Duluth, Minn. & Knoxville, Tenn., Feb. 19, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Duluth, Minn. & Knoxville, Tenn. (19 February 2020) – Cirrus Aircraft announced a record year of growth and expansion in 2019, marked by the award-winning Vision Jet™ becoming the world’s best-selling jet in general aviation. Deliveries of the Vision Jet surpassed 80 aircraft in 2019, representing a 29% increase over the prior year, while consistent growth in SR Series deliveries resulted in a combined total of 465 aircraft shipments in 2019. With 384 aircraft delivered in 2019, the SR Series maintained its distinction as the best-selling high-performance piston aircraft in its segment for eighteen consecutive years. These combined gains in 2019 represent a 5% increase in total deliveries over 2018 and made it the fifth year in a row that Cirrus Aircraft has grown annual airplane shipments.
“Our growth at Cirrus Aircraft is propelled each year by our mission to create an aviation experience that is defined by innovation and excellence,” said Zean Nielsen, CEO at Cirrus Aircraft. “Our team strives to advance personal aviation with smarter, more connected aircraft and our annual performance is reflective of how our strategy is resonating with customers from both inside and outside of aviation.”
2019 is the sixth consecutive year that Cirrus Aircraft has delivered more than 300 SR Series aircraft. Additionally, the Vision Jet continues to deliver into new global markets and has now surpassed 170 Vision Jets in service around the world. Expansion of Cirrus Services™ also fueled enterprise growth, including the opening of a new Cirrus Aircraft facility in the Dallas Metroplex area. Finally, the total number of Cirrus employees grew by over 10% in 2019 as team members were added in all locations including Duluth, Minnesota; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Knoxville, Tennessee and McKinney, Texas.
The Most Connected SR Series Ever
In January, the company announced the launch of the all-new 2020 G6 SR Series, the most technologically advanced models ever of the world’s best-selling SR20, SR22 and SR22T high-performance piston aircraft. The highlight of the new model year is the introduction of the Cirrus Aircraft mobile app powered by Cirrus IQ™ – providing a real-time digital connection to the airplane from virtually anywhere in the world. Further enhancements include re-imagined interior and exterior aesthetics featuring a line of bold new colors.
These new features alongside additional upgrades to the industry-leading Cirrus Perspective+™ by Garmin® flight deck make the 2020 G6 SR Series the most comprehensive, integrated and intelligent flight experience available today, enabling a smarter aircraft, a smarter pilot and smarter flying.
Cirrus Aircraft’s first high-performance SR Series airplane – the SR20 – was first delivered in 1999 and transformed general aviation with intuitive avionics, game-changing performance and revolutionary safety systems, including the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System® (CAPS®). The SR Series portfolio includes the SR20, SR22 and the turbocharged SR22T. Today, the worldwide fleet of SR Series aircraft has surpassed 7,500 aircraft with over 11 million flight hours in 60 countries around the world.
A New Generation of the Vision Jet
In early 2019, the company announced the launch of the next generation Vision Jet – “G2” – with enhanced performance, comfort and safety. Evolutionary features include increased cruise altitude, speed and range, along with a newly-upgraded Perspective Touch+™ by Garmin® flight deck. In addition to upgrades, several innovative technologies were added to the G2 Vision Jet, including a category-first Autothrottle, Flight Stream connectivity and more. Interior amenities further enhanced the passenger experience with new executive seats, thoughtfully-engineered noise reduction and a passenger productivity console. Later in 2019, Cirrus Aircraft announced the upcoming addition of Safe Return™ – a revolutionary emergency Autoland system that enables passengers to land the Vision jet with just the touch of a single button.
“Relentless innovation is one of our core values,” said Pat Waddick, President, Innovation & Operations at Cirrus Aircraft. “Much like our first twenty years of re-imagining the SR Series with constant improvements to performance and safety, the G2 Vision Jet and addition of Safe Return are the culmination of that same spirit of innovation and a testament of our dedication to revolutionize the aviation experience in the many years ahead.”
In 2016, Cirrus Aircraft ushered in a new era in personal transportation with the FAA certification of the world’s first single-engine Personal Jet™ – the Vision Jet. The turbine aircraft defined a new category in aviation – the Personal Jet – with its spacious pilot and passenger-friendly cabin featuring panoramic windows, reclining seats, comfortable legroom for five adults and two children and the only turbine aircraft with a whole airframe parachute system as standard equipment. A new milestone in the journey of the Vision Jet was reached in 2018, with the historic win of the Robert J. Collier Trophy from the National Aeronautic Association.
Fleet and Special Mission Expands Around the Globe
Professional flight training organizations continue to grow their fleets with the technologically advanced, industry-leading SR Series aircraft as they prepare the next generation of airline pilots. This year, Oklahoma State University added a new fleet of SR20 aircraft as the flagship of their aviation program. Other world-renowned flight training academies using Cirrus aircraft include Emirates Airlines, Lufthansa, Southern Utah University and Vincennes University.
