LJ Aviation First to Offer Mustang Charter Flights
The first charter certificate for the Cessna Citation Mustang was issued to L.J. Aviation. Based at Latrobe, Pa., L.J. Aviation offers domestic and international charter flights using a fleet of 28 aircraft, including 11 Citations: one Mustang, three Bravos, two Ultras, one Encore, one VII, two Excels and one Sovereign. The fleet will soon be expanded with one Citation CJ3 and one Citation XLS+.
“Our diverse fleet can accommodate a wide variety of charter requests,” said Ed Kilkeary, Sr., president and chief executive officer of L.J. Aviation. “The addition of the Citation Mustang and its low operating cost will allow L.J. Aviation to provide the comfort and flexibility of charter flight to customers who have previously been unable to afford it.

Cessna Takes Two Top Supplier Awards at SEA Conference
Cessna took two awards November 6 at the first annual Aerospace & Defense Supply Chain Excellence Awards dinner sponsored by the Supplier Excellence Alliance. Cessna was named Customer of the Year, and Cessna Supply Management Vice President Don Beverlin won the Richard Hall Award for Leadership Excellence. As Customer of the Year, Cessna was recognized for superior supplier development, supplier retention, and its ability to form alliances with suppliers to establish a competitive advantage. In winning the leadership award, Beverlin was cited for his communications skills, ethics and industry leadership.

Delta AirElite Named Best Private Jet Service
Delta AirElite Business Jets was named the Best Private Jet Service by readers of Executive Travel Magazine. The Leading Edge Awards, announced in the magazine’s October issue, honor the travel industry’s leaders and innovators. Delta AirElite has been serving private jet travelers since 1984.
Launched in February 2003, Delta AirElite was the first private jet operator to offer a national jet card program, and it continues to be the most comprehensive. Fleet Membership gives a choice of the number of hours they wish to fly (10, 25, or 50 occupied hours) in either a light, midsize, or large cabin category. Members also benefit from Delta AirElite’s exclusive Efficiency Bonus™ rewards program which lets members fly more hours than actually purchased – up to 35 percent more flying time. As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, only Fleet Membership offers customers instant Medallion® status in the Delta Air Lines SkyMiles® program.
Earlier this year, Delta AirElite was recognized as a Robb Report “Best of the Best” in the Flight-Card Programs/Charter category for the fourth consecutive year. The company also received recognition as a top provider from the Luxury Institute in their 2007 Private Jet Services Luxury Brand Status Index (LBSI) survey.
Delta AirElite Business Jets is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, providing aircraft charter, aircraft management and its innovative Fleet Membership program. With 23 years of serving business aviation travelers, Delta AirElite is the only business jet operator owned by a major U.S. airline. The company operates a diverse fleet of Bombardier Challenger, Learjet, Gulfstream, Hawker and Cessna aircraft.

Cessna Service Centers Introduce Satellite Inventory Initiative
Cessna Aircraft Company announced a new satellite inventory initiative for Cessna-owned Citation Service Centers. The new initiative features a centrally managed inventory system which makes the inventory equally available and accessible by all centers regardless of their location. A revised inventory and warehouse management software at Citation Parts Distribution was designed to improve communication between the service centers. This new system allows each center easy access to inventory availability at any Cessna-owned facility. Previously, each center managed its own inventory.
A two-year study of repeat orders was conducted to establish inventory requirements for common parts. Supplies are stocked based on this study with a target for immediate parts availability 80-85 percent of the time. For the remainder, next day delivery from the central parts inventory is most likely available.
“Much work has been done to streamline our parts inventory and distribution,” said Jack Stiffler, vice president, Citation Parts Distribution. “The centralized inventory management strategy, revised processes and alignment of the inventory has increased the aggregate capacity of inventory at our service centers and improved their efficiency. The end result is improved customer service, which is always our ultimate goal.”
The new program has also established common processes and warehouse layouts for all the centers to improve efficiency. Conformity is expected at all Cessna-owned Citation Service Centers by the beginning of 2008.