, itis the bank that buys the aircraftdirectly from the seller. The bank thenleases the aircraft to the buyer. Thebuyer never becomes the legal ownerof the aircraft but is instead a lesseewith a right to possession of the air-craft. Security is still granted to thebank but in this situation the bankenforces its security by way of recov-ery of possession of the aircraft underthe lease and security.

The most common lease is the oper-ating lease, in which the lessor retainstitle to the aircraft, but gives posses-sion of the aircraft to the lessee.Leasing can be as costly as full own-ership, both in terms of operatingexpenses and commitments of timeand energy to manage the aircraft. Alessee generally must arrange for,and pay for, all fuel, maintenance,hangar, pilot employment, and insur-ance to the same extent as an owner.Of course, lessees may avail them-selves of the services of an aircraftmanagement company to the sameextent as an owner. The major risksof owning the aircraft – such as legalliability and risk of loss from damageor theft – are also just as applicable toa lessee.

As with all good theories however,there is usually an exception and inmany cases, many corporate own-ers are not aware that this shield oflimited liability protection can bepierced. Such structures do not forexample protect the ultimate ownerfrom operational liability or mandato-ry compliance with aviation regula-tion. For example, large corporateswho buy one or more aircraft to ferryits personnel will in many casesdecide to form a flight departmentsubsidiary for the sole purpose ofowning and operating the aircraft onbehalf of the parent corporation.Unless the aircraft is flown well with-in the confines of private use (ornon-public transport), the fl ightdepartment subsidiary may bedeemed to be in the business ofproviding on-demand charter airtransportation, and may be requiredto possess an air operators certifi-cate. The fact that the sole “chartercustomer” of the flight departmentsubsidiary is its own parent corpora-tion is not necessarily relevant. Ingeneral, the operation of the aircraftmust be within the scope of, andincidental to, the business of thecompany (other than transportationby air). This essentially means thatthe aircraft must support some otherbusiness of the company. It is thede facto use of the aircraft that isexamined.

The aviation authority will want toknow who is responsible for operat-ing the aircraft and will hold that per-son to order to ensure compliance

with regulation, particularly if the air-craft is being used for business orcommercial use and stretches intothe realm of public transport, attach-ing heightened regulation. Limitedliability structures in this case willnot protect the owner from investi-gation by the regulatory authorities.

❍ The TrustAnother common structure in air-

craft ownership is a trust. A trust isqui te s imply an agreementbetween one person (the settlor)who gives to another person (theTrustee) an asset, in this case anaircraft, to hold on certain terms.In the case of an Owner Trust theaircraft is typically held solely forone beneficiary who is the settlor.The structure is typically used bynon-US citizens wishing to registeraircraft on the N Register. All air-craft on the N Register must beowned by US citizens. A US trustwith a European ultimate ownerwill comply with the requirements.A little known fact however is thatthe US Trustee has all the rightsand powers of an owner and cansell or mortgage the aircraft sub-ject always to the terms of theTrust agreement between theSettlor and Trustee. It is a require-ment of the Federal Aviat ionRegulations that the power of thetrustee cannot be “fettered” by thebeneficiary. It is very importantthat any owners wishing to usethis structure are very aware of theconsent of the trust document and

understand clearly what they areagreeing to. It is also possible toarrange fidelity insurance coverwhich will protect the beneficialowner in the event that theTrustee commits a breach of trustand sells or mortgages the aircraftwithout permission.

❍ Group OwnershipIn cases where there are three or

more individual owners of an aircraftit is recommended that one of theowners, or at the most two, be nomi-nated as trustees of group (or anyother name that the group mayhave) on the application to enter theaircraft on the UK Register or torecord a change of ownership. Inthis way any member may leave orjoin the group without the need tore-register the aircraft on everyoccasion and thus incurring a fee.The aircraft must, however, be re-registered if the trustee leaves thegroup. Two issues arise here – thefirst being, who is the trustee andwhat powers has he been granted?Can he sell the aircraft without theremaining owners consent? This isworth checking. Secondly, the costsharing involved in the operation ofgroup owned aircraft may meanthat, inadvertently, the aircraft is fly-ing for public transport on a privatecategory certificate of airworthinessor the EASA equivalent of a privatecategory certificate of airworthiness.This is in direct breach of EU regula-tion and may expose the trustee toinvestigation and possibly sanction.

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A dry lease or an operating lease inthe context of private jets is typicallyone in which the owner of an aircraftleases the aircraft to a professionaloperator who assumes full responsibili-ty and control of the aircraft. In corpo-rate structures for example a parent orSPV acquires the aircraft and leases tothird party operator. In order to carrypassengers, cargo or mail for payment,an operator of an aircraft must carry anoperating license. For instance, inorder to qualify for an operating licensein the UK, an operator must meet anumber of requirements, includingthose in respect of its safety and insur-ance arrangements and its nationalityof control; for operators of larger air-craft with 20 or more seats, there arealso financial criteria to be met.

