Cirrus Aircraft Set To Go Public with Hong Kong Listing

Cirrus Aircraft is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) after filing an application with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on Thursday. The company did not disclose how much it plans to raise through the listing, choosing instead to submit a heavily redacted draft application. London-based International Finance Review reported that Cirrus is aiming to raise $300 million.

While U.S.-headquartered, Cirrus has opted not to go public via a Wall Street flotation under Securities and Exchange Commission rules. The company, which makes the SR20/22 pistons and SF50 Vision Jet, was sold in 2011 to China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA) for approximately $210 million. CAIGA is a subsidiary of the state-owned Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC), which makes airliners and military aircraft.

“From time to time, Cirrus Aircraft explores options to raise additional capital,” the company told AIN. “Our current work, made possible by the contributions of the Cirrus Aircraft team, has positioned the company as a global leader in personal aviation. A natural next step in that journey is exploring additional business and capital funding structures that enable even larger and more stable growth ahead.”

According to Cirrus, it does not yet have a defined timeline to complete the IPO as its listing applicating is now being vetted by Hong Kong’s financial regulators.

Jet Aviation Adds Scottsdale Hangar

Continuing its efforts to expand its based tenants and to provide customers with modern facilities, Jet Aviation has opened an 18,000-sq-ft hangar at its FBO in Scottsdale, Arizona. The General Dynamics subsidiary has had a presence at Scottsdale Airport since 2020 and the addition of the hangar, which was constructed in 10 months, brings it to 88,000 sq ft of under-roof space for aircraft up to the size of ultra-long-range business jets.

“Scottsdale has grown to be a key location in our FBO network and we are pleased to open the doors on another new hangar there,” said senior v-p of regional operations and GM for the Americas David Best, who added that investment in this location was a priority. “We are seeing high demand for business aviation hangar space, and we look forward to the opportunities this build will provide for our customers.”

Richard Layson, Jet Aviation’s v-p of regional FBO operations in the Americas, noted that it isn’t just the company’s busiest sites that get the attention. “While Scottsdale, Bozeman [Montana], Houston, and Teterboro [NewJersey], are key locations in our FBO network, we keep all of our facilities on a refurbishment cycle to ensure that each one of them represents the exceptional services that Jet Aviation provides,” he said.

Fokker Teams with Aviation Glass To Improve Cabin Windows

Dutch completions specialist Fokker Services Group (FSG) is partnering with Aviation Glass to replace standard inner polycarbonate window lenses with real glass on an Airbus ACJ330 completions project.

Last week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Germany, FSG outlined how this solution offers more light and better scratch resistance than traditional polycarbonate windows. The product complies with V60, heat-release, and smoke-density requirements, which will help it secure an EASA supplemental type certificate for use in commercially operated aircraft carrying more than 20 passengers.

The project will be completed in FSG’s facilities in Woensdrecht in the Netherlands, where the company has recently opened a widebody hangar as part of an expansion plan to cement its position within the European completion and conversion services market.

“Normally, the window treatment is made from polycarbonate and there will always be some compromises to make in terms of brightness and color...[There's] a greyish tint…to pass smoke and toxic approvals,” FSG sales director Boaz Bal told AIN. “For this project, that was not desired so we were looking into how to overcome that problem and one of the solutions was to partner with Aviation Glass. There are some advantages to real glass in addition to being fully transparent. First of all, it's scratch resistance and, secondly, it is resistant to UV light damage, which can occur in the traditional polycarbonate treatments.”

SAF Startup Scores $22M in Development Funding

Sustainable fuel startup OXCCU Tech has secured $22.7 million in funding as it looks to scale up its technology to convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen into renewable fuels, including sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).

A spin-off company from Oxford Unversity, OXCCU has developed technology that transforms the traditional e-fuel production from a capital-intensive, two-step process to a single step. The company said this simplified process results in a significant reduction in “SAF cost due to higher selectivity yield in the jet fuel range and a 50 percent lower capital cost,” helping SAF achieve cost parity with conventional jet-A.

The investment came from climate technology venture capital firm Clean Energy Ventures with participation from Aramco Ventures, Eni Next, United Airlines Ventures Sustainable Flight Fund, and Braavos Capital. They join earlier investors Kiko Ventures, TechEnergy Ventures, and Doral Energy-Tech Ventures.

“This breakthrough is exactly what we need to turn the emerging SAF market into reality and cost-effectively cut carbon emissions from fuel production at scale,” said Clean Energy co-founder and managing partner Daniel Goldman. “OXCCU’s process is unique in the emerging SAF industry based on our evaluation of dozens of technologies. We see extraordinary potential for this technology to mitigate new aviation fuel production emissions at gigaton-scale in the near future.”

India Expands Emergency Medical Flight Network

India is embarking on a project to boost the use of helicopters for emergency medical services (EMS) with a plan to build a network of helipads along major highways. The initiative, which is being launched in the mountainous northern state of Uttarakhand, is expected to extend across the vast country with plans for at least 600 landing sites that could also be used by drones and eVTOLs.

In February, helicopter operator Pinnacle Air won a bid to provide its Airbus H125 EMS aircraft for a pilot project called “Sanjeevani” (translation: "immortality") that was organized by the Uttarakhand state government and India’s civil aviation ministry. According to the company’s director, Sandeep Saraf, the state is well placed to lead the nationwide initiative because it already has 28 helipads, including seven located along highways.

Roads and transport minister Nitin Gadkari recently confirmed the government is planning to set up helipads and drone landing facilities on national highways in around 600 locations. A request for proposals will be issued to construct this network of helipads, with the government indicating its intention to fast-track decision-making across multiple agencies—also including its finance, environment, commerce, and legal agencies—to avoid past practice in which a single agency can delay progress by procrastinating over approvals.

Safran Aims To Double Helicopter Engine Production

Ahead of this year’s Paris Air Show, which opens next Monday, Safran Helicopter Engines CEO Cedric Goubet said the company plans to double its 2022 run rate of 500 engines in 2024 and aims to manufacture 700 this year. Goubet characterized the current helicopter market as “very strong” but said problems continue on the supply side.

Goubet’s comments relative to Safran’s supply chain echo those made to AIN earlier this year by Franck Saudo, his predecessor, who recently became CEO of Safran’s electronics and defense division. Saudo characterized supply-chain issues for Safran Helicopter Engines as the “number-one challenge of our company in 2023,” which he attributed mainly to “labor shortages” but also to a tight market for raw materials and finished parts. Goubet noted that the latter situation is improving but that problems remain. He joined Safran in 2010 and previously served as CEO of the company’s nacelles and landing systems divisions.

Safran supports 22,000 helicopter engines that collectively logged four million flight hours in 2022.