Congratulations to Raytheon Aircraft Co. for crowning its year with a billion-dollar order for 50 Hawker 4000 midsize jets from NetJets, Warren Buffett’s fleet of fractionally owned business jets based in New Jersey. This is a credit to more than Raytheon’s planemaking, too, because NetJets signed on for 10 years of guaranteed maintenance. As the deal “fills up the order book and builds the backlog,” in the words of Raytheon Aircraft chairman and chief executive Jim Schuster, it bodes well for Wichita’s aircraft manufacturing generally. After general aviation’s slump of the early ’00s, Wichita just can’t get enough of this kind of good news.
Posted by Rhonda Holman
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8 Comments
The Big Secret about this order is that Raytheon is selling these jets at cost. Most likely they will lose money on the deal.
Orginally NetJets was a large Cessna buyer, and for buying so many jets, Cessna agreed not to start up their own Fractional Jet ownership company. Well! Back several years ago, after 9/11, NetJets dumped a large order even while it was in production, citing a bad economy and 9/11.
Cessna then responded with layoffs and they had an inventory of jets they needed to get rid of some how. So! They started CessnaShares, a fractional jet ownership company of their own and that is how they dealed with the dumped order by NetJets. Lets just say that NetJets was very upset that they did that and said they would take their business elsewhere. Cessna said “go ahead”
So the struggling Raytheon Aircraft Division picked it up. Which is a good thing for Wichita, but doesn’t do anything for Raytheons bottom line. At least it will help people keep busy for awhile.
50 flying washing machines. lol Raytheon will make a profit off of their employees. They couldn’t make good washing machines; couldn’t run an engineering and contruction business; and thier aircraft division follows suit. Netjets will need that service contract. lol
Gosh somehow I knew there had to be some kind of awful dark conspiracy or something negative about this otherwise wonderful news. Darn.Rhonda how could you be so far off-base with the mamby-pamby jobs and local economy stuff. Gee-whiz.
Laughing inwardly and silent.
Is Cessna slowly leaving Wichita as they gradually ramp-up their production at Independence?
If it is a billion dollar order for 50 jets, there is no way they’re selling at cost.
Since the outsourcing of the electrical harness’ to Mexico, and the rework that follows it, I would be more concerned what was under the hood, so to speak. It takes years to develop a well built aircraft, not people that “try” and learn that craft overnight. I would have 2nd thoughts on spending so much money on something like that, and concerns for the individuals that will be up in one!
Firstly Raytheon Corp. (not RAC Ratheon Aircraft Company) is in the buisiness of making a profit from whatever they do, not simply surviving as suggested above. Yes they have indeed made some bogus failures in investment and aqusitions, however RAC (Beechcraft/Hawker) was not one of them. It is actually a testiment to management that the company even survived the 9/11 slump much less positioned itself so well in the marketplace in so short a time. I can assure you the Netjets contract was not at “cost” as suggested, however the discount Netjets recieved in the deal was substantial.As far as quality goes, RAC seems to be scratching is way to the top in satisfaction and service excellence. Considering the competition in this market it looks like an outstanding achievement for a company that was on the chopping block just 5 years ago.