TaxationAnyone thinking of buying an aircraft

should get comprehensive advice onthe taxation implications of the pro-posed structure and acquisition of theaircraft. Getting it wrong can beextremely expensive and very hard tounravel. In January of this year forinstance, the United Kingdom finally(after much pressure from its EUmember states) banished the abilityfor importers of aircraft to import anaircraft into Europe at a zero per centrate. This means that all aircraft oper-ated in Europe (and carryingEuropean passengers) are potentiallyliable to Value Added Tax (or VAT).The VAT charge is a charge imposedon the owner of the aircraft at the timeof the import but if not paid oraccounted for, it will remain a liabilityattaching on the aircraft. Every mem-ber state in the EU has the power toground an aircraft that has not beendeclared for VAT and may imposeVAT on the owner.

InsuranceOn 30th April 2005, EC Regulation

EC 785/2004 on insurance require-ments for air carriers and aircraft oper-ators came into force. The Regulationwas subsequently amended on 6thApril 2010. The Regulation, as amend-ed, specifies the minimum levels ofinsurance required by aircraft opera-tors and air carriers in respect of thirdparty cover, passenger cover andcover for risks of war and terrorism.

It is the aircraft operator’s responsi-bility to ensure that insurance cover,in accordance with the regulations,exists for each flight. The regulationdefines aircraft operator as follows:‘aircraft operator’ means the person orentity, not being an air carrier, whohas continual effective disposal of theuse or operation of the aircraft; thenatural or legal person in whose namethe aircraft is registered shall be pre-sumed to be the operator, unless thatperson can prove that another personis the operator.

Proof of Aircraft OwnershipA purchase of an aircraft is not com-

plete without proper and effectivetransfer of title. Transfer is typicallydone by way of an aircraft bill of sale.The bill of sale will record the titletransfer for registration purposes (butwill not reveal the entire terms of thecommercial transaction). The buyer’slawyer should check that the sellerhas proper title to sell the aircraft –many jurisdictions will enable titlesearches but in most cases the buyerwill need to rely on the seller to pro-duce evidence of title by way of bills ofsale. The seller should be asked toproduce evidence of title by way of achain of bills of sale, in many casesback to birth.

Searches should be carried out onthe aircraft at the registry where theaircraft is currently registered. If theregistry has a mortgage registryattached, searches should be carriedout to ascertain whether or not acharge attaches to the aircraft. Not allregistries have mortgage registriesand in many cases the buyer will haveto rely on the seller’s assurances as towhether or not any charges or encum-brances exist on the title.

The Cape town Convention onInternational Interests in MobileEquipment and the Protocol onMatters Specific to Aircraft Equipment(2001) (the “Capetown Convention”)provided for the establishment of aninternational registry (Aviareto inIreland) for the registration of interna-tional interests in aircraft. The treaty’sProtocol applies to aircraft which cancarry at least 8 people or 2750 kilo-grams of cargo, aircraft engines withthrust exceeding 1750 pounds or 550horsepower, and helicopters carrying5 or more passengers.

The registration of an internationalinterest in the registry is intended togive public notice to all third parties ofthe existence of a charge and to givepriority to that registered charge overany charge subsequently registered.

Corporate Governance – Directors’Duties and Responsibilities

The common law imposes on all direc-tors’ fiduciary duties and a duty of careand skill. Statutes and regulations createadditional offences and many of themimpose strict liability. These duties areowed to the company. The common lawfiduciary duty of the directors towardsthe company is a duty to act honestlyand in good faith in the best interests ofthe company, and to use the powersgranted to them for the purposes forwhich they were conferred. (The extentto which the directors are authorised tomanage the company’s affairs will be setout in the company’s articles of associa-tion.) The fiduciary duty includes a dutyto take proper care of the assets of thecompany; not to make a personal profit(unless permitted in the articles orapproved or ratified by the company); toavoid conflicts with the company andnot to compete with the company.

CORRECTThe purchase ofan aircraft is not

complete withoutproper and

effective transferof title.

