CESSNA SHUTDOWN
Cessna has begun a company-wide furlough and a skeleton crew is keeping the airframer afloat as it continues to endure rolling layoffs. Cessna says it will remain "virtually shut down from 22 June to 21 July", with only a "few pockets of people staying on certain projects". These include customer service duties and the Citation CJ4 light business jet programme. The move has hit all divisions and locations, Cessna says, including members of the senior management team.
ASIAN PRESTIGE
A private Asian customer has placed a firm order for an Airbus A320 Prestige, becoming the first to buy the type in the region. The Prestige features a customised cabin, extra fuel tanks for intercontinental range and more than 96m² (1,030ft²) of floorspace, says Airbus. Total sales of the Airbus Corporate Jetliner family - which also includes the A318 Elite and the A319-based ACJ - stand at more than 100.
PILATUS UK
Pilatus Aircraft's distributor for the UK, Ireland and Spain has opened a PC-12 engineering and flight training facility at Bournemouth International airport in southern England. Pilatus Centre UK has invested £425,000 ($696,000) in upgrading and converting a former Second World War and BAC hangar into a one-stop support centre for new and pre-owned versions of the single-engined turboprop.
BROADBAND STC
Bombardier's Challenger 604 has become the latest airframe with a supplemental type certificate available for the in-flight broadband solution that comprises Rockwell Collins' eXchange avionics package and partner Arinc Direct's Ku-band service SkyLink. Arinc Direct plans to make the Challenger STC available to qualified aircraft maintenance and integration facilities, along with the recently developed STC for the Cessna Citation X and the forthcoming STC for the Boeing BBJ.
HAWKER SALES REP
Hawker Beechcraft has appointed Aeronautics as a sales representative for England, Scotland and Wales. Aeronautics will complement Hawker Beechcraft's own factory-direct sales team for the UK and will market and sell new and pre-owned current-production Hawker and Beechcraft aircraft.
Source: Flight International
