Honeywell has supported Germany-based service centre ACC Columbia Jet Service with upgrades to the latest cockpit, cabin and connectivity systems, alongside mandate equipment, to retrofit and modernise a Global Express. Since the refurbishment in November 2018, the aircraft has been in full service and is the largest single aircraft update within the business jet space, making the jet the equivalent of a new aircraft at 10 per cent of the cost, with enhanced safety and efficiency elements.

“The cost of buying a new business aircraft continues to increase, so operators are looking toward modifying their jets with upgraded solutions as an investment,” says ACC managing director Nils Janssen. “As a revered service centre, we've worked closely with Honeywell to upgrade jets to increase the value and install the most efficient solutions for our customers. This ensures they're able to reduce workloads for pilots though the latest avionics, while providing business passengers with seamless in-flight wi-fi and entertainment for increased productivity while travelling.”

With Honeywell's solutions at the heart of the Global Express upgrade, the operator is seeing the benefits of reduced operational and fuel costs through an updated flight management system and GoDirect services. The jet was also upgraded with JetWave satellite hardware, enabling the fastest global broadband connectivity for business passengers to work and make calls in the air. The cockpit was also modernised with the Primus Elite integrated avionics system, ensuring compliance with air navigation mandates ahead of the 2020 deadline.

In addition to the cost savings, Honeywell and ACC Columbia completed all upgrades at the same time to minimise aircraft downtime. The modifications to the jet have significantly increased the Aircraft Bluebook value and efficiency through a reduction in overall aircraft weight, demonstrating one of the key advantages to upgrading an aircraft, over buying an entirely new aircraft.

ACC Columbia and Honeywell will continue to support and provide upgrades to the Global Express jet, specifically with the SmartView Synthetic Vision system later this year, to complete the aircraft refurbishment.