We have talked a number of times about the event in Europe but the latest convention in the business aviation industry is in Latin America. The 8th annual Labace event kicks off today in São Paulo – Brazil. It is our understanding that this event will be the largest of its kind in Latin America. We will be at the event in and hope to provide some of our thoughts of the conference as they unfold.
Labace expects to have more than 13,000 visitors from around the world at this event and many of the top aviation executives will be in attendance, as well as most of the manufacturers. From its beginning in 2003, attendance was less than 5,000 people and last year they produced more 15,000 attendees each year eclipsing the mark set the year before. There were a record number of exhibitor last year at the event and conference organizers are looking forward to that type of return in 2011. Labace had more than 50 aircraft on the grounds last year and we hope to see that many or more at this event.
Once we have had an opportunity to sift through the news and get some images of the event we will try to get them up here or we will update the Facebook page with the information. Stay tuned!
Amtr april 2011 data
May 17 through 19 marks the 11th annual EBACE event in Geneva, Switzerland. We are looking forward to hearing many of the exhibitors and others give us an idea how the industry is performing. This time last year we were hearing all about how the economy was putting a damper on jet sales or orders in the industry and this year we are hoping to get the good news that those companies that are in the game continue to be optimistic.
At Geneva PALEXPO, EBACE showcases nearly 300 exhibiting companies from around the world and covers more than 36,000 square meters. At nearby Geneva International Airport, more than 60 aircraft, including nearly every major business aircraft design in current production, will be on display in a special 18,000-square-meter Static Display area.
As the information on the expo becomes available, we will be updating the blog here with that information. If you are at the EBACE event please let us know we would love to showcase you here in the blog posts and also would love to hear of your experiences with the event.
I just returned from our nation’s capital in Washington DC. I was recently attending the Points of Light Institutes’s Tribute for President George HW Bush and landing at Dulles I noticed the lack of many corporate jets. It seems that the economy makes it difficult to find the leaders of the country using private business aircraft. It may be the location that I landed or it may be that they are all traveling in other places or it could be that corporate jets are not welcome in that part of the world.
We all of course remember the tongue lashing the leadership of the car makers received when they took their private business aircraft to the capital when they were asking for the bailouts they received when the economy headed down. It may be that corporate jets are still a black mark or not well received. The National Business Aviation Association continues to combat these types of thoughts. It would be interesting to see if the trend continues or if we will see more private jets at airports in and around our nation’s capital.
There did seem to be no shortage of private helicopters flying in and around the city. I think it may be related to the way the traffic patterns are in the DC. I for one would have loved not to be caught in traffic on the highways and in the city.
The whole country was watching the 83rd annual Oscars last night in Los Angeles and I was curious if there was an increase in the number of private jets or corporate jets that flew in or out of the city. It seems that many private jet charter companies increase their advertising and their offerings for stars and VIP and executives that wanted to fly into the event in style. The issue there is most of those that are nominated or are attending the event already reside in the area.
There are some that are reporting that many stars that attended are now green since they didn’t charter private jets and didn’t upgrade their travel in and out of the show. Not much traffic at the local airports for them and that goes without saying since they are again living in the area. Many of those reported that are now more green for not flying in and out of Los Angeles didn’t report about their attending the Super Bowl festivities a few weeks ago. Congratulations to all the winners last night and now everyone will be headed home or to the next event, so perhaps corporate jet use will rise here in the next few days from the Hollywood area.
Just following along with the news about Santa and his travels. The FAA released this information this week:
WASHINGTON – Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) safety inspectors at the North Pole certified Santa One, the reindeer-powered sleigh piloted by Santa Claus, for its Christmas Eve round-the-world delivery mission.
Santa One, led by Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, is outfitted with new satellite-based NextGen technology, which will allow Santa to deliver more toys to more children with improved safety and efficiency.
“Children around the world will get their gifts on time, regardless of the weather, thanks to NextGen,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “We’re proud to say NextGen is bringing Santa Claus to town.”
Rudolph’s red nose has been outfitted with avionics that will broadcast Santa One’s position via satellites to air traffic controllers around the world with improved accuracy, integrity and reliability.
“Santa’s cockpit display will help improve his situational awareness by showing him and his reindeer flight crew their precise location in relation to other aircraft, bad weather and terrain,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “NextGen will help make this an extra-safe Christmas Eve.”
The sleigh’s onboard systems have been upgraded with state-of-the-art, NextGen technology that will allow Santa One to maintain cruising altitude for as long as possible before making a continuous descent into cities and towns around the world. While maneuvering on rooftops, an advanced, onboard runway safety system will help reduce the risk of incursions between the sleigh and chimneys.
Santa’s reindeer-powered sleigh is already energy-efficient, but the NextGen technologies will further reduce Santa One’s carbon hoofprint. The shorter, faster routings means that Rudolph and the other reindeer will consume less hay, resulting in fewer greenhouse gases.
