Business aircraft flight activity in the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean is now on the upswing, passing a Covid-19-induced bottom last month, Argus International v-p of market intelligence Travis Kuhn said yesterday during a company-held webinar. May is expected to see what Kuhn described as the first-ever triple-digit month-over-month gain in flight activity, which he forecasts to be up 103 percent, though on a year-over-year basis will be down 44 percent.
The Coronavirus impact on the aviation Industry
May 22, 2020 - 12:15 PM
New York City-area business aviation hub Westchester County Airport (HPN) reopened its 6,500-foot Runway 16/34 Thursday after a three-week-long resurfacing project.
May 22, 2020 - 11:26 AM
A recent International Aircraft Dealers Association (IADA) webinar poll showed consistent optimism for a recovery in the preowned business aircraft market following the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. In the poll conducted during the organization's state of the industry webinar held last week, 66 percent were very optimistic about a preowned market recovery and 58 percent expected a stronger second half of the year. Fifty percent think pricing will adjust by 10 to 15 percent, and 52 percent were slightly optimistic about new aircraft sales.
May 21, 2020 - 4:12 PM
The sudden and unexpected announcement on Thursday to permit Indian domestic airlines to start flying one-third of their summer schedules “in a calibrated manner” from May 25 has created chaos and confusion on the subcontinent.
An issue of discontent centers on the lack of clarity on quarantines required by many of 36 of India’s states and union territories, each of which maintain their own guidelines related to the countrywide lockdown until May 31.
May 21, 2020 - 3:45 PM
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU), which has resumed flight and housing operations, plans to reopen its campuses in Florida and Arizona for face-to-face instruction beginning June 30 with a series of health precautions in place.
May 21, 2020 - 3:12 PM
Universal Avionics will permanently close its Wichita operation after nearly four decades, claiming it as a victim of the Covid-19 pandemic and an associated economic downturn. “It is increasingly difficult to maintain full repair capacity under current conditions,” Universal Avionics CEO Dror Yahav said in a letter Thursday.
May 21, 2020 - 12:51 PM
EASA, in coordination with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), on Wednesday issued its guidelines for aviation safety and hygiene in the Covid-19 crisis.
May 21, 2020 - 10:30 AM
The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the way customers approach their air charter trips, with many paying close attention to health and sanitization protective measures and details down to the brands of cleaners used, industry executives said. Speaking during a National Air Transportation Association “Air Charter Roundtable: Forging Ahead” webinar on Wednesday, the executives warned that charter operators must implement the best practices possible for future survivability.
May 21, 2020 - 9:22 AM
Global aviation groups roundly applauded the European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s new set of health guidelines for airlines and airports. The guidelines, issued late Wednesday, outline overlying principles of physical distancing, wearing medical face masks to protect other passengers, and practicing “scrupulous and frequent” hand hygiene. Separately, it noted that industry must assure air passengers and the general population that filtered air on airplanes is safer and cleaner than that on the ground.
May 20, 2020 - 5:51 PM
Charter industry leaders are seeing flight bookings edge up, in part thanks to a new segment of customers. However, at the same time, they are concerned that operators are facing future perils by offering fares at unsustainable prices.
“There’s a race to the bottom in pricing,” Noel Fournier, v-p of business development for Worldwide Jet, said during the National Air Transportation Association's “Air Charter Roundtable: Forging Ahead” webinar on May 20.
