Aiming high

The Australian Government issued a request for proposal in November 2015 entitled “Replacement Special Purpose Aircraft (SPA) Transport Service – Managing Contractor” which closed in February 2016.

The RFP sought a managing contractor to oversee the “establishment, delivery and long-term sustainment of the future SPA Service on behalf of the Commonwealth”.

Dassault Falcon Asia Pacific president Jean Michel Jacob said its Falcon 7X and 8X tri-jets would be the best solution for the Australian Government’s SPA fleet.

“We think that our aircraft would be a perfect aircraft for the government,” Jacob said in an interview at the Australian International Airshow at Avalon.

“It satisfies most of the requirements that the tender showed a few months ago, which is to go to most airfields in Australia, even the more challenging airfields.

It satisfies most of the requirements that the tender showed. Michel Jacob

“I’m talking specifically about 7X and 8X.”

Avalon was the first chance for Australians see the Falcon 8X with their own eyes, with the aircraft on display in this part of the world for the first time.

Dassault has delivered 15 Falcon 8Xs since launch customer Amjet Executive took the first one in October 2016. The aircraft, which is capable of flying eight passengers and three crew 6,450nm at a speed of 0.8 Mach, is now operating in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia. But not Australia.

Brazil-based Embraer is also keeping an eye on potential developments.

While the company does not offer ultra long range models such as those of Gulfstream or Dassault – its Lineage 1000E, a derivative of its commercial E190 regional jet, tops out at 4,600nm – there could still be a role for its lineup of business jets.

Executive Jets vice president for sales and marketing in the Middle East and Asia Pacific Claudio Camelier said the company was awaiting the announcement of the selected operator of the service.

“That particular program, the aircraft manufacturers they do not bid directly because the government they opened that bid for local operators here in Australia and it would be up to those local operators to acquire the airplane and operate the airplanes on behalf of the government,” Camelier explained at Avalon.

“We have discussed it with a number of those operators that have bid in this program and we presented our portfolio as alternatives for the different needs that are required.

“At this stage what we expect that will happen is first the government will announce who is the operator selected to provide the service and after the operator is selected this is when the detailed product discussions will take place.”

Embraer has six business jets based in Australia – three Phenom 100s, one Phenom 300, one Legacy 500 and one Legacy 600.

Meanwhile, Dassault’s installed fleet Down Under stood at 15 aircraft, with the most recent delivery taking place in the week prior to Avalon.

In October 2016, Defence confirmed one of the two additional Airbus A330 200s being converted into KC-30A tanker transports for the RAAF would be modified with a VIP interior to support long-range government transport needs.

LOCAL CONDITIONS STABLE

Looking more broadly at market conditions, Embraer’s latest forecasts showed global demand for business jets stood at 8,400 new aircraft to be delivered over the next 10 years.

Of those, 460 new business jets were headed for the Asia Pacific region, excluding China.

Camelier said Australia was unlikely to figure too much in terms of new orders, given this country’s preference for pre-owned aircraft was not expected to change in the period ahead.

“For the next couple of year we are not expecting the fleet in Australia to grow significantly. We believe it will remain stable,” Camelier said.

“In spite of that, it is definitely a market in which we invest and we spend a lot of time there because there are still a certain number of opportunities for sales of new airplanes.”

The total business jet fleet in Australia comprised about 200 aircraft, with roughly half in the light jet category.

Gulfstream was perhaps a touch more upbeat on Australia, due in part to the growing interest in ultra long-range aircraft such as the company’s G650ER variant that can fly 7,500nm when cruising at Mach 0.85.

Sperry said five of Gulfstream’s 18 aircraft in Australia and New Zealand were G650ERs and he expected the figure to increase in the period ahead as current owners traded up to larger, more capable business jets.

“What we are seeing in Australia is there is starting to be a larger number of these aircraft coming down here to replace competitor airplanes if you will, the older Gulfstreams, the Brand Xs, just because of the capability of the aircraft,” Sperry said of the G650ER at Avalon.

“The local market is good. We are very optimistic about the market.”

Sperry said more and more people were recognising aircraft such as the G650ER could pave the way for opening up new ventures in faraway lands, given 7,500nm of range when cruising at Mach 0.85 and all the necessities for the modern business women and men in the cabin.

“It gives corporations the confidence to expand their business and to be there face to face,” Sperry said.

“You can take a look at a CEO and a management team and say what is it worth per hour of their time and if you can save on a long-range trip an hour or two then that goes to the bottom line.

“We’ve got companies in Asia that will do business in Africa, they will do business in South America and what this does, it gives them an aircraft that has far better range on it which makes them more efficient.”

Gulfstream established a full-time field representative in Australia in 2016.

Meanwhile, Dassault’s Jacob said he had noticed a pickup in activity since the start of 2017.

“The market is getting more active now than it was last year,” Jacob said.

“It’s simmering.”

Reflecting that optimism is business aviation operator ExecuJet, which in February took over the Fixed Base Operations (FBO) at its Sydney Airport facility.

The FBO, featuring a passenger lounge, private meeting rooms and a customs and border processing area, was previously operated by Universal Aviation. It was refurbished about a year ago.

ExecuJet vice president for Asia Pacific Darren McGoldrick said the move to bring the FBO under the company’s control would support growth at Australia’s most populous city.

“The timing was right for both companies due to a retirement within Universal and we were keen to do something there,” MCGoldrick said at Avalon.
“It has been an investment that we have made and now it is exciting that we get to now operate it. As an operator we were the largest customer of the the FBO so we are now controlling our own operation, our own destiny in that regard.

“As an operator we understand some of the issues that need to happen in a successful FBO as well and hopefully that gets rolled out for the benefit of all the customers.”