Urban Air Mobility advances
eVTOL – or electric powered vertical takeoff and landing aircraft – are closer than you think. Urban air mobility was a key topic of discussion at EBACE 2019 and continues to grow. Airbus and Boeing are channeling funds into R&D and Uber Elevate hopes to bring it’s ride sharing format to city skies. Companies are hoping to revolutionize the way we travel in urbanized areas – reducing traffic and pollution.
Business Aviation growth in Europe
The European business jet market is seeing promising growth in the jet fleet. Shearwater Aero Capital have predicted, based on current market, that by 2025 1,071 new private jets could be delivered in the region. That’s a cool $38.5 billion worth of private jets! Currently the number of private aircraft in the European region is estimated at 2,282 jets, ranging from heavy to light jets.
Airbus Anniversary
Most of us have probably travelled on an Airbus aircraft sometime in our lives and 2019 marks an important milestone for the company. 50 years ago, the company was formed between France and Germany and since then they have brought many innovations to the market including the A380, A300 and supersonic Concorde. Today they continue to revolutionize the market, investing in EVTOL research programs, bringing Urban Air Mobility one step closer to our everyday lives.
Avionics upgrades
The first quarter of 2019 has seen growth in the sale of business and general aviation aircraft electronics. There has been a 13% increase compared to the same quarter in 2018 – with 53% of the sales coming from aftermarket upgrades. The news from the Aircraft Electronics Association, follows an upward trend for nine consecutive quarters. The most common upgrades? Audio interface controllers, lithium ion batteries and touchscreen displays.
Summer delays in the USA
The grounding of Boeing 737 MAXs continues to cause headaches for carriers in the USA as the busy summer season approaches. From June to August it’s estimated that 2.8million people will travel per day and the removal of over 60 planes from various fleets will put pressure on many airlines over the summer, potentially with many flight cancellations. The issue is further compounded by a proposal to move TSA employees, including screeners and air marshals, to the U.S-Mexico border. This potential shortage could cause increased wait times at airports across the USA.
Shannon U.S Customs
Shannon U.S Customs Pre-Clearance at Shannon airport will be extended from 17th June 2019. Currently timings are 0900 – 1700 local, seven days a week and will increase to 0800 – 2100 local. The service, available for business travelers and commercial flyers. Shannon was the first European airport to offer U.S. pre-clearance and in 2010 became the first to offer the service to private jet travelers.
There is a current NOTAM from 29th May – 7th June advising customers to arrive at the airport 15 minutes earlier, due to the U.S. Presidential visit.
