Aircraft

PILATUS CONTRACT

Pilatus Aircraft has awarded a five-year, $80 million follow-on contract with Portuguese aerostructures company OGMA to build the fuselage, wings, empennage, rudder and composite fairings for the PC-12 single-engined turboprop. OGMA is also responsible for system integration and wiring on the aircraft at its Alverca, Lisbon base where around 700 Pilatus types have been assembled to date.

HANGAR EXTENSION

Midcoast Aviation will break ground this month on a 13,470m2 (145,000ft2) hangar as part of its ongoing expansion strategy. The new facility will boost its hangarage at St Louis Downtown airport, Missouri, to nearly 60,390m2. As part of the expansion, Midcoast will add at least 200 new employees within the first two years of operation.

IFE FOR ACJ

Fokker Services has selected AlsterAero's in-flight entertainment and passenger communication system for an Airbus A319 Corporate Jetliner it is outfitting at its Woensdrecht, Netherlands base.

BROKER EXPANSION

International aircraft charter broker Hunt & Palmer is opening a regional office in Mumbai, India in an attempt to exploit the growing demand for charter in the region.

MARKET DOMINANCE

Private Jets are expected to account for the majority of the aviation broadband market through 2011, according to a report by US company Freesky Research. "Over the next four years, private jets will account for over half of all broadband installations on aircraft," says report author David Gross. "Jets with a maximum take-off weight of over 50,000lb [22,700kg] will be one of the leading segments of the market. They have the width to carry most fuselage-mounted antennas, and sell at prices which make broadband systems a small share of the overall cost of the aircraft."