Cessna is building roomier, more comfortable jets for bigwigs.\u00a0 Long gone are the days when steel CEO’s flew coach.<\/p>\n
Textron Inc.’s Cessna probably will introduce its largest-ever business jet next week to meet customers’ demand for roomier, more-comfortable cabins and longer range.<\/p>\n
The new plane is expected to fly as far as 4,000 nautical miles (7,400 kilometers), giving it the ability to make international trips, and resurrects a concept that was abandoned during the 2009 recession.<\/p>\n
Cessna also may unveil changes to the Longitude, which has been the biggest plane on the company’s books since its 2012 introduction but hasn’t yet been built. Vincent said the range would be cut 15 percent to 3,400 nautical miles and the engines switched to Honeywell International Inc. models from Safran SA. Textron, Honeywell and Safran spokesmen declined to comment.<\/p>\n
A revised Longitude probably will remain a $26 million aircraft, while the new plane may be priced at $30 million to $35 million.<\/p>\n
The new plane’s ceiling will be taller than the 6-foot (1.8-meter) cabin in Cessna’s Latitude Being able to stand upright is a crucial sales point for buyers shelling out millions for the convenience and luxury of private aircraft.<\/p>\n
Large and midsize models have led a rebound in the business-jet market since the global financial crisis. Cessna already has revamped its smaller jet lineup to fight a sales decline caused by the economic slump and the entry of Brazil’s Embraer into corporate aviation a decade ago.<\/p>\n
Cessna’s new jet would enable customers to “move up the food chain to a larger plane” and take advantage of financial troubles at Bombardier, which got a bailout from Quebec’s government because of delays to the C Series jetliner program, Foley said.<\/p>\n
New models have been a hallmark of Scott Donnelly’s tenure since he came to Textron in 2009 from General Electric.<\/p>\n
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