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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2284.PDF
NBAA SHOW REPORT MARKETS Airbus, Boeing eye charter growth Manufacturers to encourage expansion in respective ACJ and BBJ markets, but latter admits to empty orderbook Airbus and Boeing both see private which is a VIP configured A319 for charter growth as the key to US operator Blue Moon Aviation, sparking fresh demand in their The aircraft is the first Airbus busi- respective Airbus Corporate Jetliner ness aircraft available for charter (ACJ) and Boeing Business Jet (BBJ) in the USA and will be used primar- markets, though the latter now ily for sports team charters, admits it has an empty orderbook. Configured with 56 first and busi- Airbus expects to deliver its 18th ness class seats, it can be converted ACJ/A319 this year, the latest of to take up to 76 passengers, says Airbus is teaming with EADS Sogerma to offer a "Prestige" ACJ/A319 variant OPERATIONS Raytheon airs Premier I advisory Raytheon has issued a "safety communication" to Premier I operators advising careful deployment of the landing flaps after US Federal Aviation Admin istration concerns were raised over the use in the flap actuators of the same brittle-prone steel that resulted in the recent grounding of the Learjet 45 fleet. Raytheon's advisory, which may be followed by an FAA air worthiness directive, instructs operators to reduce instantane ous structural loads on the flaps by deploying them in 10° incre ments to their full angle of 30°. The device is made from the same stainless steel that suffered from hydrogen embrittlement in the Learjet 45 actuator assembly. The manufacturer says it has "sent a team" to the maker of the unit, MPC Products of Skokie, Illinois to evaluate options. BUSINESS Two leading fractional ownership programmes have entered the pre paid block charter-based jet card market as they strive to lower the cost of entry into business aviation and fill the gap between fractional ownership and charter. Bombardier Flexjet and Cessna CitationShares will also be hoping to emulate the success of block charter jet card pioneer Marquis Jet Partners. The New York-based com pany began operations early last year subleasing its Netjets fractional ownership shares to its Private Jet Card members in one-year, 25h blocks. The company has over 500 customers and boasts a renewal rate of around 100%. Marquis is also Netjets' biggest customer. Like Netjets, Bombardier Flexjet has entered the jet card market through a third party, Delta Air Elite Business Jets. This decision, says Mike McQuay, president of Blue Moon Aviation president and former MGM Grand Air executive Richard Page. The aircraft is being operated through a partnership managed by Blue Moon, and includes the lessor SALE, EADS of Lake Charles, Louisiana for maintenance support and Denver-based Frontier Airlines which will supply operator support. Airbus, which expects to delivers further six ACJ/A319s in 2004, says further charter growth is expected to continue as operators and lessors capitalise on what it claims is the "greater flexibility" of the ACJ. Although bolstered by the inau guration of the first 737-800-based BBJ2 to be made available for char ter by UK-based Multiflight, Boeing says "unfortunately" it has no order backlog. Some 83 BBJ 1 and 2 aircraft have been officially deliv ered from Boeing Commercial Airplanes to Boeing Business Jets of Bombardier's Flexjet and Skyjet operations, allows Bombardier to "spread the costs and the risk and to avoid being over stretched". Members can specify one of four Bombardier models for which they are charged in blocks of 25h: $107,900 for the Learjet 31A, $139,900 for the super light Learjet 45, $154,900 for the mid-size Learjet 60 and $264,000 for the large cabin Challenger 604. Members also have the flexibility to upgrade or downgrade between the types at short notice. Cessna and Tag Aviation, how ever, have elected to market the 25h Vector Jet Card programme through their CitationShares brand. The Vector Jet Card pro gramme will be offered from early next year and members will be charged in blocks of 25h for shares in a Citation type, from $84,995 for an entry level Citation CJ1 to which 68 are in service with 51 operators. The balance, apart from one aircraft thought to be a "white- tail", are in various completion centres awaiting delivery. Two of these are BBJ2s which will join six already in service. Boeing Business Jets president Lee Monson is optimistic that new BBJ sales will emerge from "...a lot of activity that is going on, most of which is outside the US". • Airbus is teaming with sister com pany EADS Sogerma to offer a "Prestige" variant of the ACJ/A319 which will be delivered with a spe cial interior. The innovative cabin is designed to "not let you think you are in an aircraft", says Airbus vice- president corporate jetliner Fuchard Gaona, who adds: "We hope to sell 10 aircraft in less than three years." Prestige versions of other Airbus models, eventually including the A380, will also be offered. . $144,995 for a super light Excel. "With the exception of [federal excise] tax, there are no additional costs, such as fuel surcharges, inter national fees or landing fees," says CitationShares chief executive Steve O'Neill. Both programmes are aimed at individuals and companies that are not ready to make a long- term commitment to fractional ownership, but need the comfort and flexibility that business aircraft can offer. Meanwhile, CitationShares has placed an option for up to 50 mid-size Sovereigns, deliveries of which will begin in 2006, depend ing on demand. Flexjet is scheduled to take deliv ery by year-end of four of the 17 Challenger 300 supermid-size busi ness jets it has on order, along with two deliveries of the Learjet 40 light business jet. Fractional ownership programmes break into block jet card market 26 14-20 OCTOBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.fliqhtinternational.com
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