May 19 : Day 2 news
Business Aviation Key to Developing New Green Technologies
19 May 2021
Business aviation has established itself as a pivotal sector in the European Union’s effort to reduce aviation’s environmental impact, according to industry experts on the EBACE Connect panel “Sustainability: Hydrogen or Electrification – Are We Ready?”
Moderator Rohit Jaggi, a deputy editor at the Financial Times, noted that while aviation accounts for just 2% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, the industry is committed to reducing this footprint and meeting the goals of initiatives like the European Green Deal, which targets net-zero greenhouse gas emissions for the EU by 2050. And, according to the expert panel, business aviation is essential to reaching this goal.
“The business aviation sector is well-placed to help the aviation industry in this journey because it was the first sector to really care about reducing emissions by designing aircraft that reduced fuel consumption and making them the best possible examples for testing new technologies,” said Sebastiano Fumero, the European Commission’s head of future low emission industries.
Dr. Anita Sengupta, CEO founder of Hyrdoplane Ltd, a company developing an aviation-specific hydrogen fuel cell, concurred with this assessment. “I think that business aviation has the unique ability to bring about the investment and the interest in these new green aviation technologies,” she said. “Whether it is sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), electrification of aircraft for shorter-range flights, urban air mobility or the retrofitting of single-engine aircraft with hydrogen fuel cells, business aviation will play a key role in that use.”
While some technologies are in their infancy, others like SAF, can help aviation make an immediate impact on greenhouse gas emission, noted Dr. Patricia Parlevliet, senior research project leader at Airbus’s Blue Sky research center, although she pointed out that investment in these technologies is needed for them to have an impact.
“Scale-up in the short-term is one of the largest challenges for sustainability,” said Parlevliet. “There are plenty of sources for SAF… but what I constantly recognize is that money is needed to facilitate the scale-up of sustainable aviation fuels. It’s sometimes difficult to go from laboratory scale to a higher quantity of sustainable aviation fuels because scaling up can uncover problems not seen in the lab. We need pilot plans to resolve these issues, and these pilot plans are missing.”
Despite such challenges, the aviation industry will successfully reduce greenhouse gas emissions, noted Parlevliet. “At Airbus Blue Sky we are convinced that a carbon-neutral aviation industry is not only possible, it also is achievable within our lifetime,” she said.
European Regulatory Framework is Ready for Emerging Technologies
Europe’s current regulatory framework is capable of integrating emerging aviation technologies, although it will have to address its capacity to accommodate the increasing workload expected in the coming decades, while also meeting the region’s new sustainability objectives, and ensure the industry’s current safety levels, according to EBACE Connect panelists in the session “From Testbed to Business – Is the Safety Regime Ready for New Technologies?”
“This is a very interesting time for aviation from an innovation perspective,” said Joachim Lücking, head of unit for aviation safety in the directorate-general for mobility and transport of the European Commission, or DG MOVE. “We are seeing developments in all areas from new forms of propulsion to vehicles and this innovative spirit is very important because it is the only way that we will be able to tackle the challenges that the aviation industry is facing, particularly the sustainability challenge … which will require not only new engines and airframes but also new materials, new production processes, new operating schemes and new pilot requirements,” he noted.
“I would argue that the regulatory framework is fit for purpose and that we can accommodate the necessary changes, obviously subject to further refinements and modifications,” Lücking added.
Member of the European Parliament Marian-Jean Marinescu, who is the EPP Group’s coordinator on the Committee on Transport and Tourism, also believes the European regulatory framework is prepared for the dramatic changes expected in aviation, from advanced air mobility to decarbonization.
“If we look to the past, new technologies were implemented very quickly and without major problems,” he told panel moderator Robert Baltus, chief operations officer at EBAA. “We have new engines that are producing fewer emissions, we have new wings that provide less fuel consumption, we have a new system for tracking planes all over the globe and we have implemented new landing procedures, all without producing any problems.”
This optimism is shared by Robert Dingemanse, CEO and co-founder of PAL-V International, which is close to certifying its Liberty flying car, although he added one important caveat. “In general, the framework works; it takes time, about 10 years, but it works,” Dingemanse said. However, he warned, “The main challenge is not the framework, it is capacity. For the regulatory side to really be able to deal with all the innovations, we must realize that we may have to triple the capacity to stay ahead of the other industry blocks, like China and the U.S.
