CitationShares Has Expanded Reach and It Rapidly Adds Aircraft to Fleet

CitationShares recently announced an expansion of its operations area to encompass all points east of the Rocky Mountains, including all of Colorado. Operations in the newly developed Central region began on August 1.

"The expansion of our operating area is an indication of our early success in the fractional ownership marketplace and the next step in our overall growth plan," stated John Hall, CitationShares senior VP, sales and marketing.

"Our plan is to continue a regional rollout of a national program," he said. "The territory expansion is a direct result of customer input."

CitationShares, based in Greenwich, CT, is a business jet fractional ownership company launched in July 2000 by Cessna Aircraft Company and TAG Aviation USA, with an emphasis on Citations CJ1, Bravo and Excel.

Today the CitationShares jet fleet totals 13 aircraft, with seven of those being Citations and the remainder King Air C90 and B200 turboprops. An additional thirteen new jets will be in operation by year's end -- one Excel, six CJ1s and six Bravos. In 2002 the aircraft fleet will continue to grow with the scheduled delivery of seven Excels, 10 Bravos, and eight CJ1s, bringing the total CitationShares fleet to more than 50 aircraft.

"The competitive advantage of the program is that we are able to offer the lowest priced fractional ownership program utilizing new aircraft," said CitationShares CEO Steve O'Neill. "This allows us the opportunity to attract companies and individuals new to business aviation fractional ownership."

Earlier this year, CitationShares began to recruit and base pilots for its fractional ownership operations in Orlando, FL.

Previously all CitationShares pilots operated out of White Plains, NY.

"We have seen our activity in the Southeast increase significantly," said COO Bill Shultz. "The decision to base pilots in the Orlando area was made to provide better service to our customers and increase the efficiency of our operations. As our business continues to grow over the next five years we will evaluate the need for additional pilot domiciles."

CitationShares currently employs some 45 pilots, and plans to hire an additional 65 pilots this year.

To help attract interest in the fractional program, CitationShares and Cessna Finance Corp. recently introduced the Share Finance program -- a finance and lease program for customers who are purchasing a fraction of a CitationShares aircraft.

Both the finance and lease program apply to a sixteenth share through a half share.

The Share Finance program features a low down payment and a very competitive interest rate, with payments starting as low as $2,843 per month. The finance program also offers no origination fees or prepayment penalty. The Share Lease program features no money down, no origination fees, a five-year contract term and two options at termination. A customer can simply walk-away without any further obligation or purchase the aircraft share at a predetermined purchase price.

"Most traditional loan institutions will not finance or lease a fraction of an airplane because of the complexity of the ownership arrangement," noted John Hall. "Cessna Finance understands the fractional ownership market and more specifically our customers, and has developed a program that is a fit with our business."

Added Steve Schaack, Cessna Finance Corp. director of domestic turbine sales: "We developed the Share Finance and Lease program for the CitationShares customer who prefers not to incur the aircraft purchase price up front. Our partnership with CitationShares gives us the opportunity to provide fractional ownership customers with the same payment options as are available in the whole aircraft market."

-Barry Rosenberg