A cornucopia of news, opinion, views, facts and quirky bits that need to be talked about. Join our community and join in the conversation on all matters aviation. The blog includes our weekly round-up of the bits of European aviation you may otherwise have missed – That Was The Week That Was
October 27:
The ‘very light jet’ revolution announced 5 years now seems very distant and rather absurd. This week came the news of Piper’s cancellation of its Altaire, the planned $2.5m jet upgrade to its market leading piston fleet. Piper is wisely cutting its losses on a taxi jet market which remains unproven. Diamond Aircraft’s re-launch of their VJL D Jet might buck the trend but their investors will take note. Cessna have meanwhile switched focus from the Mustang taxi (which has bled dry many an operator) to the recently launched M2, responding to customers’ need for comfort and speed rather than pure price. The traditional operator business model – mixed fleet of aircraft managed on behalf of 3rd parties and chartered to customers through broker intermediaries – is everywhere prevailing. Just look at Hangar 8’s results. Revenue is up 67% to £18m and it’s only ever played by the tried and tested rules.
