Austria's JetAlliance, Russia's Dexter Herald Brisk
Business
Cessna announced Tuesday at the
European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) 2008
two separate orders, from operators in Austria and Russia.
Austrian charter giant JetAlliance placed an order for 24
business jets during the announcement. With orders placed during
the first quarter, it brings year-to-date Citation orders from
JetAlliance to 50.
The orders span virtually the entire Cessna Citation product
range, from the Citation Mustang to the newly announced Citation
Columbus. Deliveries start in 2010.
"We are pleased to announce JetAlliance's 2008 total orders
today at EBACE. JetAlliance has done a remarkable job with its
growth strategy since its beginning in 1996, and we are excited to
be a part of the story," said Roger Whyte, Cessna senior vice
president, Sales & Marketing.
The 2008 orders consist of four Citation Mustangs, seven
Citation CJ2+s, 11 Citation CJ3s, three Citation CJ4s, 10 Citation
XLS+s, seven Citation Sovereigns, four Citation Xs, and four
Citation Columbus aircraft.
JetAlliance Group is one of the world's leading business jet
enterprises, offering a unique turnkey solution for business jet
customers. With JetAlliance, the customer can purchase, finance,
operate and maintain an aircraft. The Group's subsidiary,
JetAlliance Flugbetriebs GmbH, operates a fleet of 35 aircraft with
an average age of only three years - one of the youngest fleets in
Europe. It operates under JAR OPS 1 in Europe, but is also FAA part
129 certificated allowing it to fly commercially in the United
States and Canada.
"We find Cessna Citations to be perfect for most of our
operations given their performance, low cost of operation and
global support network," said Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer, managing
director of the JetAlliance Flugbetriebs GmbH. "As a result of our
turnkey operation, and working together with Cessna and BTV, our
financiers, we have seen a considerable expansion in our sales and
operations in Eastern Europe and Russia in the last few years. This
order is a confirmation of this success, as well as our view of the
future potential of those markets."
The second major order announcement for Cessna entailed Russian
air taxi operator Dexter ordering 20 new Cessna Citation
Mustangs.
"Dexter's order is a strong sign of the strength of the business
jet market in Eastern Europe, particularly within Russia," said
Whyte. "It is also a sign of the strength of the Mustang program --
great economics, great performance and great production. We
designed the Mustang to be every bit as reliable and robust as any
other Citation in the stable, and that makes it quite suitable for
the high utilization operations it will see at Dexter."
Cessna expects certification for the Citation Mustang by Russian
authorities in early 2010. The Mustang, still the only aircraft in
a new class of entry-level business jets to be fully operational,
is already certified in more than 47 countries.
"Since our first flight in 2006, our Moscow-based operation is
the first air taxi in the country offering the intelligent
alternative for business travelers," said Dexter Chief Executive
Officer Eugene Andrachnikov. "The company created an entirely new
'low cost business aviation' mode of transportation that
complements travel by car, train and traditional air carriers in
Russia."
Dexter plans to expand its fleet of new Swiss Pilatus PC-12
aircraft with the Citation Mustang to create a national air taxi
network. Dexter is funded by two Russian private equity groups,
Industrial Investors and Kaskol, both with strong expertise in the
transportation sector.