Great success for ExecuJet at Dubai Air Show

The agreement was signed at the recent Dubai Air Show by Ghouse Akbar, Director of the Akbar Group and Chief Executive of Princely Jets, together with Brian Barents, Vice Chairman of Aerion and Niall Olver CEO, ExecuJet, rounding off what was a highly successful showcase for this exciting program.

Currently operating a fleet of Bombardier Challenger and Cessna Citation Jets, Princely Jets is expanding its aviation services business, with plans to establish dedicated Fixed Based Operations (FBO) and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facilities at airports in major cities across Pakistan.

'In signing this Letter of Intent I am delighted to be one of the first customers and the first in Asia committing to this exciting Supersonic Business Jet,'

said Mr Akbar, confirming the order. 'The business aviation sector continues to show terrific growth in our region. The Aerion supersonic business jet is the ultimate speed machine, an even more time-efficient business transportation platform for which the industry has been waiting.'

The Akbar Group is the largest and highly respected aviation group in Pakistan. In addition to its business aviation interests, including an operator partner agreement with Bombardier SkyJet International, the Group provides general airline support services in its capacity as a GSA looking after the interests of major airlines such as Singapore Airlines, JAL, Alitalia, Royal Jordanian, Thai Airways and Swiss Cargo.

On behalf of Aerion, ExecuJet is offering 40 early delivery positions to International customers for a per-aircraft launch price of $80m in 2007 dollars.

The Aerion jet is designed to cruise at speeds up to 1.15 Mach overland without producing a boom on the ground, and at speeds up to 1.6 Mach in other areas. Over the continental U.S., where regulations require speeds below Mach 1, the aircraft can cruise efficiently just below the speed of sound, offering economies comparable to today's large business jets. The aircraft seats 8 to 12 passengers in stand-up comfort and has a range in excess of 4,000 nautical miles.

ExecuJet highlights strong interest

Commenting on what was a truly successful Show for Aerion and ExecuJet, CEO Niall Olver confirmed the companies have interest in the SSBJ from Europe, Russia, the Middle East, Pakistan, Mexico and Egypt. 'Enthusiasm from the market in this program since the orderbook opened last month has been extremely high and we are now busy following up with several interested prospects.' Niall said. ExecuJet is now finalising its marketing strategy together with Aerion, which will include a series of briefings for media in key markets. London and Moscow will be first.

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