Aerion has taken an order for its supersonic business jet from Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Noaimi, head of Ajman Municipality and Planning Department.

He signed a letter of intent in this regard at the Dubai AirShow. The order was executed through Aerion's international sales distributor ExecuJet.

“We believe that Mach 1.6 is the new speed of leadership,” commented Aerion vice chairman Brian Barents. “Sheikh Rashid will be one of the first world leaders to routinely fly above the speed of sound. We are extremely honoured by this tangible endorsement of Aerion and its groundbreaking supersonic design.”

“This week we have seen orders for the biggest and the fastest airplanes,” commented Sheikh Rashid. “In the new global economy there is a place for both. For me, speed confers great advantages. It will simply speed up the pace of business activities, and
allow me to take key business associates to more places, discussing more investment opportunities.”

Aerion announced November 11, at the opening of the Dubai AirShow, that it was opening the order book for its innovative Aerion jet, appointing Zurich, Switzerland ExecuJet as its international sales agent outside the Americas. Interest since then has been strong and a number of discussions are underway.

Aerion and ExecuJet expect this will lead to further sales as a result of discussions initiated at the Dubai show.

On behalf of Aerion, ExecuJet is now offering 40 early delivery positions to customers for a per-aircraft launch price of $80 million in 2007.

The Aerion supersonic business jet was formally unveiled in October 2004. Since then, wind tunnel and other tests have taken the aircraft to an advanced stage of design. To formally launch the program and begin construction, Aerion is seeking to recruit a well
regarded aircraft manufacturer to serve as program integrator. Aerion is in discussions with candidate companies and anticipates an agreement within the first half of 2008. That would allow the Aerion supersonic jet to enter service in 2014.

The Aerion jet is designed to cruise at speeds up to 1.15 Mach overland without producing a boom on the ground, and at speeds up to 1.6 Mach in other areas. Over the continental US, where regulations require speeds below Mach 1, the aircraft can cruise efficiently just below the speed of sound, offering economies comparable to today’s large business jets. The aircraft seats eight to 12 passengers in stand-up comfort and has a range in excess of 4,000 nautical miles. - TradeArabia News Service