Charter Sales, Airport Development... Maybe Even An SSBJ

by ANN Special Correspondent Dave Higdon

Day two of the 60th Annual National Business Aviation Association Convention settled into a steady state with fewer press announcements, but no lack of news. Thanks to continued buying by the on-demand market, some diverse developments in airport development and a trickle of aircraft development news, the business-aviation news at the convention retained its sense of an evolutionary trend.

And with so much to see and hear, the near-30,000 in attendance had plenty to see and touch on the one million-plus square feet of exhibit floor of the Georgia World Congress Center.

Among the developments Wednesday was the expected announcement of a $200 million investment in exchange for a 50-percent stake in Epic Aircraft taken by Dr. Vijay Mallya, a wildly successful entrepreneur from India, as reported Wednesday morning by Aero-News.

The strategic-development partnership developing between Airbus and Epic was also confirmed during a brief press conference by Epic's Rick Schrameck and Arnaud Martin, Airbus VP of corporate and VIP jet programs. The only element missing from the press conference was Dr. Vijay Mallya, who used his own personal funds to make the investment.

Meanwhile, around the convention center -- but off the exhibit floor -- NBAA delegates attended dozens of professional meetings on topics ranging from international operations to managing and aircraft to maintaining those aircraft, handling tax issues and keeping up with training requirements.

And there was even a ripple from the Atlanta convention site that reached the hallowed halls of Congress that indirectly responded to the concern of the Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters' comments at Tuesday's opening general Session. In that sessions, Peters' expressed her concern that H.R. 2881 -- the leading bill to support continued use of excise taxes -- lacked a "cost-based" funding mechanism to develop a new-technology ATC system. Delays, DoT's sales pitch goes, will worsen without such a funding scheme.

In Wednesday episode in Washington, NBAA's Steve Brown told the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Aviation that aside from weather, airline scheduling is the main cause of flight delays and cancellations - despite the carriers' $12 million concerted effort to sell the belief that general aviation is the primary cause. Though he is NBAA's senior VO of operations, Brown is not some biased partisan with no standing to speak - he's a former FAA associate administrator for ATC, a position that put him in charge of the system that has become so delay plagued.

"Based on my years of managing the airspace, when there are capacity issues in the air, it's usually because of problems being caused by airline hub operations on the ground at congested airports," Brown told the committee.

The DoT's "own reports contradict the numerous, erroneous allegations from the nation's big airlines over the past several months attempting to blame record delays and increasing suggestion on the business aviation community. In reality, Brown noted, the airlines' practice of scheduling more operations than an airport's runway acceptance rate that's at fault - such as trying to put 57 flights into JFK between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. when the actually good-weather capacity is only 44. Compound this level of scheduling hour after hour and something has to give.

Meanwhile, back in Atlanta record business and record attendance kept things, well, interesting. Here's a rundown of developments from Wednesday.

Cessna's Mustang Mania - A Record Flight And A Record Sale

Saturday, NBAA president Ed Bolen, aviation ambassador Jamail Larkins, FBO owner Pat Epps and Cessna spokesman Bob Stangarone flew a Citation Mustang from New York City -- site of NBAA's founding in 1947 -- to Atlanta's DeKalb-Peachtree Airport to commemorate the association's 60th year. On Wednesday, the National Aeronautics Association presented Stangarone with a certificate attesting to the first record flight of a VLJ with a time of 2 hours, 23 minutes and 44 seconds.

It was the Mustang's second record after winning a record order for 30 from an unnamed European customer. This order brings the total number of Mustangs sold to 350... not bad for a design in service for less than a year.

Airports Developments Are Also Part of The NBAA Mix

In Kansas City, MO, the city's aviation department is busy working on a plan to develop an all-new general aviation terminal, a new self-fueling station and a new complex of at least 102 T-hangars, 10 box hangars and tie downs for 16 aircraft, plus facilities for a fractional operation and other needed improvements. The initial phase of this expansion on the airport's west side is due for completion in late 2008 or early 2009. And other facilities expansions may come after that, officials of the Kansas City Aviation Department told Aero-News Wednesday.

