FlyCorporate Magazine ISSUE 11

EMEA & ASIA 3

FC BRINGING TOGETHER BUSINESS AVIATION AND BUSINESS LEADERS

SOS

FLYCORPORATE EMEA & ASIA

HondaJet

Concept Proven

Medical Emergencies Political Upheaval Natural Disasters

Why Russia’s Bizav Fleet

Remains Offshore

ISSUE 11 - 2011 ISSN: 2030-0468

flycorporate.com

Landings: Shannon a trip planning tool for executives

4 EMEA & ASIA

There’s No

SUCH

THING No CH THIN As Routine FLIGHT SUPPORT Lower your airstairs at any of our 100 plus worldwide locations and you’ll

immediately notice our warm, personal greeting. It’s the first item in our Signature Service Promise. Followed up with safe, ramp-ready handling,

inviting facilities, personal attention to passengers and crew and available QuickTurn service. Add to that our always fair, competitive pricing, and TM

As Routine FLIGHT SUPP

you’ll want to make Signature a permanent part of your flight plan.

Lower your airstairs at any of our 100 plus worldwide locations and you’ll immediately notice our warm, personal greeting. It’s the first item in our Signature Service Promise. Followed up with safe, ramp-ready handling, Find specific information about individual locations at SignatureFlight.com. inviting facilities, personal attention to passengers and crew and available QuickTurn service. Add to that our always fair, competitive pricing, and TM

you’ll want to make Signature a permanent part of your flight plan.

6

Beautiful on the Inside Page 30

EMEA & ASIA

Contents Our Team

8­

Reference Index Memo In Brief

10

12 14

Ask an Expert

26

New rules on Flight Crew Licensing come into force in April 2012. Pedro Vicente Azua from EBAA outlines the impact the rules will have on business aviation.

Disaster? Or an Opportunity for Forward Thinking?

28

As crisis after crisis has hit the world in 2011, the need for rapid evacuation planning has become clear. Andrew Charlton ponders whether business aviation needs to be better prepared.

Beautiful on the Inside

30

Whether you want a business office, high-altitude sleeper, convention centre or airborne family coach, the possibilities and limitations of aircraft interior design need to be understood. Tim Kern, CAM takes a closer look.

Cabin Electronics: The Quiet Revolution

36

The proliferation of technology in the home and office is now spreading to aircraft.

Passengers are demanding the same levels of connectivity and control as they enjoy on the ground. Sanjay Rampal finds out where the future is taking us.

Where East Meets West

Cabin Electronics: The Quiet Revolution page 36

40

FlyCorporate’s Dan Smith takes a closer look at how countries in Eastern and Central Europe are establishing themselves in the bizav landscape.

HondaJet: Concept Proven

44

Michimasa Fujino is the man behind the HondaJet, which had its first flight in December 2010. Tim Kern meets the man, the machine and the company.

Why Russia’s Bizav Fleet Remains Offshore

48

Almost all of Russia’s business aviation fleet is registered offshore. Eugene Gerden finds out what it will take to get the fleet back home.

Cover photo: HondaJet, courtesy of Honda Aircraft Company

HondaJet: Concept Proven Page 44

7

AT 31 US E T 70 SI A C T H VI E B OO B 7,

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M O B I L I T FYO:U N D Your search for the ultimate aircraft will take you many places. But the true visionary is always led back to the PILATUS PC-12 NG. BE-THERE-IN-A-FLASH FREEDOM + SPACIOUS, SO-SEDUCTIVE CABIN TURBINE POWER, HALF-A-JET PRICE + AIRPORT DELAY GONE AWAY EXTENDED-RANGE FUEL SIPPER + SHORT RUNWAYS, LAND CLOSER + UNCOMPROMISED

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PILATUS. DESTINATION: FOUND WWW.PILATUS-AIRCRAFT.COM + 41.41.619.6296

8 EMEA & ASIA

Contents A Global Family

52

With the announcement of the 7000 and 8000 models late last year, Bombardier’s Global family doubled to four models. Rod Simpson finds out what sets the Global family apart from the competition.

A Global Family Page 52

Controlling What You Can’t: Airborne Medical Emergencies

58

Amy Laboda talks to some of the leading specialists in inflight emergency support providers to find out how concierge medical services are saving lives around the world.

The Swiss Challenge

62

Marenco Swisshelicopter unveiled its new carbon-fibre SKYe SHO9 at Heli-Expo earlier this year. Rod Simpson was there to take a look.

Operator Profiles: ExecuJet and Phoenix Aviation

64

A new feature looking at business aviation operators in different parts of the world.

This month we are in Australia and Kenya.

Securing the Dream

66

Financing and insurance are two of the most important things to get right when buying an aircraft. Phil Nasskau speaks to the experts to find out how you can speed up the process, and optimise the outcome.

Versus: Android Gingerbread Smartphones Controlling What You Can’t: Airborne Medical Emergencies Page 58

73

Mobile phones running Android version 2.3 are just about to hit the shelves.

Dan Smith compares the best.

Landings: Shannon

74

Business aviation facilities and services in Shannon, Ireland.

Distribution Partners

80

Find out where to get your hands on a copy of one of the world’s most informative business aviation magazines!

On the Horizon

Securing the Dream Page 66

82

Welcome on board !

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10 EMEA & ASIA

FlyCorporate Magazine EMEA & ASIA

flycorporate.com

Taunya Renson-Martin

Dan Smith

Diana Albiol

Editorial and Publishing Director

Managing Editor

Managing Editor (from 1 June 2011)

Taunya.Renson@flycorporate.com

Dan.Smith@flycorporate.com

Diana.Albiol@flycorporate.com

+32 9 243 60 11

+32 486 357 834

+32 473 175 096

Robin Kloeg

Andre Rampat

FlyCorporate Senior Writers

Advertising Sales Representative

Advertising Sales Representative

Robin@flycorporate.com

Andre@flycorporate.com

+31 620 376 796

+32 472 434 731

Sybylla Wales

Mike Vlieghe

Circulation & Production Manager

Art Director

Andrew Charlton Tim Kern, CAM Amy Laboda Sanjay Rampal Rod Simpson Phil Nasskau

Sybylla.Wales@flycorporate.com

Mike.Vlieghe@flycorporate.com

Bram Van Oost

Jessica Song

Web Director

Online Editor

Bram.Vanoost@flycorporate.com

Jessica.Song@flycorporate.com

FlyCorporate Contributors Kim Dekinderen Eugene Gerden Stien Verschelde Pedro Vicente Azua

.Mach Media

machmedia.be

Luc Osselaer

Taunya Renson-Martin

Yannick Steyaert

Chairman

Managing Director

Financial Assistant

FlyCorporate Magazine is published by .Mach Media. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited.

Subscribers: If the postal service alerts us that your magazine is undeliverable, we have no further obligation unless we receive a corrected address.

How to Reach Us Letters to the Editor must include the writer’s full name, address and email coordinates. They may be edited for purposes of clarity or space, and should be addressed to editor@flycorporate.com or to .Mach Media, Technologiepark 3, Zwijnaarde-Gent, B-9052, Belgium. You can also call us on +32 9 243 6011 or fax on +32 9 243 6006.

Customer Service and Subscriptions: FlyCorporate’s magazine, weekly newsfeeds and our regular e-newsletter are free to subscribers.

To subscribe to any of our products, please visit flycorporate.com.

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Please recycle this magazine when you are finished.

MEMBER OF

11

Lang Lang

GLOBAL PERFORMANCE He was born with the gift of natural ability. And when he debuted, some 10 years ago, he rocked the world of classical music. Today, Lang Lang has embarked on another “journey of a thousand miles” – to bring music to children and inspire them to perform. In bringing music and learning to less fortunate nations and communities, he has taken his gift and chosen to give back.

In support of his selfless performance, Bombardier* proudly contributes to the Lang Lang International Music Foundation.

* Registered trademark(s) or trademark(s) of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries. © 2011 Bombardier Inc. All rights reserved.

12 EMEA & ASIA

Reference Index Aero Friedrichshafen aero-expo.com Aerovolga aerovolga.com AgustaWestland agustawestland.com Airbus airbus.com Aircell aircell.com AirJet Designs airjet-designs.com ARINC arinc.com Avinode avinode.com BAA Jet Management baasia.com Barclays Wealth barclayswealth.com Bell Helicopter bellhelicopter.textron.com Bell/Agusta Aerospace bellagusta.com Boeing Aircraft Company boeing.com Bombardier Aerospace bombardier.com Central European Private Aviation Association (CEPA) cepa.aero Cessna Aircraft Company cessna.com China Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) caac.gov.cn Coast to Coast coast2coastleather.com Colt International coltgroup.com Comlux, The Aviation Group comluxaviation.com Corporate Flight Attendant Training corporateflightattendanttraining.com Dallas Airmotive bbaaviationero.com Dassault Aviation dassault-aviation.com Dubai Airshow dubaiairshow.aero Duncan Avionics duncanaviation.aero Eclipse Aerospace eclipseaerospace.net Embraer embraer.com

Enstrom Helicopter Corporation enstromhelicopter.com EUROCONTROL eurocontrol.int Eurocopter eurocopter.com European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) easa.europa.eu European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) ebaa.org ExecuJet Aviation Group execujet.net Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) faa.gov FinServe finserve.be Flightworx flightworx.aero Flying Colours Corp. flyingcolourscorp.com GE Aviation geaviation.com GE Capital gecapital.com Grossman Jet Service grossmannjet.com Gulfstream gulfstream.com Hawker Beechcraft hawkerbeechcraft.com HondaJet hondajet.honda.com Honeywell honeywell.com Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) dgca.gov.in Inmarsat inmarsat.com International SOS internationalsos.com Iridium iridium.com Jet Expo 2011.jetexpo.ru List components & furniture GmbH list.at London Oxford Airport oxfordairport.co.uk Lufthansa Technik lufthansa-technik.com Lycoming lycoming.com MD Helicopters mdhelicopters.com

flycorporate.com

MedAire medaire.com MEDEX 2011 medex.aero National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) nbaa.org OCP Kunststofftechnik ocp.ch Opera Jet operajet.sk Phoenix Aviation phoenixaviation.co.ke Pilatus pilatus-aircraft.com Pratt & Whitney pw.utc.com Raisbeck Engineering raisbeck.com RDT rdtltd.com Robinson Helicopter robinsonheli.com Rockwell Collins rockwellcollins.com Rolls-Royce rolls-royce.com Russian United Business Aviation Association rubaa.ru Sagem sagem.com Saraya Aviation sarayagroup.com Schweizer Aircraft sacusa.com Scott Group scottgroup.com Signature Flight Support signatureflight.com Sikorsky sikorsky.com Swisshelicopter marenco-swisshelicopter.com Teague teague.com Tecnam tecnam.com Tulpar tulpar.ru TurbomĂŠca turbomeca.com Tyrolean Jet Services tjs.at Verspieren verspieren.com

13

I AM GLOBAL Introducing the new Bombardier Global aircraft family The Bombardier* Global* aircraft family delivers best-in-class performance, with every seat, the best in the house.

Offering sufficient power to efficiently escort leaders to distances unmatched by competing aircraft, it is an ideal solution for those whose dedication knows no borders.

MORE ADVANCED

MORE COMFORT

MORE FREEDOM

MORE RESPONSIBLE

Be Global – to learn more about the Lang Lang International Music Foundation and to make a donation, visit www.IAmGlobal.Bombardier.com

* Registered trademark(s) or trademark(s) of Bombardier Inc. or its subsidiaries. Š 2011 Bombardier Inc. All rights reserved.

14 EMEA & ASIA

MEMO

MEMO In mid-April, Taunya and I travelled to China for the inaugural Shanghai International Business Aviation Show (SIBAS). It was a first for us and an incredible opportunity to see the world’s economic powerhouse at close range. It is impressive.

The level of interest in business aviation was also impressive. While a relatively small show, SIBAS managed to attract many of the wealthy Chinese who are looking to purchase aircraft or become active users of business aviation. The potential is huge with over 55,000 people in China estimated to have a fortune that exceeds €100 million. It sounds a lot, but with over 1.3 billion people in China, that represents just 0.004% of the population. The potential of this country to affect the business aviation industry is only just beginning to be felt.

Our EBACE issue means interiors, and this year is no exception. Tim Kern investigates carpets and leathers to see just what are the limits (Beautiful on the Inside, page 30). Sanjay Rampal looks at how the technology we use at home and the office is making its way onboard (Cabin Electronics: The Quiet Revolution, page 36).

In this issue we also focus on Eastern Europe. Eugene Gerden investigates why owners are reluctant to house their jets in Russia (Why Russia’s Bizav Fleet Remains Offshore, page 48) while I take a look at the bizav market in Central and Eastern Europe (Where East Meets West, page 40).

Rod Simpson compares Bombardier’s Global range of aircraft including the new 7000 and 8000 models (A Global Family, page 52). Following the recent Heli-Expo in Orlando, Rod also profiles a new European, light composite rotary aircraft from Marenco (The Swiss Challenge, page 62).

This will be my last edition of FlyCorporate as Managing Editor. After three and a half years, it is time to hand the controls on. It gives me great pleasure to welcome my successor, Diana Albiol, who I am sure will continue to innovate and improve FlyCorporate. We will both be at EBACE and I look forward to introducing many of you to her.

I would like to thank Taunya for the opportunity to launch and develop FlyCorporate. It has been a wonderful experience. I would also like to thank our team of writers for their dedication, and our small but highly talented staff who make every issue that we produce exceptional. It has been a pleasure and honour.

I will be continuing to write for FlyCorporate, and I look forward to seeing you at EBACE and future events.

Until then, keep flying!

Dan Smith Managing Editor FlyCorporate EMEA & Asia dan.smith@flycorporate.com

@FlyCorporate

15

Avinode Good news! The world's largest marketplace for air charter will be offline for EBACE. April 26 at 9:28am Like · Comment · Share 16 companies like this Avinode Meet 16 of our members up close and personal in our booth at EBACE May 17-19.

April 26 at 10:28am Wyvern Weʼll be there, showing off our new logo! Also, letʼs not forget about the champagne mingle! :-) April 27 at 6:28am · Like · 10 person Capital Catering Ohh, dont you worry Wyvern! Weʼve got Write a comment... you covered! ;-) April 27 at 6:28am · Like · 10 person Write a comment...

People who like this The following companies exhibit with us at EBACE in booth 843.

Marcel Wepfer

Radoslav Atanasov

Bernhard Wipfler

Romain Alati

Martine de Andria

Artem Grek

Alfred Bijl

Roland Kalmus

Andrew Ladouceur

Fredrik Artursson

Ingrid Strahammer

Neil Gibson

Sameh El-Reedy

Mohammed A. AlTuraif

Petra Steffen

Jenny Hjelström

Premium Jet

Aero Jets Darta

Corporatejets

Wyvern

Qatar Executive

Vibro-Air

Air Lazur

Arkasair

Jet-Link

Phoenix Aviation

Amira Air

Capital Jets

Meridian Air Charter

PremiAir

Saudia Private Aviation

European Flight Service

Close

Welcome to the world’s largest online marketplace.

Available offline in booth 843. avinode.com

16 EMEA & ASIA

In Brief Signature TECHNICAir Takes Flight Signature Flight Support has launched its new maintenance brand, Signature TECHNICAir, consolidating all of the Signature-owned maintenance facilities

under one unified umbrella. The new entity includes the former Executive Beechcraft locations at Kansas City Downtown Airport (KMKC); Spirit of St. Louis Airport (KSUS); New Century AirCenter Airport (KIXD) and Signature locations at Hanscom Field in Bedford, MA (KBED); St. Paul Downtown Airport (KSTP) and the newly acquired Yellowstone Jetcenter in Bozeman, MT (KBZN).

