Plans To Move Forward With Vision Jet Program

By Jennifer Staretorp

At an early morning press conference on the opening day of AirVenture 2009, Cirrus Aircraft representative Todd Simmons said the company has been putting a lot of time into building partnerships globally, and increasing their product line to attract a larger base of customers. To the relief of many,particularly those with deposits, Simmons mentioned that Cirrus is planning to continue moving forward with their Vision Jet program.

Simmons said Cirrus has been working hard to form partnerships and alliances with companies such as API and Garmin to extend their global enterprise and create an infrastructure that will better serve and support their customers. Cirrus is currently operating in 50 countries, and is moving into several new locations in Southeast Asia. The opening of a new Cirrus Sales Center called the Lotus Air Corporation (Cirrus Japan) at the Kobe Airport in Tokyo, Japan, marked the first step in the expansion effort.

As part of the initiative to better support their customers Cirrus is expanding their product line to appeal to general aviation buyers. The first in the series of new products is the Cirrus Perspective. The Garmin product includes features such as 3D synthetic vision technology and enhanced vision systems all beautifully displayed on 12" screens, which will increase the ease and safety of flying. The Cirrus Known Ice Protection continues that effort by providing increased aircraft safety in known icing conditions. Last in the line of new product developments, but certainly not least, was the announcement of the new "Xi" Individualization Program that is now available. The "Xi" program has the "capability for buyers to personalize the airplane" according to their personal preferences. It allows the buyer to choose design features from exterior color and design all the way down to the stitching color and pattern of the interior. The package will be particularly appealing to businesses as it allows for the addition of a company logo or Cirrus badge.

The press conference concluded with a question posed by Dale Klapmeier, CEO and co-founder of the company, asking "What's going on with Alan and the Vision Jet?" The question was aimed to explain how Cirrus is responding to the bid his brother, Alan Klapmeier, made to acquire the rights for manufacturing and selling the Vision Jet. Alan is a co-founder of Cirrus as well as a former CEO. Dale say's that Cirrus will continue to move ahead with the Vision Jet project, but that it needs a dedicated team and focus. He continued on to say that if Alan is what is needed to keep the project moving forward then that is the route that the Vision Jet project will take.

FMI: www.cirrusaircraft.com