“We have an opportunity in Europe to be one of the big leaders in advanced air mobility, but we must ensure that there is enough capacity on the regulatory side,” Dingemanse added.
Regulators also must ensure emerging technologies maintain aviation’s current high level of safety, said Lücking. “Society simply will not accept new technologies if they do not offer the same level of safety that we have come to expect from aviation,” he noted.
“Overall, the regulations in place can accommodate innovation while guaranteeing safety. Certification of the first electric aircraft is a very good example,” Lücking added. ”We have been able to certify this plane even though the rules were written in a pre-electric age. We have been able to deal with all these challenges by using the existing rules in a flexible way.”
EBACE Connect ‘Lightning Round’ Session Highlights OEM Leaders’ Perspectives
19 May 2021
Day two of the 2021 EBACE Connect program included a first-of-its-kind keynote presentation featuring leaders of nine international business aircraft manufacturers, who offered their thoughts on all the major trends shaping the industry. Here are some highlights from the “lightning round” presentation.
On responding to COVID-19
“We learned how much we really missed seeing our customers face to face … Another thing we learned is that the private aviation industry is quite resilient.” – Benoit Defforge, president, Airbus Corporate Jets
On articulating business aviation’s benefits
“You can traverse three cities in one day, disclose your personal business on a private jet and securely work on confidential materials in flight, whereas you do not have that option when flying commercial.” – Michael Amalfitano, president and CEO, Embraer
On customers as advocates
“We have dedicated meetings with our customers to help to support the development of business jets. They talk to us during NBAA-BACE, or during EBACE, and have some good declarations [about] how it is really cost effective to get a [business aircraft] to travel and to be able to continue to work in flight.” – Éric Trappier, CEO, Dassault Aviation
On harmonizing international regulations
“During this crisis, we’ve had excellent relationships with both EASA and the FAA. They’ve been very helpful and supportive [and] very efficient despite all the limitation[s].” – Didier Kayat, CEO, Daher
On promoting diversity, equity and inclusion
“We have over a dozen different nationalities [and] the full spectrum of age, gender and various service backgrounds, including veterans, on our team. It brings a lot of different perspectives to all of our conversations, and we feel that is crucial considering the global disbursement of our customer population.” – James Detwiler, President, Boeing Business Jets
On attracting young talent
“Anybody who is in [our] industry should invest into training. Flying is a dream come true…I think we have more to push in that direction, with offering interesting careers, interesting technology and interesting jobs in a global industry.” – Markus Bucher, CEO, Pilatus
A focus on sustainability
“Every airplane we’ve built in the last 20 years is more efficient in a number of ways…Many of the systems that we built, like synthetic vision – and things of that nature that help the airplane be not just safer, but more efficient – are huge contributors to that sustainability effort.” – Mark Burns, president, Gulfstream Aerospace Corporation
On a bright future
“The pandemic was challenging last year, but I think it has created for our industry an amazing opportunity looking forward.” – Éric Martel, president and chief executive officer, Bombardier
“I’m optimistic that the industry is going to see increased demand and favorable days ahead.” – Ron Draper, president and CEO, Textron Aviation
May 18 : Day 1 news
Day 1 of EBACE Connect, featured a keynote presentation with aviation visionary Erik Lindbergh. Also, leaders in innovative technologies shared updates on advanced air mobility, electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and electric and hybrid airplanes.
Business Aviation Must Lead in Sustainability – Watch the interview with Erik Lindbergh
Panel explores Business Aviation’s Challenges,
Prospects for Post-COVID Growth
It’s now widely understood that the COVID-19 pandemic brought a new cohort of clientele to business aviation – businesspeople who understood its value in travelling by air when they couldn’t do so commercially. Many of those same clients have discovered other benefits the business aviation industry has long touted, including the ability to work productively en route to a destination, and travel where and when you want on your own schedule.
