- renata927
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
U.S. inks zero-tariff aircraft Accord with Swiss, Koreans
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) commends the Trump Administration on a recent trade agreement with the Republic of Korea (ROK) and a separate announcement on trade with Switzerland. Both agreements are a return to zero-for-zero tariffs on imports of aircraft and parts. The ROK and Switzerland are both signatories of the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft. Since the implementation of the 1979 Agreement, over 30 countries have benefited from a zero-for-zero fair and reciprocal trade agreement in civil aviation. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen noted that the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft contributed to a $104 billion U.S. trade surplus in the aerospace sector, surpassing all other industries in strengthening the nation’s trade balance and supporting the creation of 9.4 million jobs within the United States. NBAA urges the administration to return to a similar zero-for-zero tariff agreement on aircraft and aircraft parts in future bilateral trade deals.
EASA ASC 2025 sees complacency as a safety threat
The biggest risk to aviation safety in Europe is complacency, arising as a consequence of the industry’s strong safety performance in recent years, speakers at this year’s European Union Aviation Safety Agency’s Annual Safety Conference (held in Copenhagen, Denmark on November 12-13) asserted. Meanwhile in an ever more complex operating landscape, existing rules needed to be reviewed, updated and simplified to create greater focus on the safety issues that really matter today, to reduce the administrative burden and to iron out inconsistencies.
“In aviation, we have to constantly reconsider how safe we are,” said EASA Executive Director Florian Guillermet. “Now we need to come together to take the right actions, including to ensure that we don’t do compliance for the sake of compliance but for the sake of safety, to keep safety standards high, while ensuring we have competitive European aviation industry.” Speakers warned that accidents had too often been only narrowly averted in recent years. As examples, they cited runway incursions, and erroneous settings in aircraft altimeters. Lithium batteries presented a growing hazard, they noted, evidenced by recent outbreaks of fire onboard.
Loft Dynamics partners with Trifork pilot training on Apple Vision Pro
Loft Dynamics, the company behind the world’s first EASA- and FAA-qualified virtual reality flight simulators, announced a strategic partnership with Trifork, a global technology company and leader in spatial computing. The companies are developing a solution called LoftHOME, an at-home pilot training kit that extends Loft Dynamics’ training ecosystem to Apple Vision Pro.
For decades, pilot training has relied on full-motion simulators which are trusted but costly, limited in number, and often far from where pilots live and work. LoftHOME aims to deliver the same realism and rigor trusted by regulators in a flexible, immersive format on Apple Vision Pro. The LoftHOME experience follows the complete training flow, from cockpit familiarization and procedure rehearsal in an immersive 3-D environment to briefing, in-simulator instruction, and post-simulator debriefing. It can be used with or without a Loft Dynamics simulator. Pilots and instructors can even join simulator sessions remotely, using the same software and environments found in Loft Dynamics’ full-motion simulators. Loft Dynamics and Trifork will launch pilot programs for LoftHOME with select airlines and training centers before expanding to additional use cases, including aircraft transition, multi-crew cooperation, and operational and emergency procedures. Each is designed to connect at-home rehearsal with in-center, regulator-credited training.
People: Royal Jet appoints Alain Champonnois as VP Commercial
RoyalJet, the Abu Dhabi-based private jet operator, has announced the appointment of Alain Champonnois as Vice-President Commercial. Champonnois is a seasoned professional in the aviation industry who has held senior positions in business aviation for over 25 years. This will be Champonnois’ second stint with RoyalJet as he previously held the post of Commercial Director. Prior to re-joining RoyalJet, Champonnois was the President-CEO of India, Middle East & Africa (IMEA) at Chapman Freeborn, part of Avia Solutions Group. Throughout his career, he has also held multiple senior positions in the aviation industry, including Vice President of Aircraft Sales for Jetex & Honda Aircraft in Dubai, UAE, and Vice President of FBO & MRO at Jet Aviation in Saudi Arabia. While working with Skyservice Business Aviation in Toronto, Canada, Champonnois first held the post of General Manager before assuming several key positions, ultimately becoming Director of FBO Sales and Vice President of Sales & Business Development. Since 2015, he has served on the Standards Board of the International Standard for Business Aircraft Handlers (IS-BAH) and Air Elite.
Champonnois holds an MBA in Business Aviation Management from City and Guilds of London, UK, and a degree in Business Management from Kwantlen University in Canada.
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