“Signature TECHNICAir offers our customers a truly one-stop shop for their maintenance, AOG, engine repair and overhaul, avionics and flight support needs,” explains Randy Stroud, Sales

Cessna Opens New Citation Service in Prague Cessna Aircraft Company has established a Citation business aircraft service facility at Prague’s Ruzyne International Airport (LKPR). The space is shared with Cessna’s sister company Bell Helicopter.

Recently certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), the

centre has already begun performing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance operations. The new service centre shares nearly 3,000 square metres of shop space and is staffed and managed

by Cessna.

“With the growing fleet of Citations in Eastern and Central Europe, business has already been brisk,” said Cessna Service Facilities Vice President Stan Younger. “We are beginning with line

Manager, Maintenance Services, for Signature TECHNICAir. “A customer can choose from six convenient locations from Massachusetts to Montana and receive world-class MRO, ERO, avionics and flight support services.”

In addition to Signature’s existing maintenance arrangements, new service centre agreements have been signed with Piaggio America, Inc. and Cirrus Aircraft.

All Signature TECHNICAir locations utilise Signature’s sister company, Dallas Airmotive, exclusively for turbine engine repair and overhaul services. For avionics support, Signature TECHNICAir has partnered with Duncan Avionics who has installations in the St. Paul, Spirit of St. Louis and Kansas City Downtown locations.

maintenance and over time we will add more capabilities to provide base maintenance.”

Cessna is also assembling its second Mobile Service Unit for deployment in Central Europe to complement the Prague Citation Service Centre. The company has also begun construction of a new service centre in Valencia, Spain, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2012.

NEWS

For the latest bizav news, as it breaks, visit: www.flycorporate.com

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18 EMEA & ASIA

Pilatus Records Highest Sales Revenue in 2010 2010 has been a year of new records for Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, with the company achieving its highest recorded sales (CHF688 M/€632 M), and the best operating income (CHF88 million/ €68 M). Both figures are up by more than eleven percent compared to 2009.

In contrast, incoming orders and orders in hand have fallen substantially over the past two years. Orders received totalled CHF355 M (€275 M) at the end of 2010, while orders in hand amounted to CHF689 M (€533 M).

Despite a difficult year for the business aviation sector, Pilatus delivered 79 of its PC-12 NG aircraft in 2010. A total of 1,000 PC-12s had been delivered by June 2010.

In Brief Avinode to Support EBAA Initiative Against Illegal Charter On 15 March 2011, EBAA welcomed member representatives to Eurocontrol in Brussels for their Annual General Meeting. The meeting, titled From Vision to Reality, addressed the achievements made on goals the organisation set five years ago. It also outlined steps to meet the numerous regulatory challenges facing the industry today.

Among the most talked about problems facing the charter industry in Europe right now is illegal charter. To combat this problem, EBAA has introduced an illegal charter initiative aimed at educating consumers across the region in an effort to hinder the ability of operators to perform grey charter.

“The EBAA campaign is not a policing mechanism, because that is the task

of the regulators” explains Brian Humphries, EBAA’s President and CEO. “Our goal is to advise customers about the dangers of illegal charter, so that they can make an informed choice to ensure they enjoy a safe and fully legal flight. We are therefore delighted to have Avinode join us so enthusiastically in our campaign. As a major service provider to the industry, their commitment will ensure the message not only reaches the users, but will actively make it more difficult for the illegal operator to do business.”

Avinode CEO, Niclas Wennerholm explained how Avinode is supporting the EBAA initiative: “We are currently working with the EBAA to help clarify European cabotage rules within the Avinode Marketplace. We will also continue to gain access to more realtime information from civil aviation authorities across Europe. This will make operating illegal charter in our skies progressively more difficult.”

19

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20 EMEA & ASIA

Rotorsim Purchases AW139 Full-flight Simulator Rotorsim, owned by CAE and AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica company, is expanding with the purchase of a CAE 3000 Series fullflight simulator (FFS) replicating the AW139 aircraft.

The new AW139 FFS is qualified to Level D and is due for delivery in 2012.

It will be jointly developed by CAE and AgustaWestland.

“The AW139 continues to enjoy great success in the global market for

In Brief Dubai Airshow: An Ideal Platform for Business Aviation Manufacturers The 12th Dubai Airshow will again provide a platform for business aviation manufacturers later this year. Running from 13 to 17 November 2011 at the city’s Airport Expo, the Dubai Airshow is the foremost aerospace event in the Middle East and the fastest growing in the world.

Ruedi Kraft, VP Sales at GulfstreamMiddle East, explains that private aviation in the region is a maturing and growing business. “Since the 1970s, we have witnessed a natural growth that combines private business and government VIP requirements that increasingly demand the availability of private aviation to meet their needs.

Nowhere else in the Middle East, other than the Dubai Airshow, have we found a venue that brings all our customers together at the same time. Over the years we have become appreciative of what Dubai does for us as a venue and we look forward to coming back for many years to come.”

The 12th Dubai Airshow is set to be the biggest yet, with up to 1,000 exhibitors expected from over 50 countries. The 2011 edition is expected to attract more visitors and prospective buyers than in previous years.

In 2009, the static park displayed 130 aircraft including business jets, and a similar number are expected this year.

For more information visit www.dubaiairshow.aero

applications such as VIP/corporate transport, offshore, emergency medical services, law enforcement and other commercial and government roles,” said John Ponsonby, Senior Vice President - Training, AgustaWestland.

“Our customers require cost-effective, high-fidelity training for their AW139 initial and recurrent training, and the addition of another AW139 full-flight simulator will enable us to meet growing demand.”

Rotorsim was established in 2003 as a joint venture of AgustaWestland and CAE to provide classroom and synthetic training solutions for AgustaWestland AW109 and AW139 helicopter operators.

21

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22 EMEA & ASIA

Hawker Beechcraft Appoints New South African Distributor

Beechcraft King Air 350

London Releases Olympic Airspace Plans The United Kingdom Department for Transport (DfT) has released plans for the use of airspace around London during the period of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The restrictions cover the period from 13 July to 12 September 2012.

An internal DfT presentation seen

by FlyCorporate anticipates that there will be around 10,000 general aviation movements over the Games period and around 1,500 helicopter movements on peak days. More than 150 head of state flights are expected.

Flying Colours Delivers First Challenger to China Flying Colours Corp has delivered its first Chinese registered aircraft – a Bombardier Challenger 850 business jet to BAA Jet Management Ltd based in Shenzhen. The aircraft left Flying Colours’ Peterborough, Canada facility on 22 March and arrived into China three days later. The aircraft will become the second of its type in the region available for third party charter.

“This is our first delivered 850 to be on the Chinese register. It was a positive experience working on the validation

“As the country and the continent develop, demand for business aircraft will grow dramatically to provide access to remote parts of the region, cover vast distances and also help counter the limitations of the transportation infrastructure, which is underdeveloped compared to other parts of the world,” McGeough said. “Traveling by business aircraft is therefore not only often the quickest way to travel, but sometimes the only option.”

As part of its growing focus on Africa, Hawker Beechcraft Corporation has appointed Neil Howard and Absolute Aviation as an exclusive Beechcraft distributor for Sub-Saharan Africa.

HBC has identified the South African commercial environment as offering some of the best growth prospects of any country in the world.

The measures proposed by DfT include an inner prohibited airspace zone and an outer restricted zone that is approximately 60 nautical miles across. Both zones are centred on the Olympic Park.

Only certain categories of aircraft – those operating commercial services and subject to full security procedures - will normally be permitted to operate within the Prohibited Zone. In excess of 500,000 extra visitors are expected in the UK during the Games.

In Brief and delivery in close partnership with the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), Bombardier and BAA Jet Management to achieve overall certification,” said Sean Gillespie, Director, Completion Sales and Management at Flying Colours.

The 15-seat VIP configured aircraft features a premium digital cabin management system, including custom touch screen cabin controls and large cabin LCD displays. The aircraft was distinctively designed and outfitted in a tasteful array of leathers and fabrics complemented by a dark mahoganystained Makore veneer.

The latest delivery follows hard on the heels of a similar Challenger 850, which was delivered by Flying Colours to Hong Kong-based Metrojet at the end of 2010.

Flying Colours will deliver a total of five 850s under Chinese registration and certification, including a second 850 to BAA Jet Management. “China is proving to be a strong and growing market and the Challenger 850 is especially attractive to clients,” said Sean Gillespie.

“Up to 90% of our new completions are going overseas and China is very important for us,” he added.

23

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24 EMEA & ASIA

Eurocopter’s New Phoenix Cabin: Made for China As the China aviation industry celebrates its 60th anniversary this month, Eurocopter, in collaboration with Airbus, has designed a brand new cabin interior concept, especially for the Chinese market. Known as Phoenix, the cabin is designed to suit the taste and aesthetic preference of Chinese customers.

A burgundy red cabin interior exuding an oriental ambience will be offered in the Eurocopter EC155 B1 helicopter.

“An EC155 B1 with a Phoenix cabin looks great both on the interior and exterior. To be able to present this concept in celebration of the Chinese aviation industry’s grand

60th anniversary is truly a ‘double happiness’ befitting this monumental occasion,” says Bruno Boulnois, CEO of Eurocopter China.

The EC155 B1 is a 5-tonne twin-engine helicopter and has proven to be a popular choice for business aviation.

The EC155 B1 can seat up to nine passengers in a VIP or corporate

configuration and is known to be the quietest in its class. The model has been a popular choice in the Chinese business aviation market, where 15 units have already been sold.

Airbus is also offering the Phoenix cabin interior in its Airbus Corporate Jets.

Airbus Phoenix cabin interior concept

In Brief Aero Friedrichshafen Sets Record The 19th Aero Friedrichshafen air show again set a new record, with 630 exhibitors from 29 countries in attendance. Held from 13 to 17 April 2011, the show attracted more than 33,400 visitors and over 725 journalists.

More than 20 new models, principally light aircraft, were announced at Aero.

Of these, perhaps the most important was the P2012 Traveller project from the Italian company, Tecnam. Due to fly in 2012 with delivery in 2014, the P2012 is a 10-passenger high-wing commuter/ utility aircraft intended to replace the Cessna 402. The aircraft was conceived in association with the Boston-based airline Cape Air. The P2012 will use two newly developed 350 horsepower Lycoming TEO-540-A1A engines and will cruise at 215 knots.

Another new light business twin announced at the show was the futuristic Slovak-designed Shark which is aimed at owners of Aztecs and Barons. The Shark made its first flight in February and is powered by two 160 horsepower Lycomings.

Also making a stir was the Aerovolga AA-8L, an eight-seat amphibious aircraft from Russia, on its European debut. Ten have already been built and the company is targeting emerging country markets to serve remote communities.

The 20th edition of Aero Friedrichshafen will be held from 18 to 21 April 2012.

25

26 EMEA & ASIA

London Oxford Airport Continues Bizav Growth London Oxford Airport increased its jet movement’s year-on-year by 31% and saw overall business aviation movements increase 18% in the same period. This contrasts favourably with the average 5% increase recorded by the 27 member countries of the European Union during 2010. Jet fuel sales were also up by 19%.

Managing Director Chris Orphanou disclosed that the airport is now

handling an average of 20 business aircraft movements a day, equating to approximately 7,000 movements a year. “With around 35 business aircraft regularly ‘living’ at the airport, this makes Oxford Airport the fastest growing for business aviation in the UK,” said Orphanou.

The only decline in activity is in the number of light recreational aircraft movements which is down about 11% year on year. This reflects the general decline in the light general aviation sector during the recession.

In Brief

Flightworx Moves Up Flightworx, a global provider of flight support and fuel services, has moved into a new purpose-built facility in North London, UK. The move came about due to sustained growth and expansion of the company. The newly built facility will allow Flightworx to keep up with demand and better serve its customers.

UK Air Passenger Duty Sparks Outcry Business aircraft passengers flying out of the United Kingdom may soon be hit with the Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax proposed by the UK Government. The plan is to impose a flat fee at the highest standard rate on each business aircraft passenger, regardless of the distance to be flown.

Although the Government announced their new budget as “unashamedly pro-growth, pro-enterprise and proaspiration” the new tax could instead negatively impact growth and result in aviation interests moving offshore and companies moving their offices outside the UK.

EBAA has expressed their disappointment with the new proposal as stakeholders most affected by the proposed changes were excluded from initial consultations. Representatives such as the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) and the British Helicopter Association (BHA) were omitted from the initial assessment process. As a result, EBAA believes there is still a poor understanding of business aviation’s purpose, value (as recognised by the European Parliament and Commission) and good environmental performance.

The tax also means the UK government will be “double dipping” business aviation for its environmental responsibilities.

There is a misperception that business aircraft operators benefit from some

“Over the last three years Flightworx has grown from a small UK based Flight Support facility to a worldwide-capable service directly managing over 300 owner operators globally,” says Chris Anderson-Jones of Flightworx. “The expansion of our UK headquarters has now given us suitable capability to expand the company as new clients come to us and we continue to grow.”

sort of “loophole” and are excluded from tax. However, business aviation is currently taxed heavily due to the inclusion of the European Emissions Trading (ETS) programme, designed specifically to offset the environmental impact of aviation across Europe. Whilst airlines are also included in ETS, they receive more than 90% of their ETS credits completely free of charge based on historical emissions and passenger loads. Business aviation, on the other hand, needs to purchase almost all of its credits.

The APD consultation is now in its second formal phase, and EBAA is collaborating with the BBGA and BHA “to open a dialogue with the government.”

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Raisbeck Finds First Partner in India Raisbeck Engineering has appointed Saraya Aviation as its first authorised dealer and installer of Raisbeck King Air Systems in India.

“The Indian aviation market is the fastest growing business aviation segment in the Asia-Pacific region. The combination of individual wealth creation and Indian GDP growth has increased the requirement for business aviation travel,” says Michael McConnell, President of Raisbeck Engineering. “The government is planning to open at least thirty new airports throughout India to support that growth. Saraya Aviation is well established and positioned to lead the adoption of Raisbeck systems on King Airs in that important region.”

C

M

Y

CM

MY

CY

CMY

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King Air B200GT

Saraya are approved by the Indian Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) for all repair activities. They already maintain King Air aircraft owned by the State Government and private operators.

“There are over 200 King Airs in India and we are confident that Saraya can install Raisbeck systems on many of those King Airs in country. We are proud to have Saraya as the first Raisbeck Engineering dealer in India,” says McConnell.

NEWS

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28 EMEA & ASIA

Ask an Expert “New rules on flight crew licensing are being discussed by the European Commission. What impact will these changes have on business aviation operators and is there still time to make changes?�

ASK

Do you have a question about business aircraft use or operations?

Email it to editor@flycorporate.com

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The rules on flight crew licensing (FCL) are part of a raft of changes to flight standards that are being developed by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The new FCL rules were open to public consultation from June 2008 to February 2009. During this period, the Agency received 8,107 comments from more than 800 respondents representing national aviation authorities, professional organisations and private companies. EASA is now working with European Union (EU) member states and the European Commission to finalise the new FCL standards.

The final rules are due to come into force in April 2012. However, there will be a three-year transition period for some parts of the rules to enable member countries to incorporate the new requirements into their national legislation.

One of the major concerns for business aviation operators relates to the licensing of pilots. The initial draft of the new standard required all general aviation pilots flying in the EU to hold an EU licence. While many business aviation charter operators would be unaffected as their pilots hold commercial licences, the concern was that owner-operators may be affected.

The reality is that for some types of aircraft there are not enough simulators in Europe to train pilots. It is therefore necessary that they travel to the United States for training and to receive their rating.