T H E D O C K E T

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Statutory duties of directors are con-tained in the Companies Acts and inother legislation. They include admin-istrative duties (mainly found in theCompanies Acts) such as the duty tokeep the statutory books up to dateand the duty to file annual returns.The liability for breach of theseduties usually attaches to the compa-ny and to all defaulting officers of thecompany. Other legislation thatimposes criminal and civil liability ondirectors includes the Insolvency Act1986 (for example where a directorcontinues to trade when he knew orought to have known that there wasno reasonable prospect of the compa-ny avoiding insolvent liquidation or ifhe knowingly continues to carry onbusiness with the intention ofdefrauding creditors in the knowl-edge that there was no reasonableprospect of the creditors being paidby the company); health and safetyregulations and environmental legis-lation (if it is shown that the directorcontributed to a breach through con-sent, connivance or neglect); theCompany Directors DisqualificationAct 1986 (if a director acts while dis-qualified); as well as competition andsecurities law.

The Corporate Manslaughter andCorporate Homicide Act 2007 (2007Act) received Royal Assent in the UKon 26 July 2007, over ten years afterthe Law Commission proposed a new“corporate killing” law to close whatwas previously regarded as a legalloophole which allowed larger organi-sations to escape liability formanslaughter in consequence of deathcaused by serious industrial negli-gence. Justice Minister Maria Eaglesaid that until now it has been “virtual-ly impossible to prosecute large com-panies for management failures lead-ing to deaths”.

The new legislation, which cameinto force on 6 April 2008, is intend-ed to make it easier for the authori-ties to successfully prosecute largerorganisations where a corporatemanagement fa i l ing has led todeath, by introducing a new test;that of a substantial senior manage-ment contribution to the company’sbreach of duty. The new law is pri-marily aimed at larger businesses,and the government has said i texpects to bring around ten prose-cutions each year.

Criminalisation ofAircraft Accidents

All owners and operators of aircraftshould ensure businesses need to havesystems of reporting and response inplace to defend themselves againstboth civil and criminal liability.

Recent examples of prosecutionsinclude the action against representa-tives of Dassault in Greece followingthe turbulence incident in 1999 involv-ing the Falcon aircraft which killed theGreek Minister in charge of EuropeanAffairs, the prosecution of a Continentalengineer in France in relation to theConcorde accident in 2000 and thesimultaneous prosecutions in Greeceand Cyprus of various directors andofficers of Helios following a pressuri-sation incident involving the 737 whichled to the aircraft crashing near Athensin 2005.

There is an increasing trend to crimi-nalise aircraft accidents within the EU.A balance needs to be drawn betweenthe promotion of aviation safety and theprosecution of those with a connectionto an accident particularly where theinformation used in support of the pros-ecution comes either from confidentialreporting or the air accident investiga-tion and information gathered by inves-tigators in the course of the officialinvestigation. The whole point of safetymanagement systems and reporting isto encourage operators to put practicesin place to avoid accidents – learningfrom mistakes and spotting and cor-recting errors as they arise. The use ofthese reports in subsequent prosecu-tions of those who have made themclearly inhibits the future of voluntaryreporting in the industry.

Indeed, serious aviation accidents areinvestigated in accordance with Annex13 of the Chicago Convention 1944which specifically prohibits the use ofthe report for fault finding and whichalso emphasises that the sole purposeof the report is the avoidance of futureaccidents and the promotion of air safe-ty. Notwithstanding these very clearprovisions, accident reports are routine-ly used in civil law countries as thebasis for prosecution of individuals incriminal cases. Despite the fact that theinvestigations are undertaken by quasi-public authorities with no criminalinvestigative experience, the conclu-sions in accident reports can be verypersuasive so far as the criminal courts

of many civil law countries are con-cerned. By using the accident reportsin this way, the very basis of producingthe report in the interests of preventingfuture accidents is compromised.Important lobbying work in this areamust continue for the protection ofsafety for everyone.

There are various pre-accident protec-tion measures that any aircraft owneror operator should consider whichinclude a wholescale review of their air-craft hull and liability insurance, thepurchase of a TLO (Total Loss Only)provision that would provide for somefunds in the event of the total loss of anaircraft, and directors and officers liabil-ity insurance which more often thannot is overlooked. In addition a robustemergency response plan should be inplace in order for appropriate trainingto be given to the individuals expectedto participate in the event of an emer-gency involving multiple loss of life.The plan should also make provisionsso that an appropriate PR response canbe given to the media.

ConclusionOwn or share a jet…dry lease, wet

lease…go for a fractional share…use anaviation management company: differ-ent structures appeal to different buy-ers. The best advice is to get earlyadvice. Equip yourself with a team whohas experience in aviation and candirect you in the right way. Initial out-lay on getting the right structure andprocedures in place will go a long wayto prevent you having to unravel anunworkable structure and incur unnec-essary associated costs. The purchaseof an aircraft in an international forumis not without its complications and it isimportant to have the right team onboard from the outset.

