Dassault Aviation has announced a negative number of net orders–minus 27–for Falcon business jets during the first quarter due to cancellations. In the same period the French aircraft manufacturer delivered 11 Falcons compared with 15 in the first three months of last year, while revenues fell by 28 percent.

Dassault is therefore slowing the monthly production rate for Falcons. It was standing close to eight per month last year, and plans for ramping up to 10 per month were dropped in January. 

JetBlue announced plans to expand its focus city at Boston's Logan International Airport with four daily flights to Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI) on Sept. 9, 2009.

Prices between BWI and Boston start at $39 each way for flights purchased before May 4, 2009.

Other upcoming new routes from Boston include nonstop service to San Francisco International Airport (begins May 1), Los Angeles International Airport (begins June 17) and Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (begins June 19).

The 24th annual NBAA maintenance management conference was held in New Orleans last week. Fourteen speakers dispensed management advice and career-enhancing information to more than 240 participants. During their presentation “Managing Legal and Risk Issues in a time of doing more with less,” John Averill of Insurance Office of America and Mark Fava, an attorney with Nelson Mullins & Scarborough, gave frank and sometimes unsettling answers. 

Eclipse Jet, one of the companies formed to try to buy the assets of bankrupt Eclipse Aviation, has entered into an agreement with logistics and management organization Eclipse Service Network to form a network of third-party U.S. service centers. Eclipse Jet is also in discussions with third-party service providers in Europe to start an equivalent operation there. 

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) are pleased to announce that dates for the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) have been confirmed through 2015 at Geneva PALEXPO in Geneva, Switzerland. EBACE is the only European exhibition to focus exclusively on business aviation.

“Year after year, EBACE gives Attendees the tools needed to help their businesses grow, and to help Exhibitors stay in front of their customers,” said Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO. 

Financially beleaguered JetDirect Aviation, Inc. finally came under new ownership after the investment group JDA Acquisition Corp. (JDAAC) late last week completed the purchase of the charter and management specialist. JDAAC, led by Brantley Partners, had signed an initial agreement to purchase JetDirect in February, but a series of delays, including an employee lawsuit (BA, April 13/ 171), held off the completion of the deal until Friday. In the interim, Sovereign Bank foreclosed on JetDirect. 

Aerospace and Defence Industries Assn. of Europe supported calls from Airbus and ATR for both EU and national authorities "to provide financial support to the industry's customers, in particular through the implementation of funding schemes aimed at facilitating airlines' access to liquidity for the purchasing of new aircraft." 

The US Marine Corps has announced plans to audition multiple unmanned aircraft by next February to perform the resupply mission.
The solicitation released on 17 April by the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory (MCWL) addresses one of the few airborne mission areas still not served by unmanned aerial systems (UAS).
The most likely competitors for the emerging mission area include the Lockheed Martin/Kaman unmanned K-MAX, Boeing Unmanned Little Bird, Boeing A160 Hummingbird and the Northrop Grumman RQ-8B Fire Scout. 

Some positive news for Boeing, and those who fly American Airlines, at least domestically. American has started to take delivery of 76 new Boeing 737-800 series aircraft, their first new aircraft since 2006.

The new Boeing airplanes will fly initially primarily to/from Chicago's O'Hare Airport. The new airplanes, will be used to retire some 270 of the older MD-80 series aircraft that American currently flies. 

Honeywell says it expects to have a fix in place by the end of the third quarter that will remove temporary restrictions placed on Primus Apex-equipped Pilatus PC-12 NG aircraft earlier this month.