When you’re the head of a company facing a multi-billion-dollar order backlog and production capacity challenges, word that the economy is slowing comes almost as welcome news. Such is the case for Cessna president and CEO Jack Pelton, who has presided over a period of record sales of Citation business jets, a frenzied three-year span that has provided the company $16 billion worth of orders yet to fulfill. But clearly it’s a good problem to have, and no one at Cessna is complaining.
Pelton said he doesn’t see any economic trouble spots that would cause him to be overly concerned at this point, and in fact says sales activity this year is still stronger than at any time in the company’s history, discounting the all-time records sales of the last few years. Cessna is introducing new business models like the Citation Columbus and CJ4 to capitalize on the market’s continued strength, but Pelton said he still isn’t convinced that a single-engine very light jet is worth pursuing. NBAA Convention News talked with Pelton on the eve of the show to get his take on the state of the market.
