George J. Priester Aviation has expanded its customisable jet card programme, the 1945 Card, to include all company brands.

“Answering nationwide demand for greater charter flexibility”, the card programme expansion offers custom pricing to fit each client’s mission profile, available for flights on any the company’s family of brands.

“The 1945 Card meets the needs of the individual better than other charter options,” said Rustin King, National Charter Sales Director. “Travelers discover greater flexibility with no blackout days or peak-day surcharges. They’re easily scheduling an elevated flight experience, while locking in cost certainty that works well with their specific mission.”

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Pop singer Taylor Swift and businessman Elon Musk have both been the subject of social media accounts—created by a University of Florida undergraduate named Jack Sweeney—dedicated to tracking their aircraft movements globally, with tens of thousands of followers on each account. Both also threatened legal action against Sweeney for his actions.

Arguably, Musk bought Twitter at least partly to remove Sweeney’s account from the platform. Musk initially cited “free speech” as the main motivation behind his acquisition of Twitter and pledged not to ban the account, but a month after the transaction closed, so did ElonJet. The Tesla CEO had also previously offered around $50,000 to the holder of the account to cease activity.

Whilst many will say the impact on Musk, Swift, or any celebrity’s flying habits is negligible, examples of aircraft tracking affecting business are not uncommon. One of the most infamous tracking incidents took place in 2019, according to Gitman, when Occidental Petroleum CEO Vicki Hollub took a company aircraft to Omaha, Nebraska—the home of Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett. The Tuesday after, Berkshire Hathaway announced it would take a $10bn preferred share stake in Occidental, contingent on its acquisition of Anadarko Petroleum succeeding.

“Sure enough, Occidental visit on the Saturday, and by the Sunday people are making stock bets because that is what the stock market does,” Gitman told CJI. “In my opinion, that incident and others like it—think about the movie Wall Street—they’re more important than Elon Musk or Taylor Swift. When I speak to my colleagues in investment banking or financial services, they tell me they do this regularly.”

However, if someone lands at London City Airport, it doesn’t mean they are about to buy Citigroup. It is more often than not an educated guess when tracking an aircraft, made more or less sure depending on certain variables such as airport remoteness—there is a lot more going on in London than Omaha.

Other than chartering or fractional programmes—Buffett only flies NetJets—Gitman said there is “very little” that can be done to prevent the public from tracking aircraft movements. “Once you own an aircraft and people know you own it, then it can be tracked. These days it takes as little as a pilot putting a selfie on Instagram.

“If you want to avoid tracking, if you don’t want people knowing where you’re going, you’ve got to charter an aircraft in my opinion.”

The FAA’s Reauthorisation Bill published in April is giving owners more defence against trackers through a new law which will soon come into effect. The law will enable aircraft owners to apply to censor all identifiable information except “for physical markings required by law” by “attest[ing] to a safety or security need” through an application programme.

After the announcement, Sweeney reacted on social media: “Let this be said that this doesn’t prevent us from tracking jets. We can still figure out who’s who via context clues.”

Previously, there were some regulatory measures in place to make it more difficult for aircraft to be tracked. Firstly, the FAA’s Limited Aircraft Data Displayed programme enables owners to request the agency tell third-party flight tracker services to withhold information like call signs and flight numbers. Also, the Privacy International Civil Aviation Organization can block some flight information from being broadcast across unencrypted aircraft transponders.

Gitman agrees with Sweeney that the new regulation will not change much. “It changes a few points around the disclosure of ownership. But Taylor Swift doesn’t own her aircraft in her name, Elon Musk doesn’t either, I am sure nobody does ever. People are not connecting the jet to the person through the trust or the corporation. They’re doing it because there’s a picture of him getting off this plane. Once you have that, you know who owns the aircraft.”

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The process sees the aircraft modified from the most commonly configured eight-passenger layout to accommodate 10 passengers. West Star has completed 10 projects of this nature to date.

