JetOptions Adds Another Learjet 31 to Available Charter Aircraft, Democratizing Business Aviation, The Nextant G90XT Ready for Delivery

Presenting 50 incredible destinations for 2015. Where will you go this year?

Travel and Leisure’s 50 Best Places to Visit in 2015 details some of the newest and most exciting adventures to add to your bucket list this year. T+L’s own Jacqui Gifford joined MSNBC’s The Cycle to discuss the top spots and trips for travelers looking to escape in the coming months.

Manhattan’s downtown revitalization is making NYC a destination to visit and revisit in the years to come. Milan is another top city to add to the list, it’s having a huge amount of museums and cultural events, not to mention the 2015 World Expo (today’s version of the World’s Fair) bringing a display of environmental and cuisine innovations to the city during the summer. Cuba is now on our radar as well, with the diplomatic relations opening new possibilities for experiencing the country’s unique culture.

The world is getting smaller, but the chances of having an extraordinary new experience are only increasing. We’ve identified 50 standout destinations, based on industry news and trends, with input from contributing writers, A-List travel agents, and our new local experts. These are the places changing the travel map, whether it’s an emerging arts hub in Germany or a quiet stretch of sand in the Caribbean.

Find out more on the list, and get planning!

Magnus Henriksson, business development manager at Avinode, assess the attempts of three short-haul operators in the US – Surf Air, Wheels Up and ImagineAir – to democratise business aviation.

During 2013 Surf Air and Wheels Up very publicly entered the business aviation market and have, in a short period of time, built a strong brand while simultaneously claiming to be innovating the way business aviation aircraft are being used. When launching Wheels Up, founder and CEO Kenny Dichter made the statement that they aimed at “truly democratising business aviation.” Several years earlier, in 2006, a company called ImagineAir announced its entrance into the business aviation market serving up a true one-way air taxi service claiming to offer an “affordable personal air taxi.”

These three companies have different business models, serve different geographical areas, operate their aircraft in different ways and target different client groups. However, they all have one thing in common in that they are bringing the business aviation product to a new audience, different to the normal charter operator, at an ‘affordable’ price point using non-conventional fleet aircraft such as the King Air 350iER (Wheels Up), Pilatus PC-12 (Surf Air) and Cirrus SR-22s (ImagineAir). In this article, we examine what these operators are doing differently, what their operational performance looks like and try and answer the question: are they really democratising the industry and distributing their product to a wider audience?

The Nextant G90XT turboprop is being prepared for its first delivery.

The re-manufactured turboprop is the next aircraft by Nextant Aerospace. It is based on a Beechcraft King Air C90 turboprop but has a number of modern features to the avionics, engines and airframe.

JetOptions added a Bombardier LearJet 31 to its list of light jets available for charter. The aircraft will be based in Houston.

The Learjet 31 is a popular light jet that seats 6 passengers and has a range of about 1,200 miles.

2014 was a year to remember for Boeing.

The U.S. jetmaker shattered its record for both aircraft deliveries and for sales, according to figures released by Boeing on Tuesday. And the numbers appear to be enough to keep Boeing ahead of arch-rival Airbus as the world’s top plane manufacturer for a third consecutive year.