News
Cessna’s First European Deliveries of XLS+ Go to Lufthansa
May 25, 2009 – Geneva, Switzerland – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, has delivered two Citation XLS+ business jets to Lufthansa, the first deliveries of the model to a European customer.
May 25, 2009 By Melissa Damota
May 25, 2009 – Geneva, Switzerland – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, has delivered two Citation XLS+ business jets to Lufthansa, the first deliveries of the model to a European customer.
The aircraft have entered service alongside two Citation CJ3s and one CJ1+ in the Lufthansa Private Jet fleet, which provides point-to-point flights among 1,000 destinations in Europe and Russia. The Private Jet service also offers customers of Lufthansa and SWISS International Air Lines long-haul flights exclusive, seamless travel to onward regional airports.
Three further CJ1+ aircraft are scheduled for delivery to Lufthansa later this year. Two will join the Lufthansa Private Jet fleet, while the other is to be used within Lufthansa’s pilot training program.
“We are delighted that Lufthansa has selected the XLS+, CJ3 and CJ1+ for its Private Jet fleet, as this underlines the suitability of Citations to intensive commercial service throughout Europe,” said Trevor Esling, Cessna’s vice president for International Sales.
”We are the only airline in the world to operate a successful private jet service alongside our portfolio of scheduled flights offering peerless flexibility and exclusivity,” said Dr. Karsten Benz, vice president Sales & Services Europe, Lufthansa. “With our new Cessna airplanes, we are once again setting the pace within one of aviation’s niche growth areas in Europe.”
The Citation XLS+, part of the mid-size Excel/XLS family, is the latest version of the world’s best-selling business jet model. It features the fully integrated Rockwell Collins Pro Line 21 avionics suite and electronically controlled (FADEC) engines from Pratt & Whitney Canada. Exterior and interior restyling is also integrated into the new model, most prominently the extended contour of the nose and expanded seat widths, both introduced to more closely resemble Cessna’s Citation X and Citation Sovereign models.
The Citation XLS+ travels as fast as 817 kilometers per hour (441 knots) with a range of more than 3,441 kilometers (1,858 nautical miles). At maximum takeoff weight it will depart from runways as short as 1,085 meters (3,560 feet) at standard sea-level conditions. It will land on runways as short as 823 meters (2,700 feet) at its typical landing weight.
