Industry brief

Textron's Citation deliveries jump 21% as Q3 orders hit their best level since 2023

Textron Aviation handed over 51 Citation jets in the third quarter, up from 42 a year earlier, on $1.7 billion of revenue and an $8.0 billion backlog, and says Q3 orders were its highest since 2023. Also this week: the NTSB's new Safety Alert SA-108 urges owners of smaller aircraft to check and upgrade older seat restraints.

4 min read · 2026-11-02

Nose and cockpit of a business jet on the ramp

Lead

New light and midsize Citations are coming off the line faster, and buyers are still queuing. Textron Aviation delivered 51 business jets in the third quarter of 2026, a 21% rise on the 42 it delivered in the same quarter last year, and parent company Textron says aviation orders were the highest for any third quarter since 2023.

The numbers

Textron Aviation's quarterly revenue reached $1.7 billion, up 14% or $201 million year on year. Aircraft sales added $152 million of that, mainly from more Citation deliveries and a richer model mix, and aftermarket parts and services added $49 million. Segment profit rose 4% to $179 million, held back by what the company called manufacturing inefficiencies. Backlog stood at $8.0 billion at the end of September.

The 51 jets were 11 Latitudes, 10 M2 Gen2s, nine CJ3+/CJ3 Gen2s, nine Longitudes, seven CJ4 Gen2s and five Ascends. M2 Gen2 deliveries doubled and the super-midsize Longitude almost doubled compared with a year ago. Over the first nine months Textron has delivered 128 Citations, against 122 in the same period of 2025.

Turboprops went the other way. Commercial turboprop deliveries fell to 32 from 39, with 17 Caravans, 14 King Airs and one SkyCourier.

What is holding deliveries back

On the earnings call, Textron CEO Lisa Atherton said the company has seen no change in buying behaviour from interest rates or geopolitical tension, and described bookings as the strongest in almost three years. The limit is supply: she named engines, extrusions, wing spars and ground power units as the handful of components that slow output. A second spar supplier has been qualified and should start contributing in the fourth quarter, with more improvement expected through 2027. Textron Aviation also has a new president and CEO, Brian Rohloff, who previously ran its customer support organisation.

Also this week

NTSB urges owners to check older seat restraints. The NTSB's Safety Alert SA-108, issued on 28 October, warns that serious or fatal injuries can follow when lap belts or shoulder harnesses fail or are missing. Restraints degrade with sunlight, age and use, and some small aircraft (12,500 lb or less) still fly with belts built to the older TSO-C22f standard, rated at 1,500 lb for a lap belt. The NTSB recommends replacing any restraint rated below 3,000 lb for a lap belt or 2,500 lb for a shoulder harness, or whose label can no longer be read, inspecting belts for fraying and damaged stitching (especially at the Y-junction of shoulder harnesses), and fitting shoulder harnesses through an approved method where an aircraft was built without them.

What it means for brokers and operators

Expect firm pricing on late-model light and midsize Citations. Strong order intake and a supply-limited production line mean new-delivery slots remain scarce, which keeps support under preowned values for M2 Gen2, CJ3+, Latitude and Longitude aircraft.
More Longitudes are entering service. Nine deliveries in one quarter adds super-midsize charter capacity over time, so watch for new tails appearing on operator fleets and on your sourcing lists.
Ask about restraints when you vet smaller aircraft. For piston and light turboprop operators, the NTSB alert is a simple item to raise during audits and an easy upgrade to recommend to owners.

Source note

This brief is an original rewrite of the reports listed below. It is not a verbatim reproduction of those publications.