|
|||||||||||
| Top News: Bombardier's Big Business with VistaJet | back to top |  |
||
VistaJet Orders $1.2 Billion In Bombardier Jets, Buys Skyjet
The company describes itself as the fastest-growing business jet company in Europe. It currently operates Learjet 40XR and 60XR, Challenger 300,604/605 and 850 as well as Global Express XRS aircraft. |
They liked it so much they bought the company. In the second-largest order ever placed with Bombardier, Swiss-based VistaJet is buying 35 high-end aircraft and also taking over Bombardier Skyjet
International (formerly Flexjet), its charter operation with bases in Farnborough, Hong Kong and Dubai. VistaJet will buy 11 Challenger 605s, 13 Learjet 60 XRs and 11 Learjet 85s, and took options for
25 more aircraft. The deal triples VistaJet's fleet and makes it the second-largest non-U.S. bizjet company. "The bulk order and the purchase of Bombardier Skyjet International are in line with our
plans to be the leader in this industry and accelerate our global expansion," said VistaJet Chairman Thomas Flohr.
|
|||||||||||
| Introducing the Legacy 450 & 500 | back to top | |
||
Embraer Names Its New Bizjets, Sets Prices
The Brazilian planemaker held a splashy ceremony to announce the names and unveil the cabin mockup. The company has set a relatively ambitious delivery schedule for the aircraft. The 500 will be finished first and first deliveries are expected in 2012, and the 450 will follow in 2013. The additions to the Embraer line fill gaps in the lineup between the very light and light Phenom 100 and 300 models, both of which are flying, and the Legacy 600, an adaptation of the E135 regional jet. Embraer is also converting its 90-passenger E190 airliners into private configurations under the name Lineage.
|
Embraer unveiled a mockup of its new midsize business jet and announced it was naming that aircraft the Legacy 500, and its mid-light stablemate the Legacy 450, at EBACE 2008 on Tuesday. Until now,
the paper jets were called the MLJ and MSJ. The 500 seats up to 10 and has a range of up to 3,000 nm. The 450 seats up to eight and goes about 2,300 nm on a tank. Introductory pricing was announced,
with the 450 starting at $15.25 million and the 500 at $18.4 million. Both will be fly-by-wire and both will be powered by Honeywell HTF7500E engines.
|
|||||||||||
| Air Taxis: And Then There's the Russian Model ... | back to top | |
||
Russian Air Taxi Dexter Buys 20 Mustangs
Andrachnikov said Dexter exploits the primitive transportation systems in Russia's resource-rich frontiers and is making the population centers of the hinterlands quickly accessible by the rapidly growing business class. He illustrated the state of Russian transportation by telling the story of a businessman who found it more efficient to fly nine hours to Moscow to take a flight to a city 400 miles from his departure point on the far eastern coast of the country. After another nine hours back to eastern Russia, bad weather forced a diversion to the man's point of departure. Andrachnikov said the availability of relatively inexpensive point-to-point travel is saving business people days and sometimes weeks. He said most of his customers have never had access to private aircraft travel. About 15 percent have access to private air travel but find Dexter less expensive for short flights. |
After two years of success with four Pilatus PC-12s, start-up Russian air taxi company Dexter predicts that it will be about 2011 before it needs to expand its horizons. So, CEO Eugene Andrachnikov
timed his purchase of 20 Cessna Citation Mustangs to fit that growth prediction. "It will take the market about three or four years to mature," he told AVweb in a
|
|||||||||||
| The Cost of Staking a Claim in the UAE | back to top | |
||
XOJet Gets $2.46 Billion In Funding
XOJet has or has ordered 127 Cessna Citation Xs and will start service in Abu Dhabi with the speedy jet. But because a significant part of the market in the UAE is for trips of 4,000 nm (London, Singapore) or more, it will also need some aircraft with longer legs. It starts getting Bombardier Challenger 300 jets this fall to fill that need. Touw said one of the keys to obtaining funding was the innovative package it devised. He said he believes it's the first time a private jet firm has used a commercial-style approach to organizing the packages. |
Despite a credit crunch that some companies have blamed for their inability to find necessary capital, XOJet CEO Paul Touw says money is available for the right idea in the right package. The San
Carlos, Calif.-based company launched just two years ago and has negotiated financing agreements with five organizations worth a total of $2.46 billion to fund a major expansion to Abu Dhabi in the
United Arab Emirates. Touw told AVweb that despite the enormous wealth and growth of the area, there's a shortage of private jets. "It's an open playing field," he said. Like pioneers in most
fields, XOJet has to bring what it needs to the UAE and that's why it needs so much money. "We have to build our own service center," Touw said.
|
|||||||||||
| Premier II Proves Popular | back to top | |
||
Hawker Beechcraft Racks Up Orders
As AVweb arrived at the 4000 in the static display to tour the aircraft and prepare a video, we were asked to postpone the session as there was a meeting on board. Turns out that officials from India-based fractional and block charter company BJETS were signing the papers to seal the deal. The deal is worth more than $330 million. BJETS spokesman Mark Baier said there a number of factors that went into the decision, including performance and comfort. In a news release, Hawker Beechcraft noted the aircraft's hot-weather performance, something to be considered in India. |
A day after unveiling the mockup of its next-generation composite business jet, the Premier II, Hawker Beechcraft announced it has taken 40 firm orders and has 30 more in the wings. The aircraft is an
update of the Premier 1A, which was the first (and still the only) all-composite business jet in certified service. It has more power, longer range and a bigger payload than the current model. "The
customer response has been fantastic," said Brad Hatt, Hawker Beechcraft's president of commercial aircraft. First flight of the new model is expected next April and deliveries should happen in 2011.
The company was also celebrating the sale of 10 of its top-of-the-line Hawker Beechcraft 4000 models, and options for five more, in a deal sealed on the ramp at EBACE 2008.
|
||||||||||
or call (703) 416-4888 and press 4.
| AVweb Audio: Are You Listening? | back to top | |
||
NBAA's Ed Bolen on This Year's EBACE
|
|
||||||||||
| Also on AVweb ... | back to top | |
||
AVweb Insider Blog: EBACE Notes, Gripes and Accolades
AVweb's Newstips Address ...
|
Today on the AVweb Insider, our staff copes with jetlag, European electrical outlets, and the dawning realization that everyone (from big companies to small dealers) have actually made good on
their ambitions to go global.
Our best stories start with you. If you've heard something 200,000 pilots might want to know about, tell us. Submit news tips
via email to
|
||||||||||
| Names Behind the News | back to top | |
||
Meet the AVwebBiz TeamAVwebBiz is a weekly summary of the latest business aviation news, articles, products, features, and events featured on AVweb, the internet's aviation magazine and news service.
The AVwebBiz team is:
Click here to send a letter to the editor. (Please let us know if your letter is not intended for publication.)
Comments or questions about the news should be sent here.
Have a product or service to advertise on AVweb? A question on marketing? Send it to AVweb's sales team.
If you're having trouble reading this newsletter in its HTML-rich format (or if you'd prefer a lighter, simpler format for your PDA or handheld device), there's also a text-only version of AVwebBiz. For complete instructions on making the switch, click here.
Aviate. Navigate. Communicate. |
