Since 2024, beOnd has flown guests in the airline’s signature luxury leisure cabin between Munich and the Maldives. Today’s news is an expansion of service connecting customers in Germany and the United Arab Emirates.

“Linking Munich with Dubai aligns perfectly with our strategic vision, driven by significant customer demand. Munich residents seek Dubai's luxurious resorts and vibrant tourism, while Dubai residents look forward to Munich's cultural heritage and scenic beauty," said Tero Taskila, CEO and Chairman of beOnd.

beOnd offers all-lie-flat seating and private jet–inspired service curated for today’s discerning leisure traveller. This elevated experience reflects beOnd’s global brand campaign, Redefining Travel, which places wellness, design, and destination-inspired hospitality at the heart of the journey.

Initially, the airline will operate twice-weekly flights from Munich Airport Franz Josef Strauss (MUC) to Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport (DWC). Additional destinations in Germany may follow in 2025. beOnd will operate the flights under "fifth freedom" rights.

This approval—granted by the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority and Germany’s Luftfahrt-Bundesamt—underscores the strong regulatory support beOnd continues to receive.

“We extend our sincere gratitude to the MCAA and Luftfahrt-Bundesamt for their confidence in beOnd. We also thank Velana International Airport in Malé and Munich Airport for their collaboration,” said Taskila.

RoyalJet said Raj will play a ‘pivotal role’ in advancing the brand’s ambition to become a global leader in private aviation. His focus will be on fostering sustainable growth and driving innovation to elevate RoyalJet’s position in the industry.

Embraer said it is actively seeking new suppliers and partners around the world to meet the growing demand for Embraer’s products. Turkish Aerospace aims to leverage its strategic capabilities in manufacturing and assembling metallic and composite structures, final assembly of fuselages, components, test and production flights, and painting. 

The agreement outlines the collaborative phase between Embraer and Turkish Aerospace to discuss a potential comprehensive industrial partnership involving R&D.

Mehmet Demiroğlu, CEO of Turkish Aerospace said: “This memorandum marks a significant milestone for the Turkish defense and aerospace industry. Through our collaboration with Embraer, we aim to further enhance our technological capabilities and shape the future of aviation. By combining our strengths, we are not only building for today but also laying the foundation for the aviation ecosystem of tomorrow.”

Francisco Gomes Neto, President and CEO of Embraer, added: “Embraer is excited about these significant opportunities with Turkish Aerospace. Their expertise in aerospace manufacturing and assembly aligns perfectly with our strategic goals. This MoU marks a significant step towards exploring innovative solutions and expanding our global footprint."

XINATIS completed the sale and delivery of the BBJ2 to Ethiopian Airlines Group to support the airline’s entry into the VIP and charter market.

“The XINATIS team offers a broad spectrum of aviation transaction and financing experience that can be customised to all types of aviation operations. This transaction is a unique opportunity to bring together the commercial airline and executive jet sectors where traditionally, the two are very different business environments. Ethiopian Airlines had been evaluating the possibility of a VIP aircraft for some time before approaching XINATIS to lend our expertise. Our team presented our experience from different facets of the aviation industry to bring together the first transaction of this kind in Africa. It is our great pleasure to support Ethiopian Airlines in embarking on a new trajectory of aviation opportunity development and to assist them on a plan for commercial airline operators to develop VIP charter opportunities with true executive configured aircraft.” said Sameer Adam, President & CEO, XINATIS.

He added: “This is just the beginning for African operators and governments to consider aligning resources and operations between airlines and the developing business aviation market on the continent.”

Ethiopian Airlines Group CEO, Mesfin Tasew said: “This newly introduced Boeing 737-800 Business Jet is designed to offers a spacious and luxurious cabin, featuring premium seating. Its customised seating arrangement with 19 for commercial operation and 32 for private operation ensures an exclusive and intimate atmosphere, accommodating a select number of passengers. Additionally, with its extended range and efficiency, the Boeing 737-800 VIP guarantees a seamless and reliable journey for short- and medium-haul charter operations.

