The rule requires incorporating improved fuel-efficient technologies for airplanes manufactured after January 1, 2028, and for subsonic jet airplanes and large turboprop and propeller airplanes that are not yet certified.

The work on this rule began in 2016, when the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted standards for new aircraft to be 10% more fuel-efficient than previous models. The FAA, working in conjunction with industry stakeholders, then embarked on a multi-year process to develop its own, tailored rule specifically for the US market.

“We are taking a large step forward to ensure the manufacture of more fuel-efficient airplanes, reduce carbon pollution, and reach our goal of net-zero emissions by 2050,” said Mike Whitaker, administrator, FAA.

This rule applies to a wide range of aircraft, including popular models like the Boeing 777-X, Airbus A330-neo, and even business jets such as Cessna Citation and civil turboprop airplanes like ATR 72 and the Viking Air Limited Q400. Notably, it doesn’t impact currently flying aircraft, but focuses on shaping the future of a cleaner aviation industry.

This new rule is expected to deliver significant environmental benefits. Estimates suggest it could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 1.4bn tons over the next 50 years, equivalent to planting 74bn trees.

But the impact goes beyond just the environment. Airlines are likely to see cost savings from improved fuel efficiency, and the development of new technologies could boost innovation and create jobs in the aerospace sector.

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“This is a big project,” said Ben Shirazi, president, VIP Completions. “In addition to the size of the aircraft, the degree of refurbishment is near total. The BBJ is the gold standard for VVIP corporate airliners. Working closely with our client, we will create something unique among a standard of excellence.”

The refurbishment will harmonise personalised tastes and preferences, the best designers, brands and materials and the most sophisticated latest-generation technologies, said Shirazi.

The BBJ’s floor plan will include three main cabin areas: forward main lounge with built-in movie projector and drop-down screen, aft lounge and aft en-suite master bedroom. There will be a large mid-cabin galley with bar area adjoining aft lounge. Conveniences include three lavatories – forward crew lavatory, large mid-cabin passenger lavatory and aft master bedroom lavatory with full shower.

The design upgrades will feature: custom-designed seats throughout the cabin upholstered with contrasting premium Garrett leathers and diamond pattern stitchwork and divans upholstered in premium Loro Piana fabrics. The full cabin will be re-veneered in open grain matte white oak finish with 100%-New Zealand-wool carpeting by RedRock. New natural Arabescato stone countertops will also be added.

Since VIP Completions was launched nearly 10 years ago, the company has refurbished six BBJs, two Boeing 757s, a Boeing 767 and a Boeing 727. Pictured is the company’s latest refurbishment project, a BBJ commissioned by an undisclosed client, arriving recently at its Fort Lauderdale, Florida base.

Derived from the Boeing 737, the BBJ can fly more than 6,000nm non-stop. Launched in 1998, there are about 140 BBJs in service worldwide.

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If you have not seen Sesame Street, Plaza Sésamo or Sesamstrasse (or any one of the 160 international versions in 70 languages) recently, you may have forgotten Oscar. He is a green puppet who lives in a trash can. Jim Henson and Jon Stone, the creators of Sesame Street, named him after the “magnificently rude” owner of a local restaurant they regularly ate in.

You may be thinking that the airline has hired a character famous for being grouchy to guarantee consistent customer service levels, but in fact the puppet has been given the role of Chief Trash Officer (CTO). United is using him to highlight how Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) is made from waste.

The airline has made more than 30 videos of Oscar talking with United staff (the first two are here) and is working on digital and physical campaigns. If you email Oscar (Chief.TrashOfficer@united.com) you receive a reply telling you that he is out of the office. It ends saying: “For the forestinkable future, our CTO is out of office telling the world about his love of garbage. Speaking of, your email will be forwarded straight to the trash folder. Just where we like it.” (This is not particularly innovative, a lot of emails to airlines seem to go straight to trash folders.)

SAF was less than 0.1% of United’s total fuel use in 2022. The airline says it is using Oscar to highlight its investments in SAF.

“United has invested in more sustainable aviation fuel production than any airline in the world by far,”  said Josh Earnest, chief communications officer, United. “Every airline burns jet fuel to run their business, but no airline will solve climate change on its own. So United has enlisted Oscar to help us educate the travelling public of all ages about SAF and rally them to the cause of fighting climate change. From banana peels to fryer grease, Oscar is uniquely qualified to help us explain why trash could be the treasure that fuels the jets of the future.”