George Euler, Corporate Aircraft Interior sales manager, said: “I’ve had the pleasure of reconfiguring several Falcon 2000’s. It starts with our 3D designers and quickly engages our engineering team, allowing us to unleash our creativity. By focusing on the customer’s needs, we tailor the design to meet their operational requirements. We provide the additional seating capacity that is crucial for charter companies. This process ignites creativity, enabling us to innovate and achieve amazing outcomes.”

Floor plan reconfigurations are no small task, with several elements needing to be modified or replaced during the course of the work, according to the company. For example, a typical eight-passenger layout would include a forward four-place club arrangement and a conference group set up in the aft section of the cabin. This area would also have a credenza or kibitzer that is located on the right-hand side.

This credenza is removed and replaced with new aluminum plates mounted in the floor to pick up the existing seat track line. This allows new seat tracks to be installed that are narrower, to accommodate the new narrow-style seats in the area.

Next a new set of narrow-style double conference seats are installed on the left-hand side of the cabin. In most cases, the existing conference table can be used. The table will likely need to be modified in order to allow for egress requirements. Once this equipment is fitted and installed, a new side-ledge and table assembly is built and installed on the right side for the new narrow-style club group.

There are several key cost-driving elements to consider when planning for the 10-passenger configuration change, according to West Star. “Providing your technical sales manager with as much information as you have available at the initial request will expedite their ability to provide you with an accurate proposal. Though it would be great to be able to provide a firm price for the reconfiguration without much detail, each aircraft is like a snowflake—they are rarely identical,” said a spokesperson for West Star.

Some of those elements include a need to obtain the part numbers of the existing four-place club grouping to verify whether the seats that are being retained have been dynamically tested with the new narrow seating. 

Then West Star will determine whether the aircraft has an existing flight data Rrcorder (FDR) and then confirm that the FDR complies with the additional passenger requirements. The company says technical sales manager will need to understand which oxygen bottle is installed for capacity purposes and whether it is positioned in the existing credenza, or outboard, or below the entertainment cabinet. New switching is typically needed, so the existing cabin management system will need to be considered for either modification or upgrade.

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Judging by data from airlines and from different operators, there has been a pilot and captain shortage, says Cannaday. “Due to regulations and insurance requirements, a freshly-minted 800 hour pilot or 1,500 hour pilot (as airline hiring cooled down) could not land a job,” he tells CJI. “While the regionals previously hired many low-hour pilots to fill first officer positions as captains moved to the mainline, it left a void.”

Also, airlines struggled to find qualified pilots to meet the demands caused by retirements. The regional airlines appeared to struggle to find captains and mainline was short pilots as well, the corporate industry was losing countless pilots to legacy airlines to fill direct entry positions, he said.

Further evidence is supplied by consulting firm Oliver Wyman. It estimates a pilot shortfall across North America would continue for the next decade, said Cannaday. Airline retirements are predicted to peak in 2025 – 2026, along with industry growth, presenting more challenges to resolving the shortfall. 

“It will be interesting to see what happens over the next two years,” he adds. “Of course, many things will play into this from new aircraft deliveries, state of the economy, etc.” In-Flight Crew Connections has a large pool of pilots and we are positioned to provide high quality on short notice.  (Don’t miss CJI’s recent One Minute Week probing pilot shortages).

Meanwhile, apparently bucking the global trend in pilot hires, British Airways revealed at Farnborough Airshow, UK its plan to fully-fund up to 200 places on its Speedbird Pilot Academy recruitment programme for 2025. “The money provides real opportunity for people who have been put off from applying to become a commercial airline pilot because of the £100k cost of training,” it said.

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Before my taster session in the simulator, Domenic Di Iorio, global head of Training, captain and instructor Phenom 300 Flight Operations, CAE made the introductions. Installed in February and welcoming its first trainee pilots in March, the full flight simulator is the ninth Phenom 300 installation operated by Embraer and CAE as part of their joint venture Embraer-CAE Training Services (ECTS) launched last year.

