LATEST ISSUE

Winter 2022

issue 60

This year, 2022, has been a big one for Bombardier. In May it stunned us with the Global 8000 and on 29 November it revealed a further order for four more of the type from NetJets. This US$312-million transaction will complete a planned fleet of 24 Global 8000s, including eight converted from Global 7500 jets already on order. In this Winter 2022 edition, we speak to Bombardier’s Stephen McCullough, VP Engineering – Chief of Aircraft Design and Development, to find out a little more about how Global 7500 becomes Global 8000.
Then, as if launching a new ultra-long range flagship model were not enough, on 30 November, Bombardier inaugurated its expanded UK service centre at Biggin Hill. A massive new facility, the centre was thronged with Globals even as preparations were being completed on a dedicated space for Bombardier’s partner in the building – F/LIST.

Happy to return to NBAA-BACE after a two-year hiatus forced by the Covid pandemic, the EVA team found inspiration among many of the exhibitors, none more so than Brian Proctor, President and CEO of Mente Group, and Richard Kane, CEO of Verijet. Both are looking forward to expansion in the US and moves into Europe, regardless of the difficult geopolitical situation and rumblings of recession. The fact that these companies operate in the business aviation sector yet fulfil very different requirements also serves to illustrate the diversity inherent in the industry, a theme EVA has examined more deeply in interviews with four leading women.
We spoke with Claudia Arnold, Senior Director of Marketing, AEGFUELS; Katie Bancroft, Associate, Jaffa & Co; Natalie Rodríguez, VVIP Aircraft Interior Designer, Natalie Rodríguez Luxury Design; and Rebekah Hill, Wellbeing & Sustainability Manager at SaxonAir, about their journey into the industry and the work they do. Between them, these four young women stand out as role models for the next generation of aviation professionals, regardless of gender.

Their example, and those of their colleagues across aviation, ought to be a powerful driving force pushing new blood into the industry. They illustrate the growing presence of women in the sector, but also its diversity of roles and diversity beyond gender. Combine this with the type of flexible working opportunity explained by Web Manuals VP of Sales, Krister Genmark, and the industry should have everything it needs to attract new talent, but there are still hurdles to overcome.

In a culture of flight shaming – the COP27 summit provided the ill-informed popular media with another opportunity to hammer business and VIP aviation – ours is not a naturally attractive industry for any young person other than a diehard enthusiast. Compared to our best efforts to reach those people and explain the opportunity, the flight shaming message will always be stronger until business aviation stands up and makes a serious noise about how it is leading, not denying, sustainability.

And then we must show people how diverse the opportunities in aviation are. Arnold, Bancroft, Rodríguez and Hill are all pursuing successful, fulfilling aviation careers abundant with future promise, yet none of them are pilots or engineers, and neither do they work in the cabin. In the conversations I’ve had while preparing this last EVA of 2022, the struggle to attract and recruit young people has been a recurrent theme. Perhaps tackling the popular falsehoods of business aviation sustainability and telling potential new talent what the industry really has to offer ought to be the most important aims for 2023?

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Featured in this issue

  • Shifted Perception

    Just a few years ago, women were very much the exception in the aviation industry. Although it remains male dominated, business aviation is attracting more women than ever before, and they showcase th...

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  • Go Digital!

    Web Manuals delivers a digital product, but VP of Sales, Krister Genmark, says people – customers and staff – are the vital element in its success “Manuals are often static documents that don...

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  • Disruptive Vision

    Richard Kane, CEO of Verijet, applied his AI routing technology and deep industry knowledge to create a new business aviation concept based on the Cirrus Vision Jet Even in an industry as innovativ...

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  • Proactive Safety

    Aviation Manuals positions itself as an extension of the flight department, with an emphasis on safety and regulatory document management, as CEO Mark Baier explains At its foundation in 1996, Avia...

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  • Elevating Service

    In the first of a series examining training in business and VIP aviation, EVA looks at cabin service training, through the eyes of Debbie Elliott, Training Manager at TAG Global Training and John Detl...

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  • Gateway to Mallorca

    Working from its newly refurbished FBO at Palma de Mallorca Airport, Mallorcair is looking forward to expanding its well-established customer offer, as Sales & Safety Manager Xavier Mudoy reveals ...

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  • Faciens Universa Simplex… Making Everything Simple

    The Mente Group and Four Corners Aviation, its aircraft management arm, are looking towards expansion in 2023 and beyond as they build on Freedom, a unique proposition for corporate jet customers N...

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  • Inimitable Agusta

    Leonardo’s Agusta VIP helicopter brand is expanding its options and service offer, with Interior Moods, the Agusta for YOU service plan and a dedicated Agusta section in the Leonardo Customer Portal...

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  • Ambition Un-Czeched

    ABS Jets is realigning after losing many of its traditional clients to Europe’s difficult geopolitical situation, as Marketing Manager Petr Wessnitzer explains People have been meeting to discuss...

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  • Mach 1 & More

    EVA spoke with Stephen McCullough, VP Engineering – Chief of Aircraft Design and Development at Bombardier, to find out how the Global 8000 builds on potential designed into the Global 7500, and how...

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  • How Good is Gogo?

    While Gogo Business Aviation works to bring 5G and LEO satellite services online, EVA wanted to know just how good the company’s offer is, so we asked a customer Over anything but the shortest mi...

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