Jetalliance East Citation CJ3 in static display at EBACE

Cessna is reporting “great success” for the
two Citation aircraft now flying with charter operator Jetalliance East in Russia.

Speaking at EBACE, Trevor Esling, Cessna’s
vice president, International Sales, said: “Jetalliance East launched
operations in November 2010, basing a new Citation CJ3 and Citation Sovereign
at Moscow Sheremetyevo International
Airport. The move marked
the first commercial operation of Cessna aircraft in Russia. We’re delighted – but not
surprised – to report the Citations are proving very popular in the Russian
charter market and ideal for the challenging weather conditions. Both aircraft
have operated without any problems in the extreme sub-zero temperatures [-40ËšC]
of western Siberia, for example.

“Jetalliance East has been a great success
so far, with monthly charter utilization of around 70-80 hours for each of our
aircraft. We’re already discussing adding new Citations to the fleet as soon as
possible.”

Igor Chunikhin, chief executive officer of
Jetalliance East, added: “We’re extremely happy with the performance of the CJ3
and Sovereign. The dispatch reliability is very high.”

Chunikhin added: “Around 70 percent of our traffic
on the aircraft is within Russia, with top destinations including Saint
Petersburg, Kazan and Krasnodar, as well as locations important for the mining,
basic commodities and energy industries. When flying into western Europe, the
most popular destinations for our passengers are Paris and Chambéry in France.
About 80 percent of our passengers are flying on business.”

Esling concluded: “The Jetalliance East line
maintenance service capability proves useful not only for the company’s CJ3 and
Sovereign but also for other Citations operating in Russia.”