Avantair, Inc. Closes on Financing
Avantair, Inc. the only publicly traded stand-alone private aircraft operator and the sole North American provider of fractional shares and flight hour time cards in the Piaggio Avanti aircraft, achieved two important milestones during NBAA as the company closed on the financing for four aircraft which will shortly join its fleet of 55 Piaggio Avanti aircraft. It has another 53 Piaggio Avanti aircraft on order through 2013.

Avantair has closed the final tranche of a financing for total gross proceeds of $10.4 million. Avantair intends to use the net proceeds from this financing transaction to retire approximately $6 million of debt and for working capital and general corporate purposes. EarlyBirdCapital, Inc. acted as the exclusive placement agent in the offering. See the video of Aviation Today’s interview with President Steven Santo on aviationtoday.com.

The company's improved capital structure enabled the addition of three new managed aircraft to the Avantair fleet. The company is adding one additional managed aircraft prior to calendar year-end 2009.

"We have demonstrated considerable financial growth in recent quarters and the closing of these transactions further augments our ability to execute on our growth strategy," said Steven Santo, founder and chief executive officer of Avantair. "The completion of the transaction enables us to further improve our capital structure and significantly improve cash flow. We have also entered into agreements to expand our fleet with the addition of four aircraft, three of which we have already received and the fourth which we expect to add before the end of the calendar year. The expansion of our fleet will enable us to keep pace with the strong demand for our flight programs. Each of the positive trends in our business that we have recently announced – including gains in revenues, flight hours, fleet size and headcount – show that we are taking a growing share of the private aircraft market, so the timing of this expansion couldn't be better. At a time when our competitors are downsizing, Avantair continues to grow at a record pace. With our infrastructure and balance sheet soundly in place, we believe we are well positioned to reach new levels of success this fiscal year as the number one value provider in private travel."

Under the terms of the offering, Avantair sold approximately 8.8 million shares of Common Stock to investors at a price per share of $0.95. The sale was consummated among Avantair, the new investors and the investors in June and September 2009 financings. In conjunction with the transaction, the company also exchanged 817,000 outstanding warrants that had been issued to investors in the two prior financings for 0.61 shares of Common Stock per warrant.

JetBrokers Expands to Europe
Drawing on its 16 years’ of trading pre-owned business and general aviation aircraft, St. Louis, MO-based JetBrokers announced here the launch of JetBrokers Europe. headquartered in the UK and Switzerland, its mission mirrors that of its US associate company – to ratify the best aircraft deal for the purchaser or seller they represent and in so doing add repeat business to their extensive client list.

JetBrokers Europe is headed by John Merry, the company’s chair and key investor, based in Switzerland and Tim Barber, managing director, based in the UK. They will offer a portfolio of pre-owned private jets, business turboprops and helicopters, so becoming one of a select few brokers with transatlantic coverage, affording clients marketing and sales potential on both sides of the pond.

JetBrokers Europe complements the highly successful US business and is well positioned to work with buyers and sellers in a market fragmented with relatively few corporate players present. ”We have discussions underway in the UK, Switzerland, Italy, France, Germany, Scandinavia and throughout CIS. Interest is ranging from entry level jets and business turboprops all the way up to a Falcon 900EX. We’re talking to a good number of buyers as well as to sellers,”

JetBrokers Europe clients will be individuals looking for the best aircraft at competitive prices, and corporate jet operators who are seeing pre-owned business aircraft at prices lower than they have been in years. The business will offer a full range of sales and purchasing services in Spanish, French, Italian, and German, as well as English.

The company’s current portfolio of more than 40 business jets, turboprops and helicopters is designed for a budgets and mission profiles. “We are very excited about the launch. JetBrokers Inc have continued to transact a good number of aircraft on behalf of both buyers and sellers throughout the recession and now with the appearance of an ever increasing number of green shoots, we are well placed to benefit from the improving confidence in the market.” said Barber. John Merry added: "With inventory levels stabilizing, we are seeing more interest and real buyers. They understand now is a good time to buy. Great aircraft are available for excellent prices, whilst we anticipate that next year there will be less choice and prices may continue to increase, particularly for the most sought after variants.”

“Having a wider representation in Europe will enable us to offer a more tailored service to our European clients and expand the exposure of our existing clients aircraft,” said President Tom Crowell Jr., “While the European business jet market is considerably smaller than the US Market, we anticipate a good level of growth over the coming years. NBAA is the ideal event to announce such a venture and we are confident that our clients and prospects will find this additional resource of interest.

Embraer Inks 650 Launch Customer
Aircraft Asset Management AAM GmbH, of Hallbergmoos, Germany, is the launch customer for Embraer’s new large jet the Legacy 650, announced today at NBAA. (Launch of the 650) The company will take two 650s for a total order value of $50 million, based on 2010 economic conditions, putting them into service in their private jet charter business.

