Author: Sam

Gulfstream Adds Support of Products in China

The corporate jet marketing is rapidly growing in China and Gulfstream is adding some support to Deer Jet of China.  Deer Jet is one of the largest corproate jet fleets in China and Gulfstream announced in its news release on June 1 that it will be adding a support team to handle the company’s fleet of Gulfstream Jets.

Deer Jet owns three Gulfstream G550s, two Gulfstream GVs, four Gulfstream GIVs and four Gulfstream G200s.  The company in China will be getting a maintenance technician, avionics technician and quality-control specialist. In addition, Deer Jet and other regional customers will have access to two Gulfstream interior technicians based in Hong Kong and a Gulfstream field service representative (FSR) based in Beijing.  Gulfstream will also be expanding its presence in China to include the positions of a Product Support regional program director, an international distribution manager for parts and materials, an FSR.

This was interesting information from the release:

According to published reports, China’s private-jet market is expected to grow by a world-leading rate of 15.6 percent from 2009 to 2018. A wholly owned subsidiary of Hainan Airlines Group, 16-year-old Deer Jet grew by 32 percent in 2009 and is projected to grow by 60 percent in 2010. Approximately 30 private jets are currently registered to operate on China’s mainland. Including its in-service Gulfstream aircraft, Deer Jet operates 23 corporate jets, three of which are owned by private customers. This year, Deer Jet plans to add at least 10 new jets, all owned by private customers, to its fleet.

China continues to expand and become a great place for businesses to expand their reach and their sales.  Gulfstream is one of the leaders in the corporate jet industry and we are glad to see them succeeding not only here in the United States but abroad in China.  Congratulations from all of us at L & L International and the Corporate Jet Insider!

Bombardier Knows About Corporate Social Responsibility

It seems today that every company is “going green” and many companies are entering in the world of cause marketing where they align themselves with nonprofit organizations to partner in raising money or helping with campaigns that provide the world with a place better tomorrow than it is today.  I am always on the lookout for companies that provide information about what they are doing in the world of corporate responsibility.  Bombardier is a company that I wanted to spotlight.

Bombardier is doing some great things in the area of corporate responsibility and their President and CEO Pierre Beaudoin has this to say about their achievements:

Our achievements include reducing our water consumption by 35%, energy consumption by 17% and greenhouse gas emissions by 10% between fiscal 2004 and 2009. In fiscal 2009, we also advanced pioneering products such as our ECO4 energy-saving rail technologies and our CSeries commercial aircraft.

We take pride in our listing, again, on two Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and, for the second time, on the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the world standard for carbon disclosure methodology and process. The CDP named Bombardier one of the 10 Canadian Climate Disclosure Leaders.

We continue to actively promote the UN Global Compact’s principles of social responsibility and we are in the process of embedding these principles in our Code of Ethics and Business Conduct.

One of the other campaigns I see that they were instrumental in taking part in was the 2010 Vancouver Paralympic Winter Games.  Aligning themselves with these types of campaigns will keep that company on track to be a leader in corporate responsibility initiatives.  I will be looking to some of the other corporate jet companies to see how they stack up in their own corporate responsibility and how they are joining in the stand to help make this world a better place.

NBAA To Hold Tax Seminar In Chicago

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) will be holding a tax seminar in Chicago tomorrow, June 4, 2010, at the Palmer House Hilton.  The seminar is described as providing attendees with the following:

Attendees of this NBAA Business Aviation Taxes Seminar will learn how to:

  • Maximize business aircraft tax planning while complying with the Federal Aviation Regulations.
  • Understand the application of federal excise taxes on business aircraft operations.
  • Learn how to deal with many of the unique accounting challenges facing business aviation departments.
  • Understand how passive activity rules can limit the utility of aircraft-related deductions.
  • Implement strategies for addressing state and local aviation taxes.
  • Learn methods for coping with federal deduction disallowance rules.
  • Avoid issues related to business aircraft ownership and operation that have arisen in business tax audits.
  • Learn to plan ahead regarding tax issues in structuring the purchase and sale of business aircraft.

Knowledge of aviation tax issues is critical for owners and operators of business aircraft to ensure proper planning and compliance. The NBAA Business Aviation Taxes Seminar is designed to help accountants, attorneys, advisors and flight department personnel keep up with the latest tax and legal developments affecting business aviation. After an introduction to the aviation regulatory environment, knowledge of which is essential for proper tax planning, presenters will address a variety of current tax topics at an intermediate-to-advanced level. Ample time will be allowed for questions and answers following each presentation, and speakers will be available to answer additional questions at the end of the seminar.

As members of the NBAA, L&L International supports these initiatives by the organization and would love to know if anyone is attending and how well the seminar provided the above information.

Does The Corporate Jet You Want Meet Your Needs?

