Kerry Lynch stepped into the role of editor of the&nbsp;Aviation International News&nbsp;monthly magazine in May 2022 after serving with&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;for eight years. She joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in December 2014 as a senior editor covering Washington and business aviation news. She has also served on Convention News teams, including as editor of&nbsp;HAI Convention News. Lynch previously spent 25 years with Aviation Week. During her time there, she reported for and later steered&nbsp;The Weekly of Business Aviation, oversaw business aviation content on the&nbsp;Aviation Week Intelligence Network, served on the&nbsp;Show News&nbsp;staff, and held roles as the Washington columnist for&nbsp;Business &amp; Commercial Aviation&nbsp;and&nbsp;Overhaul &amp; Maintenance&nbsp;monthly magazines. In 2021 she was honored with the National Business Aviation Association Platinum Wing Award for lifetime achievement in journalism and was the 2004 recipient of the National Air Transportation Association’s Aviation Journalism Excellence Award. She also has been a recipient of an Aerospace Media Award for business aviation (2022) and NBAA Gold Wing Award (2003, 2024). Lynch graduated from The Ohio State University with a bachelor of arts in journalism.

Editor, AIN monthly magazine

Kerry Lynch

Aerion Corp. today ceased operations, citing a lack of available financing for its plans to bring a family of supersonic aircraft to market. In a statement, the company said it had built an $11.2 billion backlog for the first of that family, the Mach 1.4&nbsp;AS2 business jet, but “in the current financial environment, it has proven hugely challenging to close on the scheduled and necessary large new capital requirements to finalize the transition of the AS2 into production. Given these conditions, the Aerion Corporation is now taking the appropriate steps in consideration of this ongoing financial environment.”

 


The move comes less than six months after Aerion<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2020-12-10/aerion-breaks-ground-florida-hq-and-production-park"> broke ground on a $300 million, two-million-sq-ft headquarters</a> complex at Florida’s Orlando Melbourne International Airport. It also follows a series of announcements detailing firmed-up supplier relationships for the AS2, ranging from Honeywell&nbsp;to Collins Aerospace and Spirit AeroSystems. These came in addition to engine-maker GE Aviation.

 


The supersonic developer also has scored major orders and letters of intent from companies, including<a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-03-03/netjets-fsi-sign-mou-20-aerion-as2s-training" target="_blank"> </a><a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2015-11-17/flexjet-boosts-supersonic-bizjet-plan-aerion-as2-order" target="_blank">Flexjet</a><a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2021-03-03/netjets-fsi-sign-mou-20-aerion-as2s-training" target="_blank"> and NetJets</a>. “Flexjet ordered its AS2’s from Aerion Supersonic in 2015 and the company has been a supporter of the program since then," said Kenn Ricci, principal at Flexjet parent Directional Aviation. "We were particularly impressed with the recent design changes and innovations generated by [Aerion chairman, president, and CEO] Tom Vice and his current team. While we are disappointed to hear from the company that they are ceasing operations, we understand the vast investment required by such programs to bring them to fruition and the inherent risks involved.”

 


Aerion planned to&nbsp;begin production in 2023, with first flight following in the middle of the decade. Meanwhile, in March it teased plans for the larger, <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2021-03-29/aerion-targeting-mach-4-and-7000-nm-50-passenger-as3" target="_blank">near-hypersonic </a>AS3 airliner, as well as collaborations with NASA on those technologies.

 


Aerion did not elaborate on its future beyond the statement.&nbsp;“The Aerion Corporation has assembled a world-class team of employees and <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2019-02-05/boeing-partners-aerion-bets-big-supersonics" target="_blank">partners</a>, and we are very proud of our collective efforts to realize a shared vision of revolutionizing global mobility with sustainable supersonic flight,” the statement said.&nbsp;“Since our company’s formation, our team has created disruptive new innovations plus leading-edge technologies and intellectual property."

 


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