Incessant Cessna
Posted Date: 01/09/2007
Issue: Executive & VIP Aviation International September 2007
Publication: Executive & VIP Aviation International
With 307 Citation business jets delivered in 2006, Cessna is confident about future delivery numbers. Roger Whyte, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Cessna, explains to Jo Murray what the Cessna portfolio comprises, how it has evolved and the ways in which it accommodates the market
That Cessna has been prolific in its 80-year history is indisputable; that it continues to announce large orders is a testament to its understanding of the shape and complexity of the business aviation market. In fact the 5,000th Citation business jet has already been delivered.
Roger Whyte is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Cessna. He is very clear about his market and how it is constructed. “Our main business is in the US, Europe and South America, in that order,” comments Whyte. “Other parts of the world, particularly the Far East, are starting to come on. In the last two years we have seen very rapid growth in Europe.” He attributes this to the Schengen Agreement – which removed all internal border controls for signatory countries but put in place controls at the external borders of the EU and introduced a common visa policy. Then there is the opening up of eastern Europe and Russia which has represented new pastures for all western business aircraft manufacturers.
Although new markets excite, the traditional market – predominantly in the US – continues to exhibit a constant and reliable growth rate, albeit one that is lower than that being witnessed in Europe and the emerging markets.
Who will buy?
“Cessna business jet clients tend to be corporate customers in one way or another. That ranges from the large corporations who have their own flight departments to smaller companies where the owner of the company may be an entrepreneur who flies himself on business trips,” comments Whyte. “Then we have some private owners, owners who run charter organisations and a significant number of aircraft in fractional ownership companies,” explains Whyte. Although Cessna, with TAG Aviation, has its own fractional company – CitationShares – the manufacturer remains the largest supplier of aircraft to NetJets. “The NetJets’ US and European combined fleets stands at around 300 aircraft,” comments Whyte. Building markets is nothing new to Cessna and it continues to do so with the introduction of the Citation Mustang. This aircraft is now fully certified, is powered by two PW615F engines and has a range of 1,150nm (2,130km) at maximum takeoff weight. Whyte fully expects the Mustang to expand substantially the number of units delivered by Cessna year on year. “We consider the Citation Mustang to be an entry level jet – not a VLJ,” comments Whyte. “It will have a lot of application for those seeking a jet aircraft for the first time and will also be used by the charter companies to provide more access to business jets.”
However, Whyte reminds us that Cessna has previously brought two small entry level jets to the market. “We have done this twice before with the original Citation and the CJ family of aircraft. Bringing the Mustang and these kinds of aircraft to the market broadens the base,” comments Whyte. “It will offer business jet transportation to a larger population.”
Speed takes centre stage
Speed is central to the private aviation sector. In fact, Cessna’s founder, Clyde Cessna, said once: “The only reason to fly is speed,” and this is a concept Cessna has kept very close to its heart, especially in relation to the Citation X. The NetJets fleet includes more than 70 Citation Xs which have been placed there to accommodate the desire for speed.
“This is a unique aeroplane,” comments Whyte. “It is the fastest civil aircraft of any kind flying today. For the people who buy that aeroplane, speed is very important – to the point of being paramount – because the aircraft gives these individuals the opportunity to undertake missions that would be impossible with other aeroplanes. For example, they can travel across the US and back in a day.” Whyte points not only to the precious nature of passengers’ time but also to pilots’ duty time; both considerations are accommodated through flying the Citation X, says Whyte. “In the case of charter operators and fractional companies, they can take one set of passengers across the US, drop them off, pick up another set of passengers and arrive back in the same day,” remarks Whyte. “If a crew cannot achieve a round trip within a single day, the journey becomes a three-day trip if they run out of duty time and need a rest day; this precludes them returning the next day.”
Family-centric design
The Citation CJ4 is the new flagship of the CJ family of business jets. Powered by two Williams FJ44-4A engines and with a range of 1,825nm (3,380km) at maximum takeoff weight, the CJ4 incorporates design successes from its new-generation cousins. “There are many advances in the CJ4’s technology,” comments Whyte. “The engines are new designs, we have a new fully integrated cabin management system, we have incorporated the next generation of avionics and we have introduced some new structural elements which give us more cabin volume.” He describes the advancements in technological achievement as progressive. “With the CJ4, we have drawn on technology which we have developed for the other aeroplanes in our portfolio; some of it is manufacturing technology that we are using in the Mustang and the Sovereign, and some of it is aerodynamic technology that we developed for the Sovereign. There are lots of areas of knowledge that we achieve as we go along which we incorporate into new models,” says Whyte. He continues: “Successful aeroplanes are nearly always evolutionary rather than revolutionary. If you try to take too many steps at a time, the risks are great. We try to bring new technology into these aeroplanes when the new technology is developed enough to pass the criteria for safety but, at the same time, we try to combine it with ‘tried and true’ technology to make sure the aeroplanes are very reliable.”
The evolutionary process has been applied to the Encore to produce the Encore+ to improve the engine management system so as to lighten the workload for the pilots and improve maintainability. “We have also saved some weight in the structure of the aeroplane which gives it more payload, we’ve upgraded the interiors and we’ve put in a new suite of avionics which delivers enhanced capabilities, particularly in terms of situational awareness,” comments Whyte. The Sovereign model is a logical step up from the Citation Excel and the out-of-production 650 series. It is powered by new-generation PW306C engines and can visit those smaller, less-crowded airports that are often close to passengers’ final destinations. The Citation Excel is the basis for another of Cessna’s families of aircraft. This family includes the Excel, the Citation XLS and the Citation XLS+.
Evolution: the next frontier
So what is next for Cessna? “Customers are always looking for speed, payload and range,” reminds Whyte. “Today there is always a great deal of emphasis on reliability and up-time.” Whyte explains that increased up-time means that maintenance intervals are getting longer and shop visits are getting shorter. Operating costs are also under pressure and so is the need to meet emissions and noise standards. All Cessna aircraft interiors are completed at Cessna’s facilities. “We think this is the best way to do it. You get a complete package from one manufacturer. Everything is fully integrated and if a customer does have a problem he is covered by the same warranty. We have all the drawings so we can get to any problem very quickly,” says Whyte. For customer support, Cessna has a worldwide network of Citation Service Centres and Service Stations.In the final analysis, to what does Whyte attribute the longevity of Cessna’s success? “We always offer aeroplanes which have a very good package of attributes at a very reasonable price and we take lifetime care of our customers,” responds Whyte. “That is the basis of our success.”