Aoife O’Sullivan is a partner in theAircraft Finance Department at Gatesand Partners, London. Gates andPartners is an aviation specialist lawfirm with offices in London, Singapore,Paris and Brussels. The firm wasrecently voted one of the top ten lawfirms in the world by Air FinanceJournal 2010 and was granted aFinance Monthly Global Award forAchievement 2010 as Aerospace LawFirm of the Year – UK. [email protected]: 0844 692 4966 M: 07709 432 350

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From healthy order books tocommitments to develop theindustry to a brand newregional interiors shop– MEBA 2010 was a success.Liz Moscrop reports.

T his year’s MEBA show created astir on many fronts at the world’sthird busiest airport, Dubai

International. There was some 40 per-cent growth on the 2008 event, with350 exhibitors up from 250 and 7,000expected visitors rather than 5,500who showed up last time.

First time attendee Saudi PrivateAviation (SPA) breezed into the DubaiAirport Expo talking of a record shop-ping spree underlying its ambition torun a fleet that will represent ten per-cent of the country’s total aircraftwhich is expected to grow to 1,200 by2020. The company is a subsidiary ofSaudi Arabian Airlines, but will soonbecome an entity in its own right. Itwas specifically looking for mid sizejets, but said it was also eyeing busi-ness aircraft with between 25 and 40seats, with a view to acquiringbetween two and four, according toboss, Wajdi Alidrissi.


DIGNITARYPresident Dubai

CAA, SheikhAhmed bin Saed

Al Maktouminaugurates the

show (center).Visiting a Royal

Jet BBJ withShane O'Hare,president and

CEO of thecompany(bottom)

R E P O R T M E B A 2 0 1 0

TRIPLE TRIUMPH FOR MEBA

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SALESComlux signed afirm order for twoGlobal 7000 jets.Left to Right:Bob Horner,Senior Vice-President, Sales,BombardierBusinessAircraft,Richard Gaona,President,Comlux (left).

Sergio Frias,EmbraerExecutive JetsContracts VPhands the key ofa Lineage 1000to Saif M A AlMugheiry COOAbu-Dhabibased FalconAviation services(right).

The Jeddah-based company is look-ing to plug the gap between its sixHawker 400XPs and four DassaultFalcon 7Xs. Alidrissi said: “At thisstage we are looking at mid-sized air-craft and would expect to sign some-thing next year. We also need betweentwo and four aircraft in the 25-40 pas-senger category.” According toAlidrissi, SPA flew around 270 cus-tomers in its first year of trading.Alidrissi also said he expected SPA toneed two additional Hawker 400 XPsin 2011.

Bombardier had a great show, too.On day one it cracked open the cham-pagne to toast sales of nine aircraft.Two Global 7000s went to Comlux TheAviation Group, while Munich-basedJet Air Flug announced an estimated$155 million order for five mid-sizeLearjet 85s and two large-cabinChallenger 605 jets.

The Global 7000s will enter into ser-vice in 2016. Comlux presidentRichard Gaona said: “Remember weare not buying aircraft for ourselves,but for our customers,” he said.Comlux’s fleet includes Challenger

605, Challenger 850, Global 5000 andGlobal Express XRS jets. The Global7000 aircraft complements its existingVIP wide-body fleet and contributes tothe company’s plan to become theleading wide-cabin and long-haul VIPcharter and aircraft managementprovider in Europe, Central Asia andthe Middle East.

Rival Embraer also opened the bub-bly when it handed over the first ultra-large Lineage 1000 to Abu Dhabibased charter company FalconAviation Services (FAS). The aircraftis the first of two Lineage 1000 jets

ordered by FAS in November 2007 atthe Dubai Air Show, together withcommitments for more Embraer exec-utive aircraft. Colin Steven, Embraervice president, marketing and sales,Europe, Africa and Middle East,Executive Jets said: “FAS customerswill appreciate the luxurious interiorand premium comfort of the ultra-large jet, configured with the largestin-flight accessible baggage compart-ment of any executive jet.”

And who would have thought therewould be a market for one of thesmallest very light jets in the heavymetal heartland of Saudi Arabia? EkimAlptekin, executive vice president ofEclipse Aerospace, did. He was pro-moting the new Total Eclipse – theupgrade and completion of the stalledEclipse 500 very light jet (VLJ) pro-gram. Alptekin envisions a rosy futurefor the aircraft in the Gulf region – inparticular Saudi Arabia – as moreentrepreneurs realize the value ofusing small aircraft for journeys thattake several hours in a car.

He said he was “very happy” that hiscompany was one of the few to experi-

ence growth over the last 16 months,especially in light of the batteringEclipse Aviation took when it filed forbankruptcy after producing some 270of its VLJ. Now the resurrected com-pany provides engineering, serviceand support for the existing fleet oftwin-engine jets.

