Cape Air has edged closer to receiving its first Tecnam P2012 Travellers, with airline staff having recently inspected the first two of those aircraft at Tecnam’s headquarters in Capua, Italy.
The Italian airframer is also shoring up its aftermarket support, having recently contracted with Boeing to provide spare parts.
Cape Air pilots and technicians completed inspections of the two P2012s earlier this month. They also reviewed P2012 manuals and performed flight testing.
Cape Air senior vice-president of fleet planning and acquisitions Jim Goddard took part in the on-site review, which the companies call the “acceptance” phase of the aircraft acquisition process.
“We accepted the first two Travellers from Tecnam,” Cape Air tells FlightGlobal. “We haven’t taken delivery.”
“Acceptance of the aircraft is the last milestone before final delivery,” Tecnam says.
Cape Air is preparing to become launch operator of the nine-passenger P2012 Traveller
Tecnam
The P2012s will be ferried from Italy to Cape Air’s base in Hyannis, Massachusetts, which is on Cape Cod. Neither Tecnam nor Cape Air specifies when deliveries will occur.
Cape Air, the P2012’s launch customer, intends to acquire eight of the aircraft in 2019 and 12 in 2020. It holds options to acquire 92 more during the next 10 years, representing a potential total fleet of 112 P2012s.
The airline will use the twin-piston-powered P2012 to replace a fleet of some 80 nine-passenger Cessna 402Cs. Cape Air operates under Federal Aviation Administration rules that permit single-pilot flights of small aircraft carrying no more than nine passengers.
European regulators certified the nine-passenger Lycoming TEO-540-C1A-powered P2012 in late 2018, three years after Tecnam launched the programme. The FAA issued a P2012 type certificate on 11 July.
P2012s can cruise up to 194kt (359km/h) and have range of more than 950nm (1,760km), according to Tecnam documents.
Ahead of deliveries Tecnam secured aftermarket aircraft services and support from Boeing. The companies signed a multi-year deal under which Boeing will be the sole provider of P2012 aftermarket parts and parts distribution.
“Boeing will assume distribution responsibilities, including forecasting, ordering and delivering all original equipment manufacturer genuine replacement parts for the P2012 Traveller through its Aviall distribution network,” Tecnam says.
Story updated on 31 July in the tenth paragraph to note that the FAA certified the P2012 in July.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
