Spirit AeroSystems chairman and chief executive Jeff Turner was in good form at a Wichita State University entrepreneurship forum this afternoon.
Turner spoke about how Spirit was formed and its divestiture from Boeing. (Eagle reporter Bill Wilson is writing a story for tomorrow’s edition.)
But here’s a couple of his lighter moments:
“The book of Proverbs says there’s a time for everything,” Turner said. “I don’t think this is in there, but I say there’s a time to buy and a time to sell.”
On learning that the company was on a list of low-cost suppliers:
“We knew we were good, but we would never say we’re cheap,” he said.
Cessna Aircraft is showing off its product line in Germany at the AERO Friedrichshafen exhibit this week.
Along with the show, it announced that it continues to see strong sales of propeller aircraft in Europe, especially in France. Aero-Club Hispano Suiza in Paris recently ordered 15 SkyCatchers and two Skylanes for training.
Read More »
If you’ve flown to Las Vegas from Wichita, you likely flew Allegiant Air, which provides service from Wichita Mid-Continent Airport.
The airline said today that the number of passengers the airline carried systemwide in the first three months of the year totaled 1.2 million, up 15 percent from the same time a year go. Its load factor — how full the planes were — totaled 90.8 percent, up 3.9 points from a year go.
In March, passenger traffic was up 21 percent to 515,298, and the airline had a load factor of 92 percent.
Cessna Aircraft said today that Korean Air has ordered two Citation CJ1+ aircraft to support its advanced training capabilities.
The planes will have a special center-mounted instructor/observer seat behind the two pilot seats for a “more robust training environment,” Cessna said.
The planes are scheduled for delivery in the third quarter of 2009.
Bombardier Aerospace plans to cut 10 percent of its work force, or about 3,000 workers, as aircraft demand falls, the company said today.
The reductions include 300 union and 170 nonunion and management positions in Wichita, where the company operates Bombardier Learjet producing Learjet aircraft. The company cut 350 Wichita workers in cuts announced last month.
The company is starting to inform workers in Wichita this morning, Bombardier spokeswoman Haley Dunne said.
Besides Wichita, the layoffs will occur at facilities in Canada, Mexico and Northern Ireland.
Read More »
