Aircraft

SKYLLIANCE SWELLS

Jet Aviation will add a Falcon 900EX and Gulfstream G550 to its management and charter fleet in July. The two aircraft will also join the eight-strong Skylliance network of charter companies, a branded alliance managed by Jet Aviation. The Falcon 900EX will be based in Zurich and the G550 in Zurich and Tokyo. Skylliance will add two more members from 1 June: JetNetherlands in Amsterdam and Elite Jets in Dubai. There are now eight companies in the Skylliance network, with a combined fleet of 30 aircraft.

HERMES FALCON

Falcon Air Services has become the launch customer for Eurocopter's VIP EC135 helicopter, dubbed the Hermès. Falcon, which provides helicopter charter and associated services in the United Arab Emirates and Gulf region, will take delivery of the aircraft at the end of the year.

PREMIER II UNVEILED

As revealed exclusively in Flight International earlier in May, Hawker Beechcraft launched its Premier II light business jet at the show and revealed 40 firm orders for the new variant, which offers greater range, speed and altitude than the current Premier IA. The $7.4 million Premier II features blended winglets and splayed ventral fins and two 3,000lb-thrust (13.4kN) Williams International FJ44-3AP engines, which replace the less powerful 2,290lb FJ44-2As of the Premier IA. The Premier II will also deliver a 555km (300nm), 20% increase in range to 2,780km, a 4,000ft (1,220m) increase in maximum altitude to 45,000ft and a 15kt (28km/h) increase in maximum cruise speed to 465kt. Certification and first deliveries are scheduled for the first half of 2010.

CONTINUING LEGACY

Keeping with tradition, Embraer brought its two new concept jets into the Legacy family, naming the mid-light (formerly the MLJ) the Legacy 450 and the larger mid-size jet (previously the MSJ) the Legacy 500. The Brazilian airframer also announced introductory prices of $15.3 million and $18.4 million respectively for the clean-sheet aircraft. Embraer, which builds the Phenom, Legacy and Lineage line of business jets, also unveiled a mock-up at the show of the Legacy 500 - which is scheduled to enter service in the second quarter of 2012, around 12 months ahead of its stablemate.

AVANTI UPGRADE

Italy's Piaggio Aero Industries is offering as an option a cabin upgrade for its P180 Avanti II twin-engined turboprop. Features in the Avanti II.it lounge package include broadband connection and new cabin entertainment system, adjustable LED lighting throughout and electrochronic windows that offer passengers the ability to control the amount of light transmitted by use of a dimmer switch.