Nex
tant Aerospace received an order for 10 Nextant 400XT aircraft from Asia Pacific Jets, the company announced Monday.
The 400XTs are remanufactured Beechjet 400A/XP airframes equipped with the Williams FJ44-3AP turbofan engine, Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21T integrated avionics suite and rebuilt interiors.
According to The Plain Dealer of Cleveland, the jets cost $4.4 million each.
The order from Asia Pacific Jets represents the first order from a customer in the Asia Pacific region for the Nextant 400XT.
“We are proud that Asia Pacific Jets has selected the Nextant 400XT, and to see the aircraft begin service on the Asian continent,” said Kenneth C. Ricci, CEO of Nextant Aerospace. “With more than 15 400XT aircraft now in operation across the globe, feedback from operators has been outstanding. We are elated that the aircraft is performing so well for its owners, and look forward to introducing this groundbreaking aircraft – with its unprecedented combination of value and performance – to additional markets around the world.”
Nextant expects to deliver the first two of the 10-aircraft order by the end of 2012, and will convert three of the 10 jets into air ambulances as part of a new partnership with Hong Kong-based AirMed Asia—a subsidiary of AirMed International.
The remaining aircraft will be delivered by 2015.
“We know based on our extensive experience flying the Beechjet 400A/XP as an air ambulance that the aircraft provides great versatility for air medical services. The Nextant 400XT will offer AirMed Asia and our partners at Asia Pacific Jets everything we like about the Beechjet, and everything one would expect from a brand-new light jet, but at a fraction of the cost. This includes range that will enable nonstop flights from our Singapore base as far west as Mumbai, India, and as far north as Shanghai, China, along with the absolute lowest operating cost basis in its class,” said Jeffrey Tolbert, CEO of AirMed International.