Upward Trend

With a global fleet of 32,000 aircraft ranging from regional turboprops to jets that travel one-stop to anywhere in the world, business aviation is, shall we say, big business.

It is also growing, with a recent report from Honeywell estimating 9,450 new business jet deliveries worth US$280 billion between now and 2024. However, the sector faces a number of challenges here in Australia in terms of access to airports, as well as customs and immigration facilities.

Australian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) chief executive David Bell says there are roughly 400 aircraft in the business aviation sector in this country, with about 180 of them business jets and the rest turboprops.

Bell says operators often struggle to get peak landing and takeoff slots at the major gateways such as Sydney because of the congestion, and Brisbane, which gives preference to aircraft with more than 50 seats.

While smaller secondary airports such as Sydney’s Bankstown or Archerfield in Brisbane can and do take some of the smaller business aircraft, the larger business jets are restricted to the main airports due to limits on the maximum landing and takeoff weights.

“All the cities have secondary airports but the thing is our aeroplanes are getting bigger,” Bell tells Australian Aviation.

“Certainly some of our members can operate from Archerfield, Jandakot, Bankstown and Parafield.

Of course Melbourne is very well serviced because its got that extra airport, Essendon, which can take large business jets up to 45,000kg. ” “But even that is beginning to be a limit because our aeroplanes are becoming bigger and heavier than 45,000kg. ” The ABAA, which supports owners and operators to manage their business jets and has the likesof Execujet, Adagold Aviation, and Jet City among its membership, is working with Essendon Airport to increase the maximum takeoff and landing weight to 60,000kg.

As an example, Gulfstream’s flagship G650 corporate jet, which can fly 7,000nm (12,964km) at Mach 0. 85, has a maximum takeoff weight of 45,178kg, according to the company’s website.

This trend towards larger business jets reflects the increased amount of international flying done by senior company executives. Some of the more common routes include Sydney- Honolulu-New York and Sydney- Maldives-London, as well as Australia- China and Australia-India flights.

Flights into and out of Australia must land at established international gateway airports for customs and immigration clearance.

Bell says Sydney Airport has the best setup for business jets, with officials heading over to the FBOs (fixed based operations) to process passengers, crew and any baggage. However, airports such as Perth require passengers and baggage to be cleared within the international terminal, which involves the aircraft crossing the runway from the general aviation precinct.

Meanwhile, at Essendon Airport, customs and immigration staff are able to come from Tullamarine to conduct passenger clearance.

However, when things are busy at Melbourne’s main airport, arriving passengers at Essendon have to be transferred by a “secure van” to Tullamarine before they can officially say they have arrived in Australia.

Bell says it all adds up to a less than ideal situation and his association has put in a submission to the federal government’s review of customs and border protection operations to have facilities similar to what is in place at Sydney around the country for business aviation operators.

“Having these off-terminal clearances is really in line with what happens in the rest of the world,” Bell says.

“We are out of step with the rest of the world, except for Sydney and to a limited extent Brisbane. ” An example of the latest technology aircraft is the Gulfstream G500 and G600, which were unveiled in October.

The G600, for example, is able to carry up to 19 passengers 6,200nm (11,482km) at a speed of Mach 0. 85, which puts all of Asia within nonstop reach.

To be built at Gulfstream’s two new facilities in Savannah, Georgia the first flight of the G500 was scheduled for 2015, with certification from the US Federal Aviation Administration and European Aviation Safety Agency planned to take place in 2017. Deliveries were expected to start in 2018.

The G600 flight test program was due to begin about 12-18 months after the G500, Gulfstream said on October 14, with entry into service projected to be in 2019.

“The G500 and G600 are tremendous additions to our family ofaircraft, filling a niche in an already extensive product line,” Gulfstream president Larry Flynn said.

And over the border in Canada, on October 19 Bombardier launched its latest corporate jet, the Challenger 650, a mid-size business jet that is an update of its existing Challenger 605 model, with a 4,000nm (7,400km) range for six passengers and two crew.

It is these newer business jets that customers are likely to order as they take delivery of new aircraft over the next 20 years.

The Honeywell Business Aviation Outlook for 2014 found operators planned to make new jet purchase equivalent to about 23 per cent of their fleets over the next five years for either replacement or growth.

The survey said 75 per cent of all spending on new business jets in the period ahead was forecast to be on large-cabin aircraft classes.

“Volume growth between now and 2024 will be led by these classes of aircraft, reflecting 60 per cent of additional units and nearly 85 per cent of additional retail value,” Honeywell said.

“While large-cabin models still garner the largest share of specific buying plans, the mid-size and smaller models recovered some share for the first time in several years, reflecting improved prospects for popular production models as well as stronger interest in newer models just now available or soon to enter service. ” In terms of regional trends, the survey found operators in the Asia Pacific expected to buy new jets equivalent to 12 per cent of their current fleet. The figure was below 24 per cent in the 2013 survey.

“Disappointing growth figures from several major regional economies, higher levels of regional tensions and government austerity initiatives have muted operator enthusiasm in the current survey,” Honeywell said. “As a result, the total share of global demand over the next five years for Asia Pacific is about three per cent, off two points from 2013 levels. ” Honeywell Aerospace president of business and general aviation Brian Sill said business jet sales in the Asia Pacific relied on a smaller operator base.

“We do not believe the 2014 results represent any long-term structural change in the region’s fundamental underlying growth drivers or commitment to business aviation,” Sill said.

Returning to Australia, Bell says local operators have tended to buy new aircraft, except for that period during the global financial crisis when some companies in the US and Europe were forced to dispose of their corporate jets and there were some good deals to be found.

Of course, these newer business jets have improved performance characteristics that “you just can’t get with older aircraft”, Bell says. This is particularly true with noise levels, with the latest business jets significantly quieter than older models.

Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss has announced a review of the list of aircraft permitted to takeoff and land at Sydney and Adelaide Airports during the curfew hours in September, saying removing older, noisier business jets from the list would encourage operators to update their fleets.

The list of permitted aircraft at Sydney Airport in curfew hours was last updated in 2005, while Adelaide Airport’s list was last changed in 2000.

“This is a modest and sensible change that will benefit industry, but also produce better noise outcomes for residents,” Truss said.

While some in the local business jet community will welcome the federal government’s move to overhaul the list, Bell says there also needs to be a change in maximum takeoff weights as part of any review, noting some business jets on the banned list are quieter than those permitted to operate during the curfew.

“The main obstacle is that there is still this maximum takeoff weight limitation of 34,000kg at Sydney Airport and Adelaide Airport for business jet operations during the curfew,” Bell says.

“Time has gone on, progress has been made and larger, quieter aircraft have come onto the market but that 34,000kg limit hasn’t been raised and that’s our biggest issue.

“We have a good relationship with Deputy Prime Minister Warren Truss.

He understands the situation very well and we are working closely with the minister and the department to address that 34,000kg issue. ” Bell says about 40 per cent of ABAA members will still be unable to fly into and out of Sydney and Adelaide airports during the curfew due to their aircraft having greater than 34,000kg max takeoff weight.

We are out of step with the rest of the world, except for Sydney and to a limited extent Brisbane. DAVID BELL