eclipse500

Groups Get Ready To Bid On Eclipse Aviation's Assets

Filed under: Wings

The saga of Eclipse Jets just gets weirder and weirder and you'll need a scorecard to keep track of all the companies with the Eclipse name. The first was Eclipse Aviation Corporation which produced the planes but filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Then Luxembourg-based EclipseJet Aviation International (part of ETIRC Aviation) was set to buy the company, and in fact their website says they are "the principal distributor of the Eclipse 500 very light jet in Europe, Eastern Europe, Russia, and CIS countries." But that deal fell through and Eclipse entered Chapter 7 liquidation last month which means that the company's assets are set to be liquidated.

Enter a new group, known as Eclipse Jet LLC which as Aero-News Network reports, has joined others hoping to bid on the company's assets. This group contains leaders of the Ad Hoc Customer Committee and Steering Committee including Mike Press a retired USAF colonel who owns an Eclipse 500, and runs a private company to broker Eclipse delivery positions. He is working with other owners and depositors including businessman Mason Holland to try and acquire the assets of Eclipse. The motivation is both to provide support for those who already own planes as well as restarting production of the Eclipse 500, perhaps to complete the seven planes still in various stages of being built inside the plant. Holland and Press have said that they are interesting in reorganizing Eclipse as a sustainable company.

Two other bids for the Eclipse assets have been made public including yet another Eclipse-named group, Eclipse Services and Support LLC, which is a cooperative backed by Linear Air CEO Bill Herp and wants to keep the existing fleet of 259 Eclipse 500 very-light jets in service. Another organization with yet another Eclipse name, New Eclipse Acquisition LLC, is backed by aerospace executive Phil Friedman and also wants to provide support to existing owners and to eventually start producing new aircraft.

While all this is being sorted out, furloughed workers wait for a decision and hope that they will get some money out of the liquidation. Forbes reveals that more than 800 workers have filed a lawsuit seeking back wages and benefits.

Tags: eclipse 500, Eclipse500, jet

Eclipse Aviation Lays Off Workers After Sale Delay

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Eclipse Aviation has hit another speed bump in its long journey. The company furloughed 800 of its 850 employees this week to save money. The company is running out of funds to pay employees as it tries to complete a bankruptcy sale with Luxembourg-based ETIRC Aviation. Just a limited crew will be retained until the deal closes. KRQUE reported that some people left the southeast Albuquerque plant where Eclipse makes their jets carrying family pictures and documents just in case what should be a short furlough turns out to be a bit longer. A bankruptcy court approved the sale of Eclipse assets to ETIRC last month but finding the $188 million to finance the deal is no easy task in this tough market. Because there is no solid closing date for the sale there's no real reason to keep making jets. Around 30 jets in progress are inside the plant.

This latest turn in the Eclipse saga comes just as there is some good news for private plane buyers, Congress approved a tax break in the stimulus package that will help businesses buy their own planes. An incentive reduces the upfront tax bill for businesses buying significant assets such as planes.

Gallery: Production Slowdowns

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Tags: eclipse 500, eclipse aviation, Eclipse500, EclipseAviation, jets

Eclipse Aviation Files Chapter 11

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

For the last few years, Eclipse Aviation was to seen to be the foundation of a whole new world of air taxis and personal jets with their Eclipse 550 aircraft. Times have changed and this week, Eclipse filed for federal bankruptcy-court protection. The company which is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, struggled to make payroll earlier this month. The Wall Street Journal reports that ETIRC Aviation, which holds nearly 65% of the company's shares, will endeavor to continue manufacturing operations as it moves to acquire Eclipse's assets.

Eclipse still has a backlog of over 2,000 planes on order. The company may slow down production on order to get solvent as soon as possible. The planes sell for around $1.5 million each. Eclipse joins other companies that are planning layoffs and slowing production in order to cope with the dramatic economic shifts.

