Jet Goes To Swedish Operator

On Tuesday, Cessna Aircraft Company delivered the 500th Citation XL/XLS model to European Flight Service AB, the largest jet charter operation in Sweden. The milestone occurs eight years after the first Citation XL was delivered, in 1998.

"European Flight Service was the first commercial company in Europe to put an XL into service in 2003," said Cessna Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Roger Whyte. "There have been many others that have followed suit. We took orders for 36 XLS aircraft in Europe for 2005 alone."

European Flight Service's fleet includes a Citation XL, Citation VII and Citation Sovereign. They have an additional XLS and Sovereign aircraft on order.

"The XL we have is a workhorse for our short-range charter operations," said European Flight Service's Owner, Managing Director, Flight Operations Director, and Chief Pilot Stephen W.S. Diapere. "It flies an average of 550 hours per year. Our customers like the standup cabin, and our company likes the economy, purchase price, operating cost, ease of maintenance and field service support. Our experience with the XL leads us to believe this new XLS will be a complement to our fleet."

Cessna reports more Citation XL and XLS aircraft have been delivered than any other corporate business jet in the

world. The worldwide XL/XLS fleet will near 1 million operating hours in October.

The 560 series began with the Citation XL, which was granted Federal Aviation Administration type certification in April 1998. The XL received a block point change in 2004 and became the XLS.

The XLS travels as fast as 500 miles per hour, has a range of more than 1,800 nautical miles, climbs to 45,000 feet in 29 minutes, and can land on runways as short as 3,560 feet.

FMI: www.cessna.com