An additional concern was that other countries may implement reciprocal requirements. For example, a pilot flying in the US would need a licence recognised by the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA).

Following extensive lobbying by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and third-party companies such as Flight Safety International, pilots will be given an additional two years to obtain the EU-EASA licence.

In practice, EASA will use the additional two years to conclude bilateral agreements with other licensing bodies such as the FAA in the US. Options to be explored include common procedures or mutual recognition of qualifications.

EASA is likely to focus on bilateral agreements with major countries first.

This may mean that pilots licensed in other countries may still need to obtain a European qualification if an agreement is not in place within the two year transition period.

About Pedro Vicente Azua Pedro Vicente Azua is the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the European Business Aviation Association.

He is responsible for regulatory and government affairs, policy and strategy development.

One of the major concerns for business aviation operators relates to the licensing of pilots

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Disaster? or an Opportunity for Forward Thinking?

by Andrew Charlton

T

he various catastrophes that have hit the world in 2011 have taught us one thing: there is a need for rapid evacuation. Governments have struggled to respond to escalating and often unpredictable events on the ground.

Even fewer corporations seem to have anticipated such widespread upheaval.

With scheduled commercial and military capacity already over-stretched, private aviation operators are recognising that they have an essential, and potentially very profitable, role to play.

Three types of customer have sought evacuation. First governments have sought to protect their foreign nationals, and have quickly found the limits of their repatriation resources.

Then there are the corporations, who must buy-in the air, land and sea transportation resources they need to evacuate their employees and assets.

Finally, there are the tourists and transients prepared to take matters into their own hands and pay for the quickest solution – a private jet flown into the nearest airstrip outside the disaster or war zone.

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Significant Business Reeling from several years of slowdown, some operators have won six months’ worth of business in as many weeks.

Air Partner’s Ops 24 team organised humanitarian aid flights and the evacuation of more than 12,000 people in six weeks. In total, Air Partner repatriated more than 6,000 displaced Egyptians and 500 Bangladeshis on 34 flights from Tunisia to Egypt and flew 220 tonnes of humanitarian aid into Tunisia on three flights.

Thousands of people were desperate to escape Japan’s deepening nuclear crisis, inundating private jet companies with requests for evacuation flights and sending prices surging by as much as 25%. People fled for Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and even Australia and the United States as power outages, shortages of basic supplies and the fear of a nuclear disaster compounded the misery of the earthquake and tsunami.

Newly established operators are readily taking up the slack. Hong Kong Jet, the private jet subsidiary of China’s HNA Group, reportedly charged US$160,000 to evacuate 14 people to Hong Kong at the height of the nuclear cloud panic.

Operators claiming to have emergency response teams and ever-ready disaster capacity primed for evacuation are also emerging. It is hard not to be cynical.

In some cases, this is a last minute, opportunistic metamorphosis. Suddenly

a private jet operator has 24-hour response teams and a specialised fleet on the tarmac. Such is the demand that the reality – they are making this up as they go along – hardly seems to matter.

Evacuation Strategies Assuming the dominoes momentarily stop falling, businesses and governments must consider private aviation in a new light. The recent traumas have highlighted urgent requirements which private aviation can help fulfil: organisations need pre-planned evacuation strategies to allow them to respond rapidly, before panic and congestion ensue.

Private jet operators need to refine their operations so they can formally step into the breach. The majority of operators will maintain the industry’s reason for being – secure and discreet transport for large corporations and the wealthy. But in the fastest growing economies, where foreign investment is surging but political stability may be shaky or unpredictable, business aviation has an emerging role as an alternative transport infrastructure.

At the moment the resources on the ground are strikingly insufficient. There are barely 200 aircraft for charter across all of India and Pakistan. Few of these aircraft are audited or airlift operational – which is why leading airlift operators cover both countries from Singapore a nd charter their aircraft from the Middle East.

Universal Responsibility To ready themselves to meet emerging needs for evacuation services, specialist business aviation operators will need modified fleets and local infrastructure.

They must collaborate with security firms, health and safety experts, plus even military operations centres, in order to offer emergency airlift, medevac support and disaster relief services for corporations on a case-bycase basis.

Off-shore energy exploration and mining operations based in Africa, Asia and the Middle East are obvious customers.

Recent events have highlighted a universal responsibility for evacuation planning across all corporations operating in potentially hostile environments.

It may be that the turbulent start to 2011 will prompt new thinking by security advisors. Thinking that integrates private aviation and other, often fragmented, disaster-support services. Advisors should be pre-equipping corporations, governments and development agencies with insurance coverage that integrates the cost of airborne evacuation with existing ancillary services including political risk analysis, security training and protection, and in worst case scenarios, kidnap and ransom negotiation and armed intervention.

Bizav needs to be ready to meet the challenge.

About Andrew Charlton Andrew Charlton is the Managing Director of the Europe-based strategic advisory, government and public affairs firm Aviation Advocacy. He advises airlines, airports , business aviation operators and industry suppliers on strategic issues concerning air transport and how the industry is to be shaped in the future.

Andrew is well known for his forward-looking and innovative thinking and writing. He writes a monthly subscription-only intelligence report – Aviation Industry Reporter – read by an increasing number of influential industry players each month.

Before starting Aviation Advocacy in 2005, Andrew held senior strategic and government affairs roles at SITA and IATA. He was also Chief Legal Officer for Qantas Airways.

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Beautiful on the Inside

by Tim Kern, CAM

Comlux A320 interior

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U

nlike most of the airframe, the interior of a corporate aircraft can reflect its owner’s taste. Whether you want a business office, high-altitude sleeper, convention centre or airborne family coach, the interior design can be, within wide limits, whatever you need. Although they may be wide, the limits need to be understood.

Everything is different in an airplane: the walls are long and straight, but not vertical; headroom is limited; traffic flows are restricted; weight and its distribution are important; materials are specialised; repairs are regulated and costly; aircraft availability is minimal. Some shapes work well; several are mandated. All components must meet strict regulations and strict smoke and fire tests.

Tim Callies, Head of Creatives at Comlux, did not begin his career in aircraft.

“When I started,” he explains, “I thought, ‘I can make anything I want!’ But it’s not like that. Everything is expensive for a reason. It’s best to hire an expert, so you don’t have to do it over.”

Textiles

Your team will work with aviation-specialty suppliers. “It’s a niche market,” says Lindsay Boatright, Comlux’s Lead Designer at the company’s Indianapolis facility.

“Everything is important.”

From pillows to electronic components, everything must pass aviation tests. That means almost nothing is readily available – it all comes from specialty suppliers.

“Fabrics, particularly, get discontinued often,” warns Boatright. “When you find what you want, order immediately – and order plenty. Even if it’s available later, dyes may not exactly match and many are impossible to duplicate. Some woods are simply unique. Get spares of everything! And remember that you must have quality from the beginning. Quality is not automatic.”

Plan Carefully “You pick a core design. Then there’s the custom work. Even though the design takes a long time, once it is locked in, work goes fast, and changes are expensive,” says Callies. “Maybe there are two years of planning; then the opportunity to work on the airplane may not happen for another two. So, don’t be too trendy.”

“Fabrics pass or fail a fire or smoke test, batch by batch,” explains Boatright.

“Overall, though, luxury and certification drive costs. The more unique the request, the higher the certification cost.”

Boatright urges owners to think realistically: “You sit in a showroom chair for a few minutes; it feels stiff. But you’ll be sitting in it for hours. If it’s too soft, it won’t be comfortable on long flights.”

“Customers need to understand the narrowness of an aircraft,” notes Callies.

“Though many initially think they’d like their fabric to go all the way to the floor [where the cabin is narrowing], they should note that peoples’ feet are forced into narrow areas; walls will get scuffed by shoes.”

34 EMEA & ASIA

Mix and Match “All the popular products we use are natural,” says Callies. “Customers want everything to be perfect, even though they know that grain varies across an animal [or stone, or laminate].” Leathers are not truly uniform either – even across a single hide. Carefully placed vinyl can be used. The key is to match everything to its job, for each panel to function in its place. Does the back of a chair, for instance, need to exactly match the material of the cushion?

In a custom interior, uniformity is optional. Seats need not be identical.

Smaller hides can be used to cover the smaller chairs.

“Even high-end leathers, if they’re too supple, can stretch,” explains Boatright.

“The naturally supple leathers such as calfskin, lambskin, goatskin are smaller hides. They may be more appropriate for inserts. Use leathers where high wear is expected – but keep the silk away and watch out for high heels.”

“Customers want the comfort, space, and feel of their homes,” says David Velupillai, Airbus’ Product Marketing

Director, Executive & Private Aviation.

“At first, a custom interior seems attractive. But this is an aircraft, where you have considerations for weight, shape, flammability. If the aircraft is dedicated to your own use, fine; but if it is to be hired out, other considerations can play a big part in the interior design.”

Klaus Buse, Airbus’ Head of Cabin Engineering, adds: “Some customers bring their own designers, perhaps their yacht designer. We work with them to meet aircraft requirements and keep their desired look.”

Leather Insights By far the most favoured upholstery material in aircraft furniture is leather.

Leather’s durability, feel, and look are appreciated. But all leathers are definitely not the same.

Cleaning is everything. Leather’s nature determines how clean it stays and how long it will last. The type of leather you use, its treatment and dyes comes into play. None of those can be changed after installation.

Leathers are either full grain or top grain and each has its strengths and costs. Full

“Customers want the comfort, space, and feel of their homes”

M&R Associates A350 interior design

grain leathers use the full thickness of the hide; top grain leathers use the top (skin) part of the hide, and are necessarily thinner. Suppleness comes partly from thinness and partly from the type of leather – calfskin, goatskin, lambskin.

Treatments, dyes and fireproofing also contribute. Good leather should outlast the furniture and foam beneath.

Aircraft interior materials must meet regulatory standards. Buying from a reputable or licensed source is essential but not sufficient. Each batch should be tested before installation, and samples should be retained, both for certification and to preserve a sample of material and dye. Dyes and fire retardant should ideally be applied in the drum, rather than added later; the result can be more suppleness and uniformity.

“We use leather on almost every interior project we deal with,” says Eric Gillespie, Director of Flying Colours Corp.

“It is vital to use high-quality leather that is going to endure over time.

We use quality aviation leather suppliers that understand the market and the installation and burn certification requirements.”

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36 EMEA & ASIA

The importance of fabrics and finishes to the feel of your aircraft is vividly illustrated in these concepts from AirJet Designs. Using the same structural elements, AirJet Designs has created two vastly different interior spaces. The Xin Ge private jet cabin concept (above) uses materials and colours that are designed to appeal to AirJet Designs’ Chinese clients while the Art de Vivre concept (below), which is very sharp in its lines and colours, is designed to appeal to a European audience.

Images courtesy of AirJet Designs

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Colour Selection Though certification and craftsmanship generally make up the bulk of an interior’s cost, the material costs (particularly exotics and bespoke patterns) are far from trivial.

Consider using the less-expensive leathers in the non-wear areas of furniture, such as the accent panels or outside of a chair back.

You can usually match them to an expensive hide or use contrasting panels of a substitute material. Though leather will wear, it looks natural while doing so and, unlike fabric and carpet, properly conditioned leathers don’t readily absorb smells. Leather’s own scent is generally considered pleasant.

Colour selection is important. Though finished leather can be virtually any colour, the more-natural tones wear best and are easier to match. They are also easier to sell when the time comes – few buyers will be interested in maintaining your aircraft’s corporate colours and logo-embellished tapestries.

Cleaning All-important Pay attention to the surface feel of your leather, as well. Though an oily surface may feel good, it may also attract dirt. A silky finish is easier to wipe clean with a dry cloth. Leather providers all offer advice on cleaning. “Leather is generally easier to clean when compared to a fabric,” notes Gillespie.

“This will help it last over time.”

Michael Ross of Coast to Coast explains that hides can be selected on an ‘A-B-C’ basis: with A being good all over, and B being useful in non-wear areas. (C leather makes good shoe soles.) Ross warns that bleach and ammonia can quickly remove leather’s emulsion, aging it quickly and degrading its colour. Sun and water are formidable enemies of leather. Even some perfumes, in close proximity, can adversely affect the material.

“An aviation designer will know what will work,” notes Callies. “That doesn’t mean your ideas should look stale. Look at other disciplines – yachts, motor homes – for inspiration, but use an aviation designer and a dedicated specialised aviation house for the work.”

Luxurious Flying Carpets “The traffic patterns in aircraft are rigid once they’re laid out,” says Tim Callies, Head of Creatives at Comlux. “You have to consider the wear paths, sound, and what temperature changes do to the dimensions of various parts of the structure and interior. It’s not an environment that will be kind to a residential carpet.

“Your most-frequent destinations also matter. Saudi Arabia and Russia are very different. For carpets, particularly in entryways – you need to understand what will be on peoples’ shoes. Will it be water, or sand, or maybe salt? Do you need custom shoe storage?”

“The most critical component of aircraft interior design is hiring a competent [aviation] interior designer,” says Michael Ruggeri, President of the Scott Group (USA) which makes stock and custom carpets (including the carpet in the Oval Office of the White House). “They see things in the macro sense, so they can create the synergy of suppliers that complements you.”

Scott produces its carpets from 100% New Zealand wool, which Ruggeri says can be dyed to: “…the cleanest, crispest colours; it wears well and it’s easy to clean.”

Scott can produce super-high density carpets in unlimited patterns. “A good carpet never wears out,” says Ruggeri. “It gets replaced because of poor cleaning and maintenance.” Match your carpet’s general tone to the theme of your aircraft, but mix in additional complementary colours. “They help mask the inevitable tiny stains.”

Cut pile has a luxurious look, but immediately shows vacuum tracks and footprints.

A loop pile will show less. A carpet pad can extend carpet life. Ruggeri notes that it adds a little weight and reduces stand-up height, but these are small considerations.

It is industry practice to furnish two sets of carpets, so that one can always be clean and at the ready. Ruggeri recommends frequent vacuuming and rotation with the spare carpet as often as three times a year. During the rotation, the main carpets can be properly spot-treated and cleaned. “Don’t go from a cleaning ritual to a restoration,” warns Ruggeri.

Carpet runners that can be stowed during flight can be useful, particularly when the airport is wet, sandy, or dirty. And don’t skimp on carpet - even when it may cost upwards of €800 a metre and you need two sets. “Put it in perspective,” says Ruggeri. “Your airplane costs $2 to $60 M, and there is nothing you notice more than your carpet.”

For high-traffic and wet areas, Eric Gillespie of Flying Colours Corp recommends using stone floors by List: “The floor is made of real stone and comes in numerous colours and patterns. It is milled down to 2 mm thick and attached to a composite panel to provide a lightweight product that passes all necessary testing. It is easy to clean and will last forever.” Flying Colours have already installed the floor in a Global Express refurbishment project and plan to fit it in a Challenger interior soon.

It is industry practice to furnish two sets of carpets

38 EMEA & ASIA

Cabin Electronics:

The Quiet Revolution T

he proliferation of technology at home and in the workplace is spreading to business jets. Rear-cabin electronics have kept pace, but how do they empower passengers to control their inflight experience and stay connected to the outside world? Sanjay Rampal investigates.

Rockwell Collins Venue on Citation CJ4

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Intuitive touch screens, high-definition (HD) displays and the ability to interface with portable devices, are fast becoming must-have items for seasoned business flyers. It is hardly surprising that aircraft makers and those specialising in electronic wizardry are endeavouring to build the very best cabin systems that technology has to offer.

