Aviation News Item: 00085

12th Oct 2009

Source: evaint.com

CitationAir by Cessna, formerly CitationShares, revealed its newly evolved business model, branding and value proposition today, after a decade of expanding its range of services beyond the fractional share ownership model. The new positioning and evolved business model reflect the changing needs of private aviation customers and strengthen the alignment with Cessna, one of the most iconic names in private aviation that holds majority ownership and control over CitationAir.

"This change is necessary because our customers have evolved, and so must we," said Steve O'Neill, the company's CEO. "The private jet industry is facing enormous pressures right now, and in order to thrive, we must ensure our business model remains viable and our sales and marketing efforts are leveraging all of our points of difference."

CitationAir's unique selling and operational models successfully overcome the flaws inherent in traditional fractional models by reducing high capital costs and outside charter, addressing the lack of differentiated pricing for peak travel, and mitigating the liquidity issues caused by share buy-backs. The result is a robust product portfolio, supported by one operational platform, serviced through a single relationship with one company.

To simplify the company's offerings for customers, the new branding is designed to unify all of the company's products and services under a single brand: CitationAir. The new lineup will now include the company name with each product: CitationAir Jet Card, CitationAir Jet Shares, CitationAir Jet Management, and CitationAir Corporate Solutions. Additionally, CitationAir introduced a new tagline - "Where You Belong" - driven largely from the feeling customers said they experienced when flying with the company.

"The new architecture recognises that customers choose us for who we are and what we deliver," said Woody Harford, SVP, Chief Revenue Officer of CitationAir. "We are known for our focus on safety, unmatched personal service, simplicity, and customized products that meet customer needs. We truly focus on the complete end-to-end experience."

Not only is CitationAir now better positioned to communicate its core value proposition, but the new branding also strengthens its relationship with Cessna.

"CitationShares--and now CitationAir--has shown consistent growth, innovation and passion for serving our customers. More aggressively promoting Cessna's ownership of CitationAir allows us to better communicate that Cessna offers the full range of transportation solutions, ranging from Jet Cards and Jet Shares, all the way through to whole aircraft ownership", said Jack Pelton, Chairman, President and CEO of Cessna.

CitationAir began the process of rebranding in late 2008, and sought the help of several outside partners. CitationAir selected Seattle's Hornall Anderson Design Works to accomplish the basic rebranding including name, logo and core brand attributes, Ryan iDirect to design the new website, collateral and customer communications, and Optimedia for media planning and buying.

"The complex process of rebranding is best undertaken with good partners," said CRO Harford, "and the results show that we have worked successfully with some of the best."

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