Deutsche Aircraft Newsletter Q2/2023
As we come to the close of the second quarter of 2023, I want to take this opportunity to once again express my thanks to all of the hard work within the Deutsche Aircraft team and for your consistently high level of commitment to our shared mission. In the past quarter, we have again achieved important goals for our company. I am proud to look back briefly at our recent achievements.
Our growing team is now comprised of over 500 experts who share a common enthusiasm for aviation. We are moving towards our goal of nearly 600 employees by the end of 2023 and we continue to attract talent from the aviation and aerospace industries around the world.
In April, a large part of our team moved into our new headquarters at Oberpfaffenhofen Airport. The Deutsche Aircraft sign now also shines at the main entrance to the airport together with the other brand marks that have been there already - our footprint in Oberpfaffenhofen is growing visibly in line with our company!
A sign of the good corporate culture in our company is the award we received as one of the "Top Companies 2023" from Kununu, Germany's leading career site. This award is a confirmation of our high commitment to collaboration, respect and diversity in the workplace, as well as our open feedback culture. We all know that a good company culture needs to be nurtured and we will continue to further invest in our people.
As the D328ecoTM program progresses, in May, we had two truly important and pivotal announcements and events, that were widely noticed by the aviation society, our partners and customers. We broke the ground for our final assembly line at Leipzig/Halle Airport with prominent participation from politicians and industry leaders. What we consider as the finest assembly line in the world will be the birthplace of our new D328eco aircraft. In conjunction with this, we welcomed our first European launch customer, Private Wings, on the tarmac in front of one of their existing D328® aircraft. Private Wings currently operates nine D328® Turboprops and one D328® Jet. The letter of intent for the delivery of up to five brand-new D328eco is a good indication of our customers' confidence in Deutsche Aircraft and our D328eco programme. This is not just a first LOI announcement, but also a great endorsement from our current operator. We are truly proud to see the commitment to the aircraft type and us, as an OEM, from one of the biggest D328® Turboprop operator.
At the Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg, we signed an agreement with ACRO to supply Deutsche Aircraft with their Series 9 economy class seats for the D328® family, which includes the new D328eco and also as an option for retrofit on in-service D328® turboprops and jets.
Last week we returned from the Paris Air Show 2023. It was fantastic to make our mark on one of the world's most prestigious aviation events together with our industry partners and to position our D328eco in the market. With our state-of-the-art cockpit mock-up and an insight into our new cabin design we were able to demonstrate the capabilities and comfort of our aircraft to our customers. Also, our agreements with key suppliers made headlines, including our end-to-end material supply chain solution with thyssenkrupp Aerospace and NORDAM for the D328eco engine nacelles. We announced our collaboration with Liebherr Aerospace for the air management system and with Sasol ecoFT to offer the D328eco's customers an access to sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). In terms of suppliers, we have now confirmed almost 90% of our agreements and are getting closer and closer to flying our D328eco aircraft.
Certainly, a highlight for Deutsche Aircraft is the sale of the D328® aircraft and becoming the OEM partner for the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in the context of the UpLift project. Together with DLR and the German government, we were able to make this official public announcement during the Paris Air Show. Now we can focus on transforming one of our D328® aircraft into a “flying test bed” which, over the next few years, will play a significant part in the German government´s ambition to become a world leader in future propulsion technologies research for the use of hydrogen in aviation. The D328® thus becomes part of the German research fleet and Deutsche Aircraft will gain more international attention as a partner for innovative and sustainable flying.
Our collective drive towards innovation and sustainability is fuelled by the dedication of the entire Deutsche Aircraft team. Thank you once again. Let us continue to make aviation history together!
Best Regards,
Dave Jackson
CEO, Deutsche Aircraft