Pick and Mix Cabin Systems There is no single configuration that appeals to all, but most manufacturers offer systems tailored around a digital Ethernet core. An atypical cabin management system (CMS) would include the means to play DVDs, HD Blu-ray discs, MP3 files, satellite TV and FM radio. The Ethernet’s local area network (LAN) is also responsible for digital audio and video distribution to each seat location. In addition there is the facility to connect laptops, PDAs, iPods and smartphones through highspeed USB and HDMI connectivity.

Nearly all cabin systems include an interactive moving map as standard. You can also expect to make your telephone calls either through satellite phones or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) handsets. Internet connections are achieved through broadband services which either bounce off satellite constellations, as in the case of SwiftBroadband, or via ground-based towers, such as Aircell’s Gogo.

Bombardier Aerospace keeps one very focused eye on the latest developments and the other on suppliers comfortable with investing in new technologies. The strategy requires much proactive research. “We make sure our suppliers are at the cutting edge and, once selected for an airframe type, we stay with them,” says Yannick Dansereau, Bombardier’s Cabin Systems Lead for Product Planning and Strategy.

Bombardier also ensures that the CMS delivers what the passenger wants. “We scan the technologies and what clients are exposed to at home and make sure that our selected suppliers follow through with a seamless transition of such innovation into our cabins,” says Dansereau.

Rockwell Collins is outfitting Bombardier’s Global and Challenger series with HD screens that are fully integrated into a cabin electronic system (CES). The near bespoke CES is installed on the Global 5000, Global Express XRS and Challenger 605 aircraft and has recently undergone a major software upgrade.

Developed with industrial design specialists Teague, Rockwell Collins has launched version 7.0 of the CES software which now provides a more intuitive graphical user interface (GUI). “The acceptance of universally recognised icons is a trend from using smartphones and the newer iPad apps,” says Dansereau.

Rockwell Collins Venue docking stations

Nearly all cabin systems include an interactive moving map as standard

40 EMEA & ASIA

The Bombardier and Rockwell Collins CES enables passengers to control cabin amenities such as air, light, and entertainment. Each seat is provided with a 26 cm (10.4 inch) LCD screen. Remote control units and local switch panels allow customisation of the cabin environment.

Access to email is through the optional Inmarsat SATCOM Swift64 high-speed data system which supports 128 kbps communications.

Gulfstream unveiled a clean sheet cabin design for its G650 at NBAA 2010.

Their proprietary Gulfstream Cabin Management System (GCMS) provides digital control via touch screens, touch switches and passenger control units.

“The GCMS uses a platform many people are already familiar with – the iPod,” explains Bob Geary, Research and Development Director at Gulfstream.

“Because each seat comes with its own Passenger Control Unit, each person can create an environment ideally suited to their needs. They have total control and there’s really no learning curve, especially since the system works with other personal handheld devices as well.”

Scalable Architectures Cabin management systems are migrating towards HD video distribution. This means that the 1080-pixel resolution common in flat screen and plasma televisions can be installed onboard and Blu-ray discs played. Ethernet-based LAN configurations offer greater ‘plug and play’ versatility along with wireless or Wi-Fi connectivity that will become the norm.

Redundancy is key so reliable backups and automated diagnostics are part of the proprietary systems offered

by Rockwell Collins, Honeywell and Lufthansa Technik.

Rockwell Collins has something to celebrate with its high definition, award winning Venue CMS. “From the King Air 350 to the BBJ, Venue is a scalable solution. Its software and hardware are easily engineered and installed on diverse aircraft types,” explains Rockwell Collins’ Business Aviation Marketing Director, John Peterson.

Remote control units and local switch panels allow customisation of the cabin environment

Venue is compatible with third party devices, such as the ubiquitous iPods and soon the iPad. The system also offers a suite of online tools that enable a maintenance centre, or authorised Rockwell Collins installer, to configure a virtual cabin schematic that generates a quote for the final layout. Peterson notes the benefits of this approach: “The installer can customise the cabin to their customer’s requirements and determine a final price for the installation. This is cost efficient and saves down time.”

Modular Design Honeywell’s latest CMS tool is the fully digital Ovation Select. “Think of it as a high-speed Internet-protocol based network with audio, video and power distributed to the CMS through a single cable and dedicated router,” explains Paul Lafata, Cabin Management Business Leader.

HD is the mainstay of Ovation Select.

The system has been designed in a modular fashion to take into account future changes in entertainment and connectivity. Stressing the human factors at play, Lafata adds: “You might be in the air a long time, so it is important to give that ‘home away from home’ feeling when interacting with Select. Everything, from lighting, to playing movies is achieved by touching an icon on the screen or through an app on your smartphone.”

Lufthansa Technik’s Network Integrated Cabin Equipment (nice ®) has been available since 2003 and can be found in almost any aircraft from a Challenger to a wide-bodied 747. nice ® has always been digital and its next version will sport a 1,000 gigabyte Ethernet backbone delivering HD video to each seat. The cabin system will provide wireless connectivity and will soon have applications that can be downloaded from iTunes – transforming an iPhone into a nice ® remote controller. The nice ® system has also been selected as the CMS for the upcoming Learjet 85.

nice ® CMS ©Gregor Schlaeger/Lufthansa Technik AG

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Honewell Ovation system

Another interesting innovation is the use of animated graphics, such as a scroll wheel, on the intuitive touch screens. nice ® encrypts HD movie content to prevent copyright violations, thereby adhering to the principle of digital rights management (DRM). “It is about responsibly sending content throughout the plane. We believe that those third-party devices that comply with DRM will be able to interface with nice ® without contravening copyright laws,” remarks David Crossett, Principal Sales Executive.

Surfing above the Clouds All cabin systems can connect to the Internet through either satellite enabled broadband services or mobile phone towers on the ground. Bombardier Aerospace also offers ViaSat Ku-Band on its Global range of aircraft. The result is a bandwidth that rivals Aircell’s Gogo. “A specialised router is installed that ensures a good connection to the Internet. One channel might be KuBand with a second SwiftBroadband channel acting as backup. The router does its magic by switching between the two to maintain connection,” explains Dansereau.

Since becoming a distribution partner of Inmarsat, global communications provider ARINC has increased the bandwidth of SwiftBroadband for its bizjet customers. By bonding two channels of SwiftBroadband and supporting them with an infrastructure that involves acceleration and data-compression techniques, ARINC can provide a reliable high bandwidth connection to an inflight CMS. High bandwidth is necessary to meet the demands of powerful smartphones, tablets and videoconferencing. “Connectivity is expected by people who are now accustomed to real-time access to the Internet through their Android smartphones and iPad tablets and this consistency needs to be reflected in the cabin systems,” explains James Hardie, International Manager for ARINC Direct.

The Future Connectivity and compatibility represent important considerations given the on-going evolution of cabin electronics. “People rely on the Internet.

Connectivity through the biggest bandwidth pipe is necessary because of the surge in popularity of iPads and next generation smart devices. If compatibility is not there then, for such people, the world stops,” says Dansereau.

Honeywell shares this view with Lafata adding: “Audio and video distribution will be enhanced. And let’s not forget the shrinking of hardware and greater emphasis on wireless connectivity.”

Cabin management systems will keep pace as consumer electronics innovate.

However, the industry recognises that their time-savvy customers are one step ahead. Having already embraced the technology at home or in the office, they also expect it to be available on their business jet.

“Connectivity is expected by people who are now accustomed to real-time access to the Internet”

42 EMEA & ASIA

Where East

Meets West

by Dan Smith

T

wenty years after the political changes that saw countries in Eastern and Central Europe emerge from the dark days of communist rule and political upheaval; many economies in the region are still struggling to establish themselves. Some, such as Poland and the Czech Republic, have been fast-tracked into the European Union and have seen their prosperity increase dramatically as a result. Others, such as the former Yugoslavian countries and Ukraine, have endured additional turmoil since the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Low wages and taxes in the East saw many Western European businesses shift production operations to Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s. While economies have grown as a result of this

influx of investment, the impact has been patchy across the region. As a result, business aviation has not necessarily developed as rapidly as one might expect.

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One Europe The situation has been further exacerbated by the global economic crisis. In a presentation to January’s One Europe conference, hosted by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) in Vienna, former Austrian finance minister Ferdinand Lacina estimated that the crisis reduced growth by around 25% across the region in 2008 and 2009.

Jiří Matoušek is the Chairman of Central European Private Aviation (CEPA), an organisation established in 2009 to create a bridge between the more established Western European bizav community and the newly emerging sector in Central Europe. Matoušek’s says that one of his biggest challenges is cultivating the internal business aviation market: “The customer base is improving with big corporations establishing themselves in Central Europe. However, it is still difficult to attract serious long-term investors in business aviation.”

Matoušek acknowledges that the bizav market in Central and Eastern Europe is at the early stages of development: “The industry has only been established in a short timeframe – really the last ten years. By comparison, the business aviation has many years of history in the West.”

Estonia

Latvia

Lithuania

Belarus

Poland Ukraine

Czech Republic Slovakia

Moldova

Hungary Romania Slovenia

Croatia Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbia Bulgaria

Montenegro FYROM Albania

“The customer base is improving with big corporations establishing themselves in Central Europe” Dark blue: Central European members of the EU

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The New Market Dagmar Grossmann founded Grossmann Jet Service in Prague almost seven years ago. At the end of 2009, Grossman created CEPA in an effort to mitigate some of the issues between East and West and she remains passionate about the potential of Eastern Europe: “I am a strong believer – this is the new market for the next ten years.”

Having operated an aviation business in Western Europe before moving to Prague, Grossmann is well aware of the problems business aviation companies experience in the East. “There is still an invisible, but strong barrier,” she notes. “For example, even though the Czech Republic is part of the European Union (EU), we find it very difficult to obtain cross-border financing and insurance. Banks do not accept our documentation, even though our accounts have been audited by one of the major US accounting firms.”

Situated in Bratislava, Slovakia, just 50 km from Vienna, Opera Jet notes no such concerns. “We have a good relationship with our Austrian, German and local banks,” says the company’s Chairman, Dr Martin Hudec. “But we are audited by them and must also pass a safety and operational audit.” Hudec believes that one factor in their favour is location. Wages are lower in Slovakia than in other areas and the empty legs to destinations such as Russia are shorter than from Western European countries.

“The bank understands that our location means we have a competitive advantage.”

Stable Workforce Culture is also an issue. “We get the same question from clients multiple times,” says Grossmann. “A client will call to check details such as catering and will then call back again to recheck.

Mistakes cost [our reputation] double what they would in the West.”

A different culture means a different approach to staff is needed. “The workforce in Eastern Europe is extremely skilled, very stable, but not flexible,” says Grossman, noting that age is a factor. “Older pilots are very reluctant to relocate. If they lose their job – they lose their job, they will not move to Western Europe to take another one. It’s about their ability to cope with change.”

However, change is something that does not worry the younger generation as much. “Younger pilots are willing to relocate,” says Grossman. She also notices a strong work ethic among the young: “People really do things properly, they are happy to get chances and learn new things.”

Opera Jet’s Hudec also notes that Slovakian employees are unlikely to uproot themselves to take jobs, even in nearby countries such as Austria.

“Slovaks don’t want to commute.

The social structure means they want to stay at home.”

Opera Jet is also an approved Flight Training Organisation (FTO) and offers Air Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL), Flight Instructor and Commercial Pilot Licence (CPL) courses. “We approach young people at high-schools and vocational schools and offer them training,” explains Hudec. “The bank loans the money for the course, and if the student is successful, we offer them a job.” Once the newly qualified pilot receives their type rating, they sign a contract for two to three years.

“It is a big advantage for our aircraft management business as one of the biggest costs is pilots. We can offer very competitive rates because of the school.”

“The workforce in Eastern Europe is extremely skilled, very stable, but not flexible”

Dagmar Grossman, CEO of Grossman Jet Service and Founder of CEPA

45 Dr Martin Hudec, Chairman of Opera Jet, and Tang Yongxin, CEO of Opera Jet China

Geographic Position Central and Eastern Europe are relatively close to major markets such as Western Europe, the Middle East, Russia and Asia. Yet Opera Jet and Grossman Jet Service have entirely different business strategies in regards to emerging markets – particularly Asia.

To Dagmar Grossman, Asia is a good market for manufacturers. “On the operator side, it is completely uninteresting. We need to keep operational control to maintain our AOC (air operator’s certificate) and that is difficult in Asia.”

Opera Jet, on the other hand, has recently established a joint venture in Shanghai with one of China’s largest private equity firms. The company will export its Central European model to China, establishing a hub in Shanghai. As well as charter services, Opera Jet will provide pilot training and act as a general sales agent in Asia (the company is already an official sales broker for Gulfstream in Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia). “It is a very big opportunity,” says Hudec. “There are around 55,000 people in China with a fortune of at least one billion Renminbi (€100 M/$150 M) and no aviation experience. It is a new market and they are hungry for aircraft and good service.”

Economy Stabilising A general economic recovery appears to be underway across much of Central and Eastern Europe, though most people describe it as ‘patchy’ – depending on which country you are in. “There is more business, but it doesn’t follow a pattern” notes Grossmann. “There is still a lot of discussion about price.” Grossman has also noticed that demand is lower than it was before the crisis and believes this is largely due to the continued downturn in the Russian economy.

“Some operators are willing to charter aircraft at almost any price to try and cover costs” Hudec agrees but notes that prices will stabilise. However, he has concerns about the low prices on offer: “Some operators are willing to charter aircraft at almost any price to try and cover costs.” But Hudec believes those aircraft may end-up grounded as the operator will not accrue enough income to cover major costs such as the aircraft’s C Check. “A cheap price doesn’t necessarily mean good service – it can be dangerous,” he warns.

Matoušek believes the main challenge for business operators in the region is not the economy, but letting people outside know about the potential of the market. “The Central European market is interesting to them, but under-estimated.”

To achieve this goal, CEPA has established a network of peers and ambassadors who understand the issues in their local countries. “It is not a homogenous region – there are many small countries and they are widely spread. The role of CEPA is to coordinate, to be there to listen,” says Matoušek.

Members will get a chance to discuss the issues affecting the region when CEPA holds its next conference at the end of September. There is sure to be a lot of listening, and lively discussion, as the region seeks to carve out a niche as a major player in business aviation.

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Concept Proven

by Tim Kern, CAM

M

ichimasa Fujino is nothing if not analytical and determined. Now President and CEO of the Honda Aircraft Company, Inc (HACI), Fujino has spent over twenty years designing the HondaJet. Much of that work was undertaken in quiet secrecy – if not obscurity, patiently examining what everybody already knew about aircraft design, and re-examining and analysing what everybody already knew wouldn’t work. Over-the-wing engine mounts had been tried; everybody knew they wouldn’t work. Fujino figured out why early attempts didn’t work, and engineered out the gremlins.

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Michimasa Fujino

New shapes were possible in composites; new material engineering techniques and new computer programmes could optimise engine placement. Fujino analysed fast subsonic shapes, both from nature and pure theory, aided by advanced fluid dynamics and advanced software.

He realised that a lot of what everybody ‘knew’ was only partial knowledge, and he took what he could prove, mixed it with thought and analysis, and developed the basic concept of what is now known as the HondaJet. To power this design, Honda and GE then collaborated to design an all-new small engine series.

The Proof of Concept (POC) HondaJet, boasting tail number N420HA in deference to its top design speed of 420 knots, has been flying over five years and has logged more than 500 hours of flight test. The extensive test programme led to the building of the first Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) conforming aircraft which had its maiden flight on 20 December 2010.

Differences Small “The FAA-conforming aircraft was built to virtually the same dimensions as the POC, and we do not expect to make any changes,” says Fujino. “When we made our first flights, we saw very close performance [to the POC], even a little better. We tested pressures, avionics, then we expanded the envelope from there. Compared to the earlier programme, the pace of this one is very fast. There have been no major changes.”

