Business & GA

Nextant Merges with Air Services, Cites Market Changes

By Staff Writer | June 15, 2017
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400XTi

Photo: Nextant

Nextant Aerospace has merged with Air Services to expand global remanufacturing capability, Nextant said.

“Since launching the 400XT/XTi program, it has become clear that that we need to evolve our business model in response to significant changes in the global pre-owned aircraft market,” said Stephen Maiden, CEO of Nextant parent Constant Aviation. “The severe decline in value for young, pre-owned inventory has placed an overwhelming focus on value for aircraft owners and operators. The cornerstone of our brand has always been to deliver fully integrated product solutions, but now, we are going to look for new and creative ways to lessen the financial burden to operators while still providing long-term pathways to a complete remanufactured product.”

More than 70 400XTis have been delivered to 13 countries, according to Mark O’Donnell, who is in charge of running day-to-day operations for Nextant during the transition. He said a new program has been created, keeping in mind the high cost of the Beechjet conversion.

“While we believe that is the right end game for the Beechjet airframe, we understand that not everyone is able to justify the $3M required for the 400XTi conversion,” said O’Donnell. “With this in mind, we have created a program that allows operators to take the first step of upgrading their cockpit technology to meet the pending regulatory mandates and obsolescence issues they are facing and we have combined it with an industry first TBO extension that allows the overhaul interval for the Pratt and Whitney engines to increase to 5,400 hours.”

The new program includes a Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 upgrade. It features a four-display system, synthetic vision, ADS-B Out, WAAS/LPV and the Netxtant glare shield modification standard.

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