The European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) opens May 22 in Geneva and as usual, companies are making announcements in advance of the formal opening. Nextant has announced that it’s dipping a toe in the large cabin market with an avionics upgrade for Challenger 604 bizjets. Nextant started with refurbs of Hawker bizjets and followed with King Airs. The Challenger upgrades include a Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion panel that will bring the old airframes into NextGen compliance. The cabin will also be refreshed and connectivity systems installed.
Although it hasn’t yet built an aircraft, Aerion continues to grab headlines with updates on its supersonic business jet project. The company says it has chosen GE to “study” the sort of engines it will need for the three-engine Mach 1.5 aircraft. At the other end of the jet spectrum, Cirrus says it’s ready to ramp up production of the SF50 Vision with a plan to build 25 to 50 of the single-engine personal aircraft this year. The company received FAA production approval in early May.
So far there is little big news to report and a general sense the European market is still stalled. Several analysts quoted in the show newspapers are cautiously predicting some recovery in Europe but they’re also admitting how wrong they’ve been before with similar observations. There’s been an uptick in business aviation activity in Europe and the industry crossing its fingers that will translate to increased sales.