Not just the programme, the airplane is fast also! In the three months between its first flight and this interview, it had already achieved 425 knots (Mach .72), surpassing the performance commitment of 420 knots for the production aircraft. The original N420HA is still useful in the test programme, but it will eventually be retired.

Why is the HondaJet so fast for its class? Power, of course, is essential, and the GE-Honda HF 120 engines are significant contributors. The engines have been further developed in the past five years, and show subtle but important improvements that help lower the sound level and improve response. The fan blade design has been refined to achieve better all-around performance, better balance, and lower noise. Additional improvements in the tuning of the FADEC system make the engines more responsive, reducing overshoot in either throttle direction. Other sensors make the system what Fujino calls: “Care free. It will not exceed certain temperature limits, for instance.”

Fujino figured out why early attempts didn’t work, and engineered out the gremlins

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Speed, though, is much more dependent on aerodynamics than on power, and the HondaJet’s unusual looks come not from quirkiness, but from a new approach to old problems. The over-the-wing engine placement reduces the noise footprint on the ground, allows a wider aft cabin, and helps isolate engine vibration from that cabin. But the critical placement of the engines and the design of their pylons also reduce drag far below what a more typical aft-fuselage placement would. The natural laminar-flow (NLF) ‘dolphin nose’ shape of the forward fuselage and NLF leading-edge design also reduce drag.

Though there are essentially no aerodynamic changes from the POC machine, skin thicknesses all over the fuselage have been examined and, in some areas, modified. Interior noise levels are lowered due to the lower natural frequency of the conforming aircraft’s solid composite fuselage structure. Cabin noise was one reason solid laminate was utilised instead of a honeycomb sandwich structure.

The conforming machine will be easier to live with and easier to maintain.

“We improved the structure’s manufacturability and made some changes for ease of maintenance,” says Fujino. “Some systems have improved reliability; and we have changed the locations of some components.”

The heat exchanger has been moved from under the bay to the aft fuselage for easier maintenance and to allow more space in the fairing. The avionics are upgraded from the Garmin G1000 suite to the G3000, which was not available when the first airplane was built. It now also includes a better screen and synthetic vision.

There are changes in the steering, where the ratio is re-tuned. As in Formula One cars, where steering is modulated according the car’s speed and other factors, the steering on the HondaJet is more responsive and controllable at all speeds. Compared to a Formula One car, Fujino says: “The HondaJet is more sophisticated, but basically the same idea.”

Five Test Aircraft A brilliant airplane is only commercially viable if there is manufacturing capability behind it. There is a second conforming airframe already built; it is being put through extensive structural tests in Honda’s facility. The third aircraft, to be used for flight systems testing, is essentially finished, with final installation of some systems remaining.

Major assembly of a fourth aircraft is near-complete; and a fifth (and final) prototype is scheduled. Full ramp-up of production is scheduled for 2012.

Speed is much more dependent on aerodynamics than on power

That date is unlikely to be affected by the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on 11 March this year. Speaking to FlyCorporate just days after the tragedy, Fujino said: “In the US we will maintain our operations normally. At this moment, we see no impact on the US operations.”

Honda’s commitment in the US is becoming more obvious each month, as evidenced by the near-complete 24,471 m2 (263,400 square foot) production facility in Greensboro. In total, the Honda Aircraft campus has over 46,500 m2 (half a million square feet) of its 32 hectares (80 acres) under roof.

The facility, a totally integrated assembly and testing environment, is designed to produce 100 HondaJets per year on a single-shift schedule.

Multiple shifts can be accommodated if demand warrants.

Fujino’s lifelong vision is evident everywhere in the Greensboro campus, from the manufacturing and test facilities, to airport access, and the jet itself. “People can see this and realise how serious Honda is about this programme,” Fujino sums up.

www.

View the HondaJet and other business aircraft in our online gallery www.flycorporate.com

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About the Honda Aircraft Company, Inc. The Honda Campus is located at Piedmont Triad International Airport (PTIA) in Greensboro, North Carolina. The facility has direct runway access for the most efficient flight testing.

The total site covers just under 34 hectares (83 acres).

Completed in May 2008, the headquarters building contains 6,317 m2 (68,000 square feet) of floor space over three levels.

This building houses all engineering, administration, sales, marketing, service and support functions for Honda’s global airframe aerospace operations.

R&D Centre The Research and Development (R&D) facility was completed in December 2008 and covers 17,373 m2 (187,000 square feet). The facility contains all R&D activities for the Honda Aircraft Company. Assembly of FAA-conforming aircraft is taking place in this building. Assembly of aircraft will transition to the new HondaJet production facility (also on campus) once testing is complete. The facility includes the main production floor where conforming wings are being manufactured and where main assemblies are mated and systems installed.

The R&D facility also incorporates Honda’s industry leading Advanced Systems Integration Test Facility (ASITF), which supports the testing of aircraft systems on conforming flight test aircraft. Honda’s ASITF confirms the integration of the aircraft’s electrical, avionics, mechanical and flight control

systems before first flight. This includes the auto pilot, stall warning protection systems (SWPS) and rudder bias systems (RBS). The HondaJet ASITF incorporates a fully representative primary flight control system with a high-fidelity controlloading system. The HondaJet ASITF also incorporates actual aircraft hardware and software systems. They are installed in a spatially representative manner and interconnected with actual aircraft electrical harnesses.

Accelerated Programme Additional capabilities have been integrated to provide realtime simulation of navigation data, including GPS. Honda’s ASITF enables efficient development and certification process possible for the HondaJet. “By effectively identifying any developmental issues at the earliest possible stages of the process, our ASITF system supports an accelerated programme momentum and, ultimately, will help Honda create the best possible aircraft,” explains Fujino.

The R&D facility also houses Honda’s Structural Test centre, where testing of the second completed FAA-conforming aircraft is well underway. All structural testing is conducted utilising Honda’s advanced structural test system. The system incorporates 61 hydraulic actuators and a 2,600 channel data acquisition system within a structural test fixture designed exclusively for HondaJet. The entire aircraft can be tested simultaneously to prove static and fatigue strength under various flight- and ground-load conditions. Testing will continue on static test aircraft as the HondaJet programme moves through the certification process.

The facility contains all R&D activities for the Honda Aircraft Company

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Why Russia’s Bizav Fleet Remains Offshore Business jet owners are reluctant to pay all of the fees and taxes on new aircraft

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D

espite rising demand for business jets and a continued recovery from the great recession, the Russian business aviation market remains one of the most controversial in the world. Eugene Gerden investigates.

Vnukovo3

Lack of proper regulation, high taxes, poor infrastructure and numerous restrictions on flying (especially near military facilities) are just some of the constraints on the development of business aviation in Russia.

There are signs that the bizav environment is improving. A recent decision to change flight planning for bizav from a regulatory approval mode to a notification regime is one example.

However, that has not resulted in the complete elimination of red tape.

Customs duties on most types of business aircraft have also been lifted.

Yet taxes on the most popular type in the Russian market – heavy aircraft over 20 tonnes – still exist. Most Russian business jet owners are reluctant to pay all of the fees and taxes on new aircraft, which can amount to 40% of the cost of a business jet. Instead they choose to register the aircraft outside Russia.

Taxes and fees are not the only reason for overseas registration. Russian owners are also reluctant to be seen to own a private aircraft. Resale is also an issue. Many overseas buyers perceive that Russian regulatory standards are lower than in other parts of the world, making resale of the aircraft abroad almost impossible.

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Overseas Fleet

Problems Compounded

The virtual absence of registered business aircraft in Russia makes it difficult to gain an accurate picture of the industry’s total capacity. According to some estimates, the number of owners of private aircraft in Russia is currently in the range of 350 to 400 people.

Registration of aircraft abroad has resulted in Western operators dominating the Russian business aviation market and the withdrawal of local competitors. This has made the development of business aviation infrastructure unprofitable for local companies. As a result, the construction of regional airports and FBOs has stalled.

New jobs in the industry are not being created and the Russian government is missing out on vital business.

Leonid Koshelev, Head of the Russian United Business Aviation Association (RUBAA), believes that the vast majority of the Russian business aviation fleet, approximately 400 aircraft, are registered abroad. According to Koshelev, the number of business jets, actually registered in Russia is no more than 15 aircraft. Most are redesigned Soviet-era Jakovlev and Tupolev airliners.

According to Alexander Evdokimov, General Director of Jet Expo, Russia’s largest business aviation exhibition, Russia’s current bizav legislation does not inspire owner and operators to register or import aircraft into Russia.

Most Russian owners prefer to list their business aircraft on offshore registries.

Aruba, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man are popular. Registration procedures in most of these jurisdictions are simple and cheap. Crew restrictions are also less strict than in Europe and the US. Registration in the US and the EU is also common. Most aircraft are purchased with funds borrowed from Western banks who often require registration in one of these jurisdictions.

High VAT is another obstacle to the registration of business jets in Russia.

At 18%, VAT adds US$3.6 M to the price of a $25 M aircraft, and $9 M to the cost of a $50 M jet. VAT may be waived if the aircraft’s intended use is primarily domestic.

Russia’s transport tax is also an issue for business aviation. Charged on every flight and every aircraft (including new) delivered into Russia, the tax is calculated using a formula based on the horsepower of the engine. The tax is levied at the same rate used for road transport vehicles.

Finally, many Russian owners are simply afraid to register aircraft in Russia because of the country’s reputation in the international business aviation industry. According to analysts from the Ministry of Aviation, adding an aircraft to the Russian register can depreciate its value by at least 20 to 25%. The main reason is the lack of adequate maintenance infrastructure in Russia.

Registration of an aircraft in Russia is often enough to deter Western banks from providing loans

Some reputable maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) providers are beginning to establish in Russia. Jet Aviation has had a presence at Vnukovo since late 2007, yet it took until 2010 for the company to become an independent Russian legal entity. Jet Aviation can now perform maintenance services under its own EASA 145 maintenance approval.

Registration of an aircraft in Russia is often enough to deter Western banks from providing loans for purchase. Some banks even add a special condition to the loan agreement which bans registration of an aircraft in Russia. These actions illustrate the limitations of Russian civil legislation which does not guarantee the lender the right to seize the aircraft in the event of a default by the borrower.

Infrastructure Shortage Russia also has an acute shortage of airports that are designed to meet the needs of domestic business aviation.

There are also few general aviation terminals at the country’s major international airports. Terminal 3 at Moscow’s Vnukovo Airport currently remains the main base for Russian business aviation. It accounts for more than 70% of all business flights in the country. Of the remaining 30%, most utilise an airport in the Moscow region.

Over the past 15 years many small airports, which could have been renovated for business aviation, have been closed. Most business flights in Russia take-off and land at one of the country’s major airports. By comparison, in the US many bizav airports are small, but well equipped for use by business and general aviation and air taxi companies.

A lack of maintenance personnel, problems with the supply of high quality fuel, and the poor technical condition of hangars and runways are also factors that restrict the number of business jets in Russia and the development of the industry as a whole.

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Many aircraft owners are also reluctant to overpay for the service and maintenance of their aircraft. This occurs due to the absence of branded service centres for jets in Russia.

“There is a need for foreign aircraft manufacturers to establish service centres in Russia,” says Azat Hakim, Chairman of Tulpar, one of Russia’s largest business aviation operators.

“However, at present this is practically impossible due to the lack of qualified staff and training systems. There is also a lack of hangars. Customs clearance of aircraft units is another problem that has yet to be resolved”.

Possible Incentives The improvement of Russian aviation legislation and its harmonisation with the international standards is one way to create the conditions needed to ensure registration of business jets within the country.

“The reason for the difference between the Russian and international legislation is that, during the Soviet era, there were no private or corporate aircraft in the country,” says Koshelev. “The rate of development of the industry since 1990 has been slow. Due to the absence of favourable conditions in Russia, many business jet owners were forced to keep them abroad. The main goal of our association is to create the right conditions for registration of business aircraft in Russia. We have already lobbied for zero customs duties on most business jets imported into the country. It is time to harmonise our customs legislation with the rest of the world.”

Many experts believe that one of best ways to create good conditions for the registration of business jets in Russia is the abolition of VAT. This will benefit both the owners of the aircraft, and the development of the Russian business aviation industry as a whole. Active registration of aircraft in Russia will contribute to the further development of the industry’s infrastructure, and will help to create thousands of new jobs.

It would also be reasonable to change the current approach to the calculation and collection of the transport tax.

Further development of infrastructure and the elimination of monopolies in the field of aircraft maintenance at Russian airports might be another incentive to stimulate registration of business jets in Russia.

Facilities for business and general aviation also need to be established at more Russian airports. These include MRO organisations, as well as FBOs. However, these facilities need to be charged reasonable rents. Healthy competition between the MRO and FBO facilities will lead to overall growth in business aviation traffic at these airports and will be beneficial for all sides.

Some industry observers are pinning their hopes on Russia’s forthcoming entry into the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Scheduled for early 2012, there is a hope that WTO membership may lead to the abolition of duties and taxes on business aircraft imported into Russia. It could also result in a softening of the requirements for purchasing foreign aircraft and their registration in Russia.

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A Global Family

by Rod Simpson

55

Global Family range comparison

W

hile the world recession has made life difficult for the manufacturers of small business jets, it seems that demand for long-distance luxury private jet travel continues to expand. A major beneficiary of this demand has been Canada-based Bombardier Aircraft. By the end of 2010, Bombardier had built 420 examples of its superlarge Global Express and Global 5000 models and added two new models to the Global family.

Global 5000 - 4,800 nm

Global XRS - 6,150 nm

Global 7000 - 7,300 nm

In March 2011, Bombardier signed its largest-ever order, worth more than US$6.7 billion if all options are exercised, with the fractional operator Netjets. The order, for 50 aircraft with 70 options, was for a mixture of Bombardier’s highly regarded Global family. It confirmed this line of business jets as a leading choice for the world’s wealthiest business and private customers. Notable Global users include Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Henry Kravis of buyout specialists KKR, and television personality Oprah Winfrey. The aircraft also provides quality service to corporations including McDonalds, Exxon Mobil and General Electric.

The Global family now includes four models, each aimed at different customer requirements for range, price and cabin size. The baseline model is the Global Express XRS which is the current version of Bombardier’s original Global Express.

The XRS has a 6,150 nautical mile range and the original large two or three zone cabin. Its companion since 2004 has been the Global 5000 which has a shorter cabin and a 4,800 nm range. The Global 7000, one of two new models announced at NBAA 2010, has the longest cabin of all and a 7,300 nm range. The new Global 8000 has a slightly larger cabin than the XRS and the longest range at 7,900 nm.

Global 8000 - 7,900 nm

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The Global Concept When the Global Express was first announced in December 1993, the undisputed leader in the intercontinental business jet sector was the Gulfstream V. Bombardier had to design an aircraft which offered a real challenge to the Gulfstream – already a favourite with world business leaders.

The key features of the Global Express were a significantly larger cabin than the Gulfstream, a width equal to that of the portly Challenger, and a very advanced wing design.

Bombardier engineers produced a highly swept wing that was designed for high-speed cruise at 15,500 m (51,000 feet). The wing design required a sophisticated system of leading edge

Global 5000 interior

slats and trailing edge flaps to achieve the required takeoff and landing performance. Despite being wider than the Gulfstream, the fuselage of the Global Express was very efficient and used ‘area-ruled’ shaping of the rear fuselage to reduce drag and provide superior performance.

The Global Express was powered by modern Rolls-Royce BR710-48-C2 engines which helped to enhance the range of the aircraft and gave it excellent hot and high performance.

