TAG Aviation has agreed to help Aerion sell the AS2 supersonic business jet as the three-engined type continues building momentum toward a formal launch, the companies announced late on 28 May.
“We think Aerion is about to change the game," says TAG Aviation chief executive Daniel Christe. "The aircraft is fast and elegant with a big, comfortable cabin that meets the standards of our large-jet customers.”
Farnborough-based TAG Aviation UK will provide sales consulting for Aerion in Europe, Asia and the Middle East, while counterparts at TAG Asia will offer representation in China, Hong Kong and southwest Asia.
Adding the manager of 150 large cabin jets is yet another major development on the revitalised AS2 programme within the past six months.
Last December, Aerion announced signing a partnership with Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works to help design and manufacture the AS2 airframe. The Reno-based company, backed by Robert Bass, also signed an agreement with GE Aviation to define a supersonic engine for the Mach 1.4-capable AS2.
In February, Aerion unveiled a cutaway of the GE engine that confirmed plans to base the engine configuration on the core of the CFM International CFM56.
Since that time, Aerion has revamped its operational leadership. Tom Vice, formerly president of Northrop Grumman’s aerospace systems sector, is now president and chief operating officer. Aerion also has recruited former Gulfstream chief executive Bryan Moss to join the board of directors.
The AS2 is scheduled to achieve first flight in 2023, a milestone that comes 20 years after the last flight of the Aerospatiale/BAC Concorde. Cleveland-based Flexjet has committed to buy 20 AS2s.
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Source: Flight Daily News
