COMMERCIAL BUSINESS AVIATION
‘Incredible hard work
and dedication from
our people went into
the learjet 85 aircraft
development programme.’
—Éric Martel
President, Bombardier
Business Aircraft
‘The Falcon 7X has become
our fastest selling
business jet ever.’
—Eric Trappier
Chairman and CEO of
Dassault Aviation
own fees on intra-Europe flights (and possibly international
flights into and out of Europe) without waiting for global “market-based measures” which the International Civil Aviation
Organisation (ICAO) is attempting to formulate by 2016.
“With all of this expense for AOC holders, the customer often
finds a way around these limitations by going to the ‘grey’ market
and flying commercially on a non-AOC aircraft,” Twidell said. “This,
of course, is dangerous for both the passengers and the industry.”
OEM HIGHLIGHTS
Following are highlights of recent developments among the
major business aviation aircraft manufacturers.
Beechcraft and Cessna to Touch $4 billion in Revenues
Textron which already owned Cessna, acquired Beech Holdings, parent of Beechcraft and Hawker, and has reorganised
them into Textron Aviation, which together is expected to produce more than $4 billion in annual revenues. Scott A. Ernest,
Cessna’s President and CEO since 2011, will lead the Textron
Aviation segment as CEO.
Cessna’s Citation Latitude prototype is currently in flight test
mode since its maiden flight in mid-February. The twinjet is said to
have already achieved its “full performance envelope.” The aircraft
features a new, larger fuselage with the wings, tail, and systems of
the Citation Sovereign+, Garmin G5000 avionics, and is the only
Cessna jet with a flat floor. US Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) certification is anticipated in the second quarter of 2015.
“We have several exciting products launching in Europe this
year – we expect the Citation M2, Cessna Grand Caravan EX,
and Cessna TTx to all achieve European Aviation Safety Agency
(EASA) type certification in 2014,” said Tom Perry, Cessna Vice
President of Sales, Europe. “Each aircraft brings distinctive capabilities to the European market and we anticipate they will be
extremely popular with our customers.”
Bombardier’s Learjet Programme
The Bombardier Aerospace Learjet 85 aircraft successfully
completed its first flight in April. All flight controls were said
to be exercised with the systems and the aircraft performed as
expected. Éric Martel, President, Bombardier Business Aircraft,
stated, “Incredible hard work and dedication from our people
went into this aircraft development programme. This includes
our sites in Wichita, United States; Querétaro Mexico; and Montréal, Canada, as well as our facility in Belfast, Northern Ireland.”
www.sps-aviation.com
‘We have this perfect
situation in the phenom
300 where we have the
market leadership and
the highest price in the
segment.’
—Frederico Fleury
Curado, President and
CEO,embraer
‘Over the last decade,
we’ve been heavily
investing in Gulfstream,
and that investment is
beginning to pay off.’
—Phebe N. Novakovic
Chairman & CEO of
Gulfstream parent
General Dynamics
Dassault Falcon 5X on Track for Early 2015 Delivery
Dassault Falcon says progress of its new Falcon 5X business jet
is going well with the first flight still on track for early 2015. The
company hopes to certify the new type in 2016, followed by a
first delivery in 2017.
Dassault has delivered its 250th Falcon 7X. Eric Trappier,
Chairman and CEO of Dassault Aviation, said, “The Falcon 7X
has become our fastest selling business jet ever.” The fleet has
accumulated more than 2,50,000 flight hours since it was introduced in 2007.
Embraer’s Strength
The business aviation strength of Embraer has been in the very
light jet category. They recently delivered the 300th copy of the
Phenom 100, and are approaching the 200-mark for the larger
Phenom 300. “The [Phenom] 300 is really performing well, selling well, and has a strong pricing. We have this perfect situation
in the 300 where we have the market leadership and the highest price in the segment,” President and CEO Frederico Fleury
Curado said.
When Embraer’s new Legacy 500 finally debuts later this July,
it will be the first fly-by-wire aircraft in the midsize business aviation class. Embraer has been rounding out its executive aircraft
line, adding the Legacy 450 and 500 models in between the Phenoms and larger Legacy 600/650 and Lineage 1000 types.
Gulfstream
Gulfstream delivered 39 aircraft during the first quarter of
2014, a 34.5 per cent increase from a year ago, including 33
large-cabin and six mid-size jets. Phebe N. Novakovic, CEO
of Gulfstream parent General Dynamics, said, “Over the last
decade, we’ve been heavily investing in Gulfstream, and that
investment is beginning to pay off.”
The new flagship, the Gulfstream 650, is the world’s fastest
private jet (it broke the city-pair speed record for New York to
Mumbai, making the 6,754 nautical mile trip in 13 hours and 49
minutes). There’s a three-year waiting list with more than 150
buyers already. However, the G650 is now available for charter
in Europe for the first time – only £99,000 (about $1,66,000) for
a roundtrip from London to Dubai. The high-tech luxury interior includes a full bar and kitchen and accommodates up Ѽ(