EVA SPRING 2026 -Powerd by AI

The world has not felt this scary
since the 1980s, when the Cold
War suddenly became frigid. A
new war against Iran, fermented
over decades of distrust and
now encouraged to spill over
into armed conflict, has inevitably brought
disruption to the Middle East and as far away
as Cyprus. Global transport hubs, including
airports, have taken missile and drone hits,
threatening civilians and the region’s key
business and VIP aviation infrastructure.
We have also seen a bizarre presidential
proclamation aimed at Canada’s civilian
aircraft regulator thrust business aviation
unexpectedly into the international spotlight.
It seemed to take most industry insiders by
surprise, sending them scurrying to discover
if it had any legal foundation at all. Meanwhile,
as we lurch from one geopolitical crisis to
another, let us not forget Venezuela, Mexico
and the still-raging, bloody war between
Russia and Ukraine.
The market has largely adapted to the
repercussions of the latter conflict, while
the very end of February and first days of
March have seen business jets positioning
away from airports under threat in the
Gulf, as airspace closures allow. The impact
in the longer term remains uncertain, but
elsewhere the business of business aviation
continues with its usual resilience.
On that basis, in this issue we look at
a cross-section of FBOs from across the
US, discovering the expected dedication
to customer service and safety, but also
an underlying enthusiasm simply for being
around aviation. In some cases the bug seems
to have bitten especially hard, evidenced
through the thoughts of Tony Buckley,
President & CEO of jetCenters of Colorado
and Customer Service Manager Kawai Lopez
at Monterey Jet Center, among others.
Thanks to Bombardier and the Global 8000,
we also celebrate the brilliance of business
aviation that can sometimes be dulled through
familiarity, while our conversation with
Jeremy Phillips, General Manager at Sheltair
Melbourne, might alter your perception of the
industry and what it is capable of.
Connectivity is now an essential element
in passenger experience, and Claudio
D’Amico, Vice President of Strategic Market
Engagement, Business Aviation at Viasat
explains how the communications giant is
working to integrate Telesat Lightspeed
LEO into its business aviation connectivity
portfolio. While D’Amico is satisfying our
demands to remain connected, busy and
entertained, Matteo Atti, Global Chief
Marketing Officer at VistaJet, explains how
the company is helping passengers arrive at
their best, through its new Sleep Program.
Sometimes the best stories are found
behind details so obvious we overlook them.
We discover from Paul Kinch, Managing
Director MRO at Gama Aviation, the quite
different approaches required for painting
a VIP helicopter compared to a business jet,
and from Richard Marston, MAAS Aviation’s
Chief Commercial Officer, the physicality of
painting larger aircraft.
Finally, to leather, a staple of almost every
business jet and VIP helicopter cabin. We
appreciate leather for how it looks and feels
but perhaps never really think any more of it.
But people have been making and using leather
since the Stone Age, so it has quite a story to
tell and we are delighted to bring just a taster
of that tale to you through conversations with
executives from Bombardier, Garrett Leather,
Gen Phoenix & Townsend Leather.