In typical clockwork fashion Cessna has achieved FAA type certification again, this time for the midsize Citation Latitude.  This past Friday the Latitude won certification and is clear for deliveries to begin third quarter 2015. With its first flight during February of last year, the aircraft began a fast-track test program in recent Cessna trend which resulted in its type rating certificate on schedule.  NetJets is among the first customers for delivery with an existing order of 150 Latitudes.  Others with orders for 2015 early delivery is a closely held list.

At first glance it's likely a new midsize jet will be available for transcontinental non-stops this coming winter and springs as deliveries continue.

The Latitude is a midsize jet seating up to 9 with two standard cabin configurations, one featuring a club of four with two additional froward facing seats, a cabin-forward bench for two and a rear belted lav.  The aircraft fits between the XLS and the Sovereign in the Citation lineup and the Latitude carries an outward resemblance of both.  It is described as a superior, flat-floor, stand-up cabin, 6-feet tall, 77 inches wide and 21 feet long.   the Latitude cabin is taller and wider than the Sovereign.   Airspeed at 446 kts max cruise is similar to the Sovereign and XLS. Another Coast-to-Coast Mid? The Latitude offers a range of up to 2,850 NM.  The Hawker 800XP, one of the most popular midsize charter jets known for coast-to-coast charter nonstops, has a published max range of 2,540 NM.  Practical charter use will dictate, but at first glance its likely a new midsize jet will be available for transcontinental non-stops this coming winter and springs as deliveries continue. If/when the coast-to-coast nonstop charter capability becomes reality, the Latitude should be a hot commodity in the midsize charter market.

     

Rolling Stones' private jet gets upgrade at KGSO

(Winston-Salem Journal, June 4 2015)  -  I can’t imagine the Rolling Stones’ jet without a plush couch, a bar, mirrors on the ceiling and bedrooms in the back. Back when my life was devoted to term papers and SAT scores, I caught stories and photos of their depraved mid-air parties with the longing imagination only an adolescent boy can appreciate.

Operator SaxonAir Charter LTD at Stansted, UK, has taken on management and charter of the 2012 Gulfstream 550, G-MRLX.  Previously with Gama Aviation LTD, it began operation under SaxonAir in late May, and is the only G550 based at Stansted.  With it's 6,000 mile range it can fly nonstop to Los Angeles or Hong Kong.  The ultra long range jet features Wi-Fi on board, individual passenger entertainment screens and seats 16 passengers with three cabin seating areas. Three Gulfstream 550's are available for charter in the UK, this one at EGSS Stansted and two at EGLF Farnborough. SaxonAir Charter now operates a total of 9 aircraft in the wide variety categories of turboprop, very light, light and midsize jets, long range jet and helicopter.  The SaxonAir Charter full fleet is available only in FlightList PRO.

Aircraft charter brokerage Air Charter Service has announced the opening of its seventh European operation, in Geneva, Switzerland. Andy Christie, the company’s Group Executive Jets Director, commented, “We recognized the necessity for an office in Switzerland a few years ago and felt that now was the right time to make the move, having established an already strong Swiss client base through our French and German operations." “We chose Geneva as it is an important hub for private aviation and a popular destination for many of our clients - we will benefit from having people on the ground here.  A lot of our current clients are based here too and we are now not only closer to them, but we are also able to reach more new potential customers that we couldn’t before.  Having a locally registered company and bank accounts will hopefully help us to win more clients that prefer a local service, as we have done with many of our other offices."

“We have brought in experienced staff, who have been working out of our London, Paris and Frankfurt offices over the past six months, in the run up to opening the doors earlier this month.” The Swiss office is ACS’s 19th global office, with two more planned in the coming nine months.

(Avweb) - The pilot of actor Johnny Depp's private flight last month is facing up to two years in prison for his role in the alleged smuggling of the Pirates of the Caribbean star's two Yorkshire terriers into Australia.  The country's justice system is now considering what to do with the unidentified pilot, and with Depp, who faces up to 10 years in jail after the dogs Pistol and Boo were allegedly intentionally hidden from Customs officers to avoid the 10-day quarantine that Australia demands for pets being brought into the country. If the prosecution goes ahead, Depp can apparently dodge the prison time by paying a $265,000 fine but there's no such relief for the pilot mentioned in various news reports on the topic. Authorities learned about Pistol and Boo when they were spotted being pampered at a Sydney dog salon. Australia has strict quarantine laws and while Depp and the pilot will undoubtedly be inconvenienced if charges proceed, the Yorkies escaped a more permanent fate. Depp was able to get the dogs out of Australia just before the government was about to kill them. “It's time that Pistol and Boo buggered off back to the United States,” Australian Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce warned at the time. “Now Mr. Depp has to either take his dogs back to California or we're going to have to euthanize them.” - courtesy Russ Niles and Avweb biz, Belvoir Media Group, LLC

