Cessna Foresees Rising Caravan and Citation Demand in India

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Cessna Foresees Rising Caravan and Citation Demand in India

BANGALORE, February 6, 2013 — Cessna Aircraft Company, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, said today the company foresees rising demand for its Caravan and Citation aircraft in India this year as customers respond to anticipated government reforms.

Speaking at the Aero India show in Bangalore, Bill Harris, Cessna vice president, Sales for Asia and Asia Pacific, said: "India is expected to be amongst the world's fastest growing economies in 2013 and stands to benefit hugely from a national expansion of business aviation, both for domestic and international travel. Cessna is optimistic that legislative and regulatory reforms this year will remove several barriers to India's aircraft market development. With its unrivalled breadth of aircraft, we believe Cessna is superbly positioned to meet the country's pent up customer demand."

Cessna believes one of its strongest products for the Indian market is the company's Caravan turboprop aircraft, which is a globally proven workhorse for commuter and utility missions in demanding environments. Harris said: "One of India's pressing needs is to improve its intra-state air links and the Caravan is vastly capable in this respect. Whether operated as a passenger or cargo aircraft, the Caravan can cope with the most demanding terrain and is perfectly suited to the extremes of Indian weather. With the launch of the high-power Grand Caravan EX this year, Cessna is better placed than ever to offer tough aircraft that keep going under the harshest conditions."

The company also anticipates rising demand for its Citation family of business jets as India's economy continues to grow. Harris said: "India is a global force in business, with leadership positions in markets such as information technology, auto manufacturing and finance. To manage their operations domestically and internationally, Indian business leaders need the time savings offered by business jets but do not necessarily always want or need a long-range aircraft. Aircraft such as Cessna's Citation Mustang, CJ2+, XLS+ and Sovereign offer an exceptional blend of performance, dependability and value and are seeing increasing interest from Indian customers, particularly from charter operators scaling up to serve corporate and leisure demand."

To better serve the Indian market, Cessna has recently appointed dedicated in-country sales managers for propeller and Citation aircraft.