Netjets

US-based NetJets has received its first fractional Cessna Citation Latitude midsize business jet from Textron Aviation subsidiary Cessna Aircraft Company.

A part of Berkshire Hathaway company, NetJets sells part ownership or shares, known as fractional ownership, of private business jets.

NetJets has also added 50 more options to its initial order for Cessna Citation Latitude placed in 2012, bringing its total order and options up to 200 aircraft.

Expected to enter into service next month, NetJets’ first Latitude jet will be part of its North American fleet that includes four other Cessna models, namely Citation Encore/Encore+, Citation Excel/XLS, Citation Sovereign and Citation X aircraft.

Textron Aviation president and CEO Scott Ernest said: "The Cessna and NetJets relationship extends more than 20 years and our newest certified business jet is a perfect fit for their operations.

"The Citation Latitude’s performance and value proposition equates to increased productivity for NetJets’ owners, while giving them large-cabin amenities at a midsize cost."

"The Cessna and NetJets relationship extends more than 20 years and our newest certified business jet is a perfect fit for their operations."

NetJets has also been operating two demonstrator aircraft across the US and Europe to showcase the Citation Latitude to NetJets owners ahead of the aircraft entering its fleet.

Last August, Cessna began deliveries of the Citation Latitude, which is capable to fly non-stop from major US cities such as Los Angeles to New York, and Chicago to San Francisco.

With a maximum range of 2,850 nautical miles, the Citation Latitude is equipped with a flat floor and a 6ft cabin height, a new cabin cooling system and a new pressurisation system.

Cessna has so far delivered 23 Citation Latitude to customers worldwide.

Cessna’s new Citations aircraft in development include the super-midsize Citation Longitude, on schedule to fly later this year, and the Citation Hemisphere, Cessna’s entry into the large-cabin market and expected to fly in 2019.

Image: Textron Aviation and NetJets representatives. Photo: courtesy of Textron Aviation.