Three years after the establishment of a joint venture between Cessna and China Aviation Industry General Aircraft (CAIGA), Cessna has announced that deliveries of its Caravan single-engine utility turboprop have increased nearly 80% in the country.
Textron Aviation’s exhibit at ABACE 2016 – Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, held in Shanghai, China, on April 12-14 – includes the Grand Caravan EX, and two more of its most popular products in the region: the Cessna Citation XLS+ midsize jet, and the Beechcraft King Air 350i twin-engine turboprop with Fusion avionics.
Textron Aviation is joined by its corporate sister company Bell Helicopter, which is exhibiting the Bell 429 in a VIP configuration.
“From establishing assembly and delivery partnerships, to aggressively investing in sales and support personnel, Textron Aviation’s approach of building a localized, company-direct presence in China is not only ensuring Cessna and Beechcraft products remain the leading models in China in the categories in which we compete, but also helping mature the business aviation industry here,” said Bill Schultz, senior vice president, business development, China, Textron Aviation. “The success of the Caravan and King Air in the region demonstrates how being close to our customers allows us to be more responsive in offering solutions for their mission requirements.”
There are nearly 900 Beechcraft and Cessna turboprop aircraft in the Asia-Pacific region. Customers include Joy Air Holdings, which has taken delivery of 13 of its initial order of 20 Grand Caravan EX Amphibian aircraft. It is using the aircraft for flights between coastal areas, air sightseeing tours and charter flights.
Cessna and CAIGA also operate a joint venture – Cessna-AVIC (Zhuhai) – dedicated to paint, interior installation, flight testing and delivery of the midsize Citation XLS+ for Chinese customers. Nearly 300 Cessna Citation business jets are in operation throughout the region.
Textron Aviation has a network of nearly 40 authorized service facilities, including nine in China, to support its customers throughout the region. The company also has a dedicated parts depot in Singapore, and a team of service technicians in the country, offering maintenance, inspections, parts, repairs, refurbishments and other specialized services.
April 13, 2016
