Flight International - 5 June 2018

14 | Flight International | 5-11 June 2018 flightglobal.com

EBACE 2018

Show report

For more show coverage, images and

news from EBACE 2018 visit

flightglobal.com/ebace

I

t may have been overshadowed

by its re-powered siblings – in-

cluding the all-new Global 6500

that made a surprise entrance on

the eve of the show – but Bom-

bardier’s Global 7500 also

notched up its EBACE debut,

crossing the Atlantic together

with its fellow debutant.

The Canadian airframer’s flag-

ship – formerly the Global 7000

and due to enter service later this

year – was officially rebranded to

reflect its longer, industry-record

7,700nm (14,300km) range,

achieved during flight testing. Its

closest competitor, the Gulf-

stream G650ER, is advertised by

its manufacturer as having a max-

imum range of 7,500nm under

the same conditions.

Bombardier also revealed a

slew of cabin improvements at

the show, including the addition

of its in-house-developed Nuage

seat, a new Lufthansa Technik

Nice cabin management system

and an expanded galley.

As well as having the longest

endurance of any large-cabin jet,

B

usiness aviation’s big manu-
facturers and associations
have pledged to accelerate the
availability and adoption of sus-
tainable alternative jet fuels
(SAJF) as part of an industry-
wide commitment to reduce
emissions.
Representatives of the Europe-
an Business Aviation Associa-
tion, National Business Aviation
Association, General Aviation
Manufacturers Association, and
the International Business Avia-
tion Council, and senior execu-
tives from Bombardier, Dassault,
Gulfstream and Textron signed
up to the initiative at the show.
While acknowledging chal-
lenges with availability and pric-
ing, Bombardier’s David Coleal,
who chairs GAMA’s environmen-
tal committee, says the “industry
is ready to fly with SAJF”, adding
that “select business aviation air-
ports” have agreed to stock SAJF.
“The industry is going to walk
the talk in coming months.”
As part of the launch, a new
guide will be distributed, called
“The Business Aviation Guide to
the Use of Sustainable Alterna-
tive Jet Fuel”. ■

CERTIFICATION

Global 7000 rebranded as

type closes on certification

Slew of cabin improvements unveiled for Bombardier flagship ahead of EBACE debut

Bombardier also claims the Glob-

al 7500 has the longest cabin in

the market at 16.5m (54ft) – about

2.5m more than the Gulfstream

G650 and 3.5m longer than the

Dassault Falcon 8X – and is the

only type in its segment with

“four customisable living areas”.

Ahead of EBACE, Bombardier

provided a flight-test update, say-

ing that, with five aircraft now in

the air, the campaign is nearing

its conclusion, although it will

not narrow down the target certi-

fication date beyond “the second

half of the year”. The example

that made its air show debut at

NBAA in October last year was

the fourth flight example, FTV4,

with a production-representative

interior.

The one in Geneva, FTV1, was

the first to fly and still has test

equipment in the cabin. ■

The renamed aircraft at Geneva was the first flight-test example

A

n international group pur-
chasing organisation (GPO)
was launched at the show to pro-
mote the benefits of “profession-
alised procurement” to Europe’s
business aviation community.
Called AVIAA, the venture
aims to streamline the procure-
ment process for owners and op-
erators using what it calls “the
collective buying power” of its
members. Areas covered include
aircraft insurance, training, in-
flight connectivity, fuel, mainte-
nance, parts, aircraft and passen-
ger handling.
Company co-founder James

Paul Cordwell

PROCUREMENT

Start-up promises owners can club up and cash in

EMISSIONS

Industry pledge

to increase the

use of biofuels

AVIAA flew in its currency-liveried Challenger 601 to promote what

it says are money-saving benefits of community puchasing venture

Hall describes AVIAA as “a com-

munity of buyers and suppliers

coming together to help reduce

costs and build volumes”. He

says the programme will have a

“flywheel effect” – the bigger its

gets, the more value it will bring.

Headquartered at London Ox-

ford airport in the UK, with offic-

es in Irvine, California and Park

City, Utah, AVIAA has secured a

number of supplier “partner-

ships”, including with CAE, Sat-

com Direct and UVair. Deals with

the latter two companies were

ratified at EBACE.

AVIAA charges an annual fee

ranging from $2,500 for a light jet

to $10,000 for a heavy jet – such

as a Bombardier Global 6000. The

company analyses between six

and 12 months of historical spend

data. “We target a reduction of

around 10-15% of the aircraft’s

operating costs,” says Hall. ■