WICHITA, KS – Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. company, this week became the first business aircraft manufacturer to achieve a European fleet size of 1,000 jets, with the delivery of a Citation XLS to Turkish charter operator BonAir.
BonAir president Ates Hanibu was presented with the aircraft in a ceremony yesterday at Cessna’s manufacturing facility in Wichita, KS, by Cessna Chairman, President and CEO Jack J. Pelton, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Roger Whyte, and Vice President of International Sales, Trevor Esling.
BonAir, which is based in Florya, Istanbul, has operated Cessnas in its fleet for 22 years and considers itself part of the Cessna family. BonAir has added the Citation XLS to its fleet to meet the rising demand for business aviation in Turkey.
"BonAir has enjoyed great success in meeting the air travel needs of Turkey’s business leaders. The Citation Bravo and Cessna Caravan have both performed well for us, and we are delighted to now offer the additional cabin space and range of the Citation XLS," says Hanibu.
"This delivery marks a significant milestone both for Cessna and our industry. It underlines that European companies increasingly value business aviation as a tool when time is of the essence and further demonstrates how well suited the Citation product family is for the travel requirements of the region. We are proud of the strong relationships we enjoy with European customers and look forward to the continued growth of our fleet," says Pelton.
Globally, Cessna has to date delivered more than 5,400 Citations, making it the largest fleet of business jets in the world.