InteriorsOn the interiors front US giant

Goodrich acquired DeCrane Aerospacein September 2010 and was at Dubai tointroduce the newly-branded GoodrichInteriors to the Middle Eastern market.

The company will use its existing facili-ty in Dubai to launch new offerings.Among the products and services fea-tured at the Goodrich Interiors standwere a new mood lighting systembased on LEDs claimed to yield “themost appealing colors on the market”and integrated touch-screens.

Meanwhile the first full VIP comple-tions centre in the Middle East is toopen in the near future. MAZ Aviationheld a special event to announce anagreement with MRO specialistsAlsalam Aircraft that is designed toput the latter at the forefront of theglobal VIP completions business,offering an alternative to the providersin Europe and the USA. MAZ chair-man Mohammed Al Zeer said: “Wedesign interiors for our VIP customersand have achieved a high level of pen-etration in that market. AlsalamAircraft’s range of interiors capabili-ties, as demonstrated by the VIP C-130that they handed over to the customer,is unique in this region.”

Abu Dhabi Airports Company(ADAC) also announced a plan toreduce its charges at Al Bateen

region, by 35 percent on landing feesand by 17 percent on the current park-ing fees for all aircraft. Stephen Jones,the airport’s newly appointed GeneralManager said: “We created a lot ofawareness at the recent Grand Prix byoffering free landing and parking ser-vices which strengthened our belief inprioritizing the offering of best levelsof services at competitive prices.”ADAC is projecting almost 12,000commercial movements at the airportby 2014.

Executive Airport, the only dedicatedBusiness Aviation airport in the

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Another show coup came from tripsupport planning company UniversalWeather and Aviation, whichannounced that it will start to offerEuropean Union Emissions TradingScheme (EU-ETS) reporting servicesin time for operators to comply withthe March 31, 2011 deadline to submittheir verified 2010 emissions data.Randy Stephens, UV’s division vicepresident, product management andspecialty services, said his companyhad received many requests fromclients to develop such a facility sincethe mandatory reporting is expensive,time consuming and has to complywith strict parameters. He added thatthis would “make compliance with EU-ETS as painless and cost-efficient aspossible.”

Universal is able to streamline thereporting process by leveraging exist-ing historical flight planning data ithas from clients’ trips into EU memberstates. This will then be accessibleonline. Customers will also be able toupload their own data and run cus-tomizable reports based on their owncriteria, which they can submit to theirown third-party verifier if required.

Show StoppersYet another significant event took

place in December in Dubai. TheInternational Business AviationCouncil met in the region for the firsttime the day after the MEBA show.The meeting was a real coup for theMiddle East Business AviationAssociation (MEBAA), which hasgone from strength to strength sinceits inception in 2007. It is something of

a triple triumph, too, for the thirdMiddle East Business Aviation show,which has become the third largestprivate aviation tradeshow in the worldin its third outing.

There are now 148 MEBAA mem-bers, up by 100 since the last MEBAshow in 2008. MEBAA’s foundingchairman Ali Ahmed Al Naqbi said:“This is good growth despite what isgoing on in the market. We are seeinggood recovery in the BusinessAviation sector, with an increase in fly-ing hours. People who put their opera-tions on hold are now coming back.”

While MEBAA is fostering an envi-ronment in which Business Aviationcan flourish, the MEBA show is alsomaking a major contribution. All themajor OEMs took part again, withmajor first time faces beingHoneywell, RUAG and Emerald Jet

from the Lebanon, which took achalet. Other bookings included com-panies such as CAE, Amjet Executive,Avicom, OnAir and Jeppesen, with thereturn of Happy Design Studio andJCB. UK and Qatar-based Rizonexhibited for the first time.

There are several other new entrantsfrom the Middle East region. AlisonWeller, Managing Director of F&EAerospace, which organizes the showsaid: “We’re seeing a growing trend offlight support services companiesexhibiting as the industry grows.”There was also an extra hall this timein addition to the East and Centralhalls, so the show felt bigger. Wellerhighlighted the ease of access to theshow. She said: “People confuse uswith the Dubai Air Show when we aremuch smaller and more accessible.There is ample car parking space andplenty of taxis.”

Both Al Naqbi and Weller stressedthat they would ideally like to seeMEBA move around the region. AlNaqbi said: “I would like to seeMEBAA have an office in all theGCAAs in the region, but we have lim-ited resources as a non-profit organiza-tion.” Weller pointed out that manycountries are as yet unable to hostsuch a large event. She said: “We willconsider taking it around the region iffacilities allow it – this forms part ofour long term plan. Dubai at themoment is willing to host it.”

THRIVINGMEBAA is

fostering anenvironment in

which BusinessAviation can

flourish and theMEBA show is

making a majorcontribution.

