SAO PAULO, Brazil, August 15, 2012 - Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition that it has increased the range capability of its planned new midsize jet, the Citation Latitude, once again. The Latitude was originally announced to have an expected range of 2,000 nautical miles, but through customer input and quality design and engineering, the Latitude is now expected to have a maximum range of 2,500 nautical miles (4,630 kilometers).
"Our customers were pleased when we increased the range from 2,000 to 2,300 nautical miles early this year, but we know to stay competitive in the marketplace and as we talked with more customers getting to 2,500 nautical miles was imperative," said Bob Gibbs, vice president, International Sales, South America. "Through innovative design and engineering work, we are excited to give our customers a 25 percent increase in expected range since the Latitude was first announced."
Announced in October 2011, the Citation Latitude will offer Cessna's widest-yet passenger cabin with stand-up access throughout its length of more than 16 feet. Billed as a game-changer in the mid-size segment, the Citation Latitude combines the payload, speed and range that customers want with an unmatched cabin experience at its price point ($14.9 million in 2011 USD). Scheduled for its first flight in mid-2014 and designed for a crew of two plus up to eight passengers, the aircraft will have a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet (13,716 meters) and a maximum cruise speed of 440 knots (815 kilometers per hour). It will climb to 43,000 feet (13,106 meters) in just 23 minutes.
The Citation Latitude features the fully integrated Garmin G5000 avionics system and Clairity™, an intelligent cabin technology solution developed by Cessna in partnership with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies. Clairity™ ties into the avionics system and integrates cabin electrical systems with data and communication sharing through a fiber optic backbone. Cabin systems are controlled either through intuitive touch-screen user interfaces at each seat, or customers' personal electronic devices.
A video highlighting the Latitude's features can be viewed on Cessna's YouTube channel. Visit our gallery of Latitude images.
About Cessna
Cessna is the world's leading general aviation company. Since its inception in 1927, Cessna has designed, produced and delivered more than 193,500 airplanes around the globe. This includes more than 6,300 Citation business jets, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world. Today, Cessna has two principal lines of business: aircraft sales and aftermarket services. Aircraft sales include Citation business jets, Caravan single-engine utility turboprops, single-engine piston aircraft and lift solutions by CitationAir. Aftermarket services include parts, maintenance, inspection and repair services. In 2011, Cessna delivered 689 aircraft, including 183 Citation business jets, and reported revenues of $2.990 billion. 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.
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements which may project revenues or describe strategies, goals, outlook or other non-historical matters; these statements 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 statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to changes in worldwide economic or political conditions that impact demand for our products, interest rates or foreign exchange rates; changes in government regulations or policies on the export and import of commercial products; the efficacy of research and development investments to develop new products or unanticipated expenses in connection with the launching of significant new products; the timing of our new product launches or certifications of our new aircraft products; our ability to keep pace with our competitors in the introduction of new products and upgrades with features and technologies desired by our customers; performance issues with key suppliers, subcontractors or business partners; difficult conditions in the financial markets which may adversely impact our customers' ability to fund or finance purchases of our products; and continued volatility in the economy resulting in a prolonged downturn in the markets in which we do business.
Contacts
Contact: Shanda Carney
Office: 316 517 7387
Email: sdcarney#@cessna.textron.com
Contact: Sara Monger
Office: 316 517 8854
Email: semonger@cessna.textron.com