Executive Jet has ordered 50 Cessna Citation Excels for its NetJets fractional-ownership fleet. The order, worth $400 million, is the largest ever placed for business jets in terms of unit size, and represents another major boost for Cessna and the fractional-ownership concept which Executive Jet pioneered in 1986.
The Citation purchase further extends Executive Jet's commanding lead as the world's largest operator of business jets, with more than 100 in service and over 150 on order. The New Jersey-based company now operates Citation S/IIs, Citation V Ultras, Citation Xs, Raytheon Aircraft Hawker 1000s and Gulfstream IVSPs.
In addition to the new Citation Excel order, Executive Jet is also receiving 20 Citation VIIs and 31 Citation Xs, most of which were ordered in a $600 million deal in 1996. In May 1997, the company also secured a deal valued at more than $210 million for 20 Hawker 800XPs, itself the largest single order ever for Hawker business jets. The first two 800XPs will be delivered this year, with the balance arriving by 2002. The first of the 50 Excels will be delivered in 1999, says the company.
Executive Jet has also announced the selection of the Citation VII as its choice of mid-sized business aircraft for its NetJets Europe programme, which was launched in 1996. Up to three Citation VIIs are likely to be ordered for the European fleet, which will also include six Citation S/IIs by the end of 1997.
The Citation VIIs were selected over several contenders including, ironically, the Hawker 800XP.
Although the growth of the European fleet has been relatively slow in comparison with its US counterpart, Executive Jet is confident that the shared-aircraft-ownership concept will continue to expand in the continent. "US NetJets owners who make regular trips to Europe have been the driving force behind our NetJets Europe programme," says Richard Santulli, chairman of Executive Jet, which formed the European venture in association with Zimex Aviation in Switzerland and Air Luxor in Portugal.
With NetJets Europe, US NetJets customers use European-based aircraft and European owners have reciprocal use of NetJets aircraft in the USA.
Cessna has opened its first company-owned service centre outside the USA at Paris Le Bourget in France. The site will help support the European-based Citation fleet, which now numbers 332.
Source: Flight International
