Austria's JetAlliance, Russia's Dexter Herald Brisk Business

Cessna announced Tuesday at the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) 2008 two separate orders, from operators in Austria and Russia.

Austrian charter giant JetAlliance placed an order for 24 business jets during the announcement. With orders placed during the first quarter, it brings year-to-date Citation orders from JetAlliance to 50.

The orders span virtually the entire Cessna Citation product range, from the Citation Mustang to the newly announced Citation Columbus. Deliveries start in 2010.

"We are pleased to announce JetAlliance's 2008 total orders today at EBACE. JetAlliance has done a remarkable job with its growth strategy since its beginning in 1996, and we are excited to be a part of the story," said Roger Whyte, Cessna senior vice president, Sales & Marketing.

The 2008 orders consist of four Citation Mustangs, seven Citation CJ2+s, 11 Citation CJ3s, three Citation CJ4s, 10 Citation XLS+s, seven Citation Sovereigns, four Citation Xs, and four Citation Columbus aircraft.

JetAlliance Group is one of the world's leading business jet enterprises, offering a unique turnkey solution for business jet customers. With JetAlliance, the customer can purchase, finance, operate and maintain an aircraft. The Group's subsidiary, JetAlliance Flugbetriebs GmbH, operates a fleet of 35 aircraft with an average age of only three years - one of the youngest fleets in Europe. It operates under JAR OPS 1 in Europe, but is also FAA part 129 certificated allowing it to fly commercially in the United States and Canada.

"We find Cessna Citations to be perfect for most of our operations given their performance, low cost of operation and global support network," said Lukas Lichtner-Hoyer, managing director of the JetAlliance Flugbetriebs GmbH. "As a result of our turnkey operation, and working together with Cessna and BTV, our financiers, we have seen a considerable expansion in our sales and operations in Eastern Europe and Russia in the last few years. This order is a confirmation of this success, as well as our view of the future potential of those markets."

The second major order announcement for Cessna entailed Russian air taxi operator Dexter ordering 20 new Cessna Citation Mustangs.

"Dexter's order is a strong sign of the strength of the business jet market in Eastern Europe, particularly within Russia," said Whyte. "It is also a sign of the strength of the Mustang program -- great economics, great performance and great production. We designed the Mustang to be every bit as reliable and robust as any other Citation in the stable, and that makes it quite suitable for the high utilization operations it will see at Dexter."

Cessna expects certification for the Citation Mustang by Russian authorities in early 2010. The Mustang, still the only aircraft in a new class of entry-level business jets to be fully operational, is already certified in more than 47 countries.

"Since our first flight in 2006, our Moscow-based operation is the first air taxi in the country offering the intelligent alternative for business travelers," said Dexter Chief Executive Officer Eugene Andrachnikov. "The company created an entirely new 'low cost business aviation' mode of transportation that complements travel by car, train and traditional air carriers in Russia."

Dexter plans to expand its fleet of new Swiss Pilatus PC-12 aircraft with the Citation Mustang to create a national air taxi network. Dexter is funded by two Russian private equity groups, Industrial Investors and Kaskol, both with strong expertise in the transportation sector.

FMI: www.cessna.com, www.jetalliance.at, www.dexter.ru