The result was an aircraft that could carry a full load of eight passengers and four crew for 6,010 nautical miles, cruising at Mach .85. This provided great flexibility and allowed the aircraft to fly from Paris to Jakarta or Lima with a full passenger load.

Within six months of its announcement, Bombardier had over 40 orders for the Global Express. First flight was in October 1996 with Transport Canada certification in July 1998. The first customer delivery, to Toyota Motors USA, occurred twelve months later.

By the end of 2004, Bombardier had completed 150 examples of the Global and was working on further enhancements to the concept. The Global Express XRS, announced in October 2003, provided greater fuel capacity and range (6,150 nautical miles) and had a higher takeoff weight to allow for the gradual increases in the weight of cabin entertainment equipment, improved galleys and other facilities which were eroding the aircraft’s useful load.

57 Global Express XRS

Global Developments With the Global Express firmly positioned as a favourite in the superlarge business jet market, Bombardier found that they had a significant price gap in their product line between the Challenger 604 and the big cabin, very long-range, Global. By 2004 the Global carried a price of $45 M. There were many customers who did not need super-long range but would benefit from the other attributes of the Global Express. Consequently, Bombardier started to look at a new model in the $32 to $35 M category – at that time the battleground of the Dassault Falcon 900EX and Gulfstream G450. This would position the Express $10 M above the price of a Challenger 604, itself in the same price band as the Gulfstream 350 and the Falcon 2000EX. The result was the Global 5000. A very attractive option for Bombardier, the 5000 involved modifications to around 10% of the Global Express structure and systems. The main change was an 81 cm (32 inch) shorter fuselage which reduced the forward compartment between the passenger area and the cockpit by just over 60 cm (two feet). This eliminated the crew rest area, but the shorter stage lengths flown by the Global 5000 meant the need for crew sleeping facilities was much less significant. The Global 5000 received its type certificate in March 2004 and deliveries commenced the following April.

Many customers did not need super-long range but would benefit from the other attributes of the Global Express

Bombardier announced two new very long-range models to meet the expanding needs of Global customers at the annual NBAA Convention in October 2010. The Global 8000 is more than two metres (seven feet) longer than the XRS. It has a similar cabin and 28% range advantage over the base model. This will allow the aircraft to fly non-stop from Delhi to Sao Paulo or London to Perth. The Global 7000 has more range than the XRS and a fuselage stretch of almost five metres (16 feet) which results in an extra three metres (ten feet) of cabin length.

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Both models are currently in development. The Global 7000 is expected to enter service in 2016 and the Global 8000 in 2017.

The price of both new aircraft will be around $65 M (in 2010 dollars) and, while externally similar to the existing two Global models, they will carry substantially different technology.

The transonic wing will be a completely new design. Both the 7000 and 8000 will use General Electric’s new TechX high-bypass 73.4 kN turbofan engines which not only provide greater thrust, but also much improved emission levels and an 8% reduction in fuel burn.

Despite their increased size and weight, the new models will deliver similar performance to the XRS and Global 5000 with a 488 knot typical long range cruising speed.

Global Passenger Appeal The major selling point for the entire Global family is cabin comfort and flexibility. The Bombardier designers focussed on three main objectives for the new models. Firstly, they had to be very comfortable with all the facilities necessary for long flights – including

overnight sectors. Secondly, the aircraft had to operate as an office in the air and; thirdly, the designers had to standardise the cabin layouts to minimise weight but make them resilient to wear and tear.

While cabin lengths vary according to the model, the width of the Global cabin is standardised at 2.11 m (6.92 feet) at floor level (2.49 m or 8.17 feet at centreline) and the stand-up height is a generous 1.91 m (6.25 feet). The Global 7000 has the largest cabin and a four-zone layout that allows for a rear private bedroom if required. A threezone floorplan is standard for the other Global models including the new 8000.

The new 7000 and 8000 models will have deeper windows than the earlier Globals – which should add to the level of cabin light and enhance the feeling of spaciousness. The Globals will typically accommodate 17 passenger seats.

However, in practice, few operators regularly carry more than five or six passengers. All layouts include a main lavatory at the rear of the cabin and a fully equipped galley between the forward cabin and the main entry door.

Full crew rest areas are also provided aft of the cockpit on all but the Global 5000.

Measuring Up Bombardier’s major rival, Gulfstream has pressed forward relentlessly to establish a comprehensive large business jet line, and its latest offering, the Gulfstream G650, has been designed to remove what has been, until now, one of the Global’s main advantages – cabin width. The cabin height and width of the Global models are now virtually the same as the G650.

Where Bombardier does score is with the longer cabin offered in the Global 7000. It measures 18.17 m (nearly 60 feet) – almost 4 m (13 feet) longer than the cabin of the G650. When it gets down to performance, the G650 has a 7,000 nm range at high-speed cruise, which is further than the XRS or Global 5000 can fly. However, it falls short of the ultra-long range Global 8000 at 7,900 nm. When it comes to useful load, the Global XRS, 7000 and 8000 (which have higher gross weights) also provide more useful load when fully fuelled. The main direct competitor for the G650 will be the Global 7000 which has slightly more range, a longer cabin and 25% more load capacity with full fuel.

The new models will deliver similar performance to the XRS and Global 5000

Global 7000

59 Global 8000

In the end, we should expect a fierce battle between Bombardier and Gulfstream in this very lucrative sector From an operational standpoint, Bombardier has faced criticism of its Honeywell Primus 2000XP avionics, which are now seriously old fashioned.

However, the new Global Vision flight deck promises to address its shortcomings. It is based on the Rockwell Collins Pro Line Fusion avionics suite and Bombardier expects it to deliver exceptional functionality and ease of operation and to provide enhanced situation awareness. Global Vision incorporates a Head-Up Display (HUD), Enhanced Vision System (EVS) and Synthetic Vision (SVS). However, it is still under development, having had its first in-flight tests in August 2009.

Even when in service, the flight deck will probably take a while to mature.

Gulfstream’s Plane View II cockpit already has many operational miles

to its credit and is highly regarded by crews. It also has a HUD and provides EVS and Gulfstream’s well regarded Synthetic Vision System.

In the end, we should expect a fierce battle between Bombardier and Gulfstream in this very lucrative sector. Bombardier seems to be offering an important range of choices to customers and has a very good reputation for the interior comfort and finish of its aircraft. This is important to those who use the aircraft, rather than those who just fly them. The real winners in this competition will be the business travellers who are now able to travel non-stop in comfort and style to many destinations previously not available to them.

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Controlling What You Can’t:

Airborne Medical

Emergencies

by Amy Laboda

I

t is a nightmare scenario for any flight crew, charter operator or owner on an intercontinental flight with no easy divert point: a passenger is suddenly taken ill. Crews might train for it once in a blue moon, and operators might provide for it with a first aid kit or even with an automated external defibrillator (AED) onboard, but, one must ask, is this scenario a part of their Safety Management Systems (SMS) that all quality flight departments fly by? If not, it should be.

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Charters operating under a European Aircraft Operating Certificate (AOC) or the US Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Part 135 or Part 121 rules are required to have an SMS plan as part of their operational specifications. Any first aid kit carried onboard must meet or exceed Joint Aviation Requirements (JAR) 1.745 or the Federal Aviation Regulations (14 CFR) Part 91, 121 and 135. It must also comply with relevant occupational health and safety standards for bloodborne pathogens.

And the defibrillator? Despite seeming to be ubiquitous on aircraft, it is a prescriptive device and requires a doctor’s permission to purchase (and a product orientation course to use).

Certified Crew “Without a certified, trained flight attendant or third crew member in the back of the aircraft with the passengers, it is impossible to say what the outcome of an inflight medical emergency will be,” says Susan C. Friedenberg, a veteran corporate flight attendant who runs Corporate Flight Attendant Training. “No one defibrillates themselves!” she points out. “And if the crew is up front behind closed doors, how are they going to know unless a passenger tells them that there is someone in distress?”

A passenger in cardiac arrest has a maximum of just ten minutes to be shocked into a normal heart beat again.

For every minute that goes by once the patient enters ventricle fibrillation, the survival rate drops ten percent.

With only two flight crew on board, it might not be possible for one of them to safely come back into the passenger compartment to assess and manage the distressed passenger.

Concierge Medical Services Friedenberg points out that, even with a third crew member onboard, without the proper equipment and training, that person may be unable to help in a true medical emergency. “A satellite phone connection, such as Iridium should be a mandatory safety item,” recommends Friedenberg. With it the crew can contact a land-based doctor from anywhere in the world. If they have a contract with a land-based doctor or a concierge medical service, then the crew should know the level of expertise they can expect. If they do not, then it is location and luck that will determine who answers the emergency call.

62 EMEA & ASIA

That’s when telemedicine, an innovation first brought to market by International SOS in the 1980s, comes into to play.

In 1985, MedAire, Inc. was established as a global emergency response centre dedicated to providing immediate, real-time medical assistance to people in remote locations, including onboard aircraft. The company’s Medlink™ Global Response Center offers far more than just a concierge medical service.

“Together, MedAire and International SOS have access to 68,000 medical providers. When our members become ill, we can make appointments, get them medication refills, provide cashless services, and if necessary, get them evacuated,” explains Jill Drake, Director of Marketing and Communications.

With offices in Singapore and Arizona, MedAire has grown from one flight nurse’s vision of how all aircraft should be equipped for medical emergencies, into the world’s largest healthcare, security and concierge services company for maritime and aviation use.

Joan Sullivan Garrett, Founder and Chair of the Board for MedAire, was that flight nurse. Her first mission, in the 1980s, was to get a modern, simpleto-use and comprehensive first aid kit to be required equipment on airliners.

“I responded to a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by the FAA in 1985 with a design for a proper medical kit,” Garrett explains.

Seconds to React Garrett designed the first kits with gloves to protect crew members from blood and airway shields for safe mouthto-mouth; both important to ensure people are comfortable and therefore more proactive in an emergency.

The kits are also colour-coded, with each section clearly labelled. “As a flight nurse, I had seconds, sometimes milliseconds to respond to the needs of my patient on an Emergency Medical Service (EMS) flight. We all had our equipment organised in colour-coded pouches. We knew where everything was at a seconds’ notice.”

Garrett quickly saw that the problem with medical emergencies onboard aircraft wasn’t just an equipment issue, it was a crew training issue. “I had to figure out how to make a business work from that. I had the training background, so I knew I could teach,” she says. By 1988 Garrett was training business aviation crews on how to respond to medical emergencies, and equipping their aircraft with her lightweight, comprehensive first aid kits.

It wasn’t an easy sell, though. “I had to get on the speaker circuit and educate the market so that they would understand why they needed to buy my company’s services,” she remembers.

It didn’t take long for the feedback from the crews she trained to come in.

“They’d say: ‘I saved my father-in-law’s life when he was choking in a restaurant, I saved my child’ ...the stories kept coming. This is the only training in aviation you can actually take home with you,” says Garrett. And she believes it

should be required training, but the reality is that it is not. The training is listed as a best practice in the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) and safety auditors look for it in an SMS plan. That is a start.

The comprehensive first aid kits produced

by MedAire are now standard equipment for many business aircraft makers including Boeing, Bombardier, Cessna, Embraer, Gulfstream and Hawker-Beechcraft among others.

Link to Ground “But we take it further,” says Garrett. “So many of our customers fly into developing countries, and it is hit or miss whether you can get great medical care. So, we developed a more expansive emergency medical kit to go with them.”

The medical kits include prescription drugs, intravenous solutions, antibiotics; virtually everything one might need to take to a trained physician who might not have the equipment, but has the knowledge to help an injured or ill person. There is even a kit that contains a revolutionary device – the Tempus IC, manufactured by RDT, which provides a comprehensive remote monitoring and diagnostic tool in a compact, lightweight, battery-powered package. The Tempus IC enables crew to send the ill person’s vital signs to a ground-based medical expert.

That expert has access to the patient’s blood pressure, oxygen and blood glucose levels, temperature, and even a readout from a full 12-lead electrocardiogram.

Both video and audio feed can be sent using satellite technology, a mobile phone or a landline.

“We all had our equipment organised in colour-coded pouches” Tempus IC with case

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That is where Medlink comes in. The successful conclusion to a medical emergency requires the integration of that skilled doctor right into the aircraft, where they can direct diagnostics and treat the emergency.

Yet, not everyone has the means to travel with a full-time medical staff.

Garrett’s Medlink service provides that third, key component to her customers.

“Our Medlink service evolved, again, from my experience as a flight nurse,” says Garrett. “When I had a patient that I thought wasn’t doing what they should, and I was doing everything I was trained to do but it wasn’t working, I called the emergency doctors at the hospital and asked for their advice. I called, even if it was just to tell them what was coming and to have them bring the trauma team in. It was a link that allowed us, the EMS, to increase survival even in a remote environment. We integrated that direct link to our own doctors.” Medlink will coordinate with the nearest, most reputable medical facilities, accessing its proprietary database of worldwide medical providers that includes 15,000 hospitals and clinics in more than 5,000 cities. Medlink’s Global Emergency Response Centers managed more than 40,000 medical cases in 2010 (that’s 93,000 calls) from all corners of the globe – on land, at sea and in the air.

Three-prong Approach A link to a live, qualified emergency doctor can make all the difference in determining whether a passenger is having a true medical emergency that requires an emergency diversion, or whether the passenger’s symptoms can be eased from the extensive first aid kit onboard the aircraft.

The Tempus IC diagnostic tool is much more than just a voice and video link to a concierge doctor on the ground.

It can tell that doctor whether a passenger’s chest pain is a heart attack or just indigestion, and whether a fainting spell is low blood sugar, cured with a bit of juice or candy, or a fullon illness that demands immediate hospitalisation.

Emergency Medical Kit

But a tool is only as good as the people operating it, and the diagnostics are only effective if the crew and first aid equipment onboard the aircraft can accommodate the needs of the ill passenger.

Like so much of aviation, one must think of solutions that provide for all three dimensions in order to maintain control. In this case, those three dimensions are well-equipped first aid kits, trained crew and access to a dedicated emergency response centre.

When it comes to medical emergencies in flight, only a three-prong approach to safety in the sky can make sense for passengers and crew alike.

MedAire Defibrillator

64 EMEA & ASIA

THE SWISS

Challenge

by Rod Simpson

D

eveloping a new helicopter is an expensive and technically demanding endeavour, but Marenco Swisshelicopter Ltd. believes it can take on the giants of the rotary industry with its new SKYe SH09.

SKYe SH09

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Based at Pfaffikon near Zurich, Marenco is an established engineering company which specialises in prototyping and developing carbon-fibre structures for motor racing and other high technology industries. Founded in 2007 by Martin Stucki, the company has 50 staff, including 30 engineers and is backed by substantial Swiss private equity funding.

Pre-prototype on Show Marenco showed the new helicopter for the first time at the Orlando Heli Expo. Mathias Senes, Commercial Director of Swisshelicopter, described the exhibited model as: “Not a mock-up – rather a pre-prototype with carbon components, provided by specialists OCP, and made from the same moulds we will use to build the prototype. Our target is to have that prototype flying within 15 to 16 months.”

The company expects to use two or more prototypes for certification and be able to deliver the first production examples to customers in about four years. When it reaches the market, the helicopter, which will be built in Switzerland, will be priced in the US$3 M price range. Swisshelicopter expects to build 10 to 12 units in the first year and 20 to 30 in the second year.

Marenco has not released detailed specifications or performance figures for the helicopter, but the SKYe is in the same 2,500 kg (5,500 lb) category as Eurocopter’s EC130 or the AgustaWestland AW119Ke and will be high performing with a cruising speed of 145 knots (270 km/h) and a range of 430 nm (800 km). The helicopter is of all-carbon composite construction, designed for minimum empty weight and maximum crash resistance.

