Skypark to transform SAAS airport into private air travel hub

SUBANG: The transformation of the Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah (SAAS) Airport into a regional fixed base operation (FBO) for executive air travel would be completed when its commercial apparatus becomes operational in 24 months, said Subang Skypark executive director Datuk Ravindran Menon yesterday.

Speaking after the inauguration of Skypark FBO Malaysia Terminal, Ravindran said the first phase of the terminal was completed in five months, one month ahead of schedule.

Work on the second phase of the project on a 30-acre site, comprising a dedicated business aircraft precinct and aircraft parking hangar, costing RM150 million would begin once relevant approvals are obtained.

“When this is completed, we hope to bring SAAS airport back to life as an international hub for business aviation,” said Ravindran, adding it would also have maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) facilities.

Subang Skypark has teamed up with Switzerland’s Vistajet Holdings SA to use Skypark FBO Malaysia Terminal for capturing the Asian market for executive travels. Vistajet started operation last month with two Bombardier aircraft, costing US$60 million (RM198 million).

Its chairman Thomas Flohr said there was tremendous growth potential for FBO or private air travel in this region.

“Business aviation is now seen as a tool to make executives more efficient. We started with two aircraft but we plan to have five aircraft operating here by the end of 2009 as the demand for our services increase. We have 19 executive jets and we have placed an order for 35 new planes with an option for another 25, costing US$1.5 billion as part of our preperation to expand in this region,” said Flohr.

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Source AVWEB

Merrill Said to Rein in Private Jet Use

Merrill Lynch may be grounding some of its top executives.

According to The Financial Times, the investment bank is putting the brakes on the use of private jets among its senior managing directors, requiring them to obtain direct clearance from the global head of investment banking to hire one and to demonstrate there is no more efficient means of transport.

Still, some of the newspaper’s back-of-the-envelope calculations may give the bank’s executives some hope, especially if they travel in teams.

According to The Financial Times, a Cesna Citation CJ3, which takes six passengers, costs $14,000 for a trip from New York’s Teterboro airport to Indianapolis and then on to Cincinnati and back. By contrast, it calculated, a short-notice return ticket from New York Newark just to Indianapolis costs about $1,000 in first class.

Private Jet Options

National Aviation Hall of Fame Weekend

The National Aviation Hall of Fame Saturday conducted its 47th annual enshrinements in Dayton, Ohio, and along with an airline man, a WWII triple-ace and military commander, active air show pilot and general aviation ambassador Sean D. Tucker was on the list. Dr. Peter Diamandis and his X Prize Foundation were also honored, being awarded the “Spirit of Flight Award.” As for enshrinees, Clarence E. “Bud” Anderson flew the P-51B “Old Crow” while assigned to the 357th Fighter Group. The 357th was credited with shooting down a record 609 1/2 enemy aircraft in only 15 months and produced 42 aces. Fellow military man, the late William A. Moffett, the “father of naval aviation,” was also enshrined as was Herbert D. Kelleher, founder and retired chairman of Southwest Airlines.

The list of recognized presenters included Rear Admiral John W. “Bill” Goodwin, USN, Commander, Naval Air Force, Atlantic Fleet and Col. Joe Kittinger, USAF (Ret) and 1997 enshrinee. Tucker also flew in the Dayton Air Show over the weekend.

Source: AVWeb

Boss in the Corporate Jet Is Likely to Be a Woman

By JOE SHARKEY – Published: July 8, 2008
The private jet industry has long struggled against the stereotype of the typical user as a well-off guy in a big corporate jet.

And you will see plenty evidence of the stereotype in New York next week, as squadrons of business jets arrive at regional airports delivering executives and clients for the All-Star game at Yankee Stadium. (Bringing along clients, of course, turns a day at the ballpark into a business trip.)

But as the National Business Aviation Association points out, about 75 percent of the 11,000 business jets in the United States are operated by small to midsize companies and entrepreneurs. And increasingly, especially within that niche, the boss in the company jet is likely to be a woman.

XOJet, the big private jet company, says that about 15 percent of its customers who contract for 100 hours or more a year in flight time are female. And while few keep precise statistics, all of the private jet companies I spoke with, including charter operators, said that women are a growing part of their market.
For women, ego and status seem to be less important as motivators than considerations like avoiding the problems and delays of commercial airports. Essentially, some say, you are buying time.