The aircraft will be operated by Stuttgart-based DC Aviation, which is also a Legacy 600 customer. The order is already included in the company’s 3Q09 order book statistics.

Luís Carlos Affonso, Embraer Executive Vice President, Executive Jets. This is the second contract signed by Embraer and Aircraft Asset Management AAM GmbH. The German company initially ordered three Legacy 600s in 2007. Their first Legacy 650 will be delivered in the fourth quarter of 2010, joining two DC Aviation Legacy 600s. The second
Legacy 650 will be delivered in 2011.

“We are especially proud to be one of the first European charter operators to add two Legacy 650s to our fleet. This new variant makes it possible for us to enlarge our long-haul fleet and our international flight services, enabling comfortable, nonstop flights on such popular business routes as London-Dubai or Dubai-Singapore,” said Steffen Fries, CEO of
DC Aviation, and managing director of Aircraft Asset Management AAM GmbH. “The performance of the aircraft is very convincing, too. The Legacy 650 is faster in landing approach than other business jet models and, hence, offers better compatibility with traditional airline traffic. The inclusion of a forward lavatory is also a strong selling point.”

Aircraft Asset Management AAM GmbH & Co. KG provides acquisition, rental and marketing of regional aircraft and business jets. Its clients include Cirrus Airlines, Augsburg Airways, and the business jet operator DC Aviation.

DC Aviation GmbH, founded in 2008 from a merge of Cirrus Aviation and DaimlerChrysler Aviation has a comprehensive portfolio, ranging from aircraft management via chartering to business jet maintenance. The young fleet, with an average age of less than three years, goes from the short-haul Citation XLS jet to such medium- and long-range jets as the Embraer Legacy 600, the Gulfstream G450 and G550, and the Airbus A319 CJ. In August 2008, the company became the first German supplier of private jets to receive the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate, which was re-certified in May 2009. This world-renowned certificate is considered a seal of quality for flight safety.

Embraer Signs with Avcon as Sales Rep
Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Macedonia and Serbia now have an authorized sales representative for the Phenom 100 and Lineage 1000 in Avcon Jet AG, it was announced here yesterday. Avcon will be part of Embraer’s Europe, Middle East and Africa group headed by Colin Steven, executive vice president, marketing and sales for the region.

Avcon Jet implemented a unique sales structure in the region, last month. Assistance with financing will be one of the major factors, when it comes to aircraft sales. With its strong banking partners, Avcon Jet is well-positioned to offer the best possible solutions for aircraft financing.

Avcon Jet AG offers aircraft services and solutions, such as sales and acquisition, financing, management, charter, aircraft and project consulting, and asset management. Its growing fleet presently stands at 19 jets, covering the entire spectrum of business aviation, from small to large-cabin aircraft. It is staffed by legal and fiscal specialists with experience in the banking, finance and insurance industries, the company is equipping itself for future expansion.

Flexjet Walk Away Popular
Armed with a recently expanded portfolio of services and backed by a century of aviation expertise, Flexjet – Bombardier’s fractional jet ownership company of Bombardier – said it came to NBAA to “raise the bar on corporate lift options.”

The company said it is capitalizing on the growing need in the changing marketplace for supplemental corporate lift by provides a compliant lift solution that can be solely sourced via the flight department. Understanding what corporate flight departments require a trusted aviation advisor, said the company, helps it to provide support as an expert partner.

Of special interest to clients in this market is Flexjet’s Walk Away Lease program, providing many of the benefits that come with fractional ownership but with the option to exit the program with just a 90-day notice. Additionally, the Flexjet 25* Jet Card program – operated by Jet Solutions – features a combination card. This card allows owners to purchase 50% of their total hours in one aircraft type and 50% of the remaining hours in another aircraft type.

For those attending the National Business Aviation Association’s 62ndAnnual Meeting & Convention, Flexjet will be consulting with flight departments on how to best optimize their specific air travel solution set. The company will also be giving away a four-hour demonstration flight in a Challenger 300 at its booth. Anyone with a qualifying title -- including Chief Pilot, Director of Aviation, Director of Maintenance or Chief Dispatcher -- is eligible to enter the drawing after meeting with an on-site representative. The winner will be selected on Oct. 22, 2009, and need not be present to win.

SMS for Biz Jet Owners
With Safety Management Systems (SMS) becoming increasingly important to both airlines and corporate fight departments and the increasing focus of regulators on the industry, more tools are emerging at NBAA to help Part 135 certificate holders to implement SMS programs. Eighteen months ago National Transportation Safety Board Member Robert Sumwalt briefed members of the Air Charter Safety Foundation on SMS programs and how they provide top down improvements to aviation safety.

