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Greetings!
 The first quarter of 2008 was marked by troubling financial news and much of Q2 has been dominated by natural disasters - tornados in the US and cyclones and earthquakes in Asia. On the bright side, I just finished reading Bill Garvey's editorial in the May issue of Business & Commercial Aviation. Bill says, "I have ridden the [business aviation] wave for years and the view from the top can be frightful. But even on the downside, the wave advances." He is not saying we are at a top, but he does point out there is a lot of good news for BA. Big investments are being made in our industry. For the last five years, private equity firms have made major investments in business aviation. I have written in previous newsletters about new entrants like Honda and XOJet. Old timers like Cessna, Gulfstream and other OEMs are committing billions to long range business jets. Over the next few years a number of smaller business jets will be delivered. All will have new engines that did not exist a few years ago. All this is good news for companies which provide services for these aircraft. Of course there will be undulations; but as Bill says, the wave is moving forward, and the rate seems to be increasing.
Below are a few developments that have caught my eye recently and links to other articles that I think you might find interesting.
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Rolls-Royce Bullish on Bizjets
"Demand for 39,000 new jets"
 On the first day of the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition, "EBACE", being in Geneva, Switzerland, Rolls-Royce released their business aviation forecast. Looking out over the next 20 years this major manufacturer of aircraft engines predicted a demand for 39,000 new business jets from the micro-jets to the very long range global giants of the business jet community.
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Embraer BA Jet Line Expands
Major facility announced for Florida
 Embraer, long known as an airline aircraft manufacturer, several years ago developed the Legacy business jet and then jumped into the small end of business jets by announcing the development of the Phenom 100 and 300. This year expressing even more confidence in business aviation, Embraer announced the development of two new Legacy models, 450 and 500. The original Legacy is know as the 600. In addition to the new aircraft, Embraer also announced the location of a new manufacturing and customer service center to be constructed in Melbourne, Florida. Another strong vote of confidence in business aviation.
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EBACE Attracts Record Crowd
Rapidly closing in on NBAA
 What began as a relatively small business aviation gathering eight years ago, the European Business Aviation Convention and Exposition (EBACE) this May had attendance of over 13 thousand. New aircraft orders for over $5.4 billion were inked at the show. The show may have to drop the "E" in EBACE as many of the attendees were from emerging markets in the Middle East and Asia. This was evidence of the growing international market for business aviation. NetJets alone placed orders for $1 billion of Falcon Jets. Several new European fractional companies were also in the hunt.
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Troubled Waters
Hidden reefs
 Business Aviation appears to be running against the tide of economic news that is not particularly rosy. However there are a few caution flags that worry me. I have written previously about the strange directions the FAA has taken in the last year. First we had the General Aviation Tsunami. Then this year the wave swept over the commercial airlines, and I worried about A Dysfunctional FAA. While plenty of blame can be heaped on the FAA, I believe the problem is external and originates on the Hill, Capitol Hill. (Above Nick Sabatini, FAA Associate Administrator being grilled by Congress.)
Not to be left out, the courts urged on by Congressman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn), chairman of the House Transportation Subcommittee, ruled that reports to the very successful Aviation Safety Action Program (ASAP) no longer could be kept confidential and the names and incidents documented in ASAP reports was discoverable. Many feel that our excellent aviation safety record, the best in the world, is partly the result of ASAP. Under ASAP crew members, mechanics, and other aviation workers receive immunity if an ASAP report is filed promptly after an incident. ASAP has worked well for almost 20 years and many procedures have been modified. No doubt lives have been saved.
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Here We Go Again
"FAA is at a crisis stage"
Those
were the words of the president of a major aviation trade association. In
the last year or so, there has been a flurry of questionable emergency
certificate revocations by the FAA putting many companies like AMI Jet Carter
out-of-business. I have just received news that after a six-month investigation
of a component repair company, the FAA lowered a heavy boom by issuing an
emergency revocation of the repair station's certificate and the A&P
certificate held by the company's general manager. In May the FAA
sheepishly rescinded the revocations. Apparently two former disgruntled
employees, who had stolen parts and were dismissed, sought revenge by making
false accusations to the FAA.
In a letter to Acting Administrator, Bobby Strugel, Jim
Coyne, president of NATA pointed out that over the last 24
months "numerous emergency suspensions or emergency revocation
orders" have been issued to Part 135 air charter companies. He
contrasted these to many airline sanctions where the air carrier was able to
continue to operate after correcting the problem.
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