Cessna (Chalet L3-7) expects its European Citation fleet to pass the 1,000 aircraft milestone. Currently there are more than 900 Citations in the region, and according to Cessna this represents 57% of the entire European business jet fleet.
“Europe is the largest market for Cessna products outside North America,” says Cessna chief executive Jack Pelton.
“The European Union is home to many large-scale exporters – creating a need for extensive use of business aircraft both within and outside of the region. We see the potential for significant development in the population of the European business jet market, from small to transcontinental, during the next 10 to 20 years,” he says.
“Based on our commitments so far, we expect to add about 100-125 Citations each year during the next two or three years. To support this growth, we have progressively built a considerable service presence, both with our own facility in Europe as well as with independent maintenance providers. We recognise that service is a strong reason for our high level of customer retention and satisfaction, and that allows us to move customers up through the Citation family,” says Pelton.
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Top sellers into Europe are the XLS+, CJ3, CJ2+, Sovereign and the youngest member of the Citation family, the Mustang.And to support the fleet expansion, the European Citation Service Center at Le Bourget, Paris, is moving toward round-the-clock support for AOG situations, as well as expanding its capabilities for unscheduled maintenance.
Mark Paolucci, senior vice president of customer service, says: “With the Citation fleet growing in the European market, we believe it’s the right time to step up our service levels for unplanned maintenance and AOG situations. Within a year we will be offering the 24/7 level of service that Citation owners experience in North America.
Mobile unplanned maintenance teams will travel throughout the region to minimize downtime for owners and operators and the teams will respond to AOG situations, while carrying a specialised parts inventory and arrange for timely delivery of other parts as necessary.“We are responding as quickly as we can within European Aviation Safety Agency requirements to establish the extra level of maintenance response that our Citation customers have come to expect,” Paolucci adds.
Source: Flight Daily News
