Dubai 2011: Citation Latitude with attitude hits the Gulf

Mark Paolucci, the OEM’s senior vice president for sales, said: “The Citation Latitude can fly Dubai-Cairo non-stop against the wind, while continuing to offer the strong ‘hot and high’ capabilities one associates with mid-size Citation jets like the Sovereign.”

The eight-seater Latitude offers Garmin G5000 avionics and features a six-foot high flat-floor passenger cabin. Priced at $14.9 million, first flight is expected to be mid-year 2014, with entry into service expected in 2015.

Clairity will also come as standard on the airframe’s new Citation Ten jet, set to fly at the end of this year. Developed by Cessna in partnership with Dallas-based Heads Up Technologies, Clairity ties into the aircraft’s avionics. The software can integrate cabin electrical systems and data and communication sharing through a fibre optic backbone, controlled through either an intuitive touch-screen user interface at each seat or the customer’s personal electronic device.

Clairity’s touch-screen system allows for complete control of cabin lighting, window shades, temperature, audio (digital media, MP3/iPhone), video (digital, Blu-ray), and individual interactive moving maps.

The airframer reckons that Saudi Arabia, in particular, will be a key market for its new offerings.