Swisshelicopter expects to build 10 to 12 units in the first year and 20 to 30 in the second year

Medevac Solution The SKYe SH09 has the advantage of a larger cabin than its competitors, easily accommodating up to eight seats.

With its rear clamshell doors, the SKYe should also be ideal for medevac work. It also has a ‘vertical reference window’ in the floor to aid landing and facilitate lifting operations. For the initial prototype and early production units, the SKYe will be powered by a Honeywell HTS900 turboshaft, rated at 820 shp for takeoff. However, it is expected that other powerplants, perhaps from Pratt & Whitney or Turboméca, will be offered as options in the future.

As one would expect with a brand-new design, the SKYe SH09 will incorporate the latest technology. Consequently, an advanced, bearingless, all-composite five-blade rotor system is under development by an engineering team based in South Africa. This fail-safe design should deliver minimum vibration and noise levels, low maintenance and high reliability. The South African engineering team are developing a Fenestron tail stabilisation system and will also carry out wind tunnel testing.

Letters of Intent Signed The pilot’s section of the SKYe SH09 will be an ergonomically engineered glass cockpit designed by Sagem. It will provide advanced avionics including night vision goggle (NVG) compatibility, and the latest display screens.

At HeliExpo, Marenco announced the signature of two letters of intent for the SKYe SH09. The first is from a private individual in Germany. Marenco is aiming to have that helicopter delivered to the customer by 2015 or 2016.

www.

For a full report on Heli-Expo, please see our April edition of On the Fly flycorporate.com/content_onthefly.php

66 EMEA & ASIA

MEET THE I

n this issue of FlyCorporate we introduce a new feature looking at business aviation operators in different parts of the world. This month we are in Australia and Kenya.

Phoenix Aviation: At the Heart of Africa

P Phoenix Aviation pilots

The Phoenix fleet currently includes a Citation Excel C560; four Citation Bravo C550s; four Beechcraft King Air 200s (all with pressurised cabins); a Beechcraft King Air 350; three Cessna Grand Caravans; and a Eurocopter AS 350 B3.

The Excel was acquired in 2010, and there is a possibility another will be added to fleet during 2011. Many of the fixed-wing planes were selected for their ability to land at remote airstrips, a common requirement in this part of the world.

ISO Certified “We have expanded rapidly over the last two years,” notes Ingrid Strahammer, Vice President Marketing, Europe. “It is unlikely we will expand the fleet much over the next two years, although we will be upgrading some of our existing fleet.”

Phoenix has a policy of refurbishing all of its aircraft every three years to ensure they remain in tip-top condition.

hoenix Aviation is a private charter company located at Wilson Airport (HKNW) near Nairobi, Kenya. Established in 1994, Phoenix now operates a fleet of 15 aircraft – both rotary and fixed-wing, and employs around 150 people.

In October 2008, Phoenix became the first fixed-wing private air charter company in Africa to be awarded ISO 9001:2008 accreditation for the supply of domestic, regional and international charter flights, aircraft maintenance and worldwide medical air ambulance charter. All bread-and-butter work for this East African operator.

“Typical fixed-wing missions include tourist trips within Africa, as well as business and VIP flights,” explains Strahammer. “Our helicopter is typically used by tourists and photographers, as well as for medical evacuations.”

Nairobi is adjacent to the eastern edge of Africa’s Great Rift Valley, a vast area of mountains, lakes and wildlife reserves. While scenic mountain flights are popular with tourists, the helicopter can also be used for aerial survey and game capture work.

“Our engineers, ground staff, pilots and planes are on call 24 hours a day”

On Call Medical evacuation forms an important part of Phoenix’s business. The company’s Citation Excel and four Citation Bravos are all equipped with Tandem Lifeport Systems. Evacuations are carried out in partnership with the AMREF Flying Doctor Service, one of Africa’s few aeromedical service providers. AMREF is also based at Wilson.

Maintenance is a major part of Phoenix Aviation’s offering and accounts for almost two-thirds of the company’s employees.

As well as maintaining their own fleet of aircraft, Phoenix provides maintenance services for other operators and private individuals in East Africa.

Phoenix Aviation is very proud of its operations and maintains a high-level of commitment to clients, and to Africa.

“Our engineers, ground staff, pilots and planes are on call 24 hours a day,” notes Strahammer. As the importance of Africa continues to grow, it is likely they will be kept very busy!

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OPERATORS

by Dan Smith

ExecuJet Australasia: Always On the Lookout

T

he ExecuJet brand stretches far and wide around the world. From a small base in South Africa, the company has grown to be a leading FBO operator, sales organisation and maintenance provider in the business aviation market.

Perhaps one of the least known parts of the organisation is its ExecuJet Australasia subsidiary which manages the company’s operations in Sydney and Melbourne in Australia, as well as Wellington in New Zealand.

ExecuJet’s move into the Australian market began when the company purchased Sydney-based Australian Jet Charter (AJC) in 2000. Along with AJC’s existing charter business, ExecuJet also introduced sales and maintenance services.

New Facilities Today the Australasia division employees around 50 people, has seven aircraft under management and provides authorised maintenance services for Bombardier, Gulfstream, Hawker Beechcraft and Embraer aircraft in Sydney and Melbourne. The company has both Australian and New Zealand air operating certificates (AOCs) as well as Australian Part 145 approval as a maintenance provider for New Zealand.

ExecuJet leases part of its Sydney facility to Universal Aviation which operates an FBO serving Sydney’s Kingsford Smith Airport (YSSY). ExecuJet is currently awaiting the completion of new facilities at Essendon Airport (YMEN) in Melbourne and Wellington International (NZWN).

“We started in Melbourne about four years ago with two engineers working out of someone else’s hangar,” says Darren McGoldrick, Managing Director of ExecuJet Australasia. “Work has commenced on the construction on new facilities at Essendon which will include a new FBO, offices and engineering workshops.” The company now employs six engineers in Melbourne and a number of pilots.

Wellington Airport recently appointed ExecuJet Australasia to manage a new maintenance and FBO facility that is currently under construction. The new premises should be ready by September, just in time for the Rugby Union World Cup.

ExecuJet Melbourne hangar

Sydney Constraints At Sydney Airport, ExecuJet faces constraints on hangarage and aircraft parking. The Airport is located just ten kilometres from the city centre and is situated in the middle of a densely populated urban area with little room to expand.

“We’d like to do more with our Sydney facility,” notes McGoldrick.

“But we are in the hands of Sydney Airport.” Fortunately the company has the Melbourne service centre where aircraft can be sent for maintenance if space is not available in Sydney.

ExecuJet Australasia is sure to remain busy as it opens its new world-class facilities in Melbourne and Wellington.

The company has also just won a tender to manage and operate two Global XRS aircraft for a Sydney-based client.

“That’s exciting and will keep us busy,” says McGoldrick. However, he is quick to note: “We’re always on the lookout for new opportunities!”

68 EMEA & ASIA

Securing the Dream

69

F

inancing business jets is something that the modern economy sees as beneficial for both the end user of the aircraft and the financiers. But just what can a prospective owner do to make sure they get their credit approval, and insurance, quickly.

Phil Nasskau reports.

At the newly rebranded Barclays Wealth, Jon Henley, Vice President of Credit Structuring, says that for a typical business jet deal, Barclays can get an approval within two to three weeks. However, Henley warns that this sort of timeframe is only realistic if there is complete transparency from the client and if they already do business with Barclays.

At Barclays Wealth, the approval process has two fundamental stages. “Firstly, as a business, we need to understand what opportunities there might be with the client, whether it is a new or an existing customer. Secondly, we have to validate the transaction, and then see if we can find a mutually agreeable solution that works within the client relationship,” explains Henley. During the validation phase, internal approval for the loan and its structure is sought, before further discussion with the client.

Building a Relationship “When we’re ready to move forward, then our internal Credit Approval Board steps in,” says Henley. The Board looks at the credit risk, the client and any jurisdictional issues – depending on where the aircraft is going to be registered and operated. If delays arise in the credit approval process it is: “...quite often a hole in the financial information rather than any concerns with the aircraft,” says Henley.

Because many of Barclay Wealth’s customers are existing clients and have relationships with the bank, this, in addition to transparency, shortens the approval time.

Henley does have tips for new customers: “We are usually looking at financial information, and quite often we are dealing with high or ultra-high net-worth individuals, so we are seeking information about their current investments, where these investments are, what they are. Basically we want to understand how financially stable they might be, and then we want to understand the client’s need in a broader banking sense to see where else we can help.

“We’re not out there to do every deal we can. We want to support our current and prospective clients and create a total banking relationship,” he adds.

Approval within two to three weeks is only realistic if there is complete transparency from the client

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Shari’ah-compliant Another concern for Barclays is ensuring the legitimacy of a client’s wealth, and this is particularly important for new clients. “Sometimes it can be difficult to discover where the money has come from,” Henley notes.

For Barclays Wealth there are regions that give cause for concern. However, Henley was reluctant to name them, simply alluding to countries where aircraft registrations are “relatively new” and can “present issues.” But Henley was quick to point out that sometimes the company might finance an aircraft into such a region, if it already has a deep client relationship.

Customers in the region were not used to sharing such private information, especially outside of the corporation. It was sometimes very difficult to convince people to share the information we needed.

This is why we rely on the Barclays Wealth bankers to develop these relationships,” explains Henley.

Top Finance Tips At GE Capital, it is a similar story: transparency and financial data will ensure a swift response. GE Capital has a list of top tips to help borrowers get the capital they want. That list extends beyond the variables of cash flow and credit history.

In the Middle East you might expect that Western-style finance products could prove difficult. However, Henley says that there is not yet enough demand for a Shari’ah-compliant aviation product: “Barclays Capital has a Shari’ah-compliant product, and we have marketed this in the past. But we haven’t really had the demand for it. We can be quite reactive [to the market] and we will offer it if demand arises. If, for example, over the next year there is an abundance of clients wanting Shari’ah compliant aviation financing, then we’ll do it.”

The Middle East does present another issue for finance: transparency.

“We have been stepping up to the challenges in the Middle East, and one of those is getting client information.

explains Mueller “is that how a company presents itself to a lender is critical.”

Mueller says that starting the process early is a good bet: “The best time to approach a lender is before you need the capital. Build a relationship and educate the lender about your business. A lender who believes in you and your business can be a powerful advocate during the underwriting process. If you wait until you need the money in a hurry, you may limit your options.”

Lender Partners Along with reaching out to lenders early, Mueller believes that prospective borrowers should view lenders as partners with shared goals, rather than as vendors.

Transparency is a must. “The real deal-breaker isn’t negative information or financial setbacks,” says Mueller.

“It’s having the lender invest time and resources only to find that the information provided by the borrower is different from what surfaces during the approval process.”

Paying close attention to the details will help. “Mistakes, even if they seem insignificant, can cause a lender to lose confidence,” explains Mueller. “Borrowers mustn’t take the attitude that the lender will ‘fix’ their errors. And they need to make sure that they understand the key terms laid out in their covenants, contracts and credit documents.

Matthias Mueller, GE Capital’s Managing Director EMEA, says that the company set out to answer the question: ‘What makes a borrower smart and successful in the quest for capital?’ “What we found,”

“Keeping lines of communication open is critical. Timely disclosure helps to build trust, and allows your lender to be as flexible as possible if challenges arise that may affect the loan,” adds Mueller.

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Smart Borrowers

Insurance Clarity

Another of GE Capital’s top tips is to ensure that borrowers fully understand the process. “Reputable lenders simply will not cut corners during the process, so don’t put them in a difficult situation by asking for things on short notice, or expecting them to put aside their established protocol,” says Mueller.

“For example, the trend to ‘amend and extend’ credit can be a complex and time-consuming process. Have the foresight to contact your lender at least twelve months before the loan comes due.”

According to John Springrose, President of Colt Risk Management, the best way to get insurance faster, and easier, is through clarity: “People should differentiate themselves by communicating clearly about safety, Safety Management Systems (SMS) and on training. Clarity really helps.” He also recommends that operators looking for insurance should invite both the insurance broker, and the insurance company for a site visit to help demonstrate their maintenance standards.

Another way to ease the financing process includes telling your business’ story in a way that highlights its success and market knowledge, including ways in which it demonstrates problem solving. This helps lenders understand the business, enabling them to become what Mueller calls an invaluable advisor and advocate. Your lender should be able to provide relevant information for your business on financing structures and optimising cash flow. “Cash flow is king,” notes Mueller. “Lenders will want to see that you have sufficient cash to cover unexpected expenses and unforeseen events.”

Mueller concludes: “With careful preparation, borrowers who work in a spirit of collaboration with their lenders can boost their chances of success. How you present yourself and your business, as well as your understanding of the process and your borrowing requirements, is critical. So make sure you come to the table as a smart borrower!”

Cash flow is king

“You have to be realistic about the cover you need, look at the limits and whether you are over insuring or underinsuring. The [Gulfstream] G3 of yesterday is not worth as much as a G3 today. And make sure to maintain good risk management principles.”

Springrose says operators should be prepared for changes in market conditions. And for operators that don’t yet have an SMS, Springrose recommends they use the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) form from the International Business Aviation IBAC. “After all it’s the worldwide recognised standard for safe operation, and is certainly worth consideration.”

Earlier this year, business aircraft insurance broker FinServe launched an initiative to support operators seeking IS-BAO and SMS compliance. As part of its F-EBAP (FinServe – European Business Aviation Placement) programme, which is supported by Europe’s toprated Aviation Insurance Underwriters, business aircraft owners and operators benefit from a unique scheme which offers financial support whenever they invest in a Safety Management System (SMS). The programme allows for the partial reimbursement of costs incurred by operators or owners who employ consultants, surveyors or auditors to help prepare their IS-BAO/SMS

programme. “The initiative, which is a first in Europe, simply reinforces the fact that operators and insurers share an important interest – safety!” says Guy Broddin, CEO FinServe Aviation Insurance.

Good Risk However, Springrose says that insurance is relatively easy to obtain because insurance companies are more inclined to take on business jets. The reasoning: “The risk of loss is a lot lower, and therefore more profitable for an insurance company.”

This is a view shared by Christophe Paulin, Verspieren Aviation’s Executive Vice President. “It is very easy to get insurance for business aviation.

Most insurers are keen to underwrite because of the lower risks. In business aviation there is roughly one total loss every ten years in Western Europe,” Paulin notes.

There is also no difference between insuring a leased or an owned aircraft.

“The AVN 67 clause guarantees the lessor from any mistake that can be made by the operator. For example, if the pilot is drunk and crashes,” notes Paulin.

With the exception of a few endorsements, policy parameters are the same whether an aircraft is leased or owned outright. “The endorsements are typically standard. For a leased aircraft it’s a lessor endorsement for the finance of the aircraft. Details such as loss payees and breach of warranties are covered,” explains Springrose.

This article lists just some of the ways you can speed-up the financing and insurance process, and guarantee a positive outcome. The key is to actively work with your finance and insurance specialists and to treat them as key partners in your business.

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MEDEX 2011 M

alta is determined to become a pivotal point in the Mediterranean region for business aviation and the country will play host to the first MEDEX 2011 Aviation Conference to be held from 19 to 20 September 2011. The event precedes Malta’s well-established International Air Show which will be held on 24 and 25 September.

In the turmoil which has engulfed the Maghreb countries, Malta’s strategic position as a bridge between mainland Europe and North Africa has again come to the fore. MEDEX aims to showcase what Malta can offer to the business aviation community at a macro level and provide a forum where clients from North African and Sahel countries can meet with the major forces in the business aviation sector.