While it clearly hopes people will be encouraged to book flights, United deserves huge credit for this campaign which is great for both airlines and business aviation. While you may be getting bored of SAF*, very few people outside of aviation really understand what it is or how it is made.

United’s Oscar campaign explains in very simple terms that SAF is – and will be – made from waste. The airline’s investments in five different SAF companies show this. It has stakes in Alder Fuels (forestry and wood waste), Cemvita (taking carbon dioxide from factory emissions), Dimensional Energy (air extraction), Fulcrum BioEnergy (municipal waste) and Next Renewable Fuels (used cooking oils and fats).

Last week United Ventures, the airline’s corporate venture capital fund, launched a new SAF fund with Air Canada, Boeing, GE Aerospace, JPMorgan Chase and Honeywell as investors.

Business aviation companies are also investing in SAF. Directional Capital is an investor in Alder Fuels along with AvFuel. NetJets has backed WasteFuels which is looking to make SAF from garbage.

As United says, no operator can change climate change on its own. Perhaps business aviation as an industry should have its own sustainability campaign. What about using a big flightless yellow bird? (Image courtesy of United Airlines).

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“These accreditations encompass our holistic commitment to leading our industry toward its goals for carbon neutrality,” said Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream. “We are proud to be the first original equipment manufacturer to be identified for these efforts across all four categories.”

Other awardees include Executive Flight Operations at Boeing, which received an accreditation under the flight category, American Express Corporate Aviation for flight and operations sustainability and Dell Technologies Corporate Aviation for flight. Several other organisations won awards but wished to stay anonymous.

Ed Bolen, president and CEO, NBAA said: “Through programmes such as NBAA’s Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation Program, business aviation is taking concrete, measurable steps to address climate change.”

The NBAA launched the programme at the beginning of last year to promote “a culture of sustainability by encouraging companies to think and act critically and to implement as many sustainability strategies as possible”.

The association previously awarded accreditations to Mente, Monarch Air Group and Textron Aviation in November.

Gulfstream demonstrated its sustainability efforts in December, when it partnered with Rolls-Royce to fly the first business jet using 100% Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF).

Sustainable Flight Department Accreditation winners – at a glance

• American Express Corporate Aviation: Flight and Operations
• The Boeing Company, Executive Flight Operations: Flight
• Coca-Cola Company: Flight
• Cox Aviation: Flight
• Dell Technologies Corporate Aviation: Flight
• Dow Aviation: Flight, Operations, Ground support, Infrastructure
• Gulfstream Aerospace: Flight, Operations, Ground support, Infrastructure
• Hewlett Packard Enterprise Company: Operations

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Textron Aviation reported that its turnover was down $14m in Q3 to $1.2bn, while Boeing reported a net loss of $3.3bn on its $16bn turnover.

Dave Calhoun, president and CEO, Boeing said the supply chain, inflation, labour shortages and macroeconomic problems are “challenging for everybody” and that he is not anticipating supply chain issues getting any better in the near term.

Calhoun said the solution to the problem is not “pushing the system too fast”. He added: “We slow down when we have to and we try not to compound problems that may arise from the supply chain or from our own shops.”

Meanwhile Scott Donnelly, chairman, president and CEO, Textron said the reduction in the number of jets delivered (from 49 to 33) is due to supply chain disruptions throughout the year that have impacted production schedules.  As a result, for the full-year results, Donnelly expects the aviation division of the group to lose $300m of turnover.

To combat the impact of this going into 2023, Donnelly said: “We have been increasing the number of hours and labour and activity in the factory. We’re clearly not going to get to the number that we were originally hoping to, based on some of these delays. But we’re going to keep ramping up that activity going through 2023.” 

Read more on the Textron results here and the latest financial results from General Dynamics, Gulfstream’s parent company, here.

Meanwhile, a range of OEMs have acknowledged supply chain disruptions. At NBAA-BACE earlier this month, Éric Trappier, chairman and CEO, Dassault Aviation expressed concern about energy supplies and pricing, inflation and interest rates and the continuing effects of the global pandemic.

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The Legacy Society is a new advanced level of membership which Airbus Corporate Jets, Textron Aviation, Boeing and others have signed up to.

