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Aviation History
2000
2000 - 0709.PDF
Business jet seats to go public GRAHAM WARWICK/WASHINGTON DC ANEW CONCEPT in busi ness aviation is getting off the ground in the USA and is to arrive in Europe by the end of next year. Beginning later this month, new company Indigo plans to sell indi vidual seats on business jet flights between Chicago and New York, as a prelude to providing "regular and frequent" public charter service as an alternative to the airlines. Indigo has begun operating on- demand corporate charters with a nine-passenger Dassault Falcon 20. Public charter service will begin later this month, when a sec ond aircraft arrives. The company plans to have six aircraft by year- end and 21 by the end of next year, says Matt Andersson, chief execu tive of parent company New- WorldAir. Individual seats on the business jets will be available at prices com petitive with airline full-fare economy tickets, Indigo says. Schedules and frequencies will be determined by demand, says Andersson, but the business plan calls for one aircraft to be dedicated to each city-pair, operating five to seven return flights each weekday. Passengers will be able to buy seats on-line through Indigo's web site, via a toll-free number operat ed by transportation specialist BostonCoach, or by using a special interface developed for wireless devices such as the Palm Pilot. Passengers will embark and disem bark at executive terminals owned by fixed-based operators at the air ports served. Andersson expects Spare capacity on corporate flights will go on general sale in a new US scheme Enaer targets South America for Eaglet ENAER IS TRYING to inter est South American govern ment agencies in Argentina, Chile and Columbia in its new two-seat side-by-side Eaglet light utility air craft. The Mexican police had shown interest in the composite aircraft for observation work. The company delivered the first new prototype airframe to its Dutch joint venture Euro-Enaer in February. The aircraft is being fit ted with avionics, interior and Textron Lycoming 0-320 piston engine and is expected to fly by the end of March. According to Brig Gen Alfredo Guzman, Enaer's executive direc tor, after more than a year of delay Euro-Enaer hopes to secure European Joint Aviation Author ities JAR 23 certification by May Flight International, 15-21 De cember 1999). "Having the Netherlands certify the aircraft for Europe will make it easier to sell in Latin America. We'll look at the US market later," he adds. J Columbias discover US customers after delays LANCAIR HAS BEGUN production deliveries of the Columbia 300, its first certificated light aircraft, about 18 months later than planned. The Bend, Oregon-based man ufacturer says the delays were caused by certification issues and negotiations with the company's Malaysian financial backers. Final funding for full production is expected to be agreed by the end of March. Lancair expects produc tion certification in early April. The first production aircraft was delivered in late February. Lancair plans to produce 15 aircraft this year and 90 next year. The compa ny has orders for 100 aircraft. The Columbia 300 is an all- composite four-seater with fixed landing gear. A turbocharged ver sion is expected to be developed next - probably within the next two years, says Lancair - followed by a retractable-gear variant. • FAA approves Challenger HGS ROCKWELL Collins Flight Dynamics and Bombardier Aerospace have received US Federal Aviation Administration supplemental type certification for the Challenger 604 business jet's head-up guidance system (HGS). The system is approved for weather conditions down to Cat egory II approach minima of 100ft (30m) decision height and 370m runway visual range. It is based on the HGS used in the Bombardier Canadair Regional Jet. • the sendee to save 2-4h "door-to- door" each way over the compara ble airline flight. Initial services will link Chicago Midway and New York's Teterboro general aviation airport. Later in the first phase, services will be added to Atlanta, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh and Washington DC. The business plan calls for Indigo to serve 30 US cities with 50 air craft by the end of 2005. Andersson says that Indigo will issue a request for proposals in the next three months for 50 new-gen eration business jets to be delivered from the end of next year. The company is looking for aircraft capable of carrying 12-17 passen gers in forward-facing seats, but with corporate levels of comfort. Financing arrangements are being worked out, he says. Indigo is to expand into Europe late nextyear, Andersson says, with in an area bounded by London, Warsaw, Rome and Madrid. • NEWS IN BRIEF • LEARJET SUPPLY CHAIN Bombardier has purchased Optum's supply-chain soft ware to improve the manage ment and control of components at Learjet's Wichita, Kansas, facility. Bombardier's Learjet opera tions will use Optum's ware house management software to manage inventory levels and improve the receiving and shipping processes. • MISSOURI SKYHAWKS Cessna has completed deliv ery of 16 Cessna 172R Sky- hawks to Central Missouri State University for aviation technology courses. The air craft replace ageing Cessna 150s and 152s. • JET AVIATION GV Jet Aviation has added a sixth Gulfstream V to its manage ment fleet, taking its total to 140. The new GV will be based in Europe. FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 14 - 20 March 2000 23
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