Lion: "Dorothy I just lost my job at the aircraft plant in Kansas!!"
Dorothy: "Don't worry lion, President Obama will get you a job with acorn as a male prostitute!"
Posted on 09/24/2009 1:12:56 PM PDT by KeyLargo
Wichita Suffers From Bizjet Downturn
AVIATION WEEK
Joseph C. Anselmo janselmo@aviationweek.com
William Garvey william_garvey@aviationweek.com
Wichita, Kan.
A severe downturn in the aviation industry has led to the loss of 30,000 jobs in Wichita as the impact from mass layoffs at companies such as Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier Learjet has rippled through small suppliers and the economy, according to Mayor Carl Brewer.
Unemployment in this aviation-dependent city of 364,000 has hit 9.7% as business jet and general aviation manufacturers have throttled back on production after mass cancellations of existing orders and a dramatic reduction in new orders. "That type of unemployment hasn't been seen here in decades," Brewer said in an interview Wednesday in his City Hall office.
It is a dramatic reversal of fortune for Kansas's largest city, which prospered as deliveries of business jets nearly doubled between 2004 and 2008. Engineering students at Wichita State University were virtually guaranteed well-paying jobs when they graduated. "In the spring of 2008 we needed about 10,000 workers," recalls Brewer.
But with Cessna having laid off about half of its workforce this year and Hawker and Learjet having cut legions of jobs, the city is suddenly full of job seekers. A center established to assist laid off workers with job training and social services is attracting 300-500 people a day during the two days per week that is it open. Brewer, a Democrat who began his post-military career as a sheet metal mechanic at Cessna, believes the worst of the layoffs are over and that the industry will rebound sharply by 2011. But he predicts job losses will continue in smaller numbers. "I just want it to stabilize," he says.
Business aviation faces a host of challenges, but the one that worries Ed Bolen the most is its negative image, the CEO of the National Business Aviation Association said Wednesday.
Bolen was the keynote speaker at the Wichita Aero Club luncheon at the Hilton Wichita Airport.
"Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that business aviation has been under attack," Bolen said.
For the past three years, the airlines have battled to shift more of the burden of funding the nation's air traffic control system onto general aviation — an unfair effort, Bolen says, since most of the funding pays for commercial airports.
Business aviation also has been under attack since the heads of the nation's three largest automakers flew corporate jets to Washington to ask for a government bailout. The three declined to defend or explain their use of the jets after being questioned by some members of Congress.
Business aviation is essential to the nation's economy and to its transportation system, Bolen said.
Business aviation means 1.2 million U.S. jobs, provides a lifeline for small communities with little or no commercial airline service, improves productivity for companies and is important in humanitarian efforts, Bolen said.
The problems come at a time other key issues face business aviation.
The industry also is concerned about a proposed large aircraft security program and various environmental laws and regulations.
It's difficult to successfully tackle those issues when the misperception persists about the industry's importance, Bolen said.
"We've got to make sure our lawmakers and policymakers think business aviation is essential," he said. "We've got to get the image right in order to succeed in everything else."
The problems aren't going away anytime soon, Bolen said. Reach Molly McMillin at 316-269-6708 or mmcmillin@wichitaeagle.com.
dems , greens, climate change activists wasting america’s economy, bit by bit, make that bite by bite.. econuts
What do the Congressional leaders fly?
Good for me but not for thee.
Hypocrisy reigns.
We must curtail the perks and unnecessary expenses of corporate fat cats!
What? They buy planes? If they cancel orders people lose jobs?
HOPEY CHANGEY HOPEY CHANGEY!
Don't you know that business jets are the icon of eeeevil American corporations and the fat-cat Republican country club set? Clearly you all stand for the wanton destruction of the earth.
(Just ignore all of the Hollywood elite, gub'mint autocrats, and ridiculously wealthy Arabs that live and die by these things and the convenience they offer - those people are all better than you)
..I wonder if the Wichita Obama/'rat voters have realized yet what has happened to them?
