Embraer and NetJets announce deal for up to 250 Praetor 500
NetJets has signed a new deal with Embraer for up to 250 Praetor 500 jet options, which includes a comprehensive services and support agreement. The deal is valued in excess of US $5 billion, with deliveries expected to begin in 2025, and will be NetJets’ first time offering the midsize Praetor 500 to customers. The partnership between Embraer and NetJets began in 2010 when NetJets first signed a purchase agreement for 50 Phenom 300 aircraft, with up to 75 additional options. In 2021, after Embraer successfully delivered over 100 aircraft, the companies signed a continuing deal for up to 100 additional Phenom 300/E jets, in excess of $1.2 billion.
As part of a multi-billion dollar, multiyear investment, NetJets added 70+ jet to the worldwide fleet in 2022. In 2023, NetJets plans to take delivery of 100+ new jets. The company is averaging over 1,200 worldwide flights per day. www.netjets.com
Pilatus hands over the 2,000th PC-12 to PlaneSense
Pilatus celebrated a milestone last week with the delivery of the 2,000 aircraft in its PC-12 family to PlaneSense. Statistically, there are over 70 PC-12s in the air at any given time. In 2022 alone, Pilatus produced 80 PC-12s in Switzerland for delivery all over the world.
Pilatus proudly announced that with 2,000 PC-12s delivered, the global fleet of the popular single-engine turboprop has officially accumulated more than ten million flight hours. The fleet leader, based in Canada, has flown more than 35,000 hours, while 71 PC-12s have logged over 20,000 hours of flight time. As a whole, the PC-12 fleet has recorded more than 9.3 million landings, with four aircraft reporting over 50,000 landings. www.pilatus-aircraft.com
Honeywell Anthem flight deck achives first flight
Honeywell has successfully completed the first flight of its Honeywell Anthem integrated flight deck using Honeywell's Pilatus PC-12 test aircraft. Although Honeywell Anthem has been in flight test for more than a year and has accumulated more than 120 hours of flight time, this flight was the first managed by the next-generation avionics. It is Honeywell's first cloud-connected cockpit system that can be customized for virtually every type of aircraft, from passenger planes and business aircraft to defense, general aviation and advanced air-mobility (AAM) vehicles. The Anthem flight deck is a cloud-connected cockpit system with touchscreen displays that have built-in processors, eliminating the need for bulky external computers and processing modules. According to Honeywell, this architectural system reduces the size, weight, and power requirements of an aircraft’s avionics system by about 50 percent. The PC-12 test aircraft with Honeywell Anthem's integrated flight deck will be showcased at AirVenture 2023 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, July 24-30. www.honeywell.com
Elit’Avia announces expansion into US market
Elit’Avia, provider of private aviation solutions, has announced the acquisition of Pioneer Business Services of Newburgh, New York. Pioneer offers comprehensive services for private aircraft owners and passengers, including end-to-end aircraft management and flexible charter options. Going forward, Michel Coulomb will continue to serve as CEO and Accountable Manager of Elit’Avia International, serving Europe, Middle East, Africa, and Asia; with Kevin Rodgers assuming the role of President of Elit’Avia Americas, serving clients in North and South America. www.elitavia.com
People: Wheels Up announces executive transitions, Todd Smith named interim CEO
Wheels Up last week announced that founder Kenny Dichter will step away from his role as CEO at the company he established in 2013 and took public in 2021. Dichter will continue to be a member of the Board of Directors. The company also announced current Board member Ravi Thakran — former Group Chairman, Asia for LVMH and former Chairman and Founding Partner, L Catterton Asia - will serve as Executive Chairman, and that Chief Financial Officer Todd Smith has been named interim CEO, reporting to Thakran. Wheels Up has retained a leading executive search firm to identify a permanent CEO.
Interim CEO Todd Smith joined Wheels up in 2022 from General Electric where he served in a number of senior, global finance roles over his 25-year career. In a career covering four continents, he has served as Chief Financial Officer for several GE business units, including Gas Power Systems, Capital International, Healthcare Life Sciences, Capital Real Estate and Commercial Finance. He began his career with GE in 1997 as a member of the Financial Management Program and then spent over five and a half years on GE's Corporate Audit Staff. At GE, Smith played a key role - working directly with the CEO and members of the leadership team - to drive the financial analysis around the decision to split the 130-year-old multinational corporation into three separate public companies. Todd Smith holds a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Florida. www.wheelsup.com