R E P O R T M E B A 2 0 1 0

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STRIKINGThe iconicterminal at TAGFarnboroughAirport.

The first edition of the BusinessAirport World Expo is takingplace soon in London.Liz Moscrop checks out whois going.

T his March sees a brand newshow arrive at TAG FarnboroughAirport in the UK. From the 1st to

the 3rd of the month the BusinessAirport World Expo (BAWE) 2011 willplay host to an international crowd ofexecutive jet owners and operators,gathering to discover new routes, des-tinations, and partners.

Participants are coming from placesas far flung as Canada, Tanzania, andRussia, with visitors from all overEurope and the USA to boot. So farmore than 100 exhibitors have signedup for the inaugural event. At the timeof writing organizers said: “Over 100companies are expected to exhibit,with more executive jet handlers,FBOs, refueling companies, groundhandlers, and VIP aviation centersbooking their booths at this dedicatedexpo every week.”

TAG Farnborough Airport is perhapsEurope’s most iconic BusinessAviation airport thanks to its strikingterminal designed by ReidArchitecture and Buro Happold. Theairfield has modern passenger termi-nals, hangars, and maintenance facili-ties, plus a luxury hotel onsite, whichhas proved to be extremely successful.Manager of the hotel the AviatorMichael Hellig said that 2010 was apositive year with first quarter demand“beyond expectation.”

The BAWE show has attracted aninteresting mix of exhibitors. Severalinternational airports have chosen tocome. For example, Rheinland AirService (RAS), which is doubling upwith Germany’s Munich Executive(Oberpfaffenhofen) Airport.

Oberpfaffenhofen is an executive avi-ation only airfield with a 7,500ft run-way, and an instrument landing sys-tem (ILS), which caters purely forBusiness Aviation. RAS operates theairport’s terminal and facilities includecrew and passenger lounges, a crewsnooze room, a conference room, anda large sundeck. RUAG BusinessAviation Maintenance has a presenceat the airport and services Cessna

Citation and Bombardier types. 328Support Services is also on site, whichmaintains Dornier 328s, both turbo-props and jets.

Northern Ireland’s Enniskil lenAirport has also taken a booth,which may appeal to golfing fans vis-iting the show. Situated in the lakedistrict of Northern Ireland,Enniskillen is only 30 minutes byhelicopter to Belfast or Dublin. Theairfield will doubtless be promotingthe beautiful golf courses and five-star hotels within easy reach.

Airports coming from further afieldinclude Portsmouth InternationalAirport, which is situated on the his-toric coast of New Hampshire, USA.On site FBO Port City Air is located atthe end of an 11,321ft runway. PortCity Air will be plugging itself as theideal port of entry for transatlantictech stops. The company says: “Whenit comes to aircraft handling, we are asfull-service as it gets. And we do itright, at our modern and spacious35,000 square foot FBO and heatedhangar facility.” With 24/7 customsand immigration located on the field,Port City can cater for aircraft of anysize.

P R E V I E W B U S I N E S S A I R P O R T W O R L D E X P O

LONDON CALLING

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Caribbean-based IAM Jet Centreswill be showing off its two full-serviceFBOs in Barbados (at Grantley AdamsInternational Airport) and MontegoBay, Jamaica (at SangsterInternational Airport). The companyhas 21 years experience providingdedicated handling and jet fuel ser-vices to Business Aviation operatorsthroughout the region.

Closer to home Lyon-Bron BusinessAirport will have a presence. TheFrench airfield has long promoted theeconomic value Business Aviationbrings to the community surroundingthe airport. In May 2009 the EuropeanBusiness Aviation Association award-ed the airport for its outstanding con-

tribution to Business Aviation. EBAAboard chairman Rodolfo Baviera notedthe hard-won effort by Lyon-Bron air-port officials to develop a constructivedialogue with residents in the area sur-rounding the airport. He said: “Withthis award, we recognize the leader-ship shown by these airport officials inreaching out to the surrounding com-munity.”

Homegrown airports exhibitinginclude London Oxford Airport in theUK, which will promote itself as aviable London alternative for BusinessAviation operators, with ongoinginvestment in facilities and infrastruc-ture. The airport has invested £20 mil-lion (US$31.7 million) in the last fiveyears, with hangarage increasing by80 percent, the construction of a newmain runway and an FBO, along withthe installation of an instrument land-

ing system. It recently upgraded its5,052ft runway to a Code 3C, meaningoperators can use the entire length ofthe runway. Opening hours are06:30hrs to 22:30hrs, seven days aweek, and it boasts enhancementssuch as Cat 6 RFF and pet importationapproval. The airport is an hour fromWest London by road. All the invest-ment has paid off. Business develop-ment director James Dillon-Godfraysaid: “We saw a 40 percent growth inmovements last year. While we don’texpect such a big hike this year, westill expect to see some growth.”

