Textron Aviation logged the first European order for its new Citation Longitude super-midsize jet and is capitalizing on the new single-engine regulations in Europe with a sale of a Cessna Grand Caravan EX. Textron Aviation celebrated both orders during the opening day of EBACE.
The first European sale of a Longitude went to Travel Service, a Czech-based airline. Travel Service is adding the aircraft to its fleet of four Citation Sovereigns for charter services. The Longitude is expected to be delivered to Travel Service in 2018. “The Longitude’s 6,482-kilometer range will allow us to meet the increased requests for long-distance flights and to give our customers the flexibility, privacy, and efficiency they want,” said Roman Vik, general director of Travel Service.
The order comes as Textron Aviation has seen interest gain steam in the program as development progresses, said Rob Scholl, senior v-p, sales and marketing for Textron Aviation. “We’ve seen fantastic interest in the Longitude across Europe,” he added.
Textron Aviation also announced an order for a Cessna Grand Caravan EX from Waves Technologies. The company plans to launch an on-demand air-taxi service in the UK Channel Islands. The Guernsey-based service will launch in August, flying customers to and from the Channel Islands. The Caravan turboprop single will be the primary air-taxi platform for the service, which will use the latest reservation technologies to enable customers to reserve flights in real-time.
The Waves service is launching as Europe begins to implement new rules permitting commercial air transport using single-engine turboprops in instrument meteorological conditions. Textron Aviation noted that the rule change plays “a vital role in opening up operations for companies like Waves.”
