Hawker Beechcraft has announced a US$250,000 plan to base a permanent fleet of five demonstrator aircraft in the Asia Pacific region.
Hawker Beechcraft Executive Vice President Shawn Vick revealed the move when he recently visited our shores and spoke about the aircraft manufacturer’s plans for the region during a presentation at the Bankstown Airport offices of local representative Hawker Pacific.
The five Hawker Beechcraft aircraft to be based within the region include the King Air 350i as well as the Hawker 400XP, 4000, and 900 and the Beechcraft Premier business jets.
“This is to enable us, in a growth market like this part of the world, to be in several places at the same time to demonstrate these aircraft,” Vick explained of the impetus for the move.
“We recognise that if you don’t have airplanes on the ground the likelihood of selling off a brochure is challenging. We believe this strategy will pay significant dividends for the company and we are very excited about it.”
The five demonstration aircraft will not be based in one country, but will rather move throughout the region using Hawker Pacific’s various facilities.
Hawker Pacific’s Tony Jones said the Hawker Beechcraft range remains popular in Australia, with both government bodies and private individuals currently holding forward orders.
“Whilst these are challenging economic times, the activity level across the board is quite good,” Jones said. “We feel quietly confident that there is still good demand going forward to 2011.”
Hawker Beechcraft delivered 273 aircraft last year to record net sales of US$3.2 billion.
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The Beechcraft Premier light jet. (Hawker Beechcraft)
