AIN Staff

• Bombardier Aerospace announced it will open its first regional support office in Latin America by year-end. The full-scale RSO will be located in São Paulo, alongside the Canadian OEM’s already established parts depot and authorized service facility, OceanAir Taxi Aéreo. “To compete globally you have to be prepared to commit and deliver locally,” said v-p of customer services and support Andy Nureddin.
• In a joint venture, Embraer and CAE are expanding services in Brazil with a level-D, full-flight simulator for Phenom 100/300 customers at the OEM’s São Jose dos Campos facilities. The Phenom simulator is expected to be operational by next year’s second quarter.
• Gulfstream, which “sees strong growth” in Brazil, has seen its fleet in that country grow from 14 aircraft in 2009 to more than 30 today. With that, the OEM enlarged its Labace presence this year and announced that the service center at its home base in Savannah, Ga., has earned maintenance organization designation approval from Brazil’s Agência Nacional de Aviação Civil (ANAC).The company’s G150 recently received type certification from the agency. Gulfstream also notes that its Web site is now in five languages, including Portuguese, the language of Brazil.
• Dallas Airmotive do Brasil says it is experiencing rapid growth in Honeywell TFE731 engine and APU services at its Belo Horizonte facility. With long-term contracts with the Brazilian Air Force in its pocket, and “spectacular” growth in demand for its engine repair and support services, Dallas Airmotive has plans to expand its presence in Brazil through new facilities, parts support and field services.
• According to TAM Executive Aviation commercial director Leonardo Fiuza, the Brazilian business jet fleet is expanding into the country’s north and northeast regions, accompanying rapid economic growth in those areas. Fiuza said there are 300 Citations in Brazil, and the fleet in the northeast has grown by 5 percent in the last 18 months, and by 6 percent in the north. This growth has prompted TAM to begin work on a new maintenance center in Aracati in the northeastern state of Ceara, and encouraged Hawker Beechcraft distributor Lider Aviação to construct a new base in Corumba, on the Bolivian border.
• FltPlan.com, an online flight-planning service, has expanded its coverage to include Central America and most of the Caribbean. FltPlan.com flight planning and flight plan filing are free to any registered pilot, including for flights in the newly expanded coverage areas.
• Cessna Aircraft, which recently delivered its 32nd Caravan to the Brazilian Air Force, was highlighting its Citation CJ4 at Labace. Brazil’s fleet of 263 Citations is the largest outside the U.S. and throughout Latin America that fleet totals 500 aircraft.
• Embraer displayed its Legacy 500 full-scale cockpit and cabin mockup for the first time at Labace. The Brazilian OEM continues to expand its service network in Latin America, with four new authorized centers in Brazil–AeroMecânica, Algar Aviation, Globo Aviação and Voar Aviação. All four will be on board by the fourth quarter. The company is also expanding is factory-owned service from its São Jose dos Campos facilities, including a mobile maintenance unit with parts and trained mechanics.
• The first edition of the Brazilian General Aviation Directory was introduced at Labace and contains information on the Brazilian fleets, airport infrastructure, the market and major suppliers. The data from YEB Market Intelligence analyzed 39 airports in 20 states, 113 manufacturers and 1,000 companies providing 71 categories of goods and services. The directory, which is written in Portuguese, can be requested from <a href="mailto:anuario.abag@yeb.com.br">anuario.abag@yeb.com.br</a>.
• Piaggio Aero has announced that Algar Group of Brazil has become the exclusive distributor of Piaggio Aero for sales and service of the Italian OEM’s Avanti II. Algar reported a 137-percent increase in business from 2009 to 2010, and according to CEO Rogério Montalvao, “The expectation for 2011 is that the performance will be even better.”
•Eclipse Aerospace has received “full type certification” from Brazilian aviation authorities for its Total Eclipse Jet, which made its first appearance at Labace this year.
• The Synergy Group, responding to what it calls “strong demand by jet executives and favorable economic conditions,” has created SynerJet, a new company to operate in the aviation sales market in Latin America. Introduced at Labace by marketing and sales director José Brandão, SynerJet has offices in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia and Argentina and will represent Bombardier Aerospace products throughout Latin America, with the exception of Venezuela and the Caribbean. Units in Brazil and Colombia will also represent helicopter manufacturer AgustaWestland and turboprop manufacturer Pilatus.

Labace Show Notes

• Bombardier Aerospace announced it will open its first regional support office in Latin America by year-end.

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