Two BizJets Flying For The Russian Charter Operator

Cessna is reporting “great success” for the two Citation aircraft now flying with charter operator Jetalliance East in Russia.

CJ3 File Photo

In a news conference at EBACE Tuesday, Trevor Esling, Cessna’s vice president, International Sales, said “Jetalliance East launched operations in November 2010, basing a new Citation CJ3 and Citation Sovereign at Moscow Sheremetyevo International Airport. The move marked the first commercial operation of Cessna aircraft in Russia. We’re delighted — but not surprised — to report the Citations are proving very popular in the Russian charter market and ideal for the challenging weather conditions. Both aircraft have operated without any problems in the extreme sub-zero temperatures [-40°C] of western Siberia, for example."

Esling said Jetalliance East has been a great success so far, with monthly charter utilization of around 70-80 hours for each of our aircraft. We’re already discussing adding new Citations to the fleet as soon as possible.

Citation Sovereign File Image

“We’re extremely happy with the performance of the CJ3 and Sovereign," added Igor Chunikhin, chief executive officer of Jetalliance East. "The dispatch reliability is very high. Around 70 percent of our traffic on the aircraft is within Russia, with top destinations including Saint Petersburg, Kazan and Krasnodar, as well as locations important for the mining, basic commodities and energy industries. When flying into western Europe, the most popular destinations for our passengers are Paris and Chambéry in France. About 80 percent of our passengers are flying on business.”

Esling said the Jetalliance East line maintenance service capability proves useful not only for the company’s CJ3 and Sovereign but also for other Citations operating in Russia.

FMI: www.cessna.com