The March 2014 merger that created Textron Aviation brought together three deeply rooted brands, Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker and, at least for now, the group is committed to maintaining the separate identities of these product families. That's not to say the company will not contemplate changes in its line up, with Textron Aviation senior vice president of sales and marketing, Kriya Shortt, acknowledging that it is “evaluating our product line to ensure we’re bringing the best possible products to customers around the world ."
That means keeping the combined companies’ full lines of Cessna jets and Beechcraft turboprops in production. “There are no plans to discontinue any models currently in production. In addition, as evidenced by our first- and second-quarter results, we are seeing new product innovations invigorating the segments in which we compete,” Shortt told AIN.
Analysis of figures released by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) for the first half of 2014 indicate that the market has rewarded Textron’s past investment in updating its product line. Sales for many models of Textron’s turbine aircraft dropped in the first six months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013. King Air sales (all models) declined from 58 to 56; Caravan sales dropped from 45 to 42; and sales of Cessna light jets, with the exception of the new M2 (which was not available in the first half of 2013), fell from 33 to 23. By contrast, in models where Cessna introduced new technology, the M2 and the line of medium jets–the XLS+, Sovereign+ and X+–Cessna achieved improved results in the first half of this year. For instance, it delivered 19 M2s and 16 Sovereign+ aircraft in the first six months of 2014.
Even at reduced delivery rates, Textron’s turboprops seem safe as those designs were amortized long ago. However, in the face of effective competition from Embraer and potential challenges from Honda Aircraft and now Pilatus, at some point Cessna may feel the need to update its entire light jet line with a design around a fresh fuselage that offers more cabin space; the current cabin dates back to the original CJ launched in 1991 and there are limits to what Cessna designers can do for it in terms of better seats and cabin shells.
Cessna’s strategy for now seems to be migrating the technology adapted for the M2 (based on the CJ1+) and moving it up the CJ food chain, most recently in the CJ3+ with new Garmin G3000 touchscreen avionics, the aforementioned better passenger seats, the new Clairity cabin management system and other systems improvements. Given the pattern, a CJ4+ can’t be far behind. Owners of CJ2s can purchase a retrofit package that includes the improvements in the CJ3+.
Cessna already has lost some light jet market share to Embraer, which has delivered more than 500 of its Phenom 100 and 300 models since 2008. This summer the Brazilian airframer announced that the Phenom 300 had captured a 57-percent market share for new jet sales in its category with 60 delivered last year. Further, for 2013 Embraer was getting very close, at 17.6 percent, to equaling Cessna’s 21-percent business jet market share.
Product Support
Textron Aviation (Booth 220) is moving aggressively to expand its product support worldwide, according to Shortt, including cross-training technicians to work on all of the company’s products. “There are now 21 worldwide company-owned service facilities serving Beechcraft, Cessna and Hawker customers,” she said. “Another milestone was recently announced with the ProAdvantage product support programs now being offered for the global Beechcraft King Air fleet through company-owned and authorized service providers.”
Where Cessna has refreshed existing products, the market has responded favorably, as in the cases of the M2 and the Sovereign+. (The Citation X+ with G5000 avionics was certified in June.) It also continues to develop two new medium jets: the Latitude and the Longitude.
However, two competing products from Embraer–the Legacy 500 and 450–are ahead on the development curve. The 500 was certified in Brazil in August and FAA certification followed, and the shorter 450 should be certified in the first half of 2015. Both of the aircraft feature full fly-by-wire (FBW) flight controls, while Cessna took a more conservative and evolutionary path of limited FBW to speed development time and cut costs. (Embraer’s earlier E-jets were not full FBW; the Legacy 500 and 450 are its first full FBW business jets.)
The larger Citation Longitude’s limited FBW will control the rudder, spoilers and brakes (“brake-by-wire”); the smaller Latitude eschews FBW altogether. Cessna’s development strategy appears tied to a marketing plan of keeping existing customers comfortable with new technology, as well as a desire to manage costs.
Textron is not shy about funding new product development, as evidenced by the Cessna Latitude and Longitude and Bell Helicopter’s simultaneous pursuit of three new helicopter programs: the super-medium 525 twin, the 505 JetRangerX single and the V-280 third-generation tiltrotor for the U.S. Army. In May, Textron CEO Scott Donnelly told analysts that while new light jet sales numbers, “are not a lot higher in terms of unit deliveries, we certainly feel better about where we are going in the market.”