The new simulator – Number 9 – is the second in Europe and follows the installation of other Phenom 300 simulators in Dallas, Texas and Las Vegas, Nevada. The Burgess Hill simulator is the second to last in a line of eight full flight simulators at the facility. (Elsewhere in the building is another line of eight simulators dedicated to a range of different aircraft types). There are two Phenom 300 sims in the Burgess Hill facility.

FAA authorisation

The simulator is certified by three authorities: the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), Transport Canada Civil Aviation (TCCA) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Federation Aviation Administration (FAA) authorisation is expected on the Burgess Hill simulator within the next year.

Corporate and owner pilots undertaking initial training on the Phenom 300 will follow an approved training curriculum for issue of a type rating, as required by regulators and operators. Initial training can be from 40 to 100 hours ground training, with a combination of classroom and online training. That’s typically followed by 16 hours as pilot flying (PF) and then 16 hours as pilot not flying (PNF). The Phenom 300 simulator is used for used for both initial and recurrent training.

The flight simulator uses approved aircraft flight data and must meet regulatory requirements with an initial simulator qualification followed by yearly simulator requalification. It’s housed in a fully articulated space accommodating a cockpit, behind which is a flight control consol and additional seating for two trainee pilots.

So how realistic is the simulator? LaRosa who filmed 800 hours of aerial footage for the two-hour movie should know. The aerial sequences were filmed from a converted Phenom 300 camera ship with a gimbal-mounted film camera on the nose and a still camera aft of the cockpit. The aircraft is owned by LaRosa’s friend and business partner Jonathan Spano. (Incidentally, LaRosa is the only non-military pilot to be cleared for a 240-knot (276 mph) flyby over the deck of the Nimitz-class, nuclear-powered super carrier US Theodore Roosevelt, as part of the movie filming).

‘An almost perfect match’

“The Phenom 300 simulator is an almost perfect match for the real aircraft,” LaRosa told CJI. “While the visuals are not perfect, they are amazing. The movement of the simulator is very accurate.”

He’s equally impressed by the Phenom 300 aircraft. “It’s a super capable aircraft – and like any aircraft it’s really all about the training,” adds LaRosa. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Canada PW535E engines, the Embraer jet is rated for single pilot operations and can carry up to 10 passengers. It has a maximum speed of 533mph and a maximum range (with four passengers) of 2,010 nautical miles. About 700 are in operation worldwide.

Back in the simulator, I’m working hard. LaRosa let me follow him on the controls as we took smoothly off. He then turns the aircraft over to me for some gentle climbing turns to the left before descending to trace the course of a valley floor.

Sitting behind us in the simulator is Di Iorio – a 40-year-plus veteran of CAE with more than 1,000 hours on type in his logbooks. Today, he is playing the role of Air Traffic Control giving us clearances. In addition to his own currency training on the simulator, Di Iorio also acts as both an instructor and examiner on type.

Engine fire

Towards the end of our ‘flight’ back to the ‘airfield’, he slips seamlessly into the role of tormentor-in-chief. Without warning, he randomly announces the discovery of an engine fire in our port engine.

LaRosa immediately takes control and starts the word-perfect emergency engine drills. Right engine shut down and ignite fire extinguisher, single-engine operating speed and configuration together with emergency radio calls before touch down. It all goes flawlessly. But the full flight simulator is so realistic, and I’m so invested in the simulated emergency, I couldn’t dispel that haunting feeling of queasiness.

If you enjoyed reading about this taster flight simulator session, buckle up for a ride in the real Phenom 300 camera ship that LaRosa used to film the aerial sequences in the latest Top Gun movie. Published in Corporate Jet Investor Quarterly, we ride with LaRosa as he recalls how the camera ship was born and the challenges of filming a Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from a business jet.

The CAE Phenom 300 simulator is located at CAE’s Burgess Hill facility, West Sussex, UK.

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There’s a range of evidence to consider. Most recently, reports last month that Wheels Up laid off more than 10% of its pilots blaming staffing imbalance. Also, the much-reported pause in commercial airline hiring is understood to have played a role. But how much does this reflect Wheels Up’s individual situation and what, if any light, does its cast on the availability of commercial pilots in general?

