Cessna has again chosen not to attend the Farnborough air show, no doubt in part because of the clash with the Oshkosh show in the US. But its decision to wheel in the big gun executives at European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Geneva and not come to Farnborough does suggest that the Swiss event is making the most of its niche and that cash-strapped business aircraft manufacturers cannot afford to be at both.
Cessna's commitment to the European market is certainly not in doubt as it continues to invest heavily in its European service centre at Paris Le Bourget airport and develops the new Citation Sovereign for the European market.
In Paris, Cessna says it is investigating options to increase the size and capacity of the four-year old facility. The Le Bourget site is "extremely busy" according to sales and marketing manager Jean-Marc Morillion, who puts this down to the delivery of 70 new Citations to European customers during 2001. Cessna has more than 100 Sovereign orders with first customer deliveries due in early 2004, Morillon adds.
The first Citation Sovereign production aircraft made its first flight in Wichita, Kansas, last month several weeks ahead of schedule.
Source: Flight Daily News
