Textro to acquire electric aircraft pioneer Pipistrel
Textron Inc., home to the Cessna, Beechcraft, and Bell aviation brands, last week has entered into an agreement to purchase Pipistrel, a pioneer in electrically powered aircraft, based in Slovenia and Italy. With Textron, Pipistrel will have access to greater resources, technical and regulatory expertise and a global aircraft sales and support network, enabling it to accelerate its development and certification of electric and hybrid electric aircraft. Upon closing of the transaction, Textron plans to form a new business segment, Textron eAviation, focused on the development of sustainable aircraft, which will include Pipistrel. “Pipistrel puts Textron in a uniquely strong position to develop technologies for the sustainable aviation market. Textron is committed to maintaining Pipistrel’s brand, headquarters, research and development, and manufacturing in Slovenia and Italy, while making additional investments in Pipistrel for the development and production of future products,” said Textron Chairman and CEO Scott Donnelly.” Pipistrel founder and CEO Ivo Boscarol will remain a minority shareholder as well as Chairman Emeritus, consulting on future product plans and strategies for a two-year period. The transaction is expected to close during the second quarter of 2022. www.pipistrel-aircraft.com
Sanctions on Russia: FAQ
In response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the EU proposed on 27 February 2022 a prohibition on all Russian-owned, Russian registered or Russian-controlled aircraft. The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) has received a lot of questions following the several sanctions imposed on Russia. The association has collected many of these questions and provided some clear answers and guidance: www.ebaa.org
Cessna SkyCourier earns FAA certification
Textron Aviation last week announced the Federal Aviation Administration has granted type certification for the new twin-engine, utility turboprop Cessna SkyCourier. Using a clean-sheet design and advanced manufacturing processes, the high-wing aircraft’s production line is underway, and the first unit will soon enter the market with launch customer FedEx Express.
Three SkyCourier aircraft accumulated more than 2,100 hours throughout the flight test program, which formally started with an inaugural flight in May 2020. Launch customer FedEx Express has agreed to an initial fleet order of 50 cargo aircraft and options for 50 more. The Cessna SkyCourier twin-engine, high-wing turboprop offers a combination of performance and lower operating costs for air freight, passenger and special mission operators. In addition to the freighter version, there is a 19-passenger variant of the SkyCourier. The aircraft is powered by two wing-mounted Pratt & Whitney PT6A-65SC turboprop engines. The SkyCourier is operated with Garmin G1000 NXi avionics. It has a maximum cruise speed of more than 200 ktas and a 900 nautical-mile maximum range. The aircraft features a large door and a flat floor cabin, and the freighter version can hold up to three LD3 shipping containers with an impressive 6,000 pounds of payload capability. www.txtav.com
People: Pablo von Siebenthal – new head of mergers & acquisitions at Swissport
Pablo von Siebenthal has been appointed to the newly created position of Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions. He will join Swissport on 1 April from global transport and logistics company Kuehne+Nagel, where he has held the position of Global Head of M&A since 2018. In the newly created role as Global Head of Mergers & Acquisitions, he will report to Iván Nash Vila, Chief Financial Officer of Swissport International AG. At Kuehne+Nagel, Pablo von Siebenthal has led M&A transactions across Europe, North and South America and Asia-Pacific with a total deal size of more than 2 billion US dollars. Previously, he was an M&A advisor with PwC in Switzerland and Australia, a corporate development manager with a Swiss private bank, and part of Credit Suisse’s investment banking team. He has over 13 years of experience in investment banking and corporate development. He is a CFA charter holder, a certified Post Merger Integration specialist and holds a master's degree in Business Administration and a bachelor's degree in Banking & Finance from the University of Zurich. With 5.1 million tons of cargo passing through more than 100 air cargo centers in 2021, Swissport posted record results for this business segment. The company also has strong foundations in its larger airport ground services business, which served some 97 million airline passengers in 2021 and 265 million pre-COVID. According to Swissport, the trend indicates an accelerated post-COVID recovery in the ground services segment as well. www.swissport.com