A Chinese aircraft maker wants to see its planes take off and land at U.S. airports.
And that goal could become a reality with the help of Aztec Airways, a small airline offering charter and scheduled flights and cargo service from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and Cuba.
For more than five years Stuart Hanley, Aztec’s founder, has been working with North American representatives for China’s Harbin Aircraft Industry Group to become the U.S. launch customer for its Y12F turboprop plane.
“There’s been a lot of interest in this plane, mostly because there is nothing in this size range that you can buy anywhere in the world that is brand new. Everything else is old or refurbished,” said Hanley during a recent tour of the Y12F at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
Hanley flew a test flight with a prototype of the Y12F from Montreal to Fort Lauderdale to become familiar with the aircraft and help introduce it to other potential U.S. operators.
“It’s a nice airplane. It’s strong, safe and comfortable,” noted Hanley. “[Harbin] went through the expense and effort to certify it in the U.S., which is huge. We have the highest aviation standards in the world and they’ve met those standards.”
Aztec currently operates a half dozen planes including two Piper Chieftain commuter planes that can carry up to 9 passengers, two Beechcraft 18 cargo planes and a Cessna Caravan, also used for cargo.
The Y12F aircraft received type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration in February 2016, according to Harbin’s parent company Aviation Industry Corp. of China (AVIC). That followed a similar certification from the Civil Aviation Administration of China in December 2015.
For the U.S. market, the plane can be configured to carry 19 passengers in addition to cargo, or cargo alone, said Phil Nelson, vice president of Astral Aero, Harbin’s western hemisphere representative, based in Georgia.
While the primary structure or frame is built in China, many of its components are made in the United States or in Canada by American manufacturers, Nelson noted.
The plane’s powerful PT6A-65B engines are made by Pratt & Whitney in Canada and its five-blade metal propellers by Hartzell Propeller in Ohio, he said.
Future plans with Harbin will likely include final assembly of the aircraft in the U.S., possibly in plants in Florida or Georgia, Nelson added. A U.S. support infrastructure for the aircraft will also be essential.
“We’re going to open up the service center, the warranty center, the completion center for the airplane and then anytime an operator has a problem they can bring the aircraft and have it fully serviced or we can send American mechanics to it to get it done,” Nelson said. “That’s going to create a nice industry with American jobs.”
The budding aviation relationship is emerging as U.S.-China trade ties are being tested by demands from President Donald J. Trump for more even-handed treatment by the Peking government. This week, Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping are scheduled to meet in Palm Beach at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate for a two-day trade summit.
Despite tough talk at the diplomatic level and in the media, Hanley indicated the deal would be viewed as a positive for the American jobs it would create.
Although a newcomer to the U.S. market, Harbin has been making aircraft since the early 1950s and many of its smaller Y12E turboprop planes operate globally in Asia, Central and South America and Africa, among other regions. Nearly 200 of the Y12 planes have been sold worldwide, according to Harbin.
The Chinese manufacturer also makes certain components and parts for Boeing and Airbus, Nelson noted.
“This airplane has been proven and used all over the world,” said Michael Boyd, president of Boyd Group International of Colorado, an aviation consulting firm, of the Y12-series. “It can do almost anything.”
Still, Boyd said the challenge of bringing the Y12F to the U.S. market won’t be the aircraft itself, but the operating expenses and demand from consumers willing to travel in these kinds of planes. In markets such as Fort Lauderdale, however, finding customers shouldn’t be an issue.
“Flying it out of Fort Lauderdale to the islands I think there will be a huge opportunity, huge market,” Boyd said.
He also raised concern about availability of aircraft parts and servicing in the U.S. but that should be taken care of if Astral Aero’s plans pan out.
In the future, Aztec aims to primarily operate the Y12F aircraft for cargo purposes, Hanley said.
Given the strong interest the aircraft has received from U.S. operators on its recent stop in Fort Lauderdale, the Chinese manufacturer plans to ramp up production of the Y12F to fill orders from U.S. customers, Hanley said.
Having a close-up look at general aviation activities at Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport also helped to convince Harbin executives of the potential of the U.S. market for their aircraft.
Up next, Hanley said he’s planning to bring over a smaller Harbin-built 17-passenger twin turboprop plane — the Y12E or Twin Panda — within the next 90 days for flight tests and demonstrations for other potential operators.
Thereafter, he hopes to begin operating the Twin Panda on Aztec’s current routes from Fort Lauderdale to the Bahamas and Cuba, as well as on national flights.
How soon this will happen will depend on Aztec finalizing leasing or financing terms with Harbin for the $6 million Twin Panda plane and for the $8 million Y12F, he said.
For now, he’s enjoying the milestone in “grass roots diplomacy” achieved so far between his small airline and the China airplane maker.
“For a small Fort Lauderdale company to be involved enough to bring a Chinese manufacturer to the U.S. with an aircraft, that’s a big move … just getting the Y12F here was the biggest step.”
asatchell@sun-sentinel.com, 954-356-4209 or Twitter@TheSatchreport