Unlike any other pilot, Santa has special permission from the FAA to fly thousands of domestic and international short-haul and long-range flights in one night. In keeping with the FAA’s science-based proposal to give pilots more rest, Santa will arrange his flight plan based on his circadian rhythm. Mrs. Claus also assured FAA safety inspectors that she’ll make sure he gets plenty of rest before the flight on Christmas Eve.
Follow Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve at the NORAD Tracks Santa website: www.noradsanta.org
See how NextGen is going to improve the safety and efficiency of Santa’s rooftop descents: http://www.faa.gov/go/santa
In light of the post yesterday where I pontificate about the recovery of the private jet industry, Marc Yahr of L&L International sends me another forecast that he recently read from GlobalAir.com. I love the ending paragraph of the post by David Wyndham:
I’ve seen Richard Aboulafia of the Teal Group present his firm’s aviation sales forecast on several occasions. As he said one time, “If you don’t like my forecast, feel free to make one up on your own.” So don’t worry so much about the future, but just take care of today. If you need a jet, go get one. If you need to sell your current jet, go get a good broker to represent you.
This is great advice from David and we all have our thoughts on the state of the aircraft industry. We are all making up our own forecasts, in some cases to ease our own fears and anxiety and in some cases we actually have some numbers and stats that back up our statements. Like an old lawyer friend of mine used to say, “92% of all stats are made up.” In my case my forecast was based on a gut feeling and the fact that it may be an old lawyer trick of making up the facts that you need in order to be persuasive. Take a moment and read through the post where Wyndham talks about his thoughts.
There is nothing worse than being stuck in an airport delayed for the third time while waiting for a commercial flight to grandma’s house to celebrate the holidays. As a father of four children, I can assure you that we just do not travel during the holiday for that reason. I tend to send grandma the ticket to come to us. This could all be alleviated of course if I used a private jet for holiday travel.
Living near an international hub and airport, the local news channel always talk about record crowds and getting to the airport early and that does not even factor in the idea of weather. What that means is increased stress during the holidays. Millions of travelers all want to go home for the holidays, or they want to visit relatives and many decide that might be a good time to take a vacation from work since they have some extra time off. This usually means airports operating at capacity with millions of travelers. My luck is that all decide to get into the same line I am in and I stand for a couple hours in that line and a couple more to get through security and a few more at the gate. Meanwhile if I hopped in the family mini-van I would have been half way to my destination before I ever debarked. Private aircraft completely eliminate these scenarios.
If you are looking for that perfect holiday gift for yourself, how about a stress free way to travel during the holidays. In fact, with the time and effort saved on stress and waiting in airports, you could take a couple of trips during the holidays and actually get a few more hours of work in while traveling. I am sold. I think I may contact someone to purchase my private aircraft.
I have been giving some thought to the recent brouhaha about the old Speaker of the House using the Air Force for travel needs and the new Speaker of the House indicating that would not happen and that the new Speaker would be taking commercial flights like the rest of the citizens. I am not sure how this can be safe when a potential person who may be the President of the free world would be traveling with the rest of the country in economy class.
Perhaps the privatization of the travel is in order. We have been doing business travel for many years and have become pretty efficient with this type of travel. We can have the competition of working to be most cost effective and being the best company to provide this travel. This takes out of the equation the excess we see with $400 hammers and $1000 toilet seats we see in the military, and creates jobs and other economic benefits for the country.
I doubt this will ever actually happen and frankly the security issues and the other things that would come out of it have not been thought about on my part. I merely believe it would be good for the private jet industry to have this shot in the arm. I know that this is always going to be an issue with travel by our politicians just as it was an issue with the car maker CEO’s during the buyout. What do you think about Speaker of the House traveling around in that latest Citation X?
There is a man down the street from my house that has the best looking garage in the neighborhood. He has one of those special floors that is painted with that special speckled paint and inside that garage is a couple of the family cars. Those cars are the best kept cars I have ever seen. The are always washed, always clean inside, and I got a peak under the hood a few times when speaking to him and the engines look like the day they came off the showroom floor. Those vehicles are the pride and joy of their owner and they would be the best vehicle to buy no matter their age. The point of the story is your private jet can also be the best buy no matter their age if you maintain them like my neighbor does his vehicles.
There are plenty of maintained private jets on the market. They have been kept up to date with all of the minimum requirements under the regulations. They never go above what the regulations require but they have been “maintained”. The business aircraft or the private jet that has been cared for properly will be the best aircraft on the market and will carry the best value. Meeting just the minimum requirements will keep your records up to date and will pass any inspection, but give me the private jet that has been cared for like the neighbor down the street. The aircraft that is always cleaned and polished, the one that has all the best of equipment that can be installed, all records of maintenance and well kept records as well as damage and repairs. All of this well done and well maintained principles make these aircraft carry their value and exceed most baseline values of other aircraft. Make sure you care for your aircraft and it will care for you when it comes to time to sell. Which business aircraft or private jet would you put at the top of your list?