ATP introduced its consultancy on incorporating SMS as part of the run up to possible regulatory standards, that, it said, could come as early as 2012.

“It is already an ICAO mandate, and Advanced Notice for Proposed Rule Making (ANPRM) has been registered,” said ATP. “Under FAA Advisory Circular AC 120-92, a set of risk management guidelines consistent with the ICAO regulations was published for Part 135 operators. As guidelines they do not have the force of law. However, in the wake of some high profile accidents involving chartered business jets, the FAA has come to recognize that the safety infrastructure at many Part 135 carriers, while generally safe, is not as institutionalized as necessary. As a result, compliance, safety and training programs are under increased scrutiny.

“Any FAA inspector will tell you that SMS is coming to business operators, so the sooner they choose to implement modern compliance and safety processes into their operations the better,” Vice President of Sales and Marketing Bob Trevelyan continued. “It’s better to be proactive and implement these processes prior to the mandate so you can take the time to understand how the changes effect your operation and immediately begin to take advantage of the efficiencies they produce,” continued Mr. Trevelyan.

Implementing a next-generation, closed-loop compliance and safety environment includes such benefits as:

• Safety and Risk Management – reduces risk and predicts failure. SMS processes have proven to be an indispensable tool for reducing accidents.

• Compliance – improved insight into risk management and better regulatory compliance reporting.

• Return on Investment – proven way to save money and improve efficiency, fleet availability and dispatch reliability. It makes good business sense to begin implementing SMS processes today.

SMS is still confusing to many operators. A large part of the challenge is that the FAA has simply not finalized the SMS rule yet, said Trevelyan. Still there are principles to SMS that lend themselves to early implementation as operators build next-generation processes and create the foundation for SMS when it is finalized. These principles include:

1. Next generation documentation processes
2. Realistic and concrete safety measurement metrics
3. Closed-loop evaluation processes
4. Controlled change management processes
5. Real-time regulatory validation and communication processes
6. Extensive training on how a safety culture works
7. Dedicated management to a safety culture

ATP, a qualified certification consultancy, examines day-to-day operations for implementation of these new processes. “We are all being introduced to solutions that focus on creating checklists, or offering SMS in a box, said the company, adding this type of solution will not generate the results you need. Rather, it said, operators must create a comprehensive view of risk management and safety systems with dedication to the SMS starting in the corporate suite. SMS is also a valuable data collection tool that can be shared to establish negative safety trends for both the operator and the industry. Sumwalt also explained during the ACSF conference that it provides data to streamline operations and save money.

“We're experts in our chosen field of endeavor, namely aircraft management, charter and maintenance, but we are not expert technical writers,” said Darrin Perdue, President and CEO of SP Aviation in Hayward California. “To say that we could set aside the massive amount of time and manpower to re-design our manual system ourselves is to deny reality. We could attempt it, but in the end, it would be just another band-aid fix as opposed to a long term solution."

ATP entered an agreement to deliver a next generation document compliance system to SP Aviation in Hayward, California to enhance safety processes, improve internal efficiencies, and prepare for the upcoming SMS mandate.

As part of this agreement, and working closely with the Oakland FAA Flight Standards District Office (FSDO), ATP is helping SP Aviation evaluate and implement next-generation standards for documentation control and distribution. These new processes provide SP Aviation with real and tangible benefits today and are key to implementing the upcoming SMS mandate.

“Any 135 operator looses a little sleep at night thinking about compliance and procedures, but there is no better way to get a peaceful night’s sleep than to have ATP come in and help out,” said eff Perdue, co-founder and chief pilot for SP Aviation. “ATP’s ability to identify problem areas is far above and beyond anything we have experienced with any of the other leading firms.”

“Any FAA rep will tell you that SMS is coming to Part 135 operators, so the sooner they choose to implement modern compliance and safety processes into their operations the better,” said Bob Trevelyan, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at ATP. “It’s better to be proactive and implement these processes prior to the mandate so you can take the time to understand the changes to your operation, and immediately begin to take advantage of the efficiencies they produce,” continued Mr. Trevelyan.

SP Aviation, Inc. is a Part 135 Air Charter located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area at Hayward Executive Airport in Hayward, California. Founded in 1992 with four original partners who are all veteran jet charter pilots, the company has a history of continued growth and was recently awarded a 50-year lease on the National Guard space at Hayward Airport with plans to build large, new hangars which will be available soon. This new space will be centrally located in the Bay Area with easy access to Silicon Valley and San Francisco. With a staff of more than 40 professional pilots, mechanics, flight controllers and administrative personnel, SP Aviation is poised to continue its mission well into the future.