"It makes us all very proud to commit ourselves to the UN Global Compact Initiative," said Peter Le Bas, Chief Executive Officer. "We know that the voluntary initiatives we put in place, no matter how small, are steps toward the global awareness and promotion of the ten principles. Every company has an opportunity to make a difference and no better place to start than within the sphere of their own influence."

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FAA first found about the shortage for E36 deicing fluid in the summer, said Michael O'Donnell, the agency's director of airport safety and standards. "The folks in our engineering department have regular talks with manufacturers of the deicing fluids, and we were told of the shortage, " he recalled.

Cryotech Deicing Technology, a leading manufacturer of the fluid, told FAA E36 would be "significantly limited" for the 2008-2009 winter season, in a letter to aviation advocacy groups, including ATA and the American Association of Airport Executives. "CDT previously produced 9 million gallons of fluid a year," said O'Donnell. "They will be going down to 2 million gallons, which will definitely have an impact."

FAA is getting the word out about the shortage so that affected airports can plan ahead, said O'Donnell. "The good news is that deicing fluid is not the only thing our there that airports can use," he said. "They can use different kinds of fluids that are glycol-based, along with dry chemicals like urea and even sand, brooms and sweepers."

There are about 250 charter aircraft in India out of which 150 are privately owned. Companies use these charters for the purpose of business travel and private trips. With slowdown in business, the need to avail of the services of these expensive charters has seen a drop.

The corporate jet segment is not as badly hit as the civil aviation sector but the business is definitely slower than what it was a few months back. Consequently, there has been a decrease in the demand for new jets, says Captain Karan Singh, president of the Business Aviation Association for India.

Corporate flying in India is expensive compared with other countries. In the Middle East, a corporate business jet costs around $6,000 per hour, while in the US it costs around $5,000 per hour. On the other hand, in India, the cost goes up to $8,000-9000 an hour.

Given the present scenario where companies are cutting costs, availing services of a charter is proving to be a luxury they cant afford. As a result, there is a fall in the demand for these jets. Our sales have slowed down by 30-40% in the past three months. Some companies are considering selling off their charters because of the slowdown in the business, says Manav Singh, MD, Club One Air.

Conditions are no different for Taj Air, another private charter flight provider, with its sales hitting an all time low. There has been a 30% dip in our sales in the last four months. But we havent done away with our ongoing projects. This a temporary phase which has hit all the sectors more or less and by next year, business is likely to improve, says Jim Vimadalal, head of sales, Taj Air.

For a company to own a charter plane, it has to shell out an exorbitant amount as the price of the business jets varies between $10-30 million. So, when the plane is not in use it means the asset is lying unutilised. Hence, unused charters and lack of funds with the companies are prompting them to sell these charters off.

According to Mr Manav Singh, the only thing that will help in driving the expansion of the overall market is the growth of fractional jet ownership. Incidentally, Club One Air flies on the fractional ownership model, where the cost is shared both by the user and provider of service. Its not feasible to own a plane as it costs a lot. So the only way to minimise the spending and still enjoy the benefits of the charters is fractional ownership of the jets, he said.

The nascent air charter sector has been caught unawares in the current business environment, as it had anticipated only a modest dip in sales. But the fall in the sales has been much more than they expected. Four months back we had predicted a slowdown but not as grave as it has turned out to be. However, by next year we foresee the mood of the market changing and a growth in our business, said Captain Karan Singh. But for the moment dark clouds are hanging over the over charter business.

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"The integration of the Air Group operation into JetDirect was a multi-month project that was successful due to the professionalism and expertise of the Air Group-JetDirect project team," said Bob Marinace, COO of JetDirect Aviation, Inc. "Our defined process resulted in a seamless transition for Air Group owners/clients, as well as the improved benefits of JetDirect's national buying power and management services."

More than two-thirds of JetDirect's managed aircraft are available for charter, and represent approximately fifteen percent of the nation's large cabin charter aircraft fleet. The JetDirect fleet offers access to virtually any model business jet when and where it is needed - providing lift for corporate flight departments, fractional operators and on-demand charter passengers from around the world.

Industry veteran Jake Cartwright, President and CEO of JetDirect Aviation, Inc. commented: "This integration is one more step in our continued drive to increase the value we provide our clients. With one of the most extensive sales, service and support organizations in the country, we're well positioned to deliver the best aircraft management program in the industry for both current and future aircraft owners, as well as serve our retail and wholesale charter customers aboard the most extensive fleet of business jets in the nation."

JetDirect Aviation, Inc. is the first and only FAR Part 135 Air Carrier to obtain FAA acceptance of a Safety Management System (SMS) incorporated into an advanced manual system, as well as an Air Transportation Oversight System (ATOS) to ensure safety and regulatory compliance. JetDirect achieved FAA acceptance by creating safety programs that meet a higher standard and that bring its safety program in line with those in place and required of Part 121 Air Carriers (scheduled commercial airlines).

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A Category 1 safety rating means that a country's regulatory authority adheres to ICAO standard. Croatia received a Category 2 rating, indicating that the country either does not have the laws or regulations needed to ensure proper oversight of air carriers, or that the governing aviation authority is deficient in one or more areas, such as inspection procedures, trained personnel, technical expertise or recordkeeping practices.

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Last year, a company controlled by Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google’s founders, along with Eric Schmidt, its chief executive, signed an unusual agreement with NASA giving them rights to use Moffett Field, an airfield adjacent to Google, for their growing fleet of private airplanes. At the time, NASA described the arrangement as a win-win: NASA would receive $1.3 million in rent every year, and it would get to place scientific instruments on the planes for use by its researchers.