Another one to watch is Cotswolds(Kemble) Airport. The field is growingdramatically and is home to severaloperators and engineering firms, aswell as charity fly2help. As well aslooking for international businessKemble is looking at developing localrelationships. It recently announced anew partnership with local cateringfirm Relish aimed at transforming onsite AV8 bistro into a focal point forthe community. Cotswold Airport man-ager Nick Howard said: “We’re reallykeen to turn AV8 into a venue whichwill become a focal point for the com-munity, as well as looking after theneeds of everyone who works atCotswold Airport and their clients.”

OperatorsThe show has also attracted world-

class executive aviation fixed baseoperators (FBO) providers and opera-tors. Ocean Sky, for example, is one ofEurope’s fastest growing private avia-tion companies. Headquartered in

OPERATORSCotswold (Kemble)

Airport England,home to severaloperators (top).

Ocean Sky, aprivate aviation

companyheadquartered inLondon, (center).Execujet AviationGroup's (bottom)services include

aircraft sales andmanagement.

P R E V I E W B U S I N E S S A I R P O R T W O R L D E X P O



PARTICIPATIONDavid Best (top)COO at SignatureFlight Support(center).Guy Lachlan ChiefExecutive of theBBGA (bottom)says securityrestrictions couldbe unaffordable forsmall airfields.

London, the company has offices inZurich and Moscow, plus has FBOs atLuton, Manchester, and Prestwick inthe UK; plus Ibiza, Valencia, andMahon in Spain. The firm also pro-vides brokerage, private jet charter,maintenance, interiors, management,sales and acquisitions, and financialservices. It has its own fleet of privatejets.

The ExecuJet Aviation Group hastaken a booth to show off its variedrange of services, which include air-craft sales and management charter,maintenance, and completions man-agement. It also operates six FBOs –in Berlin, Zurich, Paris, Cape Town,Johannesburg, Dubai, and KualaLumpur. Last year Execujet opened anew facility in Paris Le Bourget alongwith Advanced Air Support. The FBOoffers two passenger lounges, a pilotlounge and separate relaxation roomfor crew, two bedrooms with en suitesfor crew and passengers, WiFi, satel-lite TV, catering, parking, meetingrooms, and a complete concierge ser-vice.

Fellow provider Signature FlightSupport is determined to continue toforge a strong presence in Europe, somuch so that the Florida-headquar-tered company has taken a stand inorder to demonstrate its dedication tothe region. Chief operating officerDavid Best said: “We have a networkof 103 locations and offer people anend to end service. We are familiarwith local customs and can providelocal connections in Europe, the USA,Africa and Asia.” Best added: “We alsosupport our ground staff, who need tobe able to handle aircraft of 747 and777 size, so we have all the operationalequipment required on site.”

Signature has a tried and tested strat-egy in Europe, with strong networksparticularly in Greece, Germany, andmost recently France with its groundhandling coordination service.

Other Companies PresentHadley Executive Chauffeurs are the

driving force behind many an execu-tive trip, and the company has taken abooth to win more business. It sayswhen it has clients in the air it “contin-ually monitors flights to determinearrival times, to ensure no time iswasted and clients reach their destina-tion on time.” Meanwhile, thelifeblood of an airport is fuel and

worldwide provider Global Fuel hastaken a stand at the show. Global Fuelprovides fuel via a combination of fuelcards and pre- arranged services.

WorkshopsTo complement the exhibition, there

are free workshops on site, hosted bythe European Business AviationAssociation, the Baltic Air CharterAssociation, ACC AvServ, and theBritish Business and General AviationAssociation. Topics covered includeaircraft safety and risk management.One session will address crew fatigue,route planning, and MRO procedures/schedules and facilities. Another willcover new routes and airspace restric-tions – a vital resource for operatorswishing to fly the most efficient routebetween airfields. The workshop willalso look at how to win new businessand optimizing flight planning.

Operators will naturally want toknow the most cost effective way toacquire and manage an aircraft, andthere is a session addressing exactly

that. This will incorporate best prac-tices for buying and leasing aircraft,plus fleet/aircraft management tech-niques, tools, and systems. There isalso a workshop aimed at how tochoose the right partner – ie under-standing landing and handling fees,and discovering suitable maintenance,repair and overhaul stops, and what toexpect from an FBO.

The BBGA will be advising attendeeson European security regulations forBusiness Aviation and the effect theyhave on operational efficiency, and theDepartment of Transport will discuss

the UK’s implementation of EC300security rules. BBGA Chief Executive,Guy Lachlan stressed the importanceof understanding safety and securitylegislation, which may negativelyimpact small airfields. He said: “If wedon’t keep our eye on the ball thesecurity restrictions that could beimposed on small airfields could beunaffordable.”