A portion of the cost of the membership will be allocated to NBAA charities to support scholarship opportunities, and Society members can choose where the funds are directed.

In exchange, Society members will be front and centre at conferences and events, beginning with the NBAA Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (NBAA-BACE).

“The society honours the past 75 years of industry achievements and growth while looking to the future of business aviation,” said Ed Bolen, CEO and president, NBAA. “This anniversary year offers an opportunity for everyone to take part in telling our industry’s story of innovation and achievement so that business aviation is even stronger seven decades from today.”

He added: “In that spirit, this special anniversary year membership is a way to recognise the industry’s past and ensure its continued success.”

Earlier this month, the NBAA launched a website to help the victims of Hurricane Ian which hit Florida in September. The association said NBAA-BACE at the Orange County Convention Center, Orlando, will go ahead as planned on October 18th as the centre and airport were not damaged by the storm.

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* Jet Aviation finalises completion contract for a BBJ MAX 9.

* Scheduled for delivery to an undisclosed customer at Jet Aviation’s completion facility in Basel in next year.

* The signing follows a contract finalised earlier this year for two BBJ MAX 8 aircraft.

Jet Aviation announced today that it has signed a completion contract for a BBJ MAX 9. This follows the signing of two BBJ MAX 8 aircraft earlier this year.

The aircraft is for an undisclosed VVIP customer and is scheduled to arrive at Jet Aviation’s completion facility in Basel early-2023. The design has been created by an external designer, and will be engineered, crafted, installed and certified in-house at Jet Aviation.

“We are delighted to have been selected to complete this beautifully ornate cabin interior,” said Christoph Fondalinski, vice president completions at Jet Aviation. “Customers are desiring cabins that offer the comfort and environment of a private residence. We continue to push boundaries to create the ultimate cabin experience through innovative engineering such as our industry-leading balance of low cabin sound and weight, all at our exceptional level of craftsmanship. These were key factors in winning this contract.”

The BBJ MAX 9 signing success follows a contract signed earlier this year for two BBJ MAX 8 aircraft. The two aircraft are part of a turnkey project with Boeing Business Jets for a head-of-state customer and are scheduled to arrive in Basel during the first half of 2023. The BBJ MAX 8 interiors, designed by the Jet Aviation Design Studio, will be completed by Jet Aviation in Basel.

“As these particular aircraft will see some lengthy missions, it was imperative to the customer that the completion center demonstrate industry-leading abilities to minimize weight without sacrificing the quality of the cabin experience,” said Matthew Woollaston, Jet Aviation’s vice president of completion sales. “Alongside expert industry knowledge and capabilities, our team really went above and beyond to provide an incredibly thought-through response, further demonstrating our agility, flexibility and ability to truly understand what a customer is looking for, while working with them to achieve it seemingly effortlessly.”

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At $120m each, the Mach 1.4 AS2 promised to connect any two points on Earth “in three hours or less” by 2027. Industry veteran Dr Richard Tracy spearheaded the vision for supersonic business travel, alongside ex-Gulfstream and Rolls-Royce engineer, Michael Hinderberger and others.

Big names such as Lockheed Martin, Airbus, Boeing and GE Aviation all worked – not at the same time – with Aerion to develop the AS2. In addition to engineering, manufacturing and flight-testing services, Boeing also invested in the company.

GE has also said it is no longer building the twin-shaft, medium-bypass Affinity engine which would have powered the AS2.

In March this year, NetJets ordered 20 AS2 jets worth $120m each. It also signed an exploratory agreement to become the exclusive business jet partner for Aerion Connect, a platform to provide seamless point-to-point services.

The company was reported to be in talks to go public via a SPAC (Special Purpose Acquisition Company) merger earlier this year, but this did not come to fruition.

Ex-board member Bryan Moss, vice chairman, Moss Consultants, told Revolution.Aero: “I am very impressed by what they achieved in such a short time and I am disappointed with what has happened.”

What went wrong?

There were rumblings about the costs to set up Aerion’s new headquarters in Melbourne, Florida being too high. However, the company’s announcement came as a shock to many – including some partners. Many believe it was a combination of factors.

Aerion told Revolution.Aero, it had “proven hugely challenging to close on the scheduled and necessary large new capital requirements to finalise the transition of the AS2 into production”.