Mr. Zornetzer said things didn’t turn out exactly as expected. The Googlers and the agency both found out that they could not make modifications to the passenger planes, which include a Boeing 767, a Boeing 757 and two Gulfstream Vs, without getting new certifications from the Federal Aviation Administration each time.

“Any modification to the exterior or electronics requires new certification,” Mr. Zornetzer said. So the Googlers brought in the fighter jet. “The Alpha Jet they are bringing on board is considered an experimental aircraft, so we don’t have the same issues as with a passenger plane,” he added.

Mr. Zornetzer said the Alpha Jet will spend most of the next few months in Seattle being converted from military to civilian use. The modifications include making it quieter, to comply with noise restrictions at civilian airports. It will start flying out of Moffett Field in the spring. The NASA missions now being contemplated include the testing of greenhouse gases and other emissions over California and the detection of and response to disasters, including fires.

When news of the agreement between the Google executives and NASA first surfaced, some residents of Mountain View and adjacent communities worried about the extra noise that their flights would produce. Mr. Zornetzer said that the executives’ planes have accounted for only about 88 flights in the past year or so, less than 1 percent of the approximately 19,000 annual flights at Moffett. Ninety-five percent of the flights at Moffett are military flights, he said.]]> CharterX 2008-10-26T00:00:00+00:00 ; http://www.charterx.com/resources/article.aspx?id=3582 London Executive Aviation, an air charter carrier based in the United Kingdom, says it's the first in Europe to offer in-flight beauty and massage treatments to its customers. Although the company operates several aircraft, clinicians will be available on its Bombardier Challenger 300 and Embraer Legacy 600 aircraft to provide treatments, which are designed to relieve stress, boost circulation, renew the immune system and fight dehydration.

"Private jet chartering is all about eliminating the stress and hassle of modern air travel, so you arrive on time and at your best," said George Galanopoulos, LEA's managing director. "You only get one chance to make a first impression, so why not arrive looking and feeling 110 percent?"

Although air charter passengers in the United States receive in-flight spa treatments, male and female customers who fly with LEA have several choices. Treatments include hand and arm massages, lower leg and foot massages, head and shoulder massages, facials, manicures and pedicures. All beauty products used contain natural colored ingredients, said LEA.

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During recent conference calls with its customers in September and October, Eclipse admitted that unless it gets "funding in October or November," it wouldn't have the funds to refund customer deposits made on the EA500 or its four-place EA400. During conference calls with its customers, Eclipse downplayed numerous lawsuits filed by customers. As of this writing, new lawsuits have been filed against Eclipse. Industry Headline News has requested of Eclipse numerous times to respond to allegations; however, the company refuses to do so.

Cash-strapped Eclipse doesn't have the money for parts needed to fix customers' aircraft, it tells customers during conference calls. Linear Air's CEO William Herp confirmed to Industry Headline News that of the four EA500s managed by Linear Air, "We're operating two Eclipses; we didn't include the EA500s in our recent profits, so we're OK. Yes, we had to let 15 employees go, which is very unfortunate.  We wouldn't be surprised if Eclipse filed for bankruptcy." Linear Air ordered 30 EA500s. Herp said that his company is not dependent on the Eclipse 500 for future financial success. 

Recently, a corporate pilot who is typed rated in several FAR Part 121 and 135 aircraft as captain, with extensive flight hours, said, "When I have to fly the Eclipse, I am on the edge of my seat waiting for the next disaster to take place. For instance, I've been flying for over 30 years and have never had to go on emergency oxygen, except during routine training. Since flying the Eclipse, I've had to go on emergency oxygen twice now due to fumes in the cockpit and in the cabin. Eclipse seemingly has no idea how to fix these aircraft problems. Flying at 41,000 feet, you don't have much time to deal with these continuous, on-going, very serious issues. All I know is that every time I've had to fly the Eclipse, I'm truly scared." 

This is the typical story we hear we hear from experienced, professional pilots.

And then there's DayJet, Eclipse's former star, the largest air taxi operator in the world, which we reported on May 2 had ordered 1,400 Eclipse 500 jets. DayJet has since gone out of business.  On Oct. 20, Eclipse sent emails to its customers stating that it was acting as "DayJet's broker," to sell DayJet's fleet of 28 abandoned planes. But the best part of this report is really about Richard Aboulafia's report on Eclipse.   

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Stressing the importance of the American market to the global air charter industry, Jackson said that the U.S. air charter industry is facing a series of problems between brokers and the Department of Transportation. "Within the United Kingdom and Europe, the BACA has been working to prevent the same regulatory difficulties currently stressing the U.S. air charter industry," Jackson said in a statement.

During the Oct. 16 ceremony, Rizzi stated that all charter broker companies should be transparent when conducting business with customers. "It's important that brokers do not hold out as certificated air carriers, that they state that they do not own or operate aircraft, etc. The Federal Aviation Administration, along with the DOT, has made it clear that certificated charter operators must maintain operational control at all times. Charter brokers are a valuable part of the industry, and operating in an ethical, transparent manner is what we'd like to promote working through the BACA," he said in a statement.

Although Rizzi has been voted in as the U.S. chapter president, his role becomes effective in February. Rizzi said that he looks forward to helping "define membership criterion and the vetting process for both air charter brokers and certificated charter operators." As for new guidelines that U.S. members would benefit from, such criterion will be announced at a later date. According to association, Rizzi was its top choice for the new position, citing his  "good reputation" and because of "his passion to promote ethical practices for the global air charter industry."  

"We're confident that Wayne is the best person, both in his knowledge and situation, to further our interests and broaden the scope of the BACA within the U.S.," Jackson said.  "His dedication and respected profile will be of substantial benefit to our industry." The BACA said that it's the successor of the Airbrokers' Association founded by members of the Baltic Mercantile and Shipping Exchange in March 1949.

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