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Tags: eclipse 500, Eclipse500, private jet, PrivateJet

DayJet's Eclipse 500 Fleet For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

Anyone want to buy some Eclipse 500 very light jets? Now that the DayJet, air taxi operation has folded, their 28 Eclipse 500 planes are looking for a home. DayJet had originally ordered 1,400 of the small jets for their planned network of fights but closed up shop in September citing the current economic crisis and the inability to secure funding as causes. The 28 are now up for sale and are being sold "as is" with DayJet logoes and interiors. The DayJet Eclipses had accumulated no more than 450 hours each. There are three different configurations of the jets. Eclipse hasn't disclosed a price for the aircraft but some have estimated that it would be in the $1.5 million range per plane.

[via Flying Magazine]

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Tags: dayjet, eclipse 500, Eclipse500, vlj

Trouble For the Eclipse 500

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

A spot of bad news for the Eclipse 500. The FAA has recommended inspection of the throttles on the small jets after one made an emergency landing in Chicago last week. The National Transportation Safety Board has said that there is the need for an emergency procedure for dual engine control failure. So far around 200 of the popular private jets have been delivered. The one that landed in Chicago had only 238 flight hours. The Eclipse 500 is the basis of a number of fledgling airtaxi services so this first hint of trouble has been received with some amount of worry by industry watchers.

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Tags: eclipse 500, Eclipse500, very light jet, VeryLightJet, vlj

JetAVIVA: Private Planes Greet the Public

by Laura Malesich (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, Services, Wings, Preferred

Want to live the good life but at affordable prices? Ever wanted to take a private-jet for your next vacation? Want to own your own jet without all the maintenance issues? JetAVIVA will make it possible. Two West Los Angeles natives founded the company in 2006 in order to provide management services to private-jet owners and eventually expand their business to provide elite taxi service for the regular Joe. JetAVIVA currently has three Eclipse 500 VLJ's (Very Light Jets) making up the small but growing fleet. The beauty of this business is the dual relationship of jet owners and paying passengers. Typically, maintaining your own private aircraft can cost upwards of $125,000 per year and you may only fly in it one week out of the month! Why not rent out the seats for the other three weeks? Starting next year, you can skip the security lines, crowded concourses, and delays on the tarmac and fly you and a few friends on an exclusive plane with commercial airline prices. Sounds pretty fantastic to me! Who wants first class when you can still hear the baby in the tenth aisle crying? JetAVIVA has the right idea and the forward thinking to create a unique travel option for business travelers or vacationers alike.

Gallery: jetAVIVA: private planes greet the public

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Tags: eclipse-500, eclipse500, jet-aviva, jetaviva, private-jet, private-plane

Danish Businessman Nabs First Eclipse 500 Sold At Auction

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings, Auctions

A Danish businessman is the winner of the first auction of the Eclipse 500. Morten Wagner of Denmark bid $1,833,945. The list price of an Eclipse 500 is $1,719.942.60 and the reserve for the auction was $1,633.945.47. According to Aero News Network, Wagner will be heading to the company's headquarters in Albuquerque this week to pick up his plane. Wagner is the founder of an internet company called Freeway and plans to use his new plane for business travel throughout Europe, and to travel between his homes in London, Spain, and Denmark. He currently flies a Cirrus SR22 but has had his eye on the Eclipse for a while.

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Tags: auction, ebay, eclipse 500, Eclipse500, jet, private jet

Jet- Alliance Fractional Eclipse 500 Ownership

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Wings

We've mentioned fractional options for the Eclipse 500 Jet before but Jet-Alliance offers a cheaper way to get your piece of a new Eclipse. They offer something called a “fractional alliance” where the owners share in the costs of ownership and operations of the aircraft plus an administrative fee to Jet-Alliance. For a 1/16th slice of the plane, the cost is $81,000 plus ownership fees starting at $15,000 per year and usage fees of $650 per occupied hour to cover fuel and engine reserves.

[via Very Light Jets Blog]

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Tags: eclipse 500, eclipse jet, Eclipse500, flight, fractional ownership, private plane, very light jet, wings