Those were some of the take-aways from a panel discussion hosted during EBACE Connect entitled, “Beyond Covid: Insights from Market Makers and Movers.” The discussion also covered issues surrounding sustainability, and how digitization can improve real-time seat-pricing models and increase operating efficiencies.
Moderated by Paul Walsh, senior manager of member services, EBAA, the panel included: Bernhard Fragner, CEO GlobeAir; Ian Moore, chief commercial officer, VistaJet and Alex Durand, CEO, Saxon Air.
Among the discussion points covered, the panel agreed that business aviation needs to continually focus on customer service, especially for those flyers who used business aviation for the first time during the pandemic.
Moore added that the perception of business aviation as strictly air travel for the wealthy is changing. “We are moving away from that concept of it being a luxury,” he said.
The panelists all expect business aviation to benefit from increases in business travel in the future.
“I think collectively, the movements and travel of a lot of people these days will change,” Moore said. “I think we’re really positive about what that’s going to mean for our industry.”
Not Sci-Fi: Advanced Air Mobility Technology is Here Now
18 May 2021
Leaders in innovative technologies shared updates on advanced air mobility (AAM), electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft and electric and hybrid airplanes, while discussing the importance of technology advancements, sustainability, public acceptance and harmonized public policy to the future success of AAM.
Moderated by Dr. Anita Sengupta, CEO/founder of Hydroplane Ltd., the EBACE Connect session featured panelists: Neil Cloughley, CEO of Faradair Aerospace; Dan Dalton, vice president, global partnerships, Wisk; Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter and Dr. Tine Tomažič, CTO of Pipistrel.
Reuter called AAM a symbol of a much more profound transformation happening in the aviation space as people look for new ways to move about in the city of the future, describing how increased urbanization of the population and resulting gridlock will require innovation to ensure efficient mobility.
Meanwhile, Pipistrel has produced 300 electric airplanes a year, primarily for flight training, but doubled its manufacturing rate for 2021 compared to the previous year’s forecast. Tomažič believes the uptick in interest in electric airplanes shows a decline in the hesitation toward new types of propulsion.
Wisk sees self-flying aircraft as a safe way to mitigate risk associated with human error, especially in a task-saturated environment, Dalton said. However, he highlighted the need for policy and public acceptance to proceed at the same rate as technology, saying, “While the technology is advancing, [we] also need a lot of policy and community engagement in order to make sure these technologies can come to fruition.”
Cloughley called 2020 and the COVID-19 pandemic a “catalyst event,” saying “in 20-30 years’ time, we’ll look back at 2020 as the year everything changed.” He predicted a change in how aviation is perceived; although aviation accounts for only 2% of global emissions, the industry is answering the call for sustainability. Faradair hopes to contribute to the sustainability mission, while democratizing regional air travel, with an 18-seat, hybrid electric “flying van.”
The experts agreed sustainability will be a key factor in AAM’s success, not only through decreased reliance on fossil fuels, but through increased use of composites and other technology that create efficiencies.
Panelists called for harmonization and standardization among regulators to allow for a uniform standard and, eventually, global success of emerging technology, as well as an industry effort to obtain public acceptance for this quiet, safe and accessible form of air transportation.
EBACE Connect : Highlights Challenges, Progress, Innovation
Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ)
Despite the challenges of 2020, ACJ reported the company had an excellent year, the major highlight being the introduction of the ACJ TwoTwenty, an extra-large cabin business jet with a 5,650 NM range. With orders already in hand, the ACJ TwoTwenty will enter service in the first quarter of 2023.
ACJ reported strong deliveries in 2021 to date, including two aircraft in the ACJ320 family and one ACJ350.
Airbus Corporate Helicopters (ACH)
During the pandemic, passengers recognized the value of, and saw the increasing role of, the helicopter for business use, said Frederic Lemos, head of ACH.
Orders and deliveries dipped in 2020, but the company is optimistic for 2021. As of May 17, ACH has sold seven Aston Martin edition H130s, a market favorite among pilot-owners. The new five-blade model of the eight-passenger H145 was greeted with enthusiasm and the H160, which received type certification from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) in 2020, will enter into service later this year.
