EBACE 2014 Live News: Day One

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Corporate Jet Investor brings you live coverage of EBACE 2014 from Geneva. Please remember to refresh the page for updates.
The static display at EBACE 2014 in Geneva.

The static display at EBACE 2014 in Geneva.

Corporate Jet Investor’s live coverage of EBACE 2014 is sponsored by Hangar8.

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If you have any news or comments, you can send an e-mail to Alex Andrews at: [email protected] or send us a Tweet: @CorpJetInvestor.


Summary

  • NetJets plans to take delivery of Challenger 350 aircraft from Bombardier.
  • Wheels Up will role out European membership with King Airs based in London.
  • RECAP: EBACE 2014 Live News: Press Day

Live feed

17.45 That’s it for today. If you’re at the show, head to the ACS Malta booth for free beer and casual chit-chat. Make sure you join us tomorrow for more live news.

16.52 More details on Piaggio’s Avanti EVO, which was launched yesterday:

16.50 CIT Aerospace announced that it has completed a Sharia-compliant refinancing of a pre-owned Airbus ACJ319 Elegance for a Saudi Arabian-based client.

16.48 Oscar Schwenk, chairman of the Board of Directors of Pilatus, noted that prospective customers for the PC-24 include UN workers and civil servants. Looking at the market, Schwenk said that the US market is now in recovery, while there are encouraging signs off growth in Europe and Asia (particularly China.

16.45 Pilatus has already built five prototype for the PC-24, which are all in different stages of production. The first PC-24 will roll-out on 1 August 2014, which coincidences with the manufacturer’s 75th anniversary. The first flight is due in early 2015, while type certification and the first deliveries are scheduled for 2017.

16.40 Pilatus revealed a list of launch customers for the PC-24, including Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, PlaneSense and U-Haul International in the US, Falcon Aviation Services in the UAE and Jetfly in Luxembourg. Each customers that has ordered a PC-24 has paid a non-refundable deposit of $250,000.

16.35 The launch of the Pilatus PC-24 was one of the biggest stories at last year’s show and this year, the company is  displaying a live order book on its stand.

A real time order book for the PC-24.

A real time order book for the PC-24.

16.30 Embraer is debuting the Lineage 1000E at this year’s show. The company expects to deliver 105-120 business jets this year, consisting of 80-90 Phenoms and 25-30 large jets.

Marco Túlio Pellegrini, president and CEO, was keen to note that Embraer owners clock-up 600 flying hours a year, which is 200 more than any other manufacturer.

Despite the generally cheerful mood at this year’s show (or “cautious optimism,” as our editor describes it), Pellegrini does not believe that the recession has arrived yet. “The drivers are there,” he said. “Corporate profits are up, the percentage of aircraft for sale us lower and there are less geopolitical problems.”

15.50 There are two interior options available for the HondaJet. Some of the impressive features include a lavatory with two small skylights and a touch screen next to each seat that allows the passenger to control lights and music in the cabin.

15.45 Here’s a photo of Alud Davies, senior features and analysis editor lounging on the HondaJet.

Alud Davies on the HondaJet.

Alud Davies on the HondaJet.

14.55 NetJets sees the arrival of Wheels Up in Europe as a welcome challenge for company and doesn’t see Wheels Up members as part of the clientele that NetJets is chasing. Marine Eugine-Beveridge, head of sales at NetJets Europe, says NetJets customers are not first team users of private aviation and are reluctant to share their aircraft.

Asked whether fractional jet ownership is dead, Eugine-Beveridge says: “Do I look dead?”

14.45 The Challenger 350s that will join NetJets Europe’s fleet – which now includes over 100 aircraft – are part of the company’s firm order for 100 Challenger business jets from Bombardier. The company is yet to decide how many Challeger 350is it will receive.

12.40 Fair point.

12.35 Dichter says he’d like 10,000 members in six or seven years.

12.30 Kenny Dichter, CEO of Wheels Up: “When we’re sat here next year at EBACE, I wouldn’t be surprised if we’ve got a King Air sat on the static and we’re really starting to rev-up sales. This is the perfect market for the King Air 350i.”

12.22 Wheels Up expects to take 10 Cessna Citation XLS business jets in a just over a year.

12.20 More details on Wheels Up’s European membership programme:

12.18 1,200 people will be Wheels Up members by the end of the quarter. The company wants 2,500 by the end of next year.

12.15 Wheels Up confirms that it plans to base some of its King Air fleet in Europe.

12.10 Wheels Up has accepted delivery of its 16th King Air 350i turboprop (operated by Gama Aviation), which is part of its order for up to 105 King Airs placed last August with Beechcraft. When we last spoke to David Baxt, president and co-founder of Wheels Up, he told us that Wheels Up would have 27 King Airs by the end of the year.

11.55 Gulfstream confirmed that the list price of the G650ER will be $66.5 million, plus another $2 million for the retrofit.

10.30 Here’s the punny headline from yesterday’s Flight Evening News (we’ll admit it’s pretty good).

The first edition of Flight Evening News at EBACE 2014.

The first edition of Flight Evening News at EBACE 2014.

9.30 NetJets has announced that it will take delivery of Bombardier’s new Challenger 350 aircraft in mid-2015. Exactly how many aircraft is yet to be announced, but it is part of NetJets’ plan to add up to 670 new aircraft with a total value of $17.6 billion over 10 years.

9.20 (Geneva) Good morning and welcome back to Corporate Jet Investor’s live coverage of EBACE 2014. We suggest you start your day by watching the HondaJet video which we wrote about yesterday in our live coverage from press day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PccpO64gPEo

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