Nextant acquires larger facility to meet growing demand for 400XT light jets

CLEVELAND, 21 May 2012. Nextant has acquired a large remanufacturing facility at Cleveland’s Cuyahoga County Airport. The new space is expected to accommodate an annual production rate of forty-eight 400XT aircraft to meet higher than projected demand for the 400XT. Nextant’s current book of orders is approaching 70 aircraft to be delivered over the next five years.

The 400XT development process employs a remanufactured airframe from the Beechjet 400A/XPaircraft, enhanced with new technology, including the Williams FJ44-3AP turbofan engine, the Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 integrated avionics suite, advanced electronics, including high-speed wireless Internet service, and completely rebuilt interiors.

Thirty percent of the company’s 400XT aircraft sales to date have come from overseas markets. The aircraft has completed many of the requirements for final certification by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which is expected to further increase sales in Europe. The plane’s range enables flights originating in Western Europe to reach major destinations throughout the rest of Europe, Russia, and the Middle East. Flights originating in the U.S. can fly nonstop to most destinations in North America, Central America, and the Caribbean.

Nextant executives are seeing increasing interest from corporate flight departments and affluent individual buyers, as well as from providers of high-end charter and fractional ownership aviation services, in the U.S., Europe, and elsewhere for the 400XT.