Quick Takes – Cessna in Asia, Embraer in India

Cessna Captures Orders for 74 Aircraft at Asia-Pacific Region Shows
Cessna Aircraft Company completed a successful visit to the Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition Forum 2008 on Feb. 14 in Hong Kong and the Singapore Airshow Feb. 19-24 by wrapping up orders for 74 aircraft, with an estimated value of more than $219 million.
Cessna announced several agreements, completed in time for the Singapore Airshow: private aviation services provider BJETS placed an order for 20 Citation CJ2+ business jets worth approximately $150 million; India-based Chimes Aviation ordered 11 Skyhawk 172Rs and nine Skyhawk turbo-diesel models; and Susi Air of Indonesia ordered six Grand Caravan 208Bs.
On top of those orders, Cessna officials returned to Wichita with purchase agreements for an additional 17 single-engine pistons, nine Caravan turboprop aircraft and two Citation business jets. The orders span the company's product line, from the Citation X to the new Skyhawk turbo-diesel model. The newly-ordered aircraft are destined for Australia, China, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea and other locations throughout the Asia-Pacific region.

Embraer Posts Indian Sales
Following Epic and Eclipse into the Indian Subcontinent, Embraer announced the sale of two Phenom 100s to Indian business aviation solutions company Aviators India Pvt. Ltd. Related Story The deal is valued at $5.96 at list price said Embraer, which announced the sale at Extravaganza Mumbai 2008 February 22-23. The order is already on the company’s firm backlog. Delivery is scheduled to begin in 2009.
“Aviators India has over 10 years of experience in the Indian marketplace. Their choice of the Phenom 100 underscores our confidence in the suitability of the aircraft for this market,” said Capt. Manfred Baudzus, Embraer’s director of marketing and sales for Asia Pacific - Executive Aviation.
The Indian company is active in consultancy services for aircraft management, purchasing airplanes and helicopters, and setting up corporate flight departments.
“Amongst the aircraft in its class, the Phenom 100 provides the best value for investment and is a great personal aircraft,” said Capt. Arun Sharma, managing director of Aviators India Pvt. Ltd. “The jet’s style, performance and comfort, in my opinion, beat every aircraft in the market and I have no doubt that the Phenom 100 will become the preferred aircraft in India. We are looking forward to receiving our aircraft next year.”
Aviators has been in business since 1994 and has bases in Bangalore (also headquarters), Mumbai, Calcutta and Delhi. The company provides a holistic and customer-centered approach to business aviation, offering in-flight information services, aircraft and fuel sales, domestic and international airplane and helicopter charters, aircraft charter sales management, and operational support for international flights.

Cessna’s Single-Point-of-Contact Program Fully Implemented
Cessna Aircraft Company's Customer First initiative, offering customers a single contact person for all service issues, has been implemented in all of the company's Citation Service Centers in North America.
The Customer First program, which began in 2004 as a Textron Six Sigma pilot program at company service centers in San Antonio, Greensboro and Orlando calls for each Cessna Citation Service Center to dedicate a Customer Service Representative (CSR) for every owner and operator who visits the center. The CSRs serve as the single point of contact most knowledgeable about the maintenance status of customer aircraft at all times.
"The Customer First single point of contact improves shop communications and minimizes down time for the operator as we strive to exceed customer expectations," said Stan Younger, vice president of Cessna Citation Customer Service Facilities. "Customer reaction was so positive during the pilot program, we added two or three centers a year to get here - full system-wide implementation."
Under the program, customers are able to go to one knowledgeable contact person within the company to get the complete status of the work being done on their aircraft. Separate CSR teams work exclusively on scheduled and unscheduled maintenance events, creating level loaded shops for shorter aircraft downtimes. CSRs also assist customers with hotel arrangements, rental cars, and catering requirements associated with work being done on their aircraft.