“Wheels Up has reduced its fleet size and primary service area, which would indeed make them overstaffed,” Brian Foley, founder and principal of consultancy Brian Foley Associates (BRiFO) tells CJI. “Flight revenues have also decreased suggesting fewer flight hours flown.”

Reduction in US charter

It’s likely to have been exacerbated by the continuous reduction in US charter utilisation, which the recent ARGUS report estimates to have fallen by 5.3% year-on-year, he adds.

So, taken together, the latest evidence could suggest aviation – both business and commercial – is seeing significant improvement in the availability of pilots to fly its aircraft. Foley puts it like this: “This, [slowdown in charter] combined with airline and freight carrier pilot hiring pauses, slowdowns and furloughs suggests a plateau in the pilot shortage and more available cockpit crew members.”

Bearing that in mind, can we conclude continuing reports about the impending shortage of pilots are overstated? Business aviation, unlike the airlines, has a distinct advantage when it comes to pilot recruitment, according to Foley. The sector requires fewer than 1,500 hours experience which, in turn, provides a more ready supply of pilot candidates than the stream available to the United, American Airlines, Delta and the like, he adds. 

This unlocks another significant point. “Our industry’s problem is more about pilot retention after attaining 1,500 hours and going to the airlines,” says Foley. “With airlines slowing hiring, this should become less of a problem in the near term.”

Unexpected silver lining

One unexpected silver lining to the supply chain cloud plaguing aviation is a beneficial impact on the supply of pilots. Boeing’s and Airbus’s inability to deliver new airliners in quantity will also have a positive impact on pilot availability, thinks Foley of BRiFO. 

It is a point picked up by Mike Stengel, principal of consultancy AeroDynamic Advisory. “There is still a shortage of pilots in the medium term due to unfavourable demographics,” he says. “But airlines are getting some temporary relief because they can’t get new airplanes fast enough, which has thus slowed down their hiring plans compared to the frenzy we saw in 2022 and 2023.”

The key word here for Stengel is “temporary”. Whatever the short-term challenges, the long-term direction of travel is clear. “As production rates increase at Airbus and Boeing, and Boeing also sorts through its own issues, we expect pilot hiring at major US airlines to accelerate again which will create ripple effects throughout the industry,” he argues. “This eventually translates into higher attrition at regional airlines and the business and general aviation segment that Wheels Up plays in since major airlines are often viewed as career destinations.” 

We did ask Wheels Up for comment but were told the organisation was unable to offer a view due to the media quiet period ahead of its second-quarter financial results expected on August 12th, 2024. In May, the company posted first-quarter 2024 financial results with total revenue down 44% year-over-year to $197m. (The fall was mainly driven by its exit from the aircraft management and aircraft sales businesses, as well as reduced membership and flight revenue).

11,000 airline pilots certified

Meanwhile, in March the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) highlighted FAA research revealing the US continues to certificate more airline pilots each month than in the years before the global pandemic. For example, more than 11,000 airline pilots were certified in the 12 months to March alone.

“Despite continued data to the contrary, corporate special interests continue to push the narrative that the United States lacks enough pilots,” the association said on its website. “ALPA has long maintained that while there were some pilot training backlogs coming out of Covid, the system is working and still producing record numbers of pilots. Passenger demand continues to be strong, and while mainline airline hiring has stabilised, resulting in a reduction of new pilots being hired, flight schools continue to have record enrolment.”

Urging against FAA legislative and organisational changes, Jason Ambrosi, president, ALPA wrote: “The system is working as intended, we’re producing more than enough pilots, and we’re experiencing the safest period in US aviation history, thanks in large part to the highly trained pilots on every flight. However, all stakeholders have an obligation to remain vigilant and play an active role in the operations of the most complex aviation system on the planet.”