Skyconseil
Skyconseil, which specializes in engineering and innovative solutions, shared new features of GUIDOR, a software solution that combines different technologies and data sources to help operators reduce operating costs and CO2 emissions by optimizing fuel usage and flight profiles. According to Skyconseil, proper use of GUIDOR can further the business aviation industry’s goals for sustainability and reduced carbon emissions, even amid increased demand for air transportation.
Milano Prime and Sirio
Milano Prime, which manages all business and general aviation infrastructure at Milano Linate and Milano Malpensa Airports, and Sirio, an aircraft management and maintenance organization, now part of Directional Aviation Group, discussed the current and future state of business aviation in Italy. The Italian business and general aviation market showed resilience in 2020 despite the pandemic, outperforming the rest of Europe, and upcoming live events will continue to increase traffic in Milano.
Milano Prime will continue to focus on COVID-19 initiatives, including cleaning, social distancing, testing capabilities and third-party audit conformance while also increasing focus on sustainability.
A new hangar, built in partnership with Sirio, is designed to meet top sustainability standards. The new facility will house a Sirio maintenance facility.
Volocopter
Florian Reuter, CEO of Volocopter, unveiled the Voloconnect, a four-passenger, 60-mile range aircraft with EASA certification expected in 2026 and entry into service that same year. Volocopter is pursuing two paths of design – a self-piloted model and a fully piloted model. Reuter said the final determination will depend on regulatory progress towards self-piloted operations.
The Voloconnect builds on the company’s experience with the Volocity, a two-passenger multi-copter, and the Volodrone, a heavy-lift cargo drone.
The company raised more than $240 million in its latest round of private funding earlier this year.
Program Schedule
Faradair adds Dunlop Aircraft Tyres to its growing list of partners
Established more than 100 years ago, Dunlop Aircraft Tyres quickly became a significant player in the newly born, rapidly expanding aircraft industry. It has remained a key supplier in this evolving sector ever since. Today, the Birmingham, UK-headquartered business is partnering Duxford, UK-based Faradair, a new UK aerospace manufacturer, as it helps usher in a new era of sustainable aviation.
The companies have agreed to work together on the BEHA (Bio Electric Hybrid Aircraft) development programme, creating a new, more sustainable aircraft tyre, as part of the UK’s drive to Net Zero.
The BEHA is a British clean sheet designed, Net Zero-capable commercial aircraft that will not only create new manufacturing jobs, but also significantly support the UK aerospace supply chain, which has been hit so hard by the global pandemic.
This partnership between two British aerospace companies marries Dunlop’s rich heritage with a fantastic opportunity for the future of sustainable aerospace manufacturing. Under its Build Back Better plan for economic growth, the UK Government has declared its intention to support programmes such as this, especially with the UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties, known as COP26, coming to Glasgow, UK in November.
Neil Cloughley, Faradair Founder and CEO commented:
“Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is an iconic brand in the UK aerospace sector, with a fantastic history and strong position in the existing regional aircraft market. The opportunity to work closely together in creating a new, more sustainable aircraft tyre for the BEHA delivers another piece in the sustainability jigsaw, because true sustainability is about more than reducing emissions.”
Director of Global Business Development for Dunlop Aircraft Tyres, Clayton Redhead added: “Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is pleased to be partnering with Faradair on this sustainable aviation project which focuses on reducing the UK’s carbon footprint whilst providing a regional air travel connectivity solution. Dunlop continue to produce British manufactured aircraft tyres from our Birmingham headquarters and as we look at new processes and technologies to continually improve our products and become the world’s first choice supplier of aircraft tyres, we believe this new project will contribute significantly to Dunlop’s next 100 years providing job security for the Midlands.”
MSB launches new Zero Gravity lift assist system to support six-place conference table.
Montreal, QC. / 17 May 2021 – MSB Design, a division of MSB Group, the Montreal-headquartered aerospace engineering and design company, is launching a new Zero Gravity side-ledge conference table following nearly three years of extensive research and development work. Consisting of three components, MSB has engineered the Zero Gravity lift assist system to reduce weight, noise, and shock impact during deployment and stowage of the table.
