This first EVA of 2021 arrives as a flickering light begins to appear at the end of the pandemic tunnel, at least for many of us. Since the early days of desperate repatriation and public service flights, business aviation has continued doing what it does best –supporting demanding missions discretely and efficiently, whenever and wherever required.
By comparison with the commercial airlines, business and VIP aviation continues to show resilience. Let’s not fool ourselves into thinking everything is just fine, because it is not, but our industry has seen nothing like the downturn affecting the airlines and there’s every reason to believe that increasing numbers of travellers will continue to see private flying as a realistic alternative to business class.
In this Spring 2021 edition we look in detail at a good news story from Bombardier. It has achieved the first ever Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) for a business jet, awarded to its Global 7500 last summer at the culmination of a design and development cycle that considered sustainability throughout. Conversely, the Canadian OEM has announced its intention to terminate Learjet production this year, even as the majority of pandemic-era business jet flights are on small and mid-size aircraft.
Bombardier’s newly revealed cooperation with luxury sports car maker Aston Martin remains in its early stages, but taking the spectacular ACH130 Aston Martin Edition from Airbus Helicopters as a precedent, the new coupling ought to deliver sensational results. We are seeing a new era, largely driven by the requirement for sustainability, where automotive and aerospace technologies are moving closer together and evolving in parallel, the like of which we have not seen perhaps since the dawn of powered, controlled flight.
To that end, we begin 2021 with EVA’s first ever automotive column, provided by new regular contributor Victoria Macmillan Bell. A seasoned automotive journalist who also writes across lifestyle, conservation and travel, Victoria brings expert commentary and all the benefits of an extensive contacts list to the magazine’s pages. We are excited to offer readers the benefits of her unique insight, as she explores the latest interactions between aviation and automotive, assesses emerging technology and driving some of the world’s most exciting cars.
How the world has changed. In my editor’s comment for the Spring 2020 edition, the focus was very much on sustainability. Had I known COVID-19 was just around the corner, it may well have been on survival. As it is, we have reason for continued optimism, not only for the next few months but for the years ahead. Our industry now considers sustainability as going hand-in-hand with survival and that has to be the most encouraging news of all.
