TIME LINE compiled by Jane Campbell Newsmak ers 2007 2006 Dec. 12 citizens Mansour and Azziz Ojjeh. Airbus A380 receives FAA As a new year begins, AIN’s editors reflect on the past year and the people and events that shaped the industry and EASA certification. After a year-long After AMI certification The FAA’s action against AMI stems from concerns and filled these pages. Unlike previous years, when new-product announcements took center stage, last year in- raised by the Platinum Jet accident, specifically that some Dec. 25 debate, user-fee issue revocation, TAG sells charter operators weren’t maintaining “operational control” dustry issues–such as FAA funding, operational control of charter flights and the environment–garnered the lion’s Tornado rips through of their flights. Those concerns translated into the FAA’s be- Embry-Riddle’s Daytona, Fla. campus, destroying buildings share of attention and likely will continue to do so in the coming years. This year, President Bush, ATA president remains unresolved U.S. op to Sentient coming convinced that foreign-owned TAG Aviation USA and two-thirds of the college’s One flight that never made it off the ground–that of a Plat- was exercising operational control over AMI flights and training fleet. James May, former FAA Administrator Marion Blakey, NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, AOPA president Phil When then-FAA Adminis- inum Jet Challenger 600 at Teterboro on Feb. 2, 2005– thus violating FAA regulations and causing a safety issue. 2007 NEWSMAKER trator Marion Blakey delivered Boyer and Natca share the title of Newsmaker of the Year, for their respective roles in advocating or opposing an caused a confluence of events that have roiled the charter in- In an interview with AIN, Mansour Ojjeh noted that the Bush Administration’s four- Jan. 4 OF THE YEAR dustry, launched FAA lawyers on detailed examinations of the FAA never said why it was investigating AMI. The year plan for FAA funding to Eclipse delivers first FAA funding system that relies on user fees. charter operators and caused serious financial harm to the Ojjehs tried to contact the agency to determine how to Congress on February 14, it contained no valentines customer Model 500. owners of at least one charter/management company. resolve the FAA’s concerns, but the agency refused for general aviation. Jan. 20 The FAA lawyers appear to be under the leadership to respond. By the time Blakey revealed the White House pro- of FAA eastern regional counsel Loretta Alkalay, al- After the revocation, TAG Aviation Holding agreed to Corporate Angel Network flies posal, the battle lines had long been drawn, with the though information about her is hard to confirm because pay a $10 million civil penalty–which includes no admis- 25,000th cancer patient. nation’s major airlines on one side and GA and corpo- the FAA has refused all interview requests. What is sion of wrongdoing–to the FAA to settle the matter and Jan. 23 rate aviation on the other. The FAA blueprint called for known about Alkalay is that hers is the name at the bot- announced that it was selling TAG Aviation USA and all of large increases in jet fuel and avgas taxes, along with Gulfstream acquires tom of two significant FAA documents released last year: its assets, including what was left of AMI, to Sentient Jet. Weco Aerospace. myriad new fees for FAA services that previously had the October 4 suspension order that halted charter oper- FAA lawyer Alkalay was a member of the FAA’s sus- been provided at no charge or for a nominal fee. Jan. 31 ations at AMI Jet Charter, then the October 12 revoca- pected unapproved parts task force, a key figure in some Jim May and his Air Transport Association had suc- Middle East Business cessfully lobbied to eliminate the passenger ticket tax tion notice that permanently grounded AMI’s fleet. AMI earlier airliner-related enforcement cases and the author of Aviation Association launches convention in Dubai. and cargo waybill tax and replace the loss in revenue was a U.S.-citizen-majority-owned company that was a new definition of known icing conditions last year that also partially owned by TAG Aviation USA, part of TAG ultimately caused the FAA to issue a letter of interpretation Late January with a user-fee system, including departure and en Mansour Ojjeh route fees as well as fees for use of congested airspace. Aviation Holding, the Geneva company owned by Swiss that reemphasized the existing definition. –M.T. Bombardier Challenger 605 But members of the House did not support the pro- enters service. posal, declaring the package dead on arrival on Capitol Hawker and special-mission aircraft, up from 95 Feb. 2 Hill. They then wrote and passed an FAA reauthoriza- Barrot urges in the same period the previous year. Aspen Avionics and tion package that modestly raised fuel taxes on GA air- More than 50 