Beijing, China – July 21, 2010 – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, marked a very successful month in the People's Republic of China with the delivery of four aircraft – one Citation Mustang and three 208 Caravans. Two of the Caravans were financed by the leasing division of AVIC, China's primary aviation organization.
The aircraft add to Cessna's considerable fleet presence in China. Cessna supports 24 Citations in China, about 35 percent of the total business jet fleet (excluding Hong Kong and Macau).
"We have a very long relationship with AVIC, so it is very natural to call on this facility for finance support in China," said Tom Aniello, Cessna vice president of Marketing during a visit to China this week. "We are finding a very good market here for the full range of Cessna aircraft – piston aircraft for training up to high-performance Citations."
The Mustang, the first to be delivered in China, was delivered to Deng Bin, a repeat customer who also owns and flies a Citation CJ1+.
Caravans were delivered to Shanghai HaoHai General Aviation Co. Ltd., Zhongshan Eagle General Aviation Company and Hainan Asia Pacific General Aviation Company.
A large percentage of the aircraft are considered special mission, performing a number of missions including flight inspection for the China Flight Inspection Center (CFIC) of the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) and training operations for the CAAC Flying College.
Cessna has its main China office in Beijing and a manufacturing partnership with Shenyang Aircraft Corporation in Shenyang.
About Cessna Aircraft Company
Cessna is the world's leading general aviation company, based on unit sales, with five major lines of business: Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine turboprops, Cessna single-engine piston aircraft, aftermarket services and lift solutions by CitationAir. In 2009, Cessna delivered 754 aircraft, including 289 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of about $3.3 billion. Since the company was originally established in 1927, more than 192,000 Cessna airplanes have been delivered around the world, including more than 6,000 Citations, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. More information about Cessna Aircraft Company is available at www.cessna.com.
About Textron Inc.
Textron Inc. is a multi-industry company that leverages its global network of aircraft, defense, 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, and Textron Systems. More information is available at www.textron.com.