Someone was going to say it, so Cessna's sales boss Roger Whyte got in first, calling today (February 6) Cessna's "Columbus day" (after a US holiday). Why? Because today the company unveiled its Citation Columbus large-cabin bizjet in Washington, DC. The name was picked by Cessna because this is the first Citation designed to take its passengers overseas - London to Dubai, Munich to New York, Singapore to Sydney, Sao Paulo to Miami - nonstop.
It will be a big aeroplane - bigger than I realised. It will be bigger and fly further, faster than its competitors, the Bombardier Challenger 605 and Dassault Falcon 2000EX. At $780 million to develop and $27 million to buy, it will be the most expensive Citation yet. It won't enter service until 2014, but there is no doubt Cessna can deliver this aircraft - just look at the Citation X.
One interesting factoid from today's press conference: there are 5,100 Citations now flying - by the time the Columbus enters service, there will be 8,000...