Industry insiders agree that it is a very difficult time to raise private investment in public equity (PIPE). One source said: “This is based upon the movement away from emerging technologies, which has partly caused the reopen in trade. And second, there is an inflation concern and rise in interest rates because the world is reopening.”

Companies will tend to show a larger total addressable market when the markets are good. But the AS2 project was extremely capital intensive. “The market for a supersonic business jet is just not that large, on a per unit basis, to support the R&D and production cost,” a source said.

According to Richard Aboulafia, vice president, Analysis at Teal Group, Aerion’s funding to develop the GE Affinity engine “greatly increased their non-recurring bill, which probably helped kill” the start-up.

Nick Fazioli, Jefferies MD Aerospace and Aviation told our Town Hall earlier this month the summer and autumn would prove a critical time for the first aviation industry SPACs. “This summer and fall [autumn] is going to be a really interesting time because we are going to see how these early deals that we keep referring to are going to play out through their shareholder growth and trading, free from the SPAC safety net. It will be telling to see how this plays out.”

Experts believe SPACs are making a major contribution to innovation in the US – filling the space occupied by sovereign wealth funds in other countries.

According to Richard Aboulafia, vice president, Analysis at Teal Group, Aerion’s funding to develop the GE Affinity engine “greatly increased their non-recurring bill, which probably helped kill” the start-up.

Boomless cruise technology and future

Aerion’s technology is another factor which might have caused it to receive inadequate funding. Its patented boomless cruise suggested flight without sonic boom. But this would have required frequent altitude changes, which some thought would make it challenging to operate on a schedule. “A low boom aircraft would probably be a better way to go,” said one source.

Some of Aerion’s early-stage competitors, such as Spike, offer this option. While Boom Supersonic, another competitor is aiming to offer the service to commercial airline passengers – therefore opening it up to a much greater market.

JetNet iQ founder Rolland Vincent still thinks “the market is clearly there” for a supersonic airplane. “Pricing has been established. The technology does not require any leaps of faith. Capital is cheap and [he thought] generally available,” said Vincent.

Boom Supersonic’s Overture is aiming to offer the supersonic service to commercial airline passengers.

Aerion could turn to investors to raise capital, however Boeing, a big investor, was understandably hit hard by the pandemic. An industry insider told Revolution.Aero that Aerion might have a chance selling what’s left of its business to one of the “primes” or a company in adjacent markets.

The company’s leadership, characterised by some as “operational” rather than “evangelical” – or passion-based – has been questioned. Although other industry leaders like Moss and Kenn Ricci, principal of Directional Aviation and chairman of Flexjet, which placed AS2 orders in 2015, disagree.

Ricci told Revolution.Aero: “We were particularly impressed with the recent design changes and innovations generated by Tom Vice and his current team. We understand the vast investment required by such programmes to bring them to fruition and the inherent risks involved.”

Whether or not the company is sold, Aerion said its “business jet programme meets all market, technical, regulatory and sustainability requirements”.

Aerion said: “Our team has created disruptive new innovations plus leading-edge technologies and intellectual property … Given these conditions the Aerion Corporation is now taking the appropriate steps in consideration of this ongoing financial environment.”

And so, about 18 years on from its inception, the Aerion project bids farewell.

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It is offering 20m units at $10. Each unit consists of one share of common stock and one-half of a warrant, exercisable at $11.50. At 20m public units, New Vista Acquisition would be valued at $250m.

New Vista takes the total number of SPACs floated in 2021 to 95, according to SPAC Analytics on February 2nd, 2021. The average size of one in 2020 was $279m, and the total number floated was 248, according to SPAC Insider.

The SPAC has been floated by CEO and chairman Dennis Muilenburg, former CEO of Boeing, chief financial officer, Co-President and director Travis Nelson, who served as managing member of Eclipse Investors and previously was an MD at TowerBrook Capital Partners; and chief operating officer, Co-President, and director Kirsten Bartok Touw, the founder and managing partner of AirFinance.

“Emerging technologies we have identified include, but are not limited to, electric, hybrid and distributed propulsion, alternative fuel, power and power storage systems, advanced materials and manufacturing technologies, digital networks and advanced computing, sensor and situational awareness systems, robotics and automation, software-driven data processing, machine learning and AI,” according to the S1 Form filed with the SEC.

