Cessna Citation business jet deliveries will drop to 165-170 this year, down from 197 in 2003, but new-order activity looks to be picking up, says parent company Textron. Production for this year is already 70% sold out, and the company ended 2003 with a $4.4 billion order backlog, the company says.
Overall, Cessna delivered 842 aircraft last year: 197 Citations, 57 single-turboprop Caravans and 588 piston singles. The number of Citation deliveries planned was cut early in 2003 after fractional-ownership operator NetJets cancelled a substantial number of orders. Despite this, 16% of Citations shipped last year went to fractionals such as NetJets and CitationShares, compared with 20% in 2002. Fractionals will account for 15-20% of deliveries this year, says Textron.
Cessna revenues are expected to drop about 7% this year from the $2.3 billion achieved in 2003. The year will see certification and first deliveries of the all-new mid-sized Citation Sovereign, stretched Citation CJ3 light jet, upgraded Citation XLS super-light jet, and 172 Skylane and 182 Stationair singles equipped with Garmin G1000 integrated flightdecks.
Source: Flight International
