Tue, Jan 12, 2010
At the 2009 National Business Aviation Association (NBAA)
convention, Piper C.E.O. and President, Kevin Gould, announced a
bold upsurge in production rates for 2010. Though some mid-course
corrections will likely be made as the year continues, production
rates will increase by approximately 50% across the product
line. In addition, Piper Aircraft is ramping up both
development and sales of the PiperJet in anticipation of continued
flight-testing success.
The announcements highlight Piper's close-of-the-year product
growth and development pattern; the company made two recent
announcements about what they consider their star airframes of
2010: the PA-46 aircraft line. In October, Piper
Aircraft announced that it would offer the Avidyne Entegra Release
9 IFD system as an optional avionics suite on the Piper PA-46
Meridan, Mirage, and Piper Matrix aircraft.
In addition, at the end of November, Piper announced the
certification and subsequent availability of the all-glass, fully
integrated Garmin G1000 avionics suite as a factory option for the
Piper Mirage and Piper Matrix aircraft. The certification now
extends the optional equipment availability to all of the PA-46
aircraft.
Such production increases and product development emphasize
Piper Aircraft's optimism about the 2010 year in contrast to many
other general aviation manufacturers.
Gould explains that the company's stability in the upcoming
quarter rests in Piper's conservative approach to the struggling
industry in recent years; quick to respond to the lagging economy,
Piper reduced production from 268 aircraft in 2008 to about 110
aircraft in 2009, allowing the company to maintain a slow, yet
sustainable market with no unsold inventory.
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