MEBAA GROWING
The Middle East Business Aviation Association held its seventhboard meeting at EBACE yesterday. The association now has 110 members and is planning a one-day conference on the eve of this year's Dubai air show in November. "We want to highlight the opportunities for growth and to understand the trends that are emerging from this market," says founding chairmanAli al Naqbi
CAE TRAINING EXPANSION
CAE announced today that it has expanded its portfolio of web based pilot and technical training courses for business aviation customers through its e-Learning training service."CAE has focused on providing web-based courses and solutions customised for business aviation utilising the same best-practices and solutions used in commercial aviation," says Jeff Roberts, CAE group president. "We understand the value and operational effectiveness web-based training brings to customers and are working hard to continuously expand our offering."
FARNBOROUGH REACHES OUT
Farnborough International Airshow is at EBACE to promote next year's event, which takes place 19-25 July 2010. The organisers are re-evaluating aspects of the show, with an emphasis on enhancing and increasing networking and meeting opportunities and improving site services, in line with feedback from exhibitors, particularly the business aviation sector, saysshow director Amanda Stainer.
LUNAJET CROSS ATLANTIC
Lunajets is launching a new platform - LunAtlantic - to match transatlantic empty legs with new customers.The Geneva-based company offers an online booking service to fly on partner operators' empty legs. "The operators are able to set the price of the flight which could decrease as the departure date nears," says chief executiveEymeric Segard.
SHANNON TARGETS GA WITH PRE-CLEARANCE FACILITY
From late 2009, general aviation operators can useEurope's first pre-clearance facility at Shannon airport. Authorisation by US Customs and Border Protection allows the Irish airport's passengers to be pre-cleared for US immigration, customs and agriculture. An airport statement says the facility will offer "new routeing options and greater flexibility for GA".
VIP CANCELLATIONS HIT BOEING
In the year since the last gathering for EBACE, Boeing has received four cancellations for VIP airplanes. Boeing says three of the four, accounting for two 747-8 VIPsand one 787 VIP, were cancelled by Russian customers. Hong Kong real estate mogul Joseph Lau cancelled his 787 VIP in February.
BEXAIR SECURES SAUDI ARABIAN AOC
The General Authorities of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia has issued an air operator's certificate to Bexair, allowing the Bahraini executive charter operator to offer services through the Riyadh branch established in 2008.
BOMBARDIER JETS TARGETED FOR AVIONICS UPGRADES
Honeywell is developing a range of new avionics capabilities for Bombardier Challenger 601 and Global Express aircraft. Features include a future air navigation system, wide area augmentation system-localiser performance with vertical guidance and liquid crystal displays.An enhanced flight management system software update, which will give the Bombardier aircraft capability to operate required navigation procedures, will be available later in 2009.The new LCD option, branded DU-875, will be retrofittable to Global Express aircraft and capable of displaying XM Weather and paperless charts. The DU-875 incorporates an LED backlight and wide-angle visibility technology.
Source: Flight Daily News
