Orlando, FL – November 11, 2005 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) today announced a $200 million 20-aircraft deal with Jetalliance at the National Business Aviation Association conference.
Jetalliance, an aircraft management and charter company, based in Vienna, Austria, placed an order for two Citation X, seven Sovereign, four XLS, five CJ2+ and two CJ3 aircraft. The aircraft will be used in Jetalliance's operations to expand its reach into Eastern Europe. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2006.
"We believe these will give us a competitive advantage in Europe, particularly as we expand into Eastern Europe," said Alexander Vagacs, chief operative officer of Jetalliance. "We have had outstanding reliability, performance and range with our current fleet of Citations, and look forward to leveraging our capability with these additional aircraft."
According to Cessna's senior vice president, sales and marketing, Roger Whyte, "With this order, Jetalliance, with a home base in Vienna, the crossroads between Eastern and Western Europe, will be able to serve the exponential growth of business aviation in that region. Cessnas have been the most popular business jets in Western Europe for many years. This order insures that Citations will lead the growth of business aviation in Eastern Europe."
These aircraft will be added to Jetalliance's current fleet of 37 aircraft, including 20 Citations. The company is one of the three largest charter operators in Europe.
Based on unit sales, Cessna is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation aircraft. In 2004, Cessna delivered more than 900 aircraft and reported revenues of about $2.5 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 180,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 4,000 Citations is the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at www.cessna.com.
Textron Inc. is a $10 billion multi-industry company with 44,000 employees in nearly 40 countries. The company leverages its global network of aircraft, industrial and finance businesses to provide customers with innovative solutions and services. Textron is known around the world for its powerful brands such as Bell Helicopter, Cessna Aircraft, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO and Greenlee, among others. More information is available at www.textron.com.