May 20, 2010
 
In This Issue
Flight Options Gets Its First Phenom 300
New Northwest Florida Airport Set To Open on Sunday
Grob Prototype Crash Caused by Stabilizer Failure
Avantair Finds Smooth Air in Turbulent Frax Market
ASA Group Inundated During Thailand Protests

Also Noted...

Aircell expanded the suite of monthly service plans for its high-speed Internet for the business aviation market, adding two new usage-based billing options to its existing unlimited/fixed-fee plan. The new service plans–Ultraspeed 100 and Ultraspeed 40–allow Aircell broadband customers the option of paying based on the monthly volume of data consumed, 100 MB for $895/month or 40 MB for $395/month. Usage beyond these allotments is billed at a per-megabyte cost. The new plans will be available this summer.

Royal Jet launched a new program called 100 Club that rewards frequent private jet travelers with discounts of up to 9 percent and other benefits. To take part in the program, customers of the Abu Dhabi-based charter company need to commit to at least 20 flying hours per year. 100 Club members’ discount increases proportionally up to a maximum of 9 percent for those who fly 100 hours. Members will have access to the entire Royal Jet fleet, which includes a Gulfstream G300 and BBJ.

According to the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association, Transport Canada is going to mandate 406-MHz ELTs for most aircraft flying in Canadian airspace, including private aircraft. This will apply to Canadian- and foreign-registered aircraft alike, COPA said. However, the regulation has not yet been released, so operators are not required to do anything at this time, the association noted.

Jim Burnett, 92, the NTSB chairman from 1981 to 1991, died on Saturday in his hometown of Clinton, Ark. Burnett was named to the NTSB in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan. Cause of death was listed as complications from diabetes.

FlightSafety International said its customers can now receive preferential pricing and preferred access to Argus’s Prism safety management system. The Prism SMS is a suite of products and services designed to help flight departments, as well as other owners and operators of business aircraft, to effectively implement and oversee their SMS.


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AIN’s Killer App…for the iPhone
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Flight Options Gets Its First Phenom 300
Cleveland-based fractional aircraft provider Flight Options took delivery of its first Embraer Phenom 300 on Tuesday. Flight Options has a firm order for 100 of the light jets and options on 50 more. The Phenom 300s are scheduled to be delivered at a rate of about 10 per year over the next 10 years. The first three fractional Phenoms have already been pre-sold, according to a Flight Options spokesman. “We expect that the Phenom 300 will be a true game changer in the fractional marketplace,” said Flight Options CEO Mike Silvestro. “Not only will it offer best-in-class cabin comfort, range and baggage capacity, but it will do so while operating at the lowest cost per mile of any light jet.” In fact, Flight Options told AIN that at $3,700 the total per-hour cost (including hourly and monthly fees) for a sixteenth-share Phenom 300 is about 25 percent less than that of competing aircraft. Flight Options will equip the aircraft with several features currently not found in any other fractional jets: iPod docking stations and broadband wireless Internet. The fractional firm is launching a U.S. tour next month to showcase the Phenom 300, stopping at 40 cities, including New York, Dallas, Chicago and Las Vegas.



New Northwest Florida Airport Set To Open on Sunday
Northwest Florida Beaches Airport (KECP) near Panama City, Fla., the first new greenfield airport since Denver International in 1995, is on schedule to open on Sunday, say officials. The 4,000-acre field, designed to guarantee no residential development will be built near the airfield itself or within the flight paths, will initially open with just 10,000-foot Runway 16/34. An 8,400-foot parallel runway (16R/34L) and 5,000-foot crosswind Runway 3/21 are in the near-term plans. The new airport will replace the Panama City-Bay County Airport, which is slated to close on July 1. The approximately 140 general aviation aircraft–including about two dozen business jets, turboprops and helicopters–based at Panama City-Bay County are scheduled to migrate to the new airport on June 3, although newly constructed hangars won’t be ready until June 7. The new airport can accommodate up to three FBOs, and two have signed up so far–Sheltair and Regency Air Center. Sheltair plans to be open for business at KECP on Sunday, operating from a temporary facility until its new 5,000-sq-ft FBO terminal and 11,000-sq-ft hangar are completed in the fourth quarter. JMT Development, a company that specializes in the design and construction of general aviation facilities, is behind Regency Air Center. At press time, AIN was unable to get more information from a JMT representative about its FBO.

