FedEx Express has taken delivery of its first Cessna SkyCourier twin utility turboprop. This is the first of fifty freighter aircraft that the global logistics firm ordered as the SkyCourier’s launch customer. As previously reported in ‘Notes’, this is not an improvement on a previous model but the first ‘clean-sheet’ design by the Wichita company in several years. It achieved Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) type certification in March 2022.
Explaining the business case behind the model, Ron Draper, CEO of Cessna’s parent company Textron Aviation, said: “This aircraft will help FedEx serve its customers more efficiently as it is designed with the option to carry industry-standard prepacked cargo containers. We believe many other air freight, passenger and special mission operators also will benefit from the winning combination of low operating costs and unparalleled lift capacity that the new Cessna SkyCourier brings to the market.”
Image: Cessna