In choosing your corporate jet, it is imperative that you take a look at your wants and needs and the use of your aircraft and balance that with the characteristics that an aircraft has and provide a checklist of your requirements.  There are characteristics of each aircraft that might be different than a competitors aircraft that might meet your needs better than any alternatives.  A “travel needs” plan is an important factor in finding an aircraft for you or your company.  What are the requirements to meet your travel needs?  There are so many different choices, you should make sure that the aircraft you buy, is the best of what is available.

Your choices may have to do with the number of flights per year, the miles traveled, the maintenance requirements of that travel schedule and the crew needed.  All of these things will help you locate the characteristics you need in making a decision on what aircraft might best fit into your budget, and make the best purchase decision for you.  Do you know what your needs are or do you have a history of what your travel entails?  This is a good place to start.

Making a list of all of the available aircraft and then making sure each aircraft has a list of pros and cons can make the decision easier when purchasing a corporate jet.  If you have a professional that can assist you in finding what is available and then can sit down with you to list out all the characteristics of that aircraft you will come out feeling good about your purchase.  This is an investment like any other and to find the proper aircraft for your investment is key.  If you would like to find an aircraft that will suit your needs and one that fits into your budget, please contact us.

A great Website to help you plan the next trip

Where to next?

Still trying to figure out where to take that jet of yours?

Well figure no more!

101 Holidays has got you covered!

The TimesOnline calls this site, “one of the top 10 best new travel websites.” With customizable options, 101 Holidays will get you off the ground before you know it!

You start by choosing how you want to choose your trip! Your options include; “type of experience,” “price per person,” and “destination.” Or you can simply click on one of the 101 colorful destination pictures selected by two of the UK’s leading travel writers David Wickers and Mark Hodson. You can even take a quiz to help your decision making.

GENIUS!

Where has this been all our lives?

They have even covered the “short breaks” and honeymoon destination decisions too! You can literally be your own travel agent.

You say that you can’t just take off on vacation tomorrow? Well playing on the website is just as fun! The pictures are beautiful, and it’s always fun to plan your dream vacation… you never know- it might just happen!

Enjoy!

Afraid to fly?

The fear of flying is pretty common…  But you can do it!

There are simple ways to overcome this phobia and take to the skies!

In an article from WebMD, the magazine shares information about the fear and easy steps to get you off the ground, and in control.

“… more than one in four people are somewhat afraid, and one in 10 considers him or herself very afraid of taking to the skies.

Despite the term, fear of flying isn’t just a fear of being in the air.

Some people are claustrophobic or afraid of being far from home. Al Forgione, PhD, a Boston psychologist, says the most common fear is not crashing, but becoming hysterical and humiliating yourself in flight. And “the underlying fear in all of these anxieties is loss of control,” he says. To create the illusion of control, some people believe that their actions — listening for odd noises, noting the slightest dip, or even staying motionless in their seats — could actually save the plane.”

All plausible reasons, but easily avoided with conscious thinking…

Many use videos of planes taking off and landing. The most popular videos are those that are shot from inside the plane or looking out the window at the wing. The sound of the roar of the engines and seeing the ground rise and fall with take off and landing enables fearful flyers to participate in a takeoff and landing without actually being on a plane. Using these techniques can condition your mind to think that these events are just normal, everyday experiences- like taking out the trash. (Which can be scary sometimes too!)

Other techniques include books, therapy, and medication. Any of these methods can ease your fear of flying, but nothing will help as much as just getting on the plane more and more. Just focus on your destination, whether it be a tropical location, snowy mountains, or a busy metropolis, because you know that when you arrive…

You did it!!

Going to Disney World? Did you know Walt had his own airfield?

Best reason to own your very own plane?

You can take it- ANYWHERE!

If your company travels regularly- then leasing or buying a private jet can help you and your business to a great extent. Whether you are concerned about privacy, safety, flexibility or time, (I hear they say time is money…) then a private jet should be at the top of your shopping list.

So – now that you’ve gotten your private jet- what are you going to do?

YOU’RE GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!

Disney World in Orlando, Florida was originally built with its very own private airfield. Cleverly named “Disney Airfield,” it was the official airport of Walt Disney World, and Walt Disney himself! Though As of 2004, the Disney Airfield is no longer listed as an active airfield, it has been known that company executives also land there on occasion.

So you probably spent a pretty penny on that jet…

Well “Walt Disney World Insiders” (www.wdwinsiders.com) is here to help with 10 FREE things to do at Disney!

1. Visit Downtown Disney- It costs nothing to visit Downtown Disney, and there are lots of fun shops to stroll through and plenty of people watching opportunities.

2. Watch the Magic Kingdom Fireworks- From the beach of the Grand Floridian or Polynesian. You can park at the resorts for a short time for free. (Just tell the guard you are visiting the hotel coffee shop!)

