Company Says The Change Ushers In "New Era" In Private Aviation
Industry
CitationAir by Cessna, formerly
CitationShares, revealed its new business model, branding and value
proposition today, after a decade of expanding its range of
services beyond the fractional share ownership model. The new
positioning and evolved business model reflect the changing needs
of private aviation customers and strengthen the alignment with
Cessna, one of the most iconic names in private aviation that holds
majority ownership and control over CitationAir.
"This change is necessary because our customers have evolved,
and so must we," said Steve O'Neill, the company's CEO. "The
private jet industry is facing enormous pressures right now, and in
order to thrive, we must ensure our business model remains viable
and our sales and marketing efforts are leveraging all of our
points of difference."
CitationAir's selling and operational models successfully
overcome the flaws inherent in traditional fractional models by
reducing high capital costs and outside charter, addressing the
lack of differentiated pricing for peak travel, and mitigating the
liquidity issues caused by share buy-backs. The result is a robust
product portfolio, supported by one operational platform, serviced
through a single relationship with one company.
To simplify the company's offerings for customers, the new
branding is designed to unify all of the company's products and
services under a single brand: CitationAir. "The new architecture
recognizes that customers choose us for who we are and what we
deliver," said Woody Harford, SVP, Chief Revenue Officer of
CitationAir. "We are known for our focus on safety, unmatched
personal service, simplicity, and customized products that meet
customer needs. We truly focus on the complete end-to-end
experience."
Not only is CitationAir now better positioned to communicate its
core value proposition, but the new branding also strengthens its
relationship with Cessna.
"CitationShares--and now CitationAir--has shown consistent
growth, innovation and passion for serving our customers. More
aggressively promoting Cessna's ownership of CitationAir allows us
to better communicate that Cessna offers the full range of
transportation solutions, ranging from Jet Cards and Jet Shares,
all the way through to whole aircraft ownership", said Jack Pelton,
Chairman, President and CEO of Cessna.
CitationAir began the process of rebranding in late 2008, and
sought the help of several outside partners. CitationAir selected
Seattle's Hornall Anderson Design Works to accomplish the basic
rebranding including name, logo and core brand attributes, Ryan
iDirect to design the new website, collateral and customer
communications, and Optimedia for media planning and buying.
"The complex process of rebranding is best undertaken with good
partners," said CRO Harford, "and the results show that we have
worked successfully with some of the best."