.....but, alas....too late, great damage has already been done...by both Obama and congress denigrating people who fly in private jets....
...eat dirt, saps!....
Wow. I lived there until last year......great city....and this is really sad.
30,000. Unbelievable.
They are doing a decent job of trying to diversify the economy, but that many layoffs is killer no matter where you are.
Brewer was better than that annoying Mayans they had before.
Kansas don’t need no stinkin revenue.
So and WHO and WHAT PARTY have been in control of KS recently?
Nancy has her own broom!
I loved being around all that aviation industry and I really liked the city itself.
It is too bad this is happening and I wonder if the idiots who voted for “The One” think of all the chaos and human suffering they have caused with their childish voting actions.
Posted on Thu, Sep. 24, 2009
Airline’s exit cuts nonstops to Phoenix
U.S. Airways will no longer fly out of Wichita as of Nov. 1.
Spokeswoman Valerie Wunder says “sustained unprofitability” is the reason.
“Wichita has been unprofitable for a number of years for U.S. Airways,” she says.
U.S. Airways has been in and out of the Wichita market for more than two decades.
“We were really surprised to see their announcement today because their loads have been full,” says Valerie Wise , Wichita Airport Authority air service and business development manager.
The airline offers two flights a day to Phoenix. Mesa Airlines handles the operation for U.S. Airways.
“Well, it’s a loss of a... nonstop destination — a very popular destination,” Wise says.
There are no other nonstop flights to Phoenix from Wichita.
Wunder isn’t sure when Wichita became unprofitable for the company or if it ever was profitable.
“I don’t have how far back it’s been, but it’s been fairly consistent recently,” Wunder says.
The airline isn’t announcing any other canceled markets at this time.
Wunder won’t say if the airline will reconsider Wichita at some point.
She says, “I really don’t want to speculate on that.”
http://www.kansas.com/business/story/983607.html
Lion: "Dorothy I just lost my job at the aircraft plant in Kansas!!"
Dorothy: "Don't worry lion, President Obama will get you a job with acorn as a male prostitute!"
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Mayor to President: Stop criticizing corporate aviation
Carl Brewer, the mayor of Wichita, Kansas, has sent a letter to Barack Obama asking the President to lay off criticism of corporate aviation:
March 3, 2009
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Re: President’s comments on corporate jets
Dear Mr. President:
During your Feb. 24 address to Congress, you appropriately criticized corporate CEOs who “disappear on private jets.” I share your concern about the poor public image conveyed by such misuse.
And, while I personally agree that corporate abuse of business jet travel cannot be tolerated in these current economic times, it is important to remember that business jets are still an essential part of a successful national business plan. It is also important to remember that the responsible use of corporate jets will help spur our national economic recovery, maximizing productivity by minimizing travel times for key personnel.
It would be tragic if that essential business fundamental was lost amid the sensational news coverage of ill-advised corporate jet travel by a tiny percentage of corporate America.
As mayor of this great Midwestern city that takes great pride in the title of “Air Capital of the World”, I urge you to consider the big picture when referencing the misuse of corporate jets. Wichita’s long-term relationship with the aircraft manufacturing industry could be severely damaged if the corporate jet market is marginalized in the national debate over our struggling economy. But the loss of jobs locally in Wichita is only a small part of the national loss if corporate jet travel is unfairly disparaged.
Business jet manufacturing is a major part of our local and state economy, but it doesn’t stop there. Maintenance of Air Force One is performed right here in Wichita, Kansas. And every job created in the aircraft industry spins off nearly three other jobs that provide a great quality of life. Those numbers are too important to forget as we work together to fix our ailing economy.
I’d encourage you to take a first-hand look at this economic engine that pays off with high-quality jobs for our community. I would be honored to personally escort you on a tour of our local manufacturers. Most importantly, I stand ready to assist you in meeting the great challenges that lie ahead.
Thank you for your consideration.
Mayor Carl Brewer
Boeing machinists wildcat strikes
Socialist World.Net 15 September 2008
USA
Support the machinists' strike against Boeing!