In 2019, Cirrus Aircraft announced the TRAC Series, a purpose-built configuration of the best-selling SR Series line of aircraft developed specifically for flight training institutions. The TRAC Series is thoughtfully crafted with reliability, durability and economy in mind to meet the rigors of high-tempo flight operations, while providing industry-leading safety and performance for both the student pilot and flight instructor. Combining the Perspective+™ by Garmin® flight deck along with the unrivaled performance and safety uniquely found in the SR Series, the TRAC Series includes tailored features such as rear seat push-to-talk functionality and a landing gear simulator aimed at increasing training productivity.
In addition, Cirrus Perception™ – the company’s sensor-capable special mission aircraft – continues to enhance law enforcement search and rescue efforts around the world with a cost-effective multi-use platform.
Cirrus Services Grows, Further Enhances a Lifetime of Airplane Ownership
In 2019, Cirrus Services expanded with the opening of two new facilities. Cirrus Aircraft opened a new Factory Direct location in McKinney, Texas in early 2019 offering factory service, with additional services to include flight training, maintenance and aircraft management in the future. The company also opened a new Factory Service Center at its Vision Center Campus in Knoxville, Tennessee, increasing service center capacity and opening up additional space for a dedicated Paint and Detail center.
“Cirrus Services is our enterprise-wide commitment to innovation throughout the entire ownership experience,” said Todd Simmons, President, Customer Experience at Cirrus Aircraft. “Our team is working to continue developing a premium, comprehensive experience over a lifetime of ownership. Growing our training, service and support capabilities with additional facilities, locations and talent focuses more resources on delivering world-class care to make owning and operating a Cirrus rewarding, safe and simple for a lifetime.”
The launch of Cirrus Services in 2018 signified another milestone in Cirrus Aircraft’s ongoing plans to redefine the personal aviation ownership experience by providing world-class customer service for life. Cirrus Services recognizes the customer’s needs before, during and after initial aircraft delivery by combining Flight Training, Service and Support into a single, dedicated business unit. The dedicated group is focused on growing capabilities and offerings at the company’s expanding list of Factory Direct centers, as well as through a network of authorized service and training partners across the globe.
Cirrus Approach Continues Innovation and Leadership in Pilot Training
Recognized as the first recipient of the Joseph T. Nell Safety Award from the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), Cirrus Aircraft continues to transform pilot training and safety with Cirrus Approach™. As a comprehensive program, Cirrus Approach provides ongoing training to new and experienced pilots with their lifestyle in mind through award-winning in-person and online training courses. The company has continued to innovate pilot training in recent years, with the launch of the redesigned cirrusapproach.com and the addition of Flight Fix – a unique monthly video podcast to further support its mission of “training as a lifestyle”. Over 16,000 pilots and owners have joined the program as of early 2020.
Cirrus Embark™ – the company’s transition training program designed for new owners of pre-owned Cirrus aircraft – also continues to expand, exceeding 1,100 training completions awarded since its launch in 2017. This revolutionary program provides Cirrus-specific, standardized differences and transition training for a licensed pilot who purchased a pre-owned Cirrus Aircraft. Included in the program is access to the Cirrus Approach Learning Portal, the Cirrus FOM and aircraft POH, access to the iFOM and one-on-one Cirrus Transition Training with an authorized Cirrus training provider.
Company Operations Continue to Expand
Growth in overall facilities and employment was also noted across the company’s locations, including significant expansion of career opportunities in engineering and product development. This growth includes plans to establish a new engineering design center in Phoenix, Arizona.
The company’s global customer experience center, the Vision Center Campus, continues to grow with the inclusion of a state-of-the-art Flight Training center which features world-class FAA-approved ‘part 142’ type rating training for the Vision Jet and a custom Level D full-motion simulator. Cirrus has currently issued over 330 Vision Jet type ratings.
In the fall of 2019, Cirrus Aircraft hosted its first Vision Pilots and Owners (VPO) symposium at its Vision Center, demonstrating a strong dedication to the owner community and continued sharing of learnings and best practices for the world’s first single-engine Personal Jet. Over 70 Vision Jet owners and operators attended the event, bringing over 40 Vision Jets from the worldwide fleet to the McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) in Knoxville for the inaugural event.
About Cirrus Aircraft
Cirrus Aircraft is the recognized global leader in personal aviation and the maker of the best-selling SR Series piston aircraft and the Vision Jet, the world’s first single-engine Personal Jet, as well as the recipient of the Robert J. Collier Trophy. Founded in 1984, the company has redefined performance, comfort and safety in aviation with innovations like the Cirrus Airframe Parachute System® (CAPS®) – the first FAA-certified whole-airframe parachute safety system included as standard equipment on an aircraft. To date, worldwide flight time on Cirrus aircraft has passed 11 million hours and 192 people have returned home safely to their families as a result of the inclusion of CAPS as a standard feature on all Cirrus aircraft. The company has four locations in the United States, located in Duluth, Minnesota; Grand Forks, North Dakota; Knoxville, Tennessee and McKinney, Texas. Find out more at www.cirrusaircraft.com.
Attachment