The most talked about company in all of GA these past few years is Icon, a small California-based Light Sport Aircraft manufacturer that has produced a handful of planes. The notoriety will continue after the company’s announcement today that it has raised up the price of its A5 to a base price of $269,000 and a fully-loaded price of $389,000. Those prices are up from $207K and $257K, respectively, just last year.
The price hikes, company founder and CEO Kirk Hawkins, said in an email to customers, is to cover the actual costs involved in manufacturing. “After more than a year of initial production,” Hawkins wrote, “we now have clarity on the actual cost to make an A5. While the aircraft is significantly better than we first envisioned, it is also significantly more expensive. We must raise the price to build a sustainable business.” The price increase apparently won’t affect just new purchasers but existing buyers, as previous prices were “estimates,” according to Icon. The effect, Hawkins implied in his email, is that there will be a lot of deposit positions open up, and Icon will allow buyers who still want in to move up their position for an A5.
In addition to the news of the higher list prices for the A5, Hawkins also floated a blockbuster item when he wrote that, “…should ICON have an IPO, we plan to allow deposit holders and A5 owners the opportunity to purchase shares in the friends and family allocation subject to applicable approvals (details coming).” If Icon does indeed offer stock, it would be the first instance we know of where an LSA maker has gone public. But judging from Hawkins’ email, it sounds as though the company is at least giving the idea a lot of thought.
Learn more at Icon Aircraft.