“I need to more carefully pick and choose how I spend my time, and the airplane to me is an enabler,” said Mary K. Swanson, a businesswoman in the Phoenix area who founded a wellness company, HealthCare Dimensions, in 1992 and sold it in 2006. She then founded the Swanson Family Foundation, a philanthropy that works among the poor in the United States and abroad.

Her plane is a light-cabin seven-seat Hawker 400, whose 1,400-mile range makes it ideal for foundation business that has to be done in a day, when a trip by commercial air travel can take twice the time. “It often makes me say yes when I would otherwise say no,” she said.

Read the New York Times article

US and EU Aviation Industries Agree to Collaborate

Officials from U.S. and European aviation agencies and industry wrapped up a two-day meeting in Brussels on Tuesday with general agreement on business and safety issues. FAA Acting Administrator Bobby Sturgell and Antonio Tajani, head of transport for the European Union, signed an agreement to promote technical cooperation between the FAA and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). The agreement addresses aircraft certification, environmental approvals, and maintenance, and aims to enhance safety while reducing regulatory costs for manufacturers, operators and aviation authorities. Pete Bunce, president and CEO of the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), welcomed the new agreement. “We view this strategic partnership between the U.S. and the European Community as a real milestone that will advance our shared safety visions,” said Bunce.

“The relationship between the U.S. and Europe has proven its resilience and continued trans-Atlantic cooperation will increase efficiency and help bring new products to the global market more expeditiously. It’s good for aviation safety and business, it’s good for Europe, and it’s good for the United States.” Bunce added that he hopes the next step will be to update validation processes and EASA certification fees and charges. Those concerns had held up the agreement for several months.

Source: AVWeb

AOPA gets new president

AOPA President Phil Boyer, who’s been hinting at retirement for several years, announced today that he’ll “get my life back” at the end of this year after 18 years as president of AOPA. Replacing him will be Craig Fuller, a former Washington heavyweight who is currently executive vice president at the Washington PR firm of APCO Worldwide. He came to Washington as President Ronald Reagan’s assistant for cabinet affairs and served as Vice President George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff. Fuller has been a pilot for 40 years and “is as comfortable with fellow pilots and ‘hangar talk’ as he is facing a Congressional committee,” said AOPA Chairman William C. Trimble III.

Read Phil’s email to the press

Cirrus Rolls Out ‘The Jet’

Well, we still don’t know its real name and we’re not sure if it got out of the massive former Northwest Airlines A320 maintenance hangar on its own power but it sure looks like Cirrus’s new family jet is ready to fly. Sporting a red-on-white paint scheme that gives it a sleeker look than the mock-up’s more sedate gold-on-white, the aircraft looks like a display airplane and that’s what those attending Cirrus’s annual Migration and the folks at EAA AirVenture are hoping for as the jet is obviously nearing first flight. The aircraft was formally introduced exactly a year ago at last year’s Cirrus Migration and more than 400 refundable deposits of $100,000 have been received.

Source: AVWeb

Revolutionary Hawker 4000 Receives FAA Approval to Begin Customer Deliveries

WICHITA, Kan. (June 12, 2008) – Hawker Beechcraft Corporation (HBC) received Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Type Certification for the new flagship Hawker 4000 super-midsize business jet, allowing the company to begin delivering this revolutionary aircraft to customers this month. The Hawker 4000 is first in its class, first in the world and the world’s most advanced business jet based on its innovative composite construction. HBC concurrently received the FAA production certificate for the Hawker 4000.
“This is a historic step forward for Hawker Beechcraft, as our hard work and dedication on the Hawker 4000 program has resulted in the most luxurious, most innovative and most advanced super-midsize business jet in the world.” said Jim Schuster, HBC chairman and CEO. “We’ve put a tremendous amount of effort into the Hawker 4000 and are eager to fulfill our substantial backlog of worldwide customer orders.”

Read Hawker news release…

NATCA Endorses Obama for President

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association has given its endorsement for president to Senator Barack Obama, a champion of fair collective bargaining rights for controllers, a fierce advocate for aviation safety and holding the Federal Aviation Administration accountable, and a courageous, inspiring and devoted leader for working men and women nationwide.

“This has been a historic battle for the Democratic nomination and we feel extremely proud and excited to throw our complete support behind Senator Obama as we look ahead to the most important presidential election in the history of this nation’s aviation system and the most important for the air traffic controllers,” NATCA President Patrick Forrey said.

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