Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today made several key announcements at the National Business Aviation Association’s annual conference relating to innovation in aircraft design, commitment to customer service and addressing customer needs.
“This year, we are thrilled with the steps we have taken to deliver what our customers want and need,” said Scott Ernest, Cessna President and CEO. “These innovations further underscore our commitment to bring cutting edge aircraft and service to market for today and tomorrow and to exceed our customers’ expectations year after year.”
Innovation Continues at Cessna: Introducing the new Citation Sovereign
The New Citation Sovereign now delivers increased range, updated technologies and enhanced capabilities. Features of the New Citation Sovereign, currently on display at NBAA include:
New cockpit with Garmin G5000 avionics suite Increased range by 150 nm, boosting the New Citation Sovereign total range to over 3,000 nm Powered by the new Pratt & Whitney Canada PW306D engine New cabin amenities including the integrated Cessna Clarity? cabin management system, in addition to improved seat design Improved short runway performance Integrated automatic throttles Winglets have been added, giving the aircraft a distinct appearance and an aerodynamic boost Improved ground cooling performance Line flow has already started on the New Citation Sovereign, and entry into service is expected in the early third quarter of 2013. The new Sovereign will also be available with a utility configuration, with options to carry payload, people, or both, depending on the mission requirements.
The New Citation X; Retaining the name that started it all
Much to customers’ delight, the Citation X name will live on. When the plans were drawn to improve on the Citation X systems and performance, that aircraft was to be called the “Citation TEN”. Through the design and certification process, the Citation TEN has claimed the title of world’s fastest business jet, but customers have told Cessna that they prefer the new aircraft retain the Citation X name.
“You can see customer input present throughout the entire process,” said Roxanne Bernstein, senior vice president of Marketing. “We’ve implemented customer input with various designs, we value customer feedback with services, and we also listen to the customer when it comes to guidance with naming our aircraft. Customers value the performance and system improvements with the updated aircraft, the fact that the new Citation X is the world’s fastest business jet with a top speed of Mach 0.935, and they value the original name. So Cessna has decided that, moving forward, this aircraft will be called the new Citation X.”
Commitment to customer service: Smart global growth in Europe
Cessna also reinforced the company’s activities tied to the smart global growth strategy including opening Citation Service Centers in the United Kingdom and Spain. The company announced the first Cessna-owned Citation Service Center in the UK, located at Robin Hood Airport Doncaster Sheffield. The newly-acquired 50,000-square-foot facility, rebranded as the Doncaster Citation Service Centre, offers a wide range of services to Citation customers, from maintenance to modernization and paint. Previously known as Kinch Aviation Services, the business has operated for 15 years and been a Cessna authorized service facility for the past four years.
Cessna highlighted the grand opening of its new regional Citation Service Center in Valencia, Spain. The 100,400-square foot (9,328-square meter), state-of-the-art facility is located at Valencia Airport (ICAO: LEVC) in eastern Spain, convenient for Citation customers across Western Europe and North Africa. The Center offers a one-stop shop for comprehensive repair, completion, fulfillment, maintenance and customization services.
In addition to Cessna’s extensive U.S. based network, Cessna now operates four Citation Service Centers in Europe, with Valencia and Doncaster complementing facilities in Paris, France, and Prague, Czech Republic.
About Cessna
Cessna is the world’s leading general aviation company. Since its inception in 1927, Cessna has designed, produced and delivered more than 193,500 airplanes around the globe. This includes more than 6,300 Citation business jets, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. Today, Cessna has two principal lines of business: aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft sales include Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine utility turboprops, single-engine piston aircraft and lift solutions by CitationAir. Aftermarket services include parts, maintenance, inspection and repair services. In 2011, Cessna delivered 689 aircraft, including 183 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of $2.990 billion. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at cessna.com.
About Textron
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, and Textron Systems. More information is available at textron.com.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to changes in worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates; changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of commercial products; the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products or unanticipated expenses in connection with the launching of significant new products; the timing of our new product launches or certifications of our new aircraft products; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors or business partners; difficult conditions in the financial markets which may adversely impact our customers’ ability to fund or finance purchases of our products; and volatility in the global economy resulting in demand softness or volatility in the markets in which we do business.
http://www.4-traders.com/TEXTRON-INC-14698/news/Textron-Inc-Cessna-Makes-Key-Announcements-at-National-Business-Aviation-Association-Press-Confer-15441422/