Betty Dillard
Executive AirShare, a Kansas City, Mo.-based fractional aircraft ownership that also operates out of Fort Worth and Dallas, has added three Cessna Citation CJ2+ aircraft to its fleet to complement its existing Embraer and Beechcraft products. The first Citation CJ2+ will enter service on Sept.1. In addition to the three Cessna Citation jets, Executive AirShare’s aircraft management subsidiary, Executive Flight Services, will add a managed Citation CJ3 to its fleet.
The decision to acquire the Cessna Citation jets was announced Aug. 23 at the Cessna manufacturing facility in Wichita, Kan. All three aircraft are 2009 model year or newer with each having less than 800 hours of flight time. “The CJ2+ offers the range, speed, and seating capacity our owners desire and is the aircraft we need to provide the comprehensive air service our customers expect,” said Keith D. Plumb, Executive AirShare president and chief operating officer. “We are now able to offer our Central U.S.-based owners a new level of flexibility and cost-effectiveness to fly four passengers non-stop to either coast in the CJ2+.”
The CJ2+, capable of 1,613 nm at a cruising speed of 418 ktas (481 mph), effectively bridges the gap between Executive AirShare’s existing Embraer Phenom 100 and 300 light jets. The CJ2+ offers greater capability than the Phenom 100, especially operating out of high-elevation, mountainous airports that are frequented by Executive AirShare owners. Executive AirShare is the world’s leading operator of Embraer Phenom aircraft and currently serves the Central U.S. and Great Lakes region, operating a fleet of Phenom 300, Phenom 100, Citation CJ2+, King Air 350 and C90B aircraft. Executive AirShare is the only established fractional aircraft ownership company in the U.S. to offer both the Phenom 100 and Phenom 300 aircraft. In addition to Kansas City and Dallas-Fort Worth, the company has operations in Tulsa and Oklahoma City, Houston, Austin, San Antonio and Buffalo, N.Y. Executive Flight Services manages aircraft for owners from bases in Fort Worth, Dallas, Wichita, Kansas City and Buffalo.