Textron Aviation, which combines Cessna and Hawker business jets, has “good coverage of Middle East and North Africa business jet market,” said Bill Harris, v-p sales Asia, the Middle East and Africa for Textron Aviation (Stand A19).

“We have a fairly even split between Hawkers and Citations in the region with around 125 aircraft,” he said. “King Airs and Caravans have done well in the region, too and in the training market we’ve done well with the Cessna 182 and 172 JT-A.”

He admitted that “The large widebodies are always the most popular here,” and said that the Citation Sovereign had proved popular, while the Citation X had “not done as well as hoped, but the X+ could change that.” He also said the new Latitude has been well received in the market.

A Textron Aviation spokesperson told AIN, “The Citation X+ offers the range to accommodate travel from London to Dubai. With a max range of 2,700 nm (5,000 km), the Citation Latitude provides customers non-stop travel from the Gulf to popular European destinations, such as from Dubai to Naples, Italy, and from Dubai to St. Petersburg, Russia.”

Asked whether the company still wanted to compete in the long-range, large-cabin jet segment occupied by Gulfstream, Bombardier and Dassault, the spokesperson replied, “With the announcement of the Citation Longitude in 2012, it is clear that Textron Aviation has set its sights on larger cabin, longer range aircraft, giving customers the opportunity to stay in the Citation family as their aircraft needs grow. As we incrementally grow into the larger category of aircraft, we do so with strong customer input driving the design features that make Citation aircraft unique.”

According to the spokesperson, Cessna’s new product pipeline continues to be strong with four newly certified aircraft coming to market within the past year: the Citation Sovereign+, Citation M2, Citation X+ and Citation CJ3+. The next new product slated for certification in 2015 is the mid-size Citation Latitude.

On the static here at DWC, Textron Aviation is showing a Sovereign+ and an M2, both making their MEBA debuts, and a King Air A250 and a 350ER. However, while a flight-test example of the Citation Latitude made it to NBAA in October, the model is not on display here at MEBA 2014.

According to Harris, Textron Aviation is exhibiting at MEBA not just for the show. “We have an active campaign across the region and believe that good customer service leads to sales in time,” he said.