EmreAir Charter Solutions (EA Jet Charters), an air charter broker based in Teterboro, NJ, has agreed to an acquisition by charter operator Altius Aviation. Headquartered in Syracuse, NY and operating throughout the Northeast with locations at the Portland Jetport, ME, the Manchester Airport, NH and the Essex County Airport, NJ, Altius Aviation operates 7 aircraft for charter including turborops, light and midsize jets. Henry Laughlin, President & CEO of Altius commented: “We are delighted to welcome the team from EmreAir Charter Solutions to the Altius family. Throughout the negotiations it became very apparent that the EmreAir assets and personnel would create significant synergy throughout our activities.  The net effect to Altius is accelerated growth and a better experience for both our retail charter customers and the broker community”. Speaking from Teterboro, NJ, Omar Diaz, Director of EmreAir stated:  “Merging our experience and passion with Altius Aviation is a logical next step for the EmreAir team.  Altius has proved to be a highly capable operator with significant nationwide growth potential.  We look forward to the future as we achieve our goals with both Altius and the Laughlin Group companies”.  The acquisition will see the founders of EmreAir become equity stake holders in the larger company. Altius Aviation LLC is part of the Laughlin Group family owned aviation company.  Founded in 1949, group activities span FBO operations, maintenance, special missions design and install, avionics STC development, airline handling, de-icing, aircraft charter and aircraft sales. Altius operates seven aircraft for charter based throughout the Northeast US; two Learjet 60, a Learjet 31, King Air B200 and three Pilatus PC-12. The full Alitus charter fleet is ONLY available in FlightList PRO.

D. J. Hanlon, a 13-year veteran of the private aviation industry, will join Flexjet, LLC as Senior Vice President of West Coast Sales.  Hanlon will help meet the growing demand for large-cabin extended range aircraft Flexjet is experiencing.

Most recently, Hanlon served as Vice President of Sales for California-headquartered private jet charter company XOJET and as founding partner of integrated large-cabin charter management company Jet Edge International.  Earlier, he was responsible for California and Pacific Northwest sales at fractional provider NetJets for nine years.  Hanlon was educated at Boston University and lives in Newport Beach, California, with his wife and two children. Backed by the resources of Directional Aviation, which acquired Flexjet in 2013, the company is celebrating its 20^th anniversary in 2015 by making a major investment in its fleet. The company already has made firm orders for 207 new planes and options from Bombardier, Gulfstream and Embraer that could bring the total number of aircraft to 445, an investment that potentially could top US $8 billion. In addition to Flexjet, Directional Aviation holds a variety of private aviation companies including charter brokers Sentient Jet and Skyjet, and aircraft re-manufacturer Nextant Aerospace.

"Is the private jet charter market ready to be disrupted?" Forbes.com just published an in-depth article analyzing the current jet charter market, players, technologies and future. Many charter companies - operators and brokers - are named in the article which is a look at leveraging technologies to make a more efficient consumer market, and the actual practicalities and complexities of booking and managing individual charters.  Author Doug Bollan also relates his experiences trying to search and book a charter through different methods. This is a very interesting read for anyone involved in the jet charter market today as well as private charter consumers. http://www.forbes.com/sites/douggollan/2015/05/13/is-the-private-jet-market-ready-to-be-disrupted/

In a deal to create the world's second-largest corporate aircraft operator, Luxaviation, a business jet charter and management group based in Luxembourg, today is acquiring Zurich-based ExecuJet Aviation. Under the terms of the deal, Luxaviation will acquire the entire share capital of ExecuJet, which has operations in Asia, Australasia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and in Europe.  Its fleet of about 180 managed aircraft will bring the number of aircraft operated by the combined entity to more than 250.  This is second only the the fleet of 700 operated worldwide by US-based NetJets. ExecuJet, operating since 1991, offers aircraft charter, management, and maintenance, and is based at 19 airports around the world. Luxaviation has grown by acquiring four European operators since 2009, including London Executive Aviation (LEA) in 2014.  Last week it agreed to a deal with China Minsheng Investments, a Chinese investment fund that is the biggest shareholder in business aircraft operator Minsheng International Jet. Luxaviation's strategy with its acquisitions has been to preserve their operational independence while benefiting from economies of scale in purchasing high-cost items such as fuel, insurance and training. With the two latest deals, Luxaviation is making strides towards its stated goal of 500 aircraft under management by 2019. - courtesy Financial Times, full article here. Luxaviation and ExecuJet charter fleet details are available in FlightList PRO.