Daher-Socata yesterday announced the first sale of a TBM 900 to a European customer, Badenwings, a subsidiary of Schmitt & Eger Holding. The company is based at Baden-Baden airport, Germany, where it will operate the airplane. This is the first TBM 900 sold to a final customer in Europe and the first sold by Rheinland Air Service (RAS), TBM distributor for Germany and Austria. “We selected the new TBM 900 for its flexibility to carry small freight or passengers for private internal flights of our holding company,” commented Nielsen Bott, CEO of Badenwings.

Rockwell Collins is promoting new satellite reception technology its says will expand the coverage and reliability of its Tailwind 550 direct broadcast satellite TV system for large business and VIP jets. The new DBS technology, which is part of Tailwind 550’s fuselage-mounted antenna, will provide 25% greater programming coverage for all supported regions and improve overall reliability, especially when traveling between regions where satellite coverage may be weak, or when flying in hot or humid areas.

Buying or leasing a $2.4 million Nextant C90XT or $5 million 400XTi just became easier with the introduction of Nextant Financing, a new division of the Cleveland-based Nextant Aerospace. The plunge in used-aircraft values, coupled with restrictive conventional financing for used aircraft, has made it difficult for many buyers to finance or lease aircraft in the $2 million to $10 million range, even if they’re fully remanufactured.

Alpha Star, the only Part 125/135 company operating in the Middle East region, will receive Quality Management and Quality Services Certification under ISO 9001:2008 and AS9110B:2012 standards here Wednesday. The company provides luxury services in flights charter, aircraft management and air ambulance medevac.

Air Hamburg signed a contract with Embraer yesterday for its third Legacy 600 aircraft. The company says that reaction to its two recently acquired Legacy 600s has been “amazing” with both aircraft averaging nearly 100 hours per month. “We are certain it is the right decision to invest and expand in this segment,” says Air Hamburg CEO Floris Helmers. The contract was signed by Air Hamburg’s main investor Simon Ebert at the Embraer booth. Delivery of the aircraft is scheduled for May 2015 in Brazil.

Aviation Partners Boeing recently certified its new split-scimitar winglet modification on the 737-800 aircraft, including the BBJ2, and plans to expand that to 737 NG models later this year.

Bombardier’s unveiling of the Global 7000 mock-up has generated strong traffic flows through the exhibit. The thrust of the marketing campaign is more quality of lifestyle than pure business use.

With demand softening for narrowbody VIP aircraft, Boeing Business Jets is focusing on the market for very large VVIP and head-of-state transports. “The emphasis for us right now is the widebodies,” says BBJ president Capt. Steve Taylor. Boeing has sold “a remarkable” 14 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, including one this year, and is close to closing another couple, he tells ShowNews.