New Models Drive Citation Sales

In its first-quarter earnings report, Textron said that of the 55 Citations its Cessna division delivered (compared with 33 in the first quarter last year), 50 percent were the CJ3, XLS and Sovereign–all new within the last year. Textron said that during the quarter, Cessna booked orders for 73 Citations, better than it expected. The company said it now has 230 Citations on order for delivery next year and is essentially sold out this year with plans to deliver between 235 and 240 (compared with 181 last year). According to Textron, Cessna could increase production to about 350 a year “without adding bricks and mortar” as its vendor supply base increases.