SÃO PAULO, Brazil, Aug. 12, 2014– Cessna Aircraft Company, a subsidiary of Textron Aviation, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced today at the Latin American Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition that that Citation M2 – making its LABACE debut – has gained final certification from civil aviation authorities in Brazil and Argentina, paving the way for deliveries to begin.

Since its certification from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration in December and European Aviation Safety Agency in June, 31 Citation M2s have been delivered to customers through the first half of this year.

“The market in Latin America has shown tremendous interest in the Citation M2 due to its competitive acquisition and operating costs, its airport performance and its advanced onboard systems,” said Robert Gibbs, vice president, International Sales.

The Citation M2 has a maximum cruise speed of 404 knots true airspeed (460 miles per hour) and a range of 1,580 nautical miles. It can operate at airports with runways as short as 3,210 feet and will climb to 41,000 feet in 24 minutes. The Citation M2 is certified for single-pilot operation with room for seven passengers and features two Williams FJ44 engines.

The Citation M2’s clean cockpit design features Cessna’s proprietary Intrinzic™ flight deck powered by Garmin G3000 avionics, with high-resolution multifunction displays and split-screen capability. Touch-screen interactivity comparable to a smartphone provides pilots with precise performance information they need in a logical, familiar user interface. From the cockpit divider aft through the rear lavatory, the main passenger cabin of the Citation M2 is 58 inches wide and 11 feet long with a 5-inch dropped aisle providing a cabin height of 57 inches. Eight large windows, roomy adjustable seats and intuitive controls highlight the all-new cabin.

This announcement is another demonstration of the company’s continued efforts to invest in products that meet the needs of global customers. New Citation products expected to come to market within the coming year include the recent certification of the Citation X+ and upcoming introductions of the Citation CJ3+ and Citation Latitude.

More than 6,600 Citations have been delivered to customers around the world since the first Cessna Citation business jet was put into service in 1972. Citations are the largest fleet of business jets in the world and have surpassed 30 million flight hours. For more information on the Citation M2, visit Cessna.com.