"As Africa’s leading carrier, we are always looking for ways to enhance our offerings and meet the unique demands of our diverse clientele. With the addition of this Boeing 737-800 Business Jet, we are elevating our charter service to new heights, ensuring that our customers enjoy unparalleled luxury, convenience, and world-class service. This is yet another step in our commitment to fostering business and investment opportunities across Africa and beyond.”

The check included additional work, such as removing and reinstalling the wing’s outermost surface and modifying the wing’s dry bay.

The major modification which adds a sealed boundary area in the wing structural fuel tank, acts as a safety buffer and an extra layer of protection to the aircraft in case of damage.

The process required extensive labour hours and involved the removal and reinstallation of around 2,000 screws.

A cabin interior refurbishment and the overhaul of the landing gear were done additionally during the scheduled 2C check to minimise aircraft downtime.

The aircraft owner is a repeat customer of the Johannesburg’s Lanseria International Airport centre. Vince Goncalves, Regional VP Africa for ExecuJet MRO Services, said: “Falcon operators prefer to send their aircraft to us because we are a factory-owned Falcon service centre that has an experienced local workforce trained by Dassault,” says Goncalves.

“We support all in-production Falcon models at our facility. With the growing number of Falcons in the region, we look forward to more line and base maintenance work coming to the facility,” he adds.

Dassault’s three-engine Falcons are popular with African operators due to their range and airport runway performance, particularly in ‘hot and high’ flying conditions.

Separately, ExecuJet MRO Services South Africa has also concluded 1C inspection on a South African-registered Falcon 50B.

Times Aerospace Events is delighted to announce the MRO Association of India as a strategic partner.

“Our association is honoured to be partnering with Times Aerospace Events for the second edition of Aviation India,” said C S Tomar, President of the MRO Association of India. “The MRO sector in India is responding strongly to our country’s need for more home-grown engineering and technical services and promoting these efforts at Aviation India 2025 will play a vital role in this drive.”

The event will be a two-day, high-level networking conference & exhibition bringing together aviation professionals, leaders and C-suite executives from airlines, including cargo and business aviation operators, government, regulators, airports, lessors, OEMs, MROs, training, finance & leasing, insurance, law firms and aviation suppliers and services providers from across the entire supply chain.

Aviation India 2025 is also pleased to announce and welcome back the Business Aircraft Operations Association (BAOA) of India as a supporting partner of Aviation India 2025, to help address the issues that face this growing part of India’s aviation ecosystem to the Summit.

Under the title Aviation India 2025: Shaping the pathway for Indian aviation, the summit will debate and examine how the industry is transforming at pace to unlock growth bringing together leaders from across India and the Subcontinent. “Even at this early stage, we are delighted to confirm Air India as a major supporter of Aviation India 2025, and its CEO, Campbell Wilson as one of the keynote speakers at the Summit,” said Mark Brown, managing director of Times Aerospace Events.

To help shape the content and programme of the 2-day summit, Times Aerospace Events is bringing together a panel of Indian aviation experts to assist in this effort.

This panel features:

• Bharat Malkani, Chairman of Max Aerospace and Aviation Ltd

• Willy Boulter, airline C-suite executive, senior aviation consultant, former Chief Commercial Officer, IndiGo

• Sunam Datta, Chief Commercial Officer, Skyplan

• Neelam Mathews, veteran aviation, defence, travel and tourism correspondent

For more information please visit www.aviationindia.aero

ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East has long maintained a strong relationship with GE and is already an ASC for several variants of the GE CF34 engine, including the -1A, -3, and -10E. The company operates a state-of-the-art MRO facility at Dubai’s Al Maktoum International Airport and also conducts non-destructive testing for GE Aerospace’s GE90 family of commercial engines.

ExecuJet MRO Services in Australia and South Africa were appointed as GE ASCs for the Passport engine several years ago.

The decision to extend this certification to ExecuJet MRO Services Middle East follows the recent approval by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which authorised the company to carry out both line and base maintenance on European-registered Global 7500s, with approvals being expanded to other NAA authorities currently in process.

