A700 Certification Shelved

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • AAI Acquisitions has suspended flight testing and development for the A700 very light jet and is reducing its workforce due to the "unprecedented" global economic situation.
  • The company still plans to certify the A700 but will develop a new schedule and strategic plan once economic conditions have settled down.
  • Airport officials at Centennial Airport expressed pessimism, noting the situation is reminiscent of the previous struggles of the company's predecessor, Adam Aircraft, attributing AAI's difficulties to the global credit crunch.
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AAI Acquisitions says it still plans to certify the A700 very light jet but the “unprecedented” global economic situation has forced the company to sit tight for now. In a statement, the company said it will come up with a new schedule for certification after things have settled down. “Flight test and other development activity have been suspended,” the statement said. “AAIA’s workforce is being pared to a size necessary to sustain the company while a new schedule and strategic plan are developed.”

Staff were notified on Monday and word started to get out Tuesday at Centennial Airport in Englewood, Colo., where the company, formerly Adam Aircraft, is headquartered. Airport spokesman Robert Olislagers didn’t appear optimistic about the company’s future in his comments to the Denver Business Journal. “We already went through this drill with Adam Aircraft,” he said. ” It’s obviously very unfortunate. It appears that AAI is getting caught up in the credit crunch out there. It’s a worldwide problem.”

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