We all have a stake in this fight
Ramy Khalil and Evan Rohar, Seattle, Socialist Alternative (CWI USA)
Aviation ping
Nancy (the baby killer) Sebilius?
Bingo!
It's not enough that Marxist Obama and his America-hating chums have bled incentives to produce from our economy (thus preventing a true recovery), they have gone so far as to demonize those who might use executive jet transport (Misses Pelosi and Al Gore notwithstanding).
Companies who might have wanted to purchase executive jets now must worry about being singled out for a congressional and media "lynching"
.
But when the Gulfstream V won't do, there is always AF 1 to take you to the Grand Canyon.
The ill conceived doctrine of unintended consequences. Or, is it, more like the “crisis doctrine”? Either way, it seems to land (no pun intended) in the lap of the same party that continues the doctrine of cosmetic abortion, in the name of choice, rights, race, and religion.
Cost Of A Date
From a former Air Force Colonel....
Subject: The Date
First, let me say that I’ve moved three presidents up to now and I’ve seen incredible waste. But, the “new” guy really takes the cake. I don’t have an issue with the President promising his wife dinner and a show or that he even takes his wife out.
But, when I saw the news say that the date cost $24,000, here’s what you DON’T know.
Three days before “dinner” a C-17 flew Marines and the helicopter maintenance equipment to JFK Airport .
The day before “dinner” I flew the USSS and the motorcade to JFK Airport
Our crew of 5 spent two days and nights at the Hilton in Times Square . My hotel bill: $621.66 plus $64 a day in per diem. The USSS guys were at a different Hilton in NYC, so figure that cost another $14,000 (or so) plus per diem. The Marines had to have cost as much and were there four days, so figure another $55,000 plus per diem (for 44 Marines).
We were supposed to fly the motorcade back and go home, but the Air
Force was so short of C-17’s that we were re-tasked to take the motorcade back, return to JFK and take the helicopter back to Quantico .
When we got back to JFK, while the pilot was turning the plane around
to park, he noticed a rotor blade sticking out of the hangar where the
helicopter was parked and informed me that either it wasn’t ready to
transport or it was flying home. After shutting down I walked over to the hangar and to my surprise I find FIVE helicopters, not ONE.
We’re obviously not transporting five big helicopters. I went and
talked to the Marines guarding the “fleet” and found that they were flying all five helicopters home and we were only transporting the Marines and the maintenance equipment. After talking to the Marine(s) in charge, I was told that the White House requested FIVE helicopters. The Marines told me that they spent all morning trying to figure out how much it cost them to come and said they figured it cost them $140,000 to stay there (I don’t know where they came up with that)and the trip’s total had to be about $1,000,000.
We heard that the President didn’t use Air Force One (the 747) so I
asked if he came in on one of the 757’s. I was told that he came in on
THREE Air Force Lear jets.
So, date night consisted of:
2 C-17’s flying three missions, 3 Lear jets, 5 Helicopters,
Presidential Motorcade, 44 Marines, more than 20 USSS personnel on our plane. Who knows what it cost the NYPD and NY Port Authority (at the airport) in overtime.
These are the same people that chastised the automobile CEO’s for
using their aircraft. It further proves that the media only use the facts
that make the President look good and hide any facts that will detract
from his persona..
Is this the ‘change’ we expected?
Talk with friends and those who are not blinded by charisma. Many
folks I know who voted for Obama are very disappointed and sorry they did so.
The Emperor’s clothes on a grand scale. “Transparency”? Remember, 2010 is just around the corner. All we have to do is survive long enough.
WALL STREET JOURNAL ONLINE
OCTOBER 12, 2009
As Aviation Jobs Take Off, Wichita Frets Its Future
‘Air Capital of the World’ Looks to Lure New Industries as Tight Credit Markets, Stigma of Corporate Jets Weigh on Key Sector
WICHITA, Kan. — At the sprawling Cessna Aircraft Co. factory here, business jets sit half-assembled after work was halted midstream. Across town at rival Hawker Beechcraft Corp., massive machines that build fuselages are quiet.