The streamlined system supports configuration of a six-seat dining table which incorporates three distinct components: a table that folds away into the cabin side-ledge, a two-place table which, when lowered, becomes an ottoman, and a conference table which seats four. The two-place table component can be articulated to perform a rotation followed by a conversion motion, using just one easily accessed control button, to close the gap over the main aisle and to connect to the four-seat conference table. The newly designed Zero Gravity lift assist pull-out table is made to feel virtually weightless, and deploys to join the extended two-seat tabletop to complete the dining table.
The three sections can be used independently or aligned to form the single six-place dining table. The table surface can be finished with either a traditional wood veneer or carbon fibre material to complement the black anodised aluminium mechanisms.
The four-seat conference table component builds on MSB’s existing hi-lo conference table, which has been a leading product at MSB for over a decade and forms the pivot point for the six-seat configuration.
“Our team has worked tirelessly for the past three years to find a creative yet highly functional solution for our customer,” says Mario Sevigny, vice-president at MSB Group. “While the design and engineering that went into developing this new table is highly complex, it is exceptionally simple to use. We set out to create a product that would support flight crew in their duties, optimise space in the cabin, and enhance the passenger experience. The new design demonstrates MSB’s ability to develop innovative and complex solutions while redefining the limits of what is possible. This is the first of an exciting new line of products we are launching this year.”
MSB recognised the need for a more flexible table solution in larger cabin aircrafts, and with the Zero-Gravity concept, is delivering a solution supporting a quieter cabin, a comfortable, convenient conference and dining facility for six passengers, and reduced physical workload for flight attendants.
Photo Caption: MSB Design’s new six-seat conference table grouping including Zero Gravity pull-out table.
London Oxford Airport embarks on major development programme
- Major new hangar complex
- Seven new helipads built
- New fuel farm ready for SAF
- New fire station anticipated
May 17, 2021 – As part of a new strategic plan, London Oxford Airport has commenced construction work on a new development phase, which will, when complete this autumn, be its most significant step forward to date. Central to the work is a 63,000 sq.ft. (6,000m2) 140m long hangar with two bays including rear offices, stores and workshops, capable of accommodating up to six Bombardier Global, Gulfstream or Dassault Falcon Jet models, simultaneously. The new hangar, the airport’s 15th, is the first facility in a new zone of the airport to the north of the original site.
The hangar will be used predominantly by established tenants, many of whom reside in some of the older WWII facilities, along with a number of larger business aircraft for which there has been limited capacity at Oxford. The airport will progressively replace 80-year-old hangars with new, bespoke facilities, providing turnkey solutions for clients.
With demand for space consistently outpacing supply within the London region, the airport is committed to invest in infrastructure to accommodate more business and allow established companies, such as Airbus Helicopters, Volare Aviation and Jet Maintenance International (JMI) to expand. The airport is home to a number of aviation support businesses (MRO) that cover maintenance, engineering, modification, design and operational support services. The new environmentally-efficient facilities will support existing aircraft and future next-gen aircraft, including eVTOL and hybrid/electric models.
Additional infrastructure has included the feeding-in of significantly more power onto the site.
The projects have been overseen these past 12 months by Will Curtis, who joined London Oxford Airport as Managing Director in 2020.
Seven new helipads
A large area of new aircraft parking apron has been created but also seven new ICAO/EASA/CAA-compliant helipads supporting Airbus Helicopters and the growing number of commercial AOC helicopter businesses at the airport like MyHeli. These complement operations with the co-owned Edmiston London Heliport, London’s only CAA-licensed heliport, which supports up to 12,000 movements year and the capital’s essential police and air ambulance flights.
London Oxford Airport will also commence work on a new fire station to be established in a central position on the airport. This will allow for fulfilling the need for the highest fire categories at all times having also just ordered three new Angloco Scania 26 tonne fire tenders.
New fuel farm, ready for non-fossil fuel
A new fuel farm will enable a quadrupling of the capacity of the original facility, whilst also providing valuable space for additional future static tankage for Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). The industry is progressively introducing SAF with up to 80% reduction in lifecycle CO2 emissions.