Grob Prototype Crash Caused by Stabilizer Failure
The November 2006 fatal crash of the Grob G180A SPn prototype was caused by failure of the twinjet’s horizontal stabilizer, according to the final report recently issued by the German Federal Bureau of Aircraft Accident Investigation (BFU). “The wreckage pattern allowed for only one conclusion: that the horizontal stabilizer had suffered an in-flight breakup due to aerodynamic flutter,” rendering the aircraft uncontrollable, the report stated. While the cause of the flutter was not determined, investigators considered a retrofitted elevator mass balance a possible culprit, as well as prior damage to the elevator horn. The company’s chief pilot was killed in the crash, which occurred while the SPn was being flown on a demonstration flight in low ceilings. Company policy dictated a “reduced flight display”–speed below 200 knots and a cloud-base minimum of 1,500 feet–but the aircraft was flying at up to 270 knots. The BFU issued several safety recommendations stemming from the accident, including a requirement that all test aircraft with an mtow of more than 12,566 pounds be equipped with flight data and cockpit voice recorders. The agency also wants EASA and other civil aviation authorities to “check and monitor the integration of subcontractors in design organizations engaged in the design and construction of aircraft.”



Avantair Finds Smooth Air in Turbulent Frax Market
Piaggio Avanti fractional provider Avantair’s revenue increased 4 percent, to $36 million, in its fiscal third quarter (which ended March 31) compared with the year-ago period. Its earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization also rose to $1.8 million, up from the $1.5 million reported in the same period last year. During what is typically the company’s slowest sales quarter, flight-hour cards sold increased to 82 versus 29 in the same period last year. Additionally, revenue-generating flight hours reached a new third-quarter record, climbing to 9,623 hours versus 8,627 hours a year ago. “Our third-quarter results demonstrate our ability to drive greater owner value through an industry-leading single-aircraft fleet, while continuing to improve our operating efficiencies within our existing infrastructure,” said Avantair CEO Steven Santo. “We achieved record quarterly sales despite the seasonally slow sales cycle typically associated with our third quarter and the continued weak market conditions.” Meanwhile, to help sustain growth Avantair this week unveiled two new incentives: a loyalty program that rewards fractional customers for program renewals, and an ambassador program to compensate existing owners for customer referrals.

ASA Group Inundated During Thailand Protests
The ASA Group, an executive-aviation security services provider with a base in Bangkok, said it has been inundated with requests for assistance from travelers and security companies concerned about violent clashes in Thailand between troops and anti-government protesters. At press time, news reports said the protest violence was waning, though ASA managing director Simon Wagstaff said the situation remains “fluid.” This week, ASA has moved several people, including families and exchange students, away from troubled areas. “Many people are frightened about what is happening here,” Wagstaff said. “It is important to stress that people want to move as much for convenience as for safety. Their daily lives are affected by the lack of facilities available.” According to ASA, it is difficult to enter and exit the hotspots, where shops are closed and utilities such as running water, electricity and Internet are intermittent or nonexistent. “We are warning our clients to stay away from the troubled areas,” Wagstaff said. “Some tourists have unwisely been going to the protest sites to gawk and take photographs.” ASA is urging visitors to watch the news closely and, as a precaution, make alternate plans to get out of the country.

Tell Us about Your Product Support
Tell us about the product support you receive from business aviation OEMs and be entered into a drawing to win one of three Sennheiser headsets or one of 10 $50 retail gift cards. The 2010 AIN Product Support Survey is now online, ready for selected readers to rate the support they receive for their aircraft, engines and avionics. The survey is devised by AIN's editors and designed and administered by Newtown, Conn.-based research firm Forecast International. AIN readers who have been selected to participate in this year’s Product Support Survey should have received a coded number and link to the online survey Web site by e-mail or postcard (where the subscriber number appears directly above the last name). The survey needs to be completed by midnight on June 7. For more information, contact Jane Campbell at jcampbell@ainonline.com.

Regionals Brace for UAL-CAL Merger
The regional airline partners of United and Continental Airlines will no doubt face a period of some uncertainty as the major airlines prepare to merge their operations into the world’s largest international airline
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Airbus Delivers Lufthansa’s First A380
Lufthansa took delivery of its first Airbus A380 during a handover ceremony yesterday in Hamburg, Germany, making it the fifth customer to take possession of at least one of the superjumbos... More...


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