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Aviation History
2004
2004-03 - 0021.PDF
BUSINESS AVIATION AIRPORTS BRENDAN SOBIE /TOKYO Komaki aims for business jet niche Japanese airport joins lobby pressing for change of rules governing corporate aviation to promote sector growth Japan's Komaki airport will attempt to reposition itself as a centre for business jets after a new interna tional airport opens outside Nagoya in 2005. Komaki has joined several par ties in the fledgling Japanese corpo rate aviation community in an attempt to pressure the Japanese government to relax regulations governing business jets. Foreign-based business jets can only park at Japanese airports if they have a firm and near-term date of departure. Some in the Japanese business aviation industry believe foreign operators would be interested in basing aircraft in Japan if this rule was lifted. Interested operators include for eign-based fractional ownership or charter companies and interna tional corporations with large Japanese operations. General aviation is also severely restricted or banned at all of Japan's major airports, including Tokyo Narita and Tokyo Haneda. As a result there are few Japanese- registered corporate jets. Indigen ous companies such as Toyota operate business jets in the USA but not in Japan. Nagoya plans to host a confer ence on 1 March to discuss the Japanese business jet market and At least one Challenger 604 will be used by the FAA for flight inspections PURCHASE FAA orders Challenger for inspection missions SURVEY US analysts discover RVSM hole Between 1,600 and 3,600 US business jets will not comply with reduced vertical separation mini mum (RVSM) requirements when they take effect in US domestic airspace on 20 January 2005, according to ana lyst Frost & Sullivan. In a North American RVSM market survey commissioned by equipment supplier Innovative Solutions & Support (ISSC), Frost & Sullivan estimates that, of the 4,000-6,000 business jets not yet compliant with the man date, only 2,400 aircraft are expected to be upgraded to RVSM standard by January next year. Capacity limitations at instal lation centres, and not RVSM equipment supply, is the bottle neck, says ISSC chief financial officer Jim Reilly. Frost & Sullivan did not attempt to quantify how many aircraft will be upgraded after 20 January 2005, and how many will be retired or replaced, but Reilly expects the RVSM market to remain "robust to January 2006 and beyond". The US Federal Aviation Administration has placed one firm order and two options for the Bombardier Challenger 604 for flight-inspection missions. The FAA already operates three Challenger 601-3Rs, as well as six Bombardier Learjet 60s, for airway and runway calibration. The Challenger 604 will be deliv ered green to the FAA in November, and outfitted at a completion cen- possible growth at Komaki and other Japanese airports. All major business jet manufacturers have been asked to give presentations at the conference, which is being sponsored by the US embassy. Komaki today cannot accommo date business jets because there is no space available for parking. But after the Central Japan International air port opens next year Komaki will be under-used and some passenger ter minals could be converted into a corporate aviation facility. Komaki, located near downtown Nagoya and a little under 2h from Tokyo by train, believes it can also cater to the Tokyo business jet market because tre in the USA. The FAA's existing fleet is equipped with automatic flight inspection systems supplied by Parker Hannifin's Electronic Systems division. Challengers are also used for flight inspection in Canada and South Korea, and two Bombardier Global Express long-range business jets have been delivered to the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau for air ways calibration missions. operations at Haneda are generally limited to late at night. Kobe, outside Osaka, is similarly trying to promote its new airport, also to open in 2005, as a potential business jet centre. The Japan Business Aviation Association (JBAA) says there are only 15 business jets registered in the country, but says demand for international business jet services to and from Japan could swell registra tions to 100 in five years. The open ing of four new airports in Japan in 2005, including at Nagoya and Kobe, will help support business jet expansion but will not improve the situation in Tokyo, JBAA says. VIP SELECTION The Brazilian government has selected the Airbus A319 Corporate Jetliner to replace its Boeing KC-137 long-range presi dential aircraft. The A319CJ is set for delivery in the fourth quarter. Brazil is also looking to replace in the next five years its two Boeing 737-200s, which are used for domestic and cross-border presi dential flights and is thought to be considering the Embraer 190. MORE TIME GIVEN Under pressure from operators, the US Federal Aviation Administration has extended to 19 April the deadline for com ments on proposed rules requiring all commercial air tours to operate under air carrier regu lations. Under the proposal, hundreds of tour operators would have 120 days to become certificated under tougher Part 135 or Part 121 rules. B/E STC B/E Aerospace has received sup plemental type certification (STC) for its LED-based interior lighting on Cessna Citation 500s. The first installation was performed with Atlanta, Georgia-based air craft broker OGara Aviation. www.flightinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 27 JANUARY - 2 FEBRUARY 2004 19
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