China Air Shuttle, based in Beijing, China, will begin to take delivery of the PA28s in the second quarter of 2017, with 30 aircraft scheduled to be delivered in the first year and the remaining 20 to follow in Q1 and Q2 of 2018. China Air Shuttle also intends to order and stock more trainers to meet what it says is the fast-growing flight training market in China.
China Air Shuttle CO., Limited (CAS) was incorporated in 2015, beginning its operation in private charter and commuter business, before expanding to international aircraft trading, aviation culture, consulting, aviation investment and acquisition. CAS has affiliates and branches in Beijing, Hongkong, Xi’an, Rizhao, Fuping and Qinzhou of China.
The PA28 aircraft will be manufactured and certificated at Piper Aircraft’s factory in Vero Beach, Florida, and then shipped to China where they will be assembled/reassembled by China Air Shuttle’s affiliate company in Rizhao, Shandong Province, China. The facilities in Rizhao will be developed to a localized delivery center for prompt service including assembly/reassembly, training, maintenance and product support for Chinese customer. As the approved Piper Dealer for Archer aircraft in China, China Air Shuttle will then distribute those aircraft to some of the major flight schools and general aviation companies of the region. Ruixiang Flight Academy has been announced as the launch customer by Li Chen, Chairman of China Air Shuttle
Mr. Zhang Liguo, Chairman of the Ruixiang Flight Academy commented, “The Archer’s low wing configuration offered more wind stability as well as ease of maintainability. Additionally, we recently purchased Piper PA44 Seminoles for twin engine training. The Seminole and Archer share many common parts – in fact, nearly 80% are interchangeable, which results in lower operating costs and higher efficiency.”
“As part of Piper’s commitment to the training market as well as part of our overall growth strategy, we have increased our presence in the Asia Pacific region. As a result of our efforts we are delighted with the increase in fleet sales to Indonesia, Australia and Malaysia. We continue see a growing interest for our trainers worldwide with almost 150 currently on order” added Simon Caldecott, CEO of Piper Aircraft
