Business Aviation

Charter operators are reporting a major bump in interest thanks to the spread of COVID-19 as those who can afford it avoid the aerial petri dishes of hub and spoke travel. Fortune is reporting that business aircraft operators have seen a major uptick in interest and business in the last couple of weeks as those […]

California-based Surf Air has acquired BlackBird, an “online aviation marketplace” that pairs passengers with private aircraft owners and charter operators via mobile app. The companies will form the new Surf Air Mobility Corporation, which will focus on 50- to 400-mile trips as an “alternative to commercial airlines and driving on short routes.” As part of […]

Bell Helicopters unveiled a 429 modified with four electrically driven tail rotors that it says has proven the concept over almost a year of testing. The Electrically Distributed Anti-Torque (EDAT) system has been flying since last May from the company’s Mirabel, Quebec, facilities and it works just fine. “This is the first time anyone in […]

Police in Vancouver, B.C., are looking for a man who managed to get a commercial floatplane started before ramming two others at a seaplane terminal at the city’s harbor early Friday morning and causing major damage. Police were called to the dock about 3:30 a.m. to investigate reports that a man had tried to steal […]

Gulfstream Aerospace has announced plans to construct a new maintenance, repair and overhaul facility at Texas’s Fort Worth Alliance Airport (AFW). The 160,000-square-foot (14,864-square-meter) service center will include hangar space, back shops and employee and customer offices. Gulfstream expects to break ground on the project in the third quarter of 2020 and open the facility […]

Bombardier is selling its train business to French rail giant Alsom and focusing exclusively on its business jet company according to reports released late Sunday. The deal is reportedly worth $7.5 billion and will allow Bombardier to eliminate most of its crushing $9 billion debt. The deal is expected to be announced on Monday. On […]

Pilatus has obtained full rough field certification for its PC-24 Super Versatile Jet, clearing the aircraft for operations on grass, wet earth and snow. The company completed testing for dry sand and gravel in 2018. The tests required by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) for the certification took place at locations including Woodbridge, England, […]

Embraer announced an upgraded version of its Phenom 300E business jet on Friday. According to the company, the Phenom 300E now offers a top speed of Mach 0.80 and increased range of 2,010 NM (3,724 km). An avionics upgrade includes a runway overrun awareness and alerting system, predictive wind shear, emergency descent mode, performance and […]

A consultant working for Chicago Executive Airport told a meeting last week that closing the busy facility’s crosswind runway will improve safety. Craig Louden, a project manager with infrastructure consultant Crawford, Murphy and Tilly Inc., told a room full of pilots at a meeting of the airport’s board of directors last week that closing Runway […]

Bombardier said it may end its partnership with Airbus in the A220 airliner and hinted it could even sell its business jet division to pay off debt and prop up its sagging train business. The company cut its earnings projections for 2019 for the second time prompting a stock sell-off that reduced share prices by […]