Textron Aviation made two glass-clinking announcements today (May 24) at the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva, Switzerland—and a third with more lunch-pail appeal. The U.S. manufacturer revealed that Luxaviation Group—one of the largest private aircraft operators in the world—will be the first European customer for the Cessna Citation M2 Gen2 light jet. Textron further announced European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) type certification for its Cessna Citation XLS Gen2 twinjet. Porsche Air Service GmbH of Salzburg, Austria, will receive the first European delivery of the most recent version of the popular business jet in the coming weeks, according to Textron.
But as an army “marches on its stomach,” a manufacturer’s aircraft fleet depends on parts availability to retain dispatch reliability. So, it’s perhaps more significant that Textron made the arguably less celebratory announcement that it has added 4,000 cubic feet to its European Distribution Center in Dusseldorf, Germany, “to prioritize high-demand parts and to increase parts availability for both its company-owned service centers and retail customers.”
Now Textron Aviation’s second-largest parts distribution facility, the center now warehouses more than 14,000 unique parts. With more than 450 Textron Aviation employees currently serving the European GA market, Kriya Shortt, senior vice president of Global Parts and Distribution, said, “We recently increased our team to offer additional dedicated regional support for parts and warranty claims to assist our customers.”
