News and issues concerning the aviation charter industry and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.
UK operator Club328 has launched a block-charter program called SkyClub. The entry-level package gives customers 10 hours in six-seat Raytheon Premier Is for £30,000 ($52,500).
In December, Club328 bought four low-time pre-owned Premier Is from Raytheon Aircraft. The first two had entered service by the middle of last month and the other two were due to join the Southampton-based operation by the end of this month.
Finnish executive charter operator Jetflite has ordered a pair of Bombardier Challenger 604s to replace its two Dassault Falcon 20s. The Helsinki-based firm has operated a 604 since 2001, and the two new aircraft will join its fleet later this year. In addition to serving the Scandinavian market, the company operates into neighboring Russia and is active in the market for emergency medical flights.
A NetJets Citation 560 sustained substantial damage, according to the NTSB, when its right wing contacted Runway 36 during landing at Lakeland Airport in Minocqua-Woodruff, Wis., on January 5. The twinjet subsequently went off the runway and hit a snowbank, but the two pilots and five passengers on board were not injured.
The five major fractional operators hired nearly twiceas many pilots last year as in 2004. According to AIR, an Atlanta-based employment consultant, NetJets, Flight Options, CitationShares, Flexjet and Avantair, combined, hired 816 pilots last year, compared with 482 in all of 2004. AIR predicts the fractionals will hire 1,000 pilots this year.
The family of flight attendant Kristi Dunn, killed in the Nov. 22, 2004, crash of a Gulf-stream III en route to pick up former president George H.W. Bush, filed a wrongful-death suit last month against (among others) Dallas charter operator Business Jet Services and the estates of the two pilots killed in the accident. The family is seeking a “multimillion-dollar award” for actual and punitive damages.
“Chunks of slush” slid off the taxiing Bombardier Challenger 600 just before
it crashed on takeoff from Montrose Regional Airport in Montrose, Colo., on Nov. 28, 2004, reported NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol, who survived the crash of the Air Castle chartered jet.
Bombardier’s Skyjet block-charter program has recruited its first French operator with the arrival of a new Learjet 45 at the Paris Le Bourget headquarters of Aero Services. During a February 1 ceremony at the airport, the Canadian airframer also announced that it is negotiating to appoint Aero Services’ Portuguese parent company, Omni, its exclusive Learjet sales representative for both France and Portugal.
To encourage the purchase of shares in its Embraer Legacy fleet, Cleveland-based fractional provider Flight Options until March 24 is offering buyers the choice of one of the following incentives: a JetPass membership for use on the Hawker 400XP or Beechjet; ferry-fee waivers for extended service area flights; or a lease on a Hawker 400XP or Beechjet. At press time, Flight Options operated eight Legacy twinjets.
The FAA is reviewing Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC)-recommended revisions to the FAR Part 125/135 rulebook. The industry representatives turned over the recommendations–including possible changes to flight- and duty-time regulations–late last year.
AINonline is a publication of The Convention News Co., Inc., 214 Franklin Avenue, Midland Park, NJ 07432. Copyright 2013. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from The Convention News Co., Inc., is strictly prohibited. The Convention News Co., Inc., publishes Aviation International News, AINalerts, AIN Defense Perspective, AIN Air Transport Perspective, AINmxReports, Business Jet Traveler, BJTwaypoints, Dubai Airshow News, EBACE Convention News, Farnborough Airshow News, HAI Convention News, MEBA Convention News, NBAA Convention News, Paris Airshow News, Singapore Airshow News, iPhone Apps: AINonline · BJTonline Log In