“In a new post-pandemic economic environment, it’s critical that the UK ramps-up its capabilities and capacity to provide growth and further employment, especially in high value, high-skilled and knowledge-based industrial sectors,” said Will Curtis, Managing Director. Aerospace and aviation are set to rebound and business aviation is leading the charge, so timing is crucial. Now we have put in the infrastructure for growth, we can build further facilities with relative ease and speed and further bolster employment opportunities – adding to the near on 1,000 employees based on site.”
Head of Business Development, James Dillon-Godfray added: ‘We have long-established maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) businesses that need to expand. These new developments allow us to move people around the airport to facilitate that. We are also in dialogue with several new entities about joining us in the next few years, for which this capacity is essential.”
London Oxford Airport hosts a varied mix of general and business aviation users with a very strong pilot training base. It is home to Airbus Helicopters UK’s headquarters and a steadily growing business aviation sector, supporting around 10,000 passengers a year both private and charter, mainly for business trips. Recently the airport welcomed its largest regional airliner type, the 145-seat Embraer EMB-195, supporting charters for the motorsports community, proving the usefulness of the airport in supporting one of the UK’s most dynamic and successful industry sectors.
With several peer UK airports and airfields known to be closing in the years to come, Oxford is striving to contribute to the Government’s stated objective of becoming ‘The best country in the world for general aviation’ ensuring there is the capacity to support this aspiration.
Last year saw the establishment of a new 100-room hotel at the entrance of the airport at the Oxford Technology Park, creating more jobs and a great new amenity on the doorstep.
Effective 17 May, the airport will be opening up to non-essential travel in accordance with the UK Government’s easing of Covid-related constraints. Despite the constraints, however, the airport saw a five-fold increase in business flights in April compared with 2020.
“Further announcements on additional developments will be made as the year progresses, marking a new stage in the airport’s evolution,” James concluded.
Flexjet Achieves Carbon-Neutral Flight Operations Through 4AIR Partnership
· Underscores Flexjet’s Commitment to Environmental Sustainability
· Flexjet Offsets Owners Flights at 100% of CO2 Emissions with Verified Carbon Offset Credits
· Carbon Credit Purchases Through 4AIR Began in January to Offset U.S.-Based Flight Emissions
· Company Is on Track to Offset 400,000 Metric Tons of Carbon by End of 2021
CLEVELAND, May 17, 2021 – Flexjet LLC, a global leader in fractional private jet travel, today announced that it has achieved carbon-neutral flight operations through its partnership with 4AIR, the first and only rating system focused on comprehensive sustainability in private aviation. Since January 2021, Flexjet has been purchasing credits to offset carbon emissions from all flights booked by its US-based Owners. With 4AIR’s expertise and assistance, Flexjet’s verified credits will fund carbon offset projects which will negate the impact of emissions generated by its aircraft at no additional expense to its Owners.
“Flexjet has long been on the leading edge of applying innovation to its operations, and our partnership with 4AIR brings that same spirit to protecting the environment,” said Flexjet Chief Executive Officer Michael Silvestro. “In supporting carbon offset projects around the world, Flexjet can offer peace of mind that today’s efforts are having an immediate positive impact on the environment.”
While some major private aviation providers have put the financial burden of carbon offsets on their customers, Flexjet is taking on that financial responsibility. In fact, in January, Flexjet began offsetting 100% of the CO2 emissions from all of its US-based aircraft for its Owners – including emissions from the company’s internal airline, Project Lift, which transports Flexjet pilots to their flight assignments.
This offset program is being done without any additional expense to Flexjet Owners. The company is on track to offset 400,000 metric tons of carbon by the end of 2021. This action results in immediate impact on the environment, not in some future decade.
And because Flexjet considers sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to be an important piece of the global warming solution puzzle, the company is working with 4AIR to offer Owners the option of upgrading their sustainability commitment by using SAF for their flights where it is available.
Through offsetting all flights and offering SAF, Flexjet has taken immediate steps to minimize Owners’ impact on the environment while enabling them to support the technologies of tomorrow’s sustainability.
