New Facilities, More Parts Available To European Operators

Cessna said at EBACE this week that it continues to expand its customer support services in Europe with new facilities, enhanced parts distribution and more service options for Citation owners. “Cessna continues to invest in customer service and continues to lead the industry in every part of the world in developing new service delivery methods,” said Brad Thress, Cessna senior vice president, Customer Service.

Planned Cessna Service Center In Valencia, Spain

Cessna broke ground earlier this year on a new Cessna Citation Service Center in Valencia, Spain, to augment the Citation Service Center in Paris in supporting some 1,300 Citations in Europe. The new facility will include 6,000 square meters (64,000 square feet) of hangar space and about 8,200 square meters (88,264 square feet) of office, storage and shop space.

The first group of nearly 20 employees has been hired and they are already in FlightSafety maintenance training in Spain taking courses for each Citation model. The employees will then be assigned to a year-long, hands-on program at Cessna service centers around the United States, assuring service at the new facility will come from experienced technicians from the start when it opens in the third quarter of 2012.

Cessna also opened a new line maintenance facility in Prague this year, sharing hangar space at sister company Bell Helicopter’s service facility at Prague Ruzyne International Airport (PRG/LKPR). Cessna and Bell are Textron companies. Certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency in February, the center has already begun performing scheduled and unscheduled maintenance operations. The new Citation service center, sharing nearly 3,000 square meters (32,000 square feet) of shop space, is staffed and managed by Cessna.

The company is increasing the number of parts at its European parts distribution facility in Amsterdam, which it also shares with Bell. Thress said the company plans this year to increase part numbers available at the Amsterdam Airport Schiphol facility from 3,500 to more than 10,000.

Thress said Cessna has revolutionized customer service delivery options with its ServiceDirect program in the U.S. and is expanding the program around the world, particularly in Europe. Options included in ServiceDirect include the popular Mobile Service Units, AOG go-teams and the Air Response Team, HomeService and temporary personnel support.

Cessna Mobile Service Unit

A second Mobile Service Unit in Europe has been added to the current unit based in France. The new one will be based in another part of Europe but the exact location has yet to be determined. MSUs are full-size service trucks equipped with tooling to perform a variety of Citation scheduled and unscheduled maintenance tasks up to engine removal. In addition to the two European trucks, Cessna has 11 MSUs in operation in the U.S. with two more planned to launch by early June.

FMI: www.cessna.com