Cessna Aircraft Co. handed over the keys to a milestone Citation jet, the 7,000th one delivered by the Wichita, Kansas-based company. At a ceremony at the factory, Textron Aviation celebrated with the new owner of the recently certified Citation Latitude, NetJets. The fractional ownership company in turn responded with an extension of its already sizable order of Latitudes by adding another 50 options, making the total order 200 jets, 25 of which are confirmed orders.
NetJets has had two demonstrators on loan and has been flying them around Europe and the United States for the past few months. Fourteen of the pre-ordered Latitudes have already been sold by NetJets to fractional owners.
NetJets, a longtime Citation operator, currently operates four Cessna models: the Citation Encore/Encore+, Excel/XLS, Sovereign and X. The first Citation Latitude will be in operation in mid-July. It will provide a nice platform for its owners, with a top speed of 446 knots and a range capability of 2,850 nm, allowing it to fly nonstop from New York to Los Angeles. The Latitude features a flat floor and 6-foot-tall cabin, and its cabin remains below 6,000 feet at its service ceiling of 45,000 feet.
Since the entry into service in August 2015, Cessna has delivered 23 Latitudes. Textron Aviation currently offers eight Citation models, from the very light Mustang to the Citation X+, the fastest business jet on the market at Mach 0.935.
The Latitude was the winner of a 2015 Flying Editors’ Choice Award.