The industry-leading verified offsets purchased through 4AIR support a half-dozen projects including solar, wind and forestry initiatives. One example is the Cookstove Project in Rwanda, which distributes fuel-efficient cookstoves to families living in rural Rwandan communities who cook over open fires inside their homes. Using these stoves instead of open fires, the families will reduce the amount of wood and coal consumed, reduce the time they must spend collecting the fuel (in some cases hours each day), reduce the dangerous air pollutants released into their homes and reduce carbon dioxide production – a leading cause of global warming.
Flexjet selected 4AIR to manage the offsets, standards, verification, validation and retirement of carbon credits through the most respected and international leading bodies that issue and register credits.
The 4AIR rating framework offers benchmarks that are aligned with industrywide carbon reduction goals and consistent with international standards. The framework offers various levels, each with specific, science-based goals, independently verified results and progressively greater impacts on sustainability. For 2021, Flexjet has committed to the 4AIR Bronze level, under which its flight operations will be carbon-neutral by offsetting all of its carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions with verified carbon offset credits.
Flexjet to achieve emissions-neutral flight operations in Europe via 4AIR partnership
· Flexjet offsets Owners’ flights to 300% of CO2, to reflect both carbon and non-carbon emissions
· Underscores Flexjet’s commitment to meet and exceed 2050 sustainability goals
· A provision of 20,000 metric tonnes of CO2e offset was made for the first quarter of 2021
LONDON, May 17, 2021 – Leading private jet shared ownership provider Flexjet has unveiled details of a new sustainability programme for its European operation, which includes a 300% carbon dioxide equivalent offset made for every flight.
Delivered in partnership with the aviation sustainability consultancy 4AIR, the activity reflects the company’s operations from January 2021 and provides a comprehensive level of offsetting that compensates for both carbon and non-CO2 emissions, to meet 4AIR’s emissions-neutral (Silver) rating.
Flexjet Ltd., which offers European travellers access to its prestigious fleet of private jets, announced the results as the company expands in Europe, including its Praetor 600 shared ownership programme. Working with 4AIR, Flexjet offsets 300% of the carbon dioxide equivalent for every flight, to reflect both CO2 emissions and other pollutants, including water vapor, aerosol sulphate and nitrous oxides. Owners can also opt to enhance their commitment further if they wish to.
European Managing Director Marine Eugène commented: “We are pleased to now confirm this element of our overall sustainability plan, which is a comprehensive and industry-leading approach to offsetting. Our programme goes well beyond other industry offerings, and it is an action we take as a company for every flight, rather than an optional extra for Owners.
“We already have the youngest fleet in the industry, which brings fuel-efficiency advantages along with many other benefits to our Owners. With our partnership with 4AIR now in place, and reduction developments well underway within our group, we are firmly on a pathway to meet and exceed our sustainability goals, within the industry-wide 2050 commitment.”
The work to achieve emission neutral operations began in November 2020, with Flexjet’s sister company, PrivateFly, also working to the same standards. Now a combined operation in Europe under the leadership of Marine Eugène, a collective provision for nearly 20,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent has already been made for the first quarter of 2021.
In addition to the mandatory 300% offset, Flexjet gives Owners the option of upgrading their sustainability commitment to attain 4AIR’s higher ratings, by buying Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) or purchasing SAF credits; and by making a contribution to the Aviation Climate Fund, aimed at supporting research and development in aviation sustainability.
Flexjet’s offsets are purchased by 4AIR using Industry-leading verified carbon credits and support a global portfolio of six carefully chosen and accredited projects in areas such as solar and wind energy. Designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the projects also deliver wider social benefits.
One such example is the Cookstove Project in Malawi, which distributes fuel-efficient cookstoves to families living in rural communities who use open fires in their homes. In addition to reducing the carbon dioxide output, using these stoves reduces the amount of wood and coal consumed by these communities; lessens the time needed to collect fuel; and avoids the negative health impact of dangerous air pollutants being released into their homes.
“We know offsetting is just one piece of the aviation sustainability solution, and it is a bridge towards a carbon-free future.” said Flexjet Chief Executive Officer Michael Silvestro. “Direct emission reduction is a key focus for us in both medium and long-term projects. Flexjet and our wider Directional Aviation family is invested in projects to support emerging aviation technologies, so we can be at the forefront of sustainable flying, both now and into the future.”
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