Cessna expects sales of its Citation business jets to exceed 400 aircraft this year, its highest-ever annual total. Sales were boosted by substantial pre-ordering of the new Citation CJ2 and Sovereign before their official launch last month.
The company booked orders for 76 entry-level CJ2s and 79 mid-size Sovereigns before their unveiling at the US National Business Aviation Association convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. Further orders for both types were included in more than 20 Citation sales booked at the show.
Chairman Russ Meyer says the Citation order backlog will be close to $4 billion by the end of the year, a record for the company. Cessna also expects to set a delivery record this year, shipping more than 200 Citations for the first time.
Vice-chairman Gary Hay says Citation production will almost double by 2003-4, to 375-400 aircraft a year. Deliveries of the "superlight" Excel, which began earlier this year, are projected to reach 80 a year, and production of the stretched Sovereign is expected to peak at over 40 a year.
Cessna has delivered the 1,000th Caravan single-turboprop aircraft, a 208B Grand Caravan, to Belize-based Tropic Air for use on passenger services. The company has also delivered its 1,000th aircraft since resuming piston-single production. The 172 Skyhawk SP was handed over to US flying school Ace High just 22 months after Cessna restarted piston-single deliveries.
Source: Flight International