Aimed at owners, business jet management companies, charter and flight support entities, as well as companies active in the consultancy sphere, MEDEX 2011 will also feature an array of top-notch speakers. Topics to be discussed include: Illegal flights; Standards for Business Aviation Handling Providers; EASA regulations; and many more.

The MEDEX 2011 Aviation Conference has been established by Dr Marco Ciliberti, a lawyer by profession, but an aviation devotee with various interests in the sector. Dr Ciliberti is adamant that the first edition of MEDEX will be a huge success.

The MEDEX organising team has created a number of signature networking events to ensure that participants can mingle in an informal way. MEDEX has teamed with leading hotel chain, Intercontinental, to offer participants a central location for the event in superb accommodation.

The organising team has ambitious plans for MEDEX and envisage that it will become a yearly event. The market exists and the response they have received to date has been described by all involved as “overwhelming.”

Saint Paul’s Bay, Malta

Advertising feature

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Vi sit Bo us @ ot E h B 56 AC 3 E

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75

Android Gingerbread Smartphones

by Dan Smith

W

hen I started writing Versus two years ago, smartphones running Google’s Android operating system (OS) were still a dream. Today, as version 2.3 of Android (codenamed Gingerbread) is being released, there are a plethora of smartphones running the slick OS. HTC and Samsung are some of the leading makers of Android-enabled tablets and mobiles and their new models are about to hit the shelves. Both take advantage of the streamlined user interface and enhanced power management features of Android version 2.3.

HTC Sensation HTC is one of the leading Android-smartphone makers with its HTC Desire and Desire HD dominating sales in the past year. HTC’s new Gingerbread offering will be the Sensation, though in some parts of the world it may be known as the HTC Pyramid. The phone features an improved user interface thanks to HTC’s own Sense software.

Samsung Galaxy S II Samsung’s original Galaxy has proved a hit with Android smartphone users since it was first released a year ago. The new S II model promises even more with a larger screen than the original and significant improvements to the user interface. Problems with Samsung’s Kies syncing software are also believed to have been solved in this version.

HTC Sensation 1.2 GHz 768 MB RAM

Samsung Galaxy S II Dual-core processor Memory

1.2 GHz 1024 MB RAM

Super LCD

Screen type

Super AMOLED Plus

10.9 cm (4.3 inches)

Screen size

10.9 cm (4.3 inches)

1 x 8 megapixels 1 x 0.3 megapixels VGA 1520 mAh* 126.1 x 65.4 x 11.3 mm (4.96 x 2.57 x 0.44 inches) 148 g (5.22 oz)

Camera Battery capacity Dimensions Weight

1 x 8 megapixels with LED flash 1 x 2 megapixels 1650 mAh* 125.3 x 66.1 x 8.49 mm (4.93 x 2.60 x 0.33 inches) 116 g (4.09 oz)

*mAh = milliampere-hour

Although both smartphones are similar in size, processing speed and screen real estate, there are some subtle differences. The Galaxy offers slightly longer battery life, a two-megapixel second camera, and is almost 25% lighter than the Sensation. However, the ease of use of the HTC Sense interface on the Sensation should not be dismissed and make it my pick for a Gingerbreadenabled smartphone.

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Landings:

Shannon by the FlyCorporate Editorial Team

E

stablished as a new town in 1960, Shannon was originally built to provide the community working at the airport with housing and amenities. However, poor shopping facilities and unattractive housing meant the town’s growth didn’t evolve as planned with people preferring to reside in more attractive nearby locations. Over the last twenty years the town has seen considerable development and a distinct rise in population thanks to new construction work and logistical improvements including a town bypass. The region’s economy continues to grow as more and more overseas companies invest in the Shannon Free Zone which counts Ireland’s largest cluster of North American investments. The surrounding countryside is a rich natural environment of impressive landscapes with close access to a host of stunning Irish castles, dramatic cliffs and other features of outstanding natural beauty.

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Air ports

FBOs

Shannon Airport

Signature Flight Support Shannon

Operated by Dublin Airport Authority Shannon airport has the longest runway in Ireland so it can welcome even the largest of private aircraft. The airport was originally established in 1942 and is located 24 km north of Limerick and 22 km south of Ennis town. The current airport terminal was opened in 2000 and older parts of the airport have seen recent renovation. Plans are also in place to build a new cargo facility.

Shannon is the first airport in the world, outside of the Americas, to offer full US pre-clearance facilities to passengers travelling to the USA.

Signature at Shannon offers a range of services including flight planning and computerised weather; courtesy shuttle service to and from main terminal; pilot lounge; US Customs and Border Protection Pre-clearance services at the airport, and de-icing. They also offer preferential rates at some hotels.

Universal Aviation Ireland Universal Aviation’s services at Shannon include customs and immigration clearance, UV air-fuel coordination, full aircraft services and full operational coordination, including slots. Universal also offers ramp transfers for crew and passengers and a dedicated and private VIP lounge.

Westair Aviation Westair has over 3,000 square metres of secure heated hangarage. Located on the South East Ramp, the FBO includes a VIP lounge equipped with satellite TV and WiFi. Westair also operates a catering service, offers customs clearance and, with its generous ramp area, can accommodate all sizes of aircraft. Additionally, maintenance support is available for a number of different aircraft models.

Servisair Servisair offers a range of ground handling services including passenger facilities, ramp services, de-icing and aircraft cleaning. They have no lounge at Shannon.

US Alliance Flight Support US Alliance Flight Support is headquartered in Shannon and specialises in flight support services for US and European flights. Services include fuelling coordination and supervision, aircraft towing, baggage handling, executive lounge, and car rental and limousine services.

Connections Aside from limousine services that can be arranged by the various FBOs, airport cabs can be booked via the desk in the main arrivals hall. Cabs can be reserved in advance by telephoning +353 61 471 538.

Shannon is the first airport in the world, outside of the Americas, to offer full US pre-clearance facilities

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Top Business Hotel s

Park Inn Hotel Shannon Airport Within two minutes walk of the terminal building, the Park Inn is convenient, comfortable and quiet.

Although not five-star, it fits the bill with its modern, clean and roomy accommodation and top-notch service.

Web

parkinn.ie

Carrygerry House

The Old Ground (Ennis)

A stylish country house set in a wonderful landscape and only ten minutes drive from Shannon Airport.

The individually styled rooms feature antique furniture and fittings.

A former manor house, this country home-style hotel combines traditional Irish ambience with contemporary features. Offering four-star accommodation with modern facilities, the hotel is just a stone’s throw from the main streets of Ennis.

Web

carrygerryhouse.com

Web

flynnhotels.com

Dromoland Castle Hotel

Bunratty Castle Hotel

Greenhills Hotel

Considered one of the world’s top luxury hotels, this magnificently plush castle plays host to royalty and celebrities. With its close proximity to Shannon Airport this accommodation is well worth considering.

Despite its name, Bunratty Castle is not in fact a castle but a charming hotel built in a glorious countryside setting across from the original 15th Century Bunratty Castle. It is stylish, highly comfortable and located only a short distance from the airport.

The well-equipped, spotlessly clean rooms are contemporary in design. They offer all the standard features as well as free WiFi access. The leisure centre allows you the chance to burn-off some excess energy, or unwind after a hard day of business.

Web

dromoland.ie

Web

bunrattycastlehotel.com

Web

greenhillsgroup.netaffinity.com

Radisson Blu Limerick Book a Radisson Blu Business Class Room if you would like to benefit from a range of extras tailored to the business traveller: Nespresso machine, daily newspaper, free high-speed Internet and more.

Web

Dromoland Castle Hotel is considered one of the world’s top luxury hotels

radissonblu.ie

Dromoland Castle Hotel

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adapt and thrive The new communication climate Is your aviation website an interactive sales tool or a passive business card?

People are discussing your company/products across the social media landscape.

Are you listening? Are you talking back?

In short, are you wise to the power of influential marketing?

We are. And we can help you.

Redefining Communications www.machmedia.be | info@machmedia.be | +32 9 243 60 11

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Top Conference Facilities

Westpark Shannon

Dromoland Castle

Located just across from Shannon Airport, the Westpark business campus offers well-equipped facilities that can accommodate all manner of events ranging from small meetings to conferences of 300+ people. Voice conferencing, onsite catering, and business support are all available upon request. Free parking and wheelchair access is available.

For an impressive venue that will wow your guests, look no further than the Dromoland Castle. Conference rooms feature elegant gothic interior architecture complete with sound and visual aids. Five-star banqueting facilities are available. Dromoland can accommodate from 80 to 450 people.

All meeting rooms and public areas have WiFi access.

Web

westparkshannon.com

Web

dromoland.ie

Thomland Park Conference Centre For large-scale conferences, Thomland Conference Centre is the ideal choice.

All suites have in-built audio and video facilities and event suites can be tailored to suit any need. The facilities can accommodate up to 800 people for large conferences and events.

Web

thomondpark.ie

Try The Pub Upstairs inside Shannon Airport and enjoy some fine wine in a casual atmosphere

TRIP TIP: SHANNON Aviation enthusiasts should definitely pay a visit to Atlantic AirVenture. Located just five kilometres from Shannon Airport, this aviation education and flight simulation centre is the perfect choice for a change of scene. If pushed for free time on your trip, it is also the ideal way to experience the Irish countryside without going too far.

A range of activities is on offer at Atlantic AirVenture.

Pre-book a lesson at the Flight Simulation Centre, or take a stroll around the Aviation Museum. Here you’ll learn not only about the history of Shannon Airport and its contribution to global aviation, but you can also view a video history of some of the pioneers of Irish Aviation.

www.signatureflight.com

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FC Pick s for a Power Lunch or Dinner

Zest Bistro

Spruce Goose Restaurant

Bunratty Castle Banquet

For a relaxed and casual dining experience in a stylish interior, Zest Bistro provides the best of both worlds.

Well priced with an extensive menu.

Keep room for the tempting deserts.

The warm, visually rich surroundings of the Spruce Goose create a welcoming dining experience. Tasty international cuisine and an extensive wine and cocktail list is offered at this intimate restaurant located in the Oakwood Arms Hotel.

For traditional Irish fare and entertainment try a night out at Bunratty Castle Banquets. The fourcourse meal includes medieval-style meats served with complementing side dishes and wine. Two and half hours of Irish entertainment and food will delight those looking to explore the cultural side of Shannon in their spare time.

Reservations are recommended.

Web

shannonknights.ie

Conservatory Restaurant – Carrygerry House Overlooking the Shannon and Fergus Estuary, the Conservatory Restaurant is a cosy and charming place to dine.

A mouth-watering selection of food is available.

Web

Web

oakwoodshannon.com

Web

shannonheritage.com

carrygerryhouse.com

FC Pick s for a Post-Meeting Dr ink Pubs are the most prevalent kind of drinking establishment in Shannon with Guinness and Bailey’s Irish Cream on tap.

Enjoy a pint of the former at Mac’s – an olde-worlde style pub located inside the Bunratty Castle grounds. If you’re in transit, try The Pub Upstairs inside Shannon Airport and enjoy some fine wine in a casual atmosphere. This watering hole is open to the public as well as to those flying in or out of Shannon. For a more contemporary alternative head for the Shannon Knights Bar which offers a wide selection of drinks in a modern venue. Mingle amongst locals and visitors and explore the different spaces inside while soaking up the sounds.

82 EMEA & ASIA

FlyCorporate Distribution Partners FlyCorporate can be found in the following lounges across EMEA and Asia. If you would like to distribute FC in your lounge or on your aircraft, please contact info@flycorporate.com

Asia and Africa

Silkway Business Aviation Azerbaijan

Jet Aviation Business Jets Hong Kong Hong Kong

Libyan Handling Libya

Zyb Lily Jet China

Jet Aviation Singapore

Airline Supervisors Experts Morocco

Universal Singapore Airport Services Singapore

Europe

Tyrolean Jet Services Austria

Euro Ops International France

Service People Germany

Abelag (EBAW) Belgium

French Aviation Handling France

Southair Suðurflug Iceland

Abelag (EBBR) Belgium

Landmark Aviation France

Landmark Aviation Ireland

Abelag (EBKT) Belgium

Master Jet France

Universal Aviation Ireland Ireland

Flying Service Belgium

Verspieren Aviation France

Aeroport Villanova d’Albenga Italy

Euro Jet Intercontinental Czech Republic

BAS Berlin Aviation Service Germany

ARGOS VIP Private Handling Italy

Aeroport Cannes Mandelieu France

CAS Cologne Aviation Service Germany

ATA Ali Trasporti Aeri Italy

Aéroport d’Ancenis France

DAS Düsseldorf Aviation Service Germany

AVIATRAX Luxembourg

Aeroport d’Avignon France

Ebas International Germany

KLM Jet Center - Amsterdam the Netherlands

Aeroport Du Touquet Cote d’Opale France

ExecuJet Germany Germany

KLM Jet Center - Rotterdam the Netherlands

Aeroport International de Limoges France

FAI rent a jet Germany

Excel Handling Poland

Aéroport International du Castellet France

FAS Frankfurt Aviation Service Germany

Aeronorte Transportes Portugal

Aeroport Lyon Bron France

Fraport Executive Aviation Germany

ION Tiriac Air Romania

Aviaxess France

Lufthansa Bombardier Aviation Services Germany

VIPPORT Vnukovo 3 Moscow Russia

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Ocean Sky Corporate Scotland

ExecuJet Europe AG Zurich Switzerland

Flight Safety International United Kingdom

Opera Jet Slovakia

Global Jet Concept Switzerland

Helicon Aeronautics United Kingdom

Executive Airlines - Area VIP Spain

Happy Flight International Support (HFIS) Switzerland

Jet Aviation (UK) United Kingdom

Tag Aviation Espana Spain Universal Aviation Spain Spain Air Service Basel Switzerland Comlux Aviation Switzerland Comlux Management Switzerland Coreb Switzerland e-aviation Swiss Switzerland

Jet Aviation Business Jets Switzerland Swiss Business Airports Switzerland Celebi Ground Handling Turkey G繹zen Havac覺l覺k ve Ticaret Turkey SIM AIR SERVICES Turkey AirWinton United Kingdom CAE Simuflite UK United Kingdom

London Biggin Hill Airport United Kingdom London City Airport Jet Centre United Kingdom Marshall Airport United Kingdom Oxford Airport United Kingdom SaxonAir United Kingdom Signature Flight Support United Kingdom TAG Farnborough Airport United Kingdom

Middle East

Laufer Aviation-GHI Israel

Executive Aircraft Services Lebanon

Hadid Int. Aviation Services U.A.E.

Arab Wings Jordan

Imperial Jet Lebanon

JetEx Flight Support U.A.E.

Cedar Jet Center Lebanon

Executive Flight Centre - Dubai U.A.E.

United Aviation Services U.A.E.

Skycharter Canada

Avitat Westchester United States

GE Aviation United States

Aero Toy Store United States

Business Air United States

Landmark Aviation United States

AMSTAT United States

Eagle Aviation United States

ARG/US United States

North America

Avfuel Corporation United States

84 EMEA & ASIA

On the Horizon...

Issue 12 FlyCorporate EMEA & Asia • • • •

Available 9 October

Corporate Flight Departments Sustainable Fuels Focus on the Middle East Landings: Chicago Extra distribution at: • NBAA Convention • Dubai Air Show

Piaggio P180 Avanti II

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MAKE YOUR PLANS & BE THERE WHEN THE WORLD OF BUSINESS AVIATION RETURNS TO THE WEST COAST!

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86 EMEA & ASIA

W E ’R E S K I P P I N G THE WIND TUNNEL AND GOING STRAIGHT TO A PA R T I C L E A C C E L E R A T O R.

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