Piper Indefinitely Suspends PiperJet Altaire

Isabel Goyer

Monday, October 24, 2011 at 11:14 PM ET

Verified

Piper Altaire

Key Takeaways:

Piper has indefinitely suspended its single-engine Altaire jet program due to financial concerns, determining that rising development costs would not be recoverable under foreseeable light jet market projections.
The suspension will result in the layoff of 150 employees, mostly from the Altaire program, and Piper will offer refunds or product credits to affected customers.
Piper plans to shift its focus and resources towards improving its turboprop and piston-powered product lines, including adding more engineers for these efforts.

See a mistake? Contact us.

Piper on Monday indefinitely suspended its single-engine Altaire jet, previously known as the PiperJet, saying it would be unlikely to recoup its investment in a reasonable period of time.

“Following an evaluation of Altaire development and light jet forecasts we determined the best course of action for the company going forward,” interim Piper president/CEO Simon Caldecott said in an email release, “is to indefinitely suspend the program, preserving intellectual property and progress to date.” This course of action seems to leave Piper’s options for the jet open going forward.