Vero Beach-based Piper Aircraft entered 2025 on a roll, having delivered nearly 300 aircraft last year – more than one-quarter of them to international buyers.
The 291 airplanes manufactured here and shipped in 2024 were 46 more than Piper delivered in 2023, representing a year-over-year increase of almost 20 percent.
Of Piper’s total deliveries in 2024, 217 were shipped to customers in the U.S., marking a 7-percent increase in domestic sales.
It was in the global market, however, that the company enjoyed its most notable success. The 74 aircraft delivered to international buyers marked a whopping 76-percent increase over 2023’s numbers.
A key factor in that growth was the immediate popularity of the M700 Fury, Piper’s new flagship aircraft that was introduced in March to replace the M600/SLS in its business-class lineup.
Deliveries of the M700 Fury soared by 30 percent in the second quarter of 2024, as Piper’s revenues rose by nearly 9 percent. The company shipped 46 of them last year.
“Our continued growth, both domestically and internationally, is a testament to the strength of our product lineup and the trust our customers place in Piper,” company president and CEO John Calcagno said last week.
“The increase in international deliveries highlights Piper’s expanding global footprint and the growing appeal of our aircraft worldwide,” he added. “With the successful introduction of the M700 Fury and tremendous growth in Archer DX trainer sales, 2024 was a milestone year for our company, with the highest delivery count in well over two decades.”
Riding that momentum, Piper opened 2025 with new fleet agreements to provide Archer DX trainer aircraft to flight schools in India and Spain.
In mid-January, Piper announced that the Air Indian Flight Training Center placed an order for as many as 93 Archer DX airplanes to be delivered over the next three years – 31 to be delivered in 2025, with options for a total of 62 more to be purchased in 2026 and 2027.
The deliveries were scheduled to begin in the first quarter of this year.
According to Piper’s announcement, Air India is purchasing the aircraft to support its newly established flight school in Amravati, where the airline plans to operate what it believes will become the largest aviation-training facility in South Asia.
The announcement described the agreement as a “significant step in Piper’s ongoing global fleet expansion, particularly into the Asian market.”
Later in January, Piper followed up with an announcement of a new fleet agreement with FTEJerez – Flight Training Europe, based in Jerez, Spain – for the purchase of 20 Archer DX airplanes.
The first 10 aircraft have already been delivered.
FTE provides cadets from “around the globe” with world-class pilot training programs and close partnerships with major airlines, including Aer Lingus, British Airways, Etihad, Iberia and Ryanair.
“Our acquisition of these brand-new Piper Archer DX aircraft is a testament to FTE’s commitment to excellence in aviation training,” FTEJerez CEO Oscar Sordo said in the Jan. 23 announcement.
Closer to home, Piper announced in December that Paragon Flight Training of Fort Myers had taken delivery of the 200th Pilot 100i aircraft produced by the company.
Paragon, which began taking delivery of Pilot 100i airplanes in early 2022, recently finalized another large order for additional Pilot 100i and Seminole aircraft, placing the flight school on a path to become the largest Pilot 100i fleet operator in the world by 2027.
“Paragon Flight continues to enjoy a mutually rewarding relationship with Piper,” Paragon President Chris Schoensee said. “We work collaboratively and confidently together as we build up out fleet of Piper Pilot 100i aircraft and train the next generation of pilots using this outstanding platform.”
