2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

Richard Pedicini

News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues relating to business, corporate and private aviation, primarily regarding turbine-engine-powered airplanes and helicopters. Subjects include aircraft, engines, maintenance, operations, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security, and training.

Brazil is an attractive market for BBJs

Boeing Business Jets President Makes LABACE Debut

Aidan Lau

News and issues concerning general aviation, specifically airplanes and helicopters powered by piston and alternative engines (i.e., non-turbine powered aircraft). Subjects include aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

A new three-year agreement extends Boeing's Platinum-level sponsorship of EAA AirVenture and will help continue funding of important programs.

Boeing Extends Platinum Sponsorship of EAA AirVenture

Peter Shaw-Smith

News about environmental issues relating to aircraft operations, including noise issues, emissisions, and regulations. See Fuel for biofuel.

News and developments about aviation fuel, including jet fuel, aviation gasoline, and biofuel.

News and issues relating to international air transport and cargo carriers, national airlines and regional airlines, including aircraft, engines, personnel, acquisitions, accidents, safety, security and training.

A new Boeing tool tracks potential SAF availability, underscoring the need to close the supply-demand gap. 

Boeing Launches Dashboard to Monitor SAF Production

Cathy Buyck

Airbus and Boeing expect that manufacturers will deliver more than 40,000 new commercial aircraft over the next 20 years.

Airbus, Boeing Raise 20-Year Forecasts For Aircraft Deliveries

News and issues regarding all manner of civil and military rotorcraft and their powerplants, including helicopters, tilt rotors and unmanned air vehicles.

Boeing says its upcoming airplane models will help pave the way to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.

Boeing Brings Full Portfolio to Paris

News and issues about aviation maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO), covering all segments of the aviation industry; and modifications for aircraft and engines. Subjects include product support of aircraft, engines and avionics, MRO company mergers, acquisitions, announcements and personnel, Airworthiness Directives, Supplemental Type Certificate approvals and other topics.

BGS enhances its digital solutions and data analytics capabilities to provide enhanced customer service and propel sustained growth.