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Bill Boisture landed squarely inthe “hot seat” as Chairmanand CEO of Hawker Beechcraftin April 2009, during theeconomic downturn.A graduate of the US Air ForceAcademy and the elite US AirForce and U.S. Navy FighterWeapons (“Top Gun”) schools,he has led several majorcompanies; most prominentlyGulfstream Aerospace andNetJets.Senior Writer, Jack Carroll,checks up on his progress inguiding Hawker Beechcraftthrough this stubborn recession.

BART: Hawker Beechcraft wasrecently awarded an incentive grant ofsome $45 million by the State ofKansas and local government to keepthe company in Wichita. How will thegrant affect the company?Boisture: The funds coming in overthe next five years will be directed totwo major areas: First, providing con-tinuing education and training for ourpeople. And secondly, to drive andsupport the product developmentprocess for new programs.We’ll be using Wichita StateUniversity and other local institutionsfor continuing education, while thetraining portion will be handled by theNational Center for Aviation Trainingnear our headquarters. Our objectivethere is to broaden our workers’ skillsacross a wide range of manufacturingareas.

BART: You joined Hawker Beechcraftat a less than opportune time, in thedepths of the Business Aviation down-turn. How are you coping?Boisture: From the outset we’ve beenvery upfront and direct with our peo-ple in regard to our decision tobecome a smaller, more agile and effi-cient company. We’ve already takenaction to significantly shrink our phys-ical “footprint” and by the end of thisyear will have closed more than a mil-

lion square feet of real estate at ourprimary location in Wichita.

BART: What is your own take on thestate of the industry?Boisture: I think the recession ispretty much at the bottom and we’veseen some positive signs at year end,especially the new tax incentives thatallow accelerated depreciation, whichis already creating increasing interestin buying new aircraft. But I expectwe’ll see a few months or more ofholding in this recessionary pattern.In the meantime and with regard toHawker Beechcraft I think price andvolume have to come up together orwe’re not going to have a very healthymarket. We still have an excessiveused aircraft inventory to clear out andwhen that’s finally done there shouldbe an upward lift for new aircraft pric-ing. We’re looking for reasonable pric-ing coupled with increased volumeand when that happens we’ll probablysee compound growth in the five toeight percent range, versus the 12 to16 percent range that we had in 2006through 2008.And we continue to develop variantsand improvements within our existingproduct line. We’ve greatly improvedthe performance of the KingAir C90,350i, and the new Hawker 200, whichis derived from the Premier IA. We’realso developing new performance-enhancing products for the Hawker400, and 800 series. These new compo-nent packages keep our aircraft cur-rent with new technology.

BART: To prepare for the upturn,will you be expanding in the productsupport/service area?Boisture: We already maintain theindustry’s largest service network,with over 100 company-owned andauthorized service centers. But we’recontinuing to explore and evaluate anumber of select locations. Forinstance, we recently entered into anagreement with the ExecuJet Group,which will greatly expand our interna-tional product support capabilities.

BART: Your Hawker 4000 flagshiphas grown both in terms of customerappeal and orders since certification.How is it progressing?Boisture: In the past 18 months we’veinvested additional funds in that pro-gram and are now up to serial numbersin the 50s. In fact, we are actually sell-ing ahead of what we have in stock, sothe next aircraft availability will be late2011. We’ve delivered four Hawker4000s in China this past year and wesee tremendous potential there for the4000, as well as our other products.

BART: Is the military/trainer/specialmissions market helping you dampenthe effects of the recession?Boisture: Trainer and special mis-sion aircraft sales are definitely help-ing us weather this recession. If youtake trainers and special mission air-craft sales, plus their after-market con-tribution, it adds up to nearly half thecompany's total revenues. We've deliv-ered over 600 T-6 and T-6B trainers,and have plenty of prospects in thepipeline, such as the Indian Air ForceTrainer Program, with a potential of 75aircraft.

BART: After nearly a year in the job,what’s your overall feeling at this pointand for the future?Boisture: Well, you can’t rest on yourlaurels. But I see our installed base ofsome 36,000 aircraft as having a greatpotential for growing our service busi-ness, which had been mainly left todistributors and third parties.We have a great team of people, theright products and reasonable eco-nomics, to build a strong future forthis company and that’s precisely whatwe’re doing.


RIDING OUT THE RECESSION

FUTUREBill Boisture

does not intendto rest on his

laurels.

INSIGHT H A W K E R B E E C H C R A F T /W . W . ( B I L L ) B O I S T U R E J r .

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