Meanwhile, a few miles west in Denver, the SunBourne Companies is busy developing a virgin 125 acres of land adjacent to Centennial Airport that will include a new, as-yet-unnamed FBO, hangars, fueling facilities and support businesses such as flight schools and maintenance facilities, owner Mike Packard told Aero-News Wednesday. Since the opening of Denver International Airport more than a decade ago, business at Centennial has more than quadrupled as measured by fuel sales and increased by nearly twice in terms of flight operations. Groundbreaking for the new FBO is expected later this year, with completion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

XOJet - Like The Energizer Bunny, They Just Keep Going...

After contributing to the aura of sales success for two straight days, XOJet, the innovative new business-jet-transportation company, again drew the attention of the NBAA audience by announcing new financing totaling $363 million from two sources. From TPG and Lehman Brothers Global Principal Strategies, XOJet secured $143 million in equity and debt financing, plus another $220 million in aircraft lease financing from Lehman Brothers GPS. To date, XOJet funding totals $542 million to support its unique jet ownership, charter and leasing business.

Aerion Edges Ever Closer to A Supersonic Business Jet, Says Barents

Long-time business-aviation executive Brian Barents told Aero-News that the company has frozen the aerodynamic design of its Aerion eight-seat supersonic business jet, with the next step edging ever close. "Next we need to sign an OEM, and we're in discussions with several possible candidates," he said in a conversation Wednesday at the company's exhibit. "The hold up isn't money, though; there's plenty of money available."

The hang-up, he said, is finding that OEM candidate with the time and engineering talent and personnel to tackle the project. "Everyone is very, very business right now," said Barents in his characteristic understated style. Evidence abounds of how busy everyone in business aviation is these days - particularly at this record setting NBAA convention. "We keep chipping away and working with candidates and we're going to find the right one yet," he said.

But muffling the sonic boom of flight past Mach 1 is not part of the company's plans, as it is at Gulfstream Aerospace, which in recent years has undertaken a research effort focused on reducing the impact of the shock wave that accompanies supersonic flight.

"Our wing is much more efficient at sub-sonic speeds than the wing design typical of supersonic aircraft, such as the Concorde," he explained. So while Aerion's design would be able to fly at supersonic speeds where regulations allow it, it would also be able to efficiently cruise at subsonic speeds over territory where supersonic is prohibited.

Aerion approached the design from this perspective because the technological challenges of muffling the boom tackle the problem in steady state cruise. "But if you accelerate, climb or turn, the boom returns," Barents explained. "Our research showed we can create a plane that handles both environments with good economics, unlike a plane like the Concorde, which sees its fuel flows more than triple at subsonic speeds."

"Now we just need to find the company with the engineering talent in sufficient quantity and of the quality needed to coordinate the design, testing and certification. That company is out there."

Business & GA Trade Show Comes to Europe

Planemakers, engine makers and other vendors have been talking at length this week about the growth in international markets, growth that's supplanting the U.S. as the majority buyer of aircraft. To help develop the business and general aviation markets in Europe, World Aviation Communications tells Aero-News that it plans to launch a brand new event in Prague next April through its AeroExpo subsidiary.

AeroExpo Prague will be held April 25-27 at the city's Pribam Airport, a site selected because 70 percent of all general aviation flying in Europe occurs within 500 miles. And with brand new covered exhibit space, restaurant and hotel space on and near the field, the organizers expect to be able to attract a wide variety of exhibitors and general-aviation pilots and buyers.

AeroExpo held its first event in 2006 and a second earlier this year at Wycombe Air Park outside London, which brought more than 11,500 through the gate. The Wycombe Air Park event and will return June 13-15, 2008.

The Prague show is geared to help develop the burgeoning markets in both East and West Europe, according to the company's managing director, John Brennan. "We wanted to create a venue that would attract and benefit all the region's key players," he said. "With business aviation burgeoning in the region and light-sport aircraft becoming a reality, this was the next logical step.

Hot Sales Make For Big Numbers...

Thirty jets here, 80 more than, another 30 and another 25 -- all single-customer sales we've reported -- plus a smattering of single and multiple sales to individuals and NBAA 2007 has contributed mightily to the already huge backlog of business aircraft on order.

A rough estimate by Aero-News puts the total value of sales announced here to somewhere north of the $2.6 billion mark at this convention. Whether the final tally goes beyond the record $3-billion plus set at a prior NBAA convention remains to be seen.

But with one more day to go, it's not inconceivable that the total value of aircraft sold will go higher.

As Georgia's most famous fiction femme fatale, Scarlett O'Hara would say, "Tomorrow is another day."

Stay tuned...

FMI: www.nbaa.org