So, it seems for now, at least, fears about an acute shortage of business aviation pilots and their airline colleagues may be misplaced. (Read the CAE Aviation Talent Forecast here).

*Planes need pilots – for now and the foreseeable future. No one disputes the tremendous progress being made with autonomously piloted aircraft. But do you fancy leaving the ground in one any time soon?

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Benefits of the Ascent Club are said to include a dedicated travel adviser, guaranteed availability and recoveries, priority booking on peak travel days and up to an additional $250 in perks per flight.

“Our objective was to craft a membership programme with distinct benefits that demonstrates that we understand our clients and what is important to them,” said Barry Shevlin, co-founder and CEO, FlyUSA. “A key differentiator is the 2% cash back that rewards customers for being loyal. While other programmes keep clients at various tiers based on the size of their deposit, our programme pays clients back.”

The new programme divides membership levels into two tiers: Ascend Gold and Ascend Platinum. With a fully refundable deposit, the top-tier Platinum product offers the benefit of a shorter callout time frame of 72 hours, said the company. It has a fleet of 20 managed aircraft and more than 1,000 clients and members.

FlyUSA is based at Clearwater Airpark, Clearwater, Florida and has bases through the state. It also operates from locations in Texas. 

Meanwhile, in June 2023, FlyUSA  acquired 3B Aviation, at the time, expanding the company’s privately managed fleet to 15 aircraft. Speaking after the acquisition, Shevlin said: “We are excited at the opportunity to expand our aircraft acquisition and management services on behalf of our more than 700 on-demand charter clients across the country.”

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The news comes after Clay Lacy became one of the first authorised dealers and installers for the satellite-based internet solution back in May. Starlink enables inflight 4K video calls, streaming, online gaming and virtual private networks. With over 4,700 satellites in orbit, the Starlink constellation covers land, oceans and polar regions providing global coverage.

The first installations have averaged three weeks and were carried out by maintenance technicians at Clay Lacy’s Waterbury-Oxford Airport (KOXC) and Van Nuys Airport (KVNY) FAA Part 145 Repair Stations. The installations were completed on three Gulfstream G550s, a G650ER and a Bombardier Global 6000.

 “There has been high demand for this transformative, connectivity technology,” said Edward Diaz, avionics operations and sales manager for Clay Lacy Aviation. “Our team is moving quickly to provide low-downtime, expertly completed installations so that owners and operators can get the most out of their aircraft. Starlink will enhance operations for crew members, as well as provide a better flight experience for travellers.”

Clay Lacy Aviation also performs supplemental type certificate (STC) installs on the Gulfstream G450 and GV and the Bombardier Global 6500/7500, Express and XRS. Additional models are expected throughout the year including the Challenger 300/350, Global 5000, Gulfstream GIV, Embraer Legacy 600/650, Praetor and Phenom 300, among many others.

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This strategic acquisition for FlyHouse comes as it prepares to launch its app for customers. By utilising advanced technology, FlyHouse plans to enhance “the overall customer journey” and “simplify” the booking process. The firm says it has a “strong commitment” to offering transparent pricing, real-time availability and streamlined booking procedures.

Jack E. Lambert Jr., CEO of FlyHouse, said: “Acquiring JetASAP is a monumental step forward for FlyHouse. This integration not only enhances our service offerings but also aligns perfectly with our mission to transform the aviation industry. We are dedicated to leveraging JetASAP’s technology and expertise to deliver an exceptional experience for our customers and stakeholders. 

“This acquisition is a game-changer, and we are eager to integrate their platform with our upcoming app, setting new standards in private jet travel. Our goal is to make private jet travel more accessible, transparent, and efficient for our customers.”

Lisa Kiefer Sayer, founder and CEO of JetASAP, has now joined FlyHouse’s leadership team. 

“I can’t wait to jump in and get started,” said Kiefer Sayer. “In the coming weeks and months, I’ll be working closely with the team to scale both the FlyHouse app and JetASAP, building on our solid foundations. Together, we will be stronger and move even faster to reimagine the future of aviation.”

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