Writing & media relations :: aviation milestone press release

While working as manager of editorial services in Cessna’s Corporate Communications group, I regularly tracked program milestones as well as significant historical anniversaries to identify newsworthy stories for internal and external audiences. One I came upon in early 2011 was the 20th anniversary of the maiden flight of the CitationJet prototype. As you will read in the news release below, this aircraft was a game-changer for Cessna and continues to play a key role in the company’s product line.

Read the news release:

Media relations results:

The news release earned Cessna wide coverage in industry publications and it resulted in a cover story in Flying magazine. The article by Robert Goyer, editor-in-chief of the 200,000+ circulation magazine, detailed the success of the CJ family starting with the CitationJet.

Goyer wrote of the CJ lineage:

“These airplanes have helped Cessna dominate the market for light, small-cabin jets up to the boundary of midsize.

 In some cases Cessna’s competitors have tried, with limited success, to create an alternative vision of the light jet paradigm that Cessna seems to have both invented and perfected.

That original CitationJet was a wonder. At a top cruise speed of 380 knots, it was between 30 and 40 knots faster than its predecessor, and it was lighter while having similar payload numbers. It was also a single-pilot airplane from the start, and its solid and predictable handling qualities made it a realistic step-up airplane for all kinds of pilots.”

July 2011 cover of Flying magazine