Boeing Global Services Charts a Data Solutions Path 

Boeing has assumed full ownership of eVTOL aircraft developer Wisk Aero, which has been run as a joint venture with Kitty Hawk, an advanced mobility start-up formed by Google co-founder Larry Page and Google executive Sebastian Thrun. Speaking at a media briefing in South Carolina on May 31, Wisk CEO Brian Yutko announced the change of ownership while not providing any details about financial terms for the transaction between Boeing and its former partners.
Kitty Hawk, which had been working on the Heaviside autonomous eVTOL vehicle, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-09-22/kittyhawk-signals-its-imminent-exit-evtol-aircraft-innovation">closed down</a>&nbsp;in September 2022. At the time, Wisk said that the move did not impact its ownership and that Kitty Hawk’s backers would remain investors in its plans to bring a four-seat, passenger-carrying autonomous eVTOL vehicle to market later in this decade.
As a wholly owned subsidiary of the Boeing group, Wisk&nbsp;will continue to operate as an independent company with oversight by the Boeing board. A spokesman told&nbsp;FutureFlight that Boeing will continue to provide additional support through access to talent and expertise.&nbsp;
Boeing is now focusing most of its efforts to break into the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-09-21/boeing-and-wisk-issue-concept-operations-urban-air-mobility">advanced air mobility sector</a> on Wisk, having made a<a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-01-24/boeing-bets-big-evtols-450-million-funding-wisk-aero"> $450 million investment </a>in the company in early 2022. Its rival, Airbus, is developing its own four-passenger eVTOL aircraft called the CityAirbus NextGen.
In October 2022, Wisk unveiled what it describes as its <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-10-03/wisk-aero-unveils-four-seat-autonomous-evtol-air-taxi">sixth-generation eVTOL design</a> at its headquarters in Mountain View, California. The all-electric aircraft&nbsp;features 12 wing-mounted propellers, six of which tilt. Yutko told reporters that the projected range will be up to around 100 miles, which is slightly more than the 90 miles announced last year, with a cruise speed of 120 knots at altitudes between 2,500 and 4,000 feet.
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With earlier technology demonstrators, including the fifth-generation Cora vehicle, Wisk has made more than 1,600 test flights in California and New Zealand, where it has conducted some early development work. Yutko said the company now employs 700 people and collaborates closely with engineering teams from Boeing and its Aurora Flight Sciences subsidiary.
In early May, <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2023-05-09/wisk-and-japan-airlines-partner-bring-autonomous-air-taxi-flights-japan">Japan Airlines (JAL) signed a memorandum of understanding </a>with Wisk to jointly work to&nbsp;introduce air taxi flights to Japan. The carrier, which is the first to publicly partner with Wisk, has not committed to buying any of its eVTOL vehicles but is providing support in areas such as operations and maintenance. JAL has previously committed to adding Vertical Aerospace’s VX-4 four-passenger, piloted eVTOL vehicle to its fleet.
<h3 class="subheading">Autonomy or Bust Is Wisk's Path To Unlocking Advanced Air Mobility's Potential&nbsp;</h3>
Initially, Wisk intends to be the sole operator for its eVTOL aircraft as the company seeks to prove the <a href="https://www.futureflight.aero/news-article/2022-04-11/wisk-and-skyports-issue-concept-operations-autonomous-evtol-aircraft">viability of autonomous operations </a>for commercial passenger services. It has not yet set a timeline for type certification—in part, because the regulatory path to this is not yet fully defined—but Yutko indicated that the company expects to secure the required Part 135 operators certificate fairly soon.
According to Wisk, autonomy is critical to scaling up advanced air mobility services to unlock the cost structures that it and other pioneers believe could transform air transport. “There’s a misnomer in the industry that this is about removing the pilot,” he told reporters. “It’s not about that. That’s not actually where the value of autonomy comes from. It comes from ‘unconstraining’ the aircraft from what it has to carry.”
Giving the example of cargo operations, Yutko said that many aircraft are chronically underutilized. “They’ll fly out in the morning to a remote location and there they have to wait for an airworthy pilot and the cargo to be in the same place at the same time to bring it back to the hub,” he maintained. “If you were to unconstrain that system, you could move that aircraft around more to increase utilization, increase the flexibility of the network. So that’s what we see as the actual value in terms of scalability and improved economics of autonomy.”

Managing Editor

Charles Alcock

Boeing Takes Full Control of Autonomous eVTOL Developer Wisk Aero

Boeing will support Wisk's plans to bring a four-seat autonomous eVTOL aircraft to market later this decade after taking full control of the company.

Boeing Takes Control of eVTOL Aircraft Developer Wisk

Gregory Polek

As it works toward clearing some 90 Dreamliners from inventory, Boeing preps for a second 787 assembly line in South Carolina. 

Boeing 787 Rate Hike Lends Latest Credibility Boost

James Wynbrandt

News and developments about everything that goes into the cabin of an aircraft, from floor coverings to headliners, with a special emphasis on in-flight entertainment, communications and other electronics for passengers. If it is in the cabin of an aircraft, it’s covered here.

Boeing

News

Boeing Business Jets President Makes LABACE Debut

Boeing Extends Platinum Sponsorship of EAA AirVenture

Boeing Launches Dashboard to Monitor SAF Production

Airbus, Boeing Raise 20-Year Forecasts For Aircraft Deliveries

Boeing Brings Full Portfolio to Paris

Boeing Global Services Charts a Data Solutions Path

Boeing Takes Full Control of Autonomous eVTOL Developer Wisk Aero

Boeing Takes Control of eVTOL Aircraft Developer Wisk

Boeing 787 Rate Hike Lends Latest Credibility Boost

LHT’s New BBJ 777 VIP Cabin Design Aims for Middle East

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