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579 NBAA-BACE 2019

Observations from the 2019 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE). In the news, strange ideas to make airlines greener, a fleet of commuter planes to avoid road traffic, Southwest B737 maintenance records, therapy animals in the airport, Hawaiian Airlines 90th anniversary, and the Boeing 777X business jet.

Gulfstream G700_500

Gulfstream G700

2019 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE)

Rob Mark attended NBAA-BACE held Event October 22 – 24, 2019 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and at Henderson Executive Airport. Rob offers some impressions of the event and talks about some of the new aircraft like the Gulfstream G700 and the Pilatus PC-12 NGX. He’s also pretty excited about the Vū Systems passive millimeter-wave sensor.

23rd annual Bombardier Safety Standdown 2019

Rob also attended the Bombardier Safety Standdown held November 12 to 14, 2019 at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel, in Fort Worth, Texas. The event attracted a wide variety of participants, some 550 strong, all of whom are deeply interested in aviation safety.

Aviation News

Airline CEO Wants To Ban Business Class

Several airline executives have recently offered some strange ideas: Hungarian LCC Wizz Air CEO Jozsef Varadi is calling for airlines to stop offering business class on flights less than five hours, calling it “an inefficient and archaic model.” Lufthansa Group CEO Carsten Spohr has declared that “flights for less than 10EUR shouldn’t exist.”

FLOAT Plans January Launch For SoCal Short-Distance Commuter Service

FLOAT Shuttle Inc. (Fly Over All Traffic) offers southern California commuter flights operated by Southern Airways Express, LLC. from GA airports. For a fixed monthly fee, commuters beat ground transportation with 15-30 minute flights from almost 40 airports.

Greenland airport becomes latest victim of climate change

The permafrost at Greenland’s Kangerlussuaq Airport is melting, causing the runway to crack. They say civilian flights will end within five years and so a new airport is being constructed.

Turbulence ahead for Southwest Airlines?

From 2014, Southwest Airlines purchased 88 Boeing 737 planes from more than a dozen foreign airlines. Southwest had the planes inspected and they were found compliant per FAA delegated authority. However, the FAA found some records discrepancies in May 2018 and gave Southwest 2 two years to bring the maintenance documentation into compliance. As of October 29, 2019, only 39 of the planes had been inspected.

Meet adorable therapy pig LiLou who’s helping out stressed airport passengers

San Francisco International Airport is using a “Wag Brigade” to help passengers with travel anxieties. LiLou the therapy pig sports a pilot’s cap and painted toenails. She says hello by raising a hoof, poses for selfies, and manages to entertain departing passengers with her toy piano. The Wag Brigade program also includes a number of dogs.

Video: Therapy Pig // 60 Second Docs

Hawaiian Airlines celebrates its 90th anniversary with a flight back in time

The first Hawaiian Airlines flight took place on Nov. 11, 1929, from Honolulu to Hilo. To celebrate its 90th anniversary, Hawaiian Airlines recreated that flight, flying on the same day, route and time as they did 90 years ago.

Boeing’s New Private Jet Is World’s Largest and Most Luxurious

The Boeing Business Jet isn’t just one jet – it’s a series of airliner variants for the private and corporate jet market that includes the 747-8 VIP, 737 MAX VIP,  787 VIP, and 777X VIP. The 777X VIP has a 3,256 sq. ft. cabin with a base price of $474 million. Expect to spend an additional $90–$175 million to outfit the plane.

Mentioned

AvgeekFests.com aviation events calendar.

Thursday Thunder – What I Really Want To Fly from Sticks, Stories, and Scotch.

Aircraft nose job assessed in Hertz chamber

Airline Timetable Images

AirplaneGeeks 299 – The Airport Lounge

Viking Twin Otter UV-18C

We talk Loungebuddy CEO Tyler Dikman about access to airport lounges, airline baggage and other ancillary fees,  and therapy and service animals on the airplane.

Tyler tells us about the benefits of airport lounges, which are used by only about 6% of the traveling public. Airports are often not relaxing or conducive to work, and lounges are an alternative that is more available than some people think. Many are available to anyone for a one time fee, which might be an inexpensive upgrade for road warriors.

The lounges range from basic to luxurious, and each has their own access requirements, rules, and amenities. Loungebuddy provides a global directory of airport lounges (currently 425 airports), how to get into them, how many guests you can bring, if they are free or charge for entry, and what you’ll find in those lounges.

We also talk about social interaction in airport lounges and the business case for airport lounges. Most are carrier-operated, but sometimes third parties manage the lounge, like Plaza Premium Lounge and Serviceair (now Swissport).

Tyler gives us his thoughts on the airport lounge with the best food, best WiFi, and most unusual amenity.

The week’s aviation news:

David Vanderhoof’s Aircraft of the Week:

The deHavilland, now Viking, DHC-6 Twin Otter. David got talking about Twin Otters with Ken Breeden, one of the US Army Golden Knights C-31 pilots for his flight.  Ken is also the Contract Project Officer for the team and that led to the discussion of the newest aircraft the UV-18C Twin Otters.

Videos:

In this week’s Australia Desk:

The boys are back and recovered from working at Wings Over Illawarra airshow last week and they’re reporting on the Australian Federal Government’s recent approval to purchase an additional 58 F35s, taking our total confirmed purchase to 72 aircraft.

Meanwhile, a brand new Cirrus SR22 had an engine failure over the Blue Mountains and the pilot deployed the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System (CAPS) to land in the front yard of a house. The landing caused a bit of a media sensation and also led to Grant being quoted in a newspaper article and interviewed on radio 2UE.

Find more from Grant and Steve at the Plane Crazy Down Under podcast, and follow the show on Twitter at @pcdu. Steve’s at @stevevisscher and Grant at @falcon124.

Mentioned:

Listen to the NBAA Flight Plan podcast from the National Business Aviation Association.

Opening and closing music courtesy Brother Love from the Album Of The Year CD. You can find his great music at www.brotherloverocks.com.

Seaborne Airlines : Coming Off the trailer…