Mesa Air Group, the holding company of regional air carrier Mesa Airlines, is revealed as the purchaser of up to 100 TriFan 600 fixed-wing VTOL aircraft, currently in development, under a previously disclosed conditional purchase order with XTI Aircraft. If all conditions are met and the order is fully exercised, it could represent up to approximately $1 billion in revenue for parent company XTI Aerospace.

Mesa is an investor in XTI Aerospace, with warrants and a minority stake in common stock shares (283,734 shares) dating from February 2022 in connection with entering into the aircraft purchase agreement. It currently holds warrants to purchase another 189,156 shares of XTI Aerospace common stock.

Jonathan Ornstein, chairman and CEO of Mesa Air Group, says: "Over the past 30 years we have witnessed the regional aviation industry evolve from flying piston-engine, nine passenger aircraft, to turboprop aircraft, to large regional jets. Advanced air mobility is a new chapter that I am particularly excited about, given radical improvements in design versus existing regional alternatives and resulting progress toward a more sustainable future. XTI's TriFan 600 is poised to create a unique new category within the industry, an aircraft with VTOL capability coupled with the longer range and speed of a business airplane. Given the state of development in innovative propulsion for its proposed longer-range, higher-speed VTOL flights, we believe XTI's phased approach, starting with certified turboshaft engines capable of burning 100 per cent sustainable aviation fuel and transitioning to hybrid-electric propulsion as the technology develops further, is pragmatic."

Scott Pomeroy, chairman and CEO of XTI Aerospace says: "We are excited to have secured this conditional pre-order and position from Mesa Airlines and believe it serves as further validation of the substantial and untapped market for our aircraft. With a maximum speed of 345 mph and a range of 700 miles, we believe the TriFan 600 will be an ideal alternative to existing aircraft for regional passengers."

Ornstein adds: "I think of the TriFan as the legendary King Air reimagined. The TriFan 600's ability to utilise helipads and non-traditional landing areas as well as traditional airports would considerably expand its usability and set it apart from other aircraft in the market. We are excited about the potential of the TriFan 600 and look forward to working with XTI in the future."

XTI Aircraft has also signed a letter of intent with AVX Aircraft Company to provide development, design and certification services to support the TriFan 600. The definitive agreements are expected to be signed in the coming weeks.

"The relationship with AVX provides XTI Aircraft with seasoned engineering talent and a company highly experienced in designing and developing vertical lift aircraft technology," says Pomeroy. "AVX will help refine our current design, which we expect will accelerate the TriFan 600 development programme while significantly reducing expenses for certain engineering capabilities and services."

Under the proposed terms of the definitive agreement, XTI Aircraft, led by XTI Aerospace senior vice president of business and programme development Don Purdy, will provide management, direction and oversight of the TriFan 600 programme. AVX will become the prime contractor including detailed design, programme management, subcontract management and certification support services.

Kendall Goodman, president of AVX, says: "The AVX team is delighted to work with XTI on this development programme and apply our decades of rotorcraft engineering experience to the TriFan 600. We look forward to working hand-in-hand with the XTI leadership team to deliver this market-driven solution for its customers."

Purdy adds: "There are numerous use cases for the TriFan 600 within the Part 91 business, Part 135 charter service and Part 121 scheduled service operations, in addition to special mission roles such as medevac and rescue where time is so critical. We look forward to working closely with AVX in the coming months."