As an ASC for Passport engines, ExecuJet’s scope of work includes line maintenance, troubleshooting, component changes, borescope inspections, and engine changes.

Nick Weber, regional vice president, Middle East at ExecuJet MRO Services, comments: “All aircraft under a GE Passport engine maintenance and warranty programme must visit a GE ASC, including for engine changes and refits. We expect this GE certification to bring more Global 7500s to our MRO facility for heavy airframe maintenance checks, which often coincide with engine overhauls and inspections.”

“We are now able to offer a more comprehensive service to our customers and are proud to be the first and only ASC for the Passport engine in the Middle East and North Africa,” he added.

Set to open in 2025, Gama Aviation’s Sharjah FBO presents an alternative for business aviation operators particularly with Dubai International Airport reducing slot availability for business jet traffic. Offering round-the-clock operations with zero slot restrictions, the facility ensures efficient turnaround times of 30-40 minutes and a taxi time of only a few minutes. Interestingly for a lot of the BAAFEx attendees, the Sharjah FBO is an optimal technical stop for flights between the Far East, Southeast Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Gama Aviation’s Sharjah FBO also provides seamless access to the UAE’s Northern Emirates and Downtown Dubai.

“Our Sharjah FBO is already accommodating a growing volume of Asian operators seeking efficiency and convenience. These operators greatly benefit from reduced turnaround times, dedicated fuelling, minimal taxi times and zero slot restrictions,” said Tom Murphy, managing director of FBO Services at Gama Aviation, who is leading the company’s presence at BAAFEx 2025.

In addition to enhancing the existing operational efficiencies, Gama’s new Sharjah facility will feature premium hangarage capable of accommodating ACJ and BBJ aircraft, competitive lease rates, and licensed engineers providing line maintenance for select airframes.

The industry flagship business jet set the mark on a mission departing from Bombardier’s Authorised Service Facility ACI Jet in San Luis Obispo and landing at the London Biggin Hill Airport on Feb. 28 in nine hours and 17 minutes, averaging an impressive speed of almost 1,000 km/hr. Some of the latest speed records include impressive city pairs such as Tokyo to San Francisco, London to Riyadh, Oakland to Tokyo, Hartford to Dubai and Tokyo to Toronto, among many others.

Earlier achievements on the Global 7500 include an 8,225 nautical mile flight from Sydney to Detroit, the longest flight ever recorded in business aviation as well as the industry’s first-ever non-stop mission from London City Airport to Los Angeles.

“Bombardier customers need a reliable, fast, efficient business tool that gets them to destination quickly and efficiently, and the Global 7500 aircraft sets the standard in the ultra-long-range class for its outstanding technological advancements and impressive performance capabilities. As these impressive records attest, the aircraft consistently shows it has the speed to successfully complete any type of mission,” said Jean-Christophe Gallagher, executive vice president, aircraft sales and Bombardier Defense. “And with our Global 8000 set to enter into service later this year, we can’t wait to build on this speed record momentum and take it to even higher levels across the fleet.”

ExecuJet MRO Services’ engine shop, a GE authorised service centre, installed overhauled AGBs and completed the work on-wing, thus reducing the aircraft’s downtime. The engine work was carried out when the Nigerian-registered Challenger 604 was under-going a 96-month scheduled airframe maintenance check.

The engine manufacturer, GE Aerospace, issued a service bulletin (GE SB 71-0118 R03) requiring a borescope of the AGB to inspect for wear. After the inspection confirmed wear on both engines, the AGBs required replacement.

Vince Goncalves, Regional VP Africa, ExecuJet MRO Services, says the engine shop was able to do this work because it is a GE authorised service centre (ASC) for CF34-3B1 engine models that power Challengers 604s, amongst others.

“Our ability to do both the airframe and engine MRO work, at the same time and at the same facility, reinforces our position as the ‘go to’ maintenance organisation for aircraft operators, because we can streamline the maintenance process,” add Goncalves.