3. Take a free tour of Wilderness Lodge – Check with guest services for times and details.

4. Watch the Electrical Water Pageant- It takes place each night on Seven Seas Lagoon and Bay Lake – times vary.

5. Nature Trails at Fort Wilderness- There are many miles of trails at Fort Wilderness, through pine and cypress woods. You can rent bikes, but to walk, costs nothing.

6. Visit The Boardwalk- Best in the evening. Just stroll and take in the atmosphere. There’s usually lots of “street entertainment.”

7. Visit the The petting farm at Fort Wilderness- The petting farm is open 7 AM to dusk. There is free day parking at Ft. Wilderness.

8.Take the free garden tour at the Yacht & Beach Club Resort- Call guest services for times

9.Take the free lobby tour at Animal Kingdom Lodge

10. Take a boat ride- from Dixie Landings to Downtown Disney – it’s especially nice at night. Take a stroll round Downtown Disney and catch the boat back to your car at Dixie Landings.

So what are you waiting for?

Jump in that jet and get going already!

ICON A5, For $139,000 is sleek, chic, and how could anyone not want one?

The Website calls it “JET SKI FOR THE SKY.”

The cockpit looks like the one in your Ferrari.

The wings retract so you can pull it up on a trailer and take it with you on vacation.

The bottom of it lets you land on water with the landing gear retracted.

It’s the Icon A5.  It’s what the FAA now calls a “Light Sport” aircraft and if’ you’ve not heard of this, well, you will.

At a $139,00 a pop and full-scale production to begin next year, this is just as the designers describe it–“Bad Ass.”

Designed by a former fighter pilot and one of his college design pals, the Icon A5 is leading the way into this new category of aircraft and it just looks like a hell of a lot of fun.

No, this aircraft doesn’t fall into the description of a jet aircraft, but after the work week is over, after the contracts are signed, after the stress of racing from one corner of the earth to the next, doesn’t it make sense to keep one of these on the side for those get aways?

From the Icon Web site comes the pronouncement that “The sport is back in flying…”

ICON claims it’s number one focus is to “bring the freedom, fun, and adventure of flying to all who have dreamed of flight.”  That’s a pretty tall order, but it doesn’t take more than a second or two to look at the pictures of the plane to realize, they’re doing just that.

Want that version of the fast car and sport boat for the air?  This is your plane.

ICON was founded in 2005 by Kirk Hawkins. Hawkins, a graduate from the Stanford Business School, is an accomplished engineer, former U.S. Air Force F-16 pilot, and long-time motorsport enthusiast. With its world-class team of engineers, designers, advisors, and investors, ICON is located in Southern California – home of the world’s largest concentration of both aerospace and automobile design resources. ICON’s engineering and development team came from Burt Rutan’s famed Scaled Composites, which created such record setting projects as Voyager, Global Flyer, the X-Prize winning SpaceShipOne, and Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo.

The mindset of a top-rated jet sales company

There are all kinds of sales executives in the world.  Some over promise and under deliver.  Some are pushy.  Some work the techniques.  Some just focus on what’s most important, and that’s what matters most to the prospective customer.

L & L International specializes in private jet sales and acquisitions.

The focus is squarely set on providing the highest level of customer service throughout the entire process of acquiring or selling an aircraft.  Let’s face it. Buying a jet is a big deal.  It’s a game changer.  It’s a financial investment.  It’s a time saver.  It’s a form of security.  It’s a tool of someone who is serious about what they’re doing in life.

The process of buying a jet at first may seem like an overwhelming experience.  There are a variety of business jets and jet aircrafts including Gulfstream Aerospace, Raytheon Hawker, Bombardier Challenger, Bombardier Global Express, Cessna Citation, Dassault Falcon, Learjet, Embraer Legacy, Airbus, and Boeing Business Jets.  Each plane has a different range and set of unique features.

What you need most when buying a plane is the comfort that comes from having access to the highest level of service and professionalism. That means having highly trained and motivated staff who have a worldwide reputation for knowing how to take care of customers.  There’s a science to understanding of the business jet marketplace.  This isn’t like buying a used car off a small car lot.

That goes for selling a plane, too.  When you find a company that possesses the perfect blend of experience, financial strength, integrity and resourcefulness you’re on the road to success.  Quite simply, there are only a handful of aviation companies that offer these strengths, and L & L International is one of them.

It’s understood that buying or selling an aircraft is an important financial decision, and a reflection on the company or individuals involved. When helping clients with an acquisition, we have all the tools to define a mission profile and find the most appropriate aircraft—one the client will be pleased with long after the transaction is over. When selling, we have the respect and global relationships necessary to find the right buyer at the right price.  At L & L International, you will find decades of experience—the kind of leadership and expertise that can help you seize great opportunities. As aircraft transactions and operations become more complex, turn to L & L International for proven sales and acquisition strategies, sophisticated research tools and global reach.