percent of the backlog is Eclipse settle patent dispute craft but made no changes in existing excise taxes such environmental Beechcraft from international customers. over the AT300 hazard awareness display. as the ticket tax and contained no new user fees. In addition to the challenges of The Senate followed much the same path, except it changes for builds identity meeting the strong demand reflected in Feb. 9 7 0 0 2 wanted to include a $25-per-flight fee on all jet aircraft When Raytheon sold its aircraft di- that backlog, Hawker Beechcraft has Honda Aircraft announces Y T I N vision to GS Capital Partners in March, plans to build world head- operations and most turboprops. But the Senate Com- aviation U also had to contend with a decrease in M quarters and Honda Jet M one of the first moves that chairman merce Committee and the Finance Committee are at O cash flow because of delivery delays C Manufacturing at Piedmont- Jacques Barrot, vice president of N and CEO James Schuster made was to odds over whether the final bill should include the A due to problems with suppliers of parts Triad International Airport E the European Commission of the P acknowledge the company’s historical O in Greensboro, N.C. per-flight segment. R for the T-6A Texan II military Jacques Barrot U European Union, played a leading E roots by renaming it NBAA president Ed Bolen and AOPA president Phil trainer and the Premier IA. Feb. 19 role in the launch of the Atlantic In- stantial savings in fuel, CO and Hawker Beechcraft. Now, Boyer have been among the GA leaders who have spo- 2 Deliveries of the Premier re- teroperability Initiative to Reduce under Schuster’s leadership, Bombardier launches ken tirelessly against the airline-supported user fees. NOx emissions” at Stockholm’s Ar- Emissions (Aire), a voluntary pro- Hawker Beechcraft is con- sumed in October, according CRJ1000 regional jet. Even the National Air Traffic Controllers Association landa Airport, according to the EU. gram designed to reduce green- tinuing the transition to a to Hawker Beechcraft. (Natca) sided with corporate aviation to counter the air- “The future of the aviation in- manufacturing- and service- The company has also not house gas emissions. The goal of the dustry depends on its ability to lines’ contention that corporate aviation contributes to focused company, with the been able to deliver any joint initiative is to use best prac- combat climate change through in- the congestion surrounding New York’s three airports. recent sale of the com- Hawker 4000s; the airplane tices and new technologies to re- novation and greater efficiency, Natca president Pat Forrey told Congress that gen- pany’s charter division and received its FAA type certifi- duce aviation’s “carbon footprint.” and this initiative will enable us to Feb. 23 eral aviation or business jets have no impact on delay the announcement that the The EU and U.S. first will imple- James Schuster cate on Nov. 1, 2006. Ac- speed up the application of tech- Grob SPn prototype problems, blaming instead the airlines’ scheduling Hawker Beechcraft FBO cording to the FAA, Hawker ment trajectory-based ground oper- nologies and procedures having a returns to flight test. practices during peak hours, even in good weather. network is for sale. ations to manage the flow of traffic direct impact on greenhouse gas Beechcraft “requested and was granted Natca succeeded in getting the House to include a Schuster joined Raytheon Aircraft Feb. 25 on the ground, followed by emissions,” Barrot said. “Following an extension to May 2008 to continue provision in its FAA reauthorization bill that would in 2002, after two years at the helm of Eclipse ends relationship “oceanic trajectory optimization” the major success of our open skies production under the [type certificate] require the agency and the union to restart negotia- Raytheon’s Aircraft Integration Systems with Avidyne. to manage traffic flow across the agreement, this is further proof that authorization. As of this time the FAA tions on a collective bargaining agreement the FAA and previous positions at MagneTek, Atlantic. Finding the best route will the EU and the U.S. benefit from has not certified any Hawker 4000 air- Feb. 26 imposed in 2006. President Bush has threatened to AlliedSignal Aerospace and Westing- reduce both fuel burn and emis- working together in the aviation craft in the Standard Airworthiness Cate- veto a bill that includes that language. house Electric Naval Systems. Antonov An-148-100 sions. Operators within the U.S. sector. We both want a sky open to gory.” Hawker Beechcraft still needs to As the impasse in the Senate continued into early Since the transition to the new receives Russian and and EU will also be urged to use aircraft but not to emissions.” Hawker Beechcraft, the company’s obtain an FAA production certificate to Ukrainian approval.