Until recently, this city of 366,000 possessed something few other regions in America could claim: a robust manufacturing sector. Wichita, the self-proclaimed “Air Capital of the World,” is home to dozens of plane makers and suppliers. These companies provided thousands of stable, well-paying jobs for factory workers and engineers alike.
Even as manufacturers of products from household appliances to textiles fled to lower-cost factories abroad, Wichita’s airplane-making businesses thrived. As recently as mid-2008, companies such as Cessna and Bombardier Learjet, a unit of Bombardier Inc., were reporting stellar results, as easy credit fueled strong sales of corporate jets and recreational airplanes.
But the recession, tight credit markets and popular outrage at executives traveling on private aircraft combined to drag business to a near-standstill here in the second half of 2008. “We had customers with $1 million deposits for jets who just walked away and left their money,” said one Cessna official.
Cessna, a unit of Textron Inc., has announced 8,200 layoffs and has forced hundreds of other workers to take furloughs. Closely held Hawker Beechcraft has cut at least 2,600 jobs this year and has announced plans for more. Bombardier Learjet has shed 800 workers and pushed others to take furloughs.
All told, more than a quarter of the area’s aviation work force has been let go, not including thousands more layoffs among parts suppliers and support businesses. Wichita’s unemployment rate was 8.9% in August, still below the national average of 9.7% that month.
Many are now trying to figure out what it would take to bring the industry back. Few expect credit markets to return to the levels that, not long ago, allowed even small companies to finance the purchase of their own aircraft. In addition, the stigma of buying corporate jets has yet to fade. And even if the industry does rebound, it isn’t clear that jobs would return here. Many manufacturers had already begun to build up production facilities abroad during the boom times to create extra capacity.
“We’re feeling the crunch now and it will stay around throughout 2010,” said Jeremy Hill, director at the Center for Economic Development and Business Research at Wichita State University.
Wichita’s mayor, Carl Brewer, a former factory hand and engineer who once worked at both Cessna and Boeing Co. supplier Spirit AeroSystems Inc., said he was concerned that the city might not be able to count on aviation in the future the way it has in the past.
“We’re going out and trying to recruit new businesses here to diversify what we have and we’re also looking for additional aviation opportunities,” he said.
In 1925, Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman — all aviation pioneers in their own right — joined to form the Travel Air Manufacturing Co., which built planes in Wichita. After only a few years, Mr. Cessna left to form his own company and Mr. Beech in the early 1930s started Beech Aircraft Co. Mr. Stearman eventually formed his own firm that over the years became part of Boeing. Wichita became a hub of military-aircraft manufacturing during World War II and turned out thousands of airplanes to fight the war.
The industry weathered ups and downs in the past, but always rebounded. That created a steady supply of well-paying manufacturing jobs that allowed even those with moderate education and skills to earn a decent living.
Harelda Goldston, who began as a sheet-metal assembler at Hawker Beechcraft in 1990, was laid off last month in the latest round of cuts. The 59-year-old Wichita native was making about $30 an hour when she lost her job — a wage she said would be nearly impossible to match outside the industry.
“I’ll try to find a decent job while I’m drawing my unemployment, but the ability to find something for near what I was making is none to nil,” she said. “Even if I work two jobs, I think it will be hard to make up for it.”
She has looked into a job-retraining program offered by the city but found there were already 990 people on the waiting list and that the program was short on funding.
Adding to the uncertainty about the future is the recent push to manufacture offshore that many Wichita aerospace companies have embarked on. Some companies have opened operations in Mexico. During the boom times in late 2007, Cessna announced it would build a new, small propeller plane in China. That plane would be shipped to Wichita for reassembly and delivery to U.S. customers.
While the companies are guarded about their plans in light of the downturn, officials concede that it is unlikely that they would expand their Wichita operations beyond today’s level. Any future growth would probably happen abroad.
Write to Peter Sanders at peter.sanders@wsj.com
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125530567900479279.html
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