Vijay Mallya plans to manufacture Epic aircraft in India

Bangalore: Following the recent acquisition of 50% stake in US-based Epic Aircraft, Vijay Mallya plans to manufacture the very lights jets (VLJ) in India. Epic Aircraft manufactures single and twin engine VLJ under the name Dynasty, Victory, Elite, LT and Escape.
“Once the certification process of Dynasty, Victory and Elite is done in the US, I want to manufacture them in India. The manufacturing base in India will largely target Middle-East and Asia besides the domestic market,” Kingfisher Airlines chairman Vijay Mallya told ET. “Also, considering the enterprise value of the acquisition ($120 million) will rise tremendously after certification by the US Federal Aviation Administration, it will result in good cash flow for us,” said Dr Mallya.
With Dr Mallya acquiring stake in the company, Epic Aircraft also got access to Airbus resources to accelerate the certification of its new VLJs — Elite and Victory. The certified delivery of twin engine Elite is expected in 2009. The single engine 6-place turboprop Dynasty is expected to be certified sometime in the fourth quarter of 2008 and is expected to sell for about $2 million in early 2009.
As against the business jets, which cost upwards of $10 million, the four-six seater VLJs are light on the pocket ranging between $1 million and $3 million.
16/10/07 Urvashi Jha/Economic Times

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Foreign Oct 2007, Kingfisher Oct 2007, New Oct 2007