The SPAC is sponsored by a Delaware company called New Vista Acquisition LLC, which has committed to purchase an average 7m warrants at the price of $1 per warrant. The SPAC will be supported with additional directors with years of experience at Rolls-Royce, Maxar Technologies and the US Air Force. Advisors from NASA, Universal Hydrogen and Uber will also be involved.

Bartok has previously told our sister title Revolution.Aero that operational managers with experience in their vertical of the industry have trust and respect which is a factor for SPAC success.

Aerospace SPACs on the rise

New Vista’s filing underscores a larger shift towards aerospace and aviation SPACs, which have been on the rise – almost one per month – since October last year.

Kenn Ricci, founder of Directional Aviation launched Zanite Acquisition Corporation, which will focus on advanced air mobility, sustainable aviation and other emerging technologies.

“We typically have around $30m to invest in equity in each new company. With leverage we can make that up to around $100m or $150m,” Ricci told Corporate Jet Investor. “There are private equity companies interested in several billion-dollar companies but there is a gap between what we do and what the large funds are doing. That is why we have filed for a SPAC.”

In December 2020, helicopter operator Blade said it was going public via a merger with Experience Investment Corp, an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners. Through the merger, Blade will be valued at $825m – significantly higher than its 2018 valuation of $140m. The company also rebranded as Blade Urban Air Mobility.

The $825m deal included $400m in gross proceeds, as well as a committed private investment in public equity (PIPE) deal of $125m.

Then, on February 1st, 2021, private jet charter company Wheels Up said it was going public via a merger with blank check company Aspirational Consumer Lifestyle. This deal gives Wheels Up an enterprise value of $2.1bn and $750m in cash.

What all these deals clearly indicate is an influx of a lot of cash and interest in the aviation and aerospace industries. Perhaps more than ever before. Nick Fazioli, Jefferies’ MD and head of Commercial Aerospace and Aviation, captured this perfectly.

“This transaction validates the fact that institutional investors and public markets really have belief and conviction in this space,” he told Corporate Jet Investor.

Fazioli said this would spur others to look at business aviation investment. “We are seeing significant interest from companies looking to invest equity or lend debt to business aviation companies and this may encourage others and lead to more consolidation of the industry.”

In the advanced air mobility space, aircraft manufacturer Joby Aviation is exploring a deal to go public through a merger with a SPAC at $5bn. It has kept details under wraps for now, although it recently acquired Uber’s Elevate network – bringing total investment for Joby to $820m.

Lilium Jet is another eVTOL company seeking public investment via SPAC. Total investment in the sector is rising rapidly, with several companies in the aerospace and aviation sectors on the verge of going public.

New Vista Acquisition plans to list on the Nasdaq under the symbol NVSAU. Citi and Jefferies are the joint bookrunners on the deal.

How the inability to raise capital could hold the revolution back

Kirsten Bartok Touw, director New Vista Acquisition Corp and founder and managing partner of AirFinance

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Referring to the announcement that Boeing and Spirit Aerosystems are dismantling their engineering teams assisting development of Aerion’s AS2 project, Aboulafia told Corporate Jet Investor: “If you look at the long history of SSBJ [supersonic business jet] concepts and Aerion, ironically, time ceases to have any meaning.”

Aerion recently announced its first flight of the AS2, due in 2024, had been delayed until 2025. Aboulafia said the idea of a supersonic business jet has been around for years, indicating that any extra time required in development would not come as a surprise.

“The idea has been around for decades, as has Aerion. They’ve attempted to work with Airbus and Lockheed Martin. Boeing is more promising, but hardly a guarantee of success. And many other companies have looked at the concept too. One or two years won’t matter. In other words, either this works or it doesn’t. We’ll see.”

Nicolas Jouan, aerospace and defence analyst, GlobalData, offered his view on the announcement: “Boeing and Spirit Aerosystem’s decision to seemingly abandon their Aerion AS2 supersonic business jet programme may be hasty, as even if commercial airlines suffer from a lack of demand from the general population of travellers, it is likely that high-end business travel will recover as soon as the global economy restarts. Supersonic business jets, unbothered by new social distancing regulations and cheap oil prices, could be a rare glimpse of hope in the commercial aviation industry.”

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