Atlanta, GA - September 24, 2007 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, today announced at the 2007 National Business Aviation Association Meeting and Convention in Atlanta that it has received an order for four more Citation business jets in India, a growing market for the company.
A ceremony is scheduled for 2 p.m. Wednesday in the Mustang Conference Room at Cessna's exhibit (#8550) in the Georgia World Conference Center.
Salil Taneja will sign an agreement for four Citations: two CJ2+ and one XLS+ for Taneja Aerospace & Aviation Limited (TAAL) and one XLS+ for Indian Seamless Metal Tubes Limited (ISMT), the parent company of TAAL.
The XLS+ - an upgrade to the mid-size Excel/XLS - completed its maiden flight on Aug. 2, 2007. Certification and first delivery is expected by the end of 2008. TAAL and ISMT are planning to take delivery of the XLS+ aircraft in mid-2010.
TAAL has been a Cessna authorized sales representative based in Bangalore, India, for more than 10 years and will sell the aircraft to customers in India. Indian Seamless Metal Tubes Limited will operate the XLS+ as a corporate aircraft.
"As India's economy continues its dramatic development, corporations are further embracing business aviation to extend their reach and improve efficiency," said Todd Duhnke, director of International Sales at Cessna. "The comfort and performance of the CJ2+, XLS+ and Sovereign has been particularly successful in India."
In June 2007, Cessna delivered the 5,000th Citation, maintaining its position as the most widely produced business jet family in history.
Based on unit sales, Cessna Aircraft Company is the world's largest manufacturer of general aviation airplanes. In 2006, Cessna delivered 1,239 aircraft, including 307 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $4.2 billion and a backlog of $8.5 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, some 190,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered to nearly every country in the world. The global fleet of more than 5,000 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 an $11 billion multi-industry company operating in 32 countries with approximately 40,000 employees. 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 Company, Jacobsen, Kautex, Lycoming, E-Z-GO, Greenlee, Fluid & Power, Textron Systems and Textron Financial Corporation. More information is available at www.textron.com.
Forward-looking Information: Certain statements in this release are forward-looking statements and speak only as of the date on which they are made, and we undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the statements, including but not limited to the following: [a] changes in worldwide economic and political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates and foreign exchange rates; [b] the interruption of production at Textron facilities or Textron's customers or suppliers; [c] the occurrence of slowdowns or downturns in customer markets in which Textron products are sold or supplied; [d] changes in aircraft delivery schedules or cancellation of orders; and [e] changes in national or international government policies on the export and import of commercial products.