The U.S. Textron Inc. conglomerate, parent of Bell Helicopter Canada and Cessna, says it might expand beyond aerospace and defence work once its loss-making finance unit is wound down and debt is lowered.
"Once we get our debt down, we want to get back to looking at mergers and acquisitions," Scott Donnelly, CEO-elect, told Bloomberg News September 25.
The finance unit is exiting all areas except those that help sales of helicopters, electric golf carts, Cessna aircraft and other products. Any acquisitions would have to include "strong brands that are unique in their markets," said Donnelly, 47, who succeeds the retiring Lewis Campbell December 1.
He said Textron will look at expanding the Bell Helicopter, Cessna and Textron Systems defence units but "there are other industries out there with attractive technology and service segments."
Textron's shares lost 80 per cent of their value late last year as the recession and banking crisis hit demand for its non-defence products. It slashed its dividend to conserve cash.
Donnelly, who joined Textron last summer as COO after running General Electric Co.'s aviation unit, said Cessna may revive the eight-seater Columbus business jet project once the economy recovers - - work was suspended last April. The company has already said Bell Helicopter Canada's medium-twin 429, built at Mirabel, is winning more orders.
Textron's research budget was seven per cent of sales last year and it could rise in certain segments. "It's always been a key to market share ... but the money must go in the right place," he said.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Monthly Archive for September, 2009
Susan C. Friedenberg is President & CEO of Philadelphia-based Corporate Flight Attendant Training & Services. In the first of a series of articles for Wyvern, Susan discusses the consequences of inadequate training in the ordering and handling of food.
When the customer or client calls to book a trip, most of the time catering is involved. For the “trained” corporate flight attendant, ordering safe and delicious catering is a piece of cake - no pun intended! But for the untrained person, it can be a hassle and a nightmare in many markets.
If you are a Charter Broker, Part 91 operation, Part 135 operation or any scheduler/dispatcher without a trained corporate flight attendant to handle the many components and complexities of ordering and maintaining safe catering, (and you are not trained for this task) it can be daunting. You might be asking, “Where do I start? Where and how do I get it? Is the caterer reputable? What are my options in a foreign city where there are not corporate specific aviation caterers? What are the aircraft’s galley and cabin limitations for proper and secure storage of it? How can I keep perishable catering items temperature safe to prevent bacteria from doubling every twenty minutes?”
Food safety has become a global problem. From the ways in which cattle is slaughtered, the antibiotics that poultry are fed and the questions asked around farm- raised fish. An estimated 76 million cases of foodborne disease occur each year in the United States alone. The great majority of these cases are mild and cause symptoms for only one to two days. However, can you imagine how that would effect 10-12 high profile global leaders attending a World Summit meeting traveling on a Gulfstream V? What about two pilots that are sick in the cockpit and barely able to fly the aircraft?
The CDC (Center For Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia USA) states that some of these cases are more serious and they estimate that 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths related to foodborne diseases occur every year. The most severe cases tend to occur in the very old, the very young, those who have a pre-existing illness which reduces their immune system function, and in healthy people who are exposed to a very high dose of an organism.
You might be asking, “What is a foodborne disease/illness?” It is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. Many different disease- causing microbes or pathogens can contaminate food types so there are many various foodborne infections.
The three main types of food contamination are:
- Biological
- Chemical
- Physical
As consumers, and through media attention, we are most familiar with Ecoli and Salmonella which is the result of pathogenic bacterial poisoning.
There are several others. Chemical contamination includes industrial processing chemicals, agricultural chemicals, pesticides etc; Physical contaminates include insects, paper, string, stones, leaves, scales from fish, tips of broken fake finger nails from food handlers and a very long list of others. Cross contamination of tainted food can occur in the transportation process to the aircraft, in galley storage compartments as well as on the counters in the galley.
It is our responsibility to protect our passengers and crew from any type of food poisoning. Following best practices of never ordering the same meals for the pilots is a start, knowing the language of ordering catering and how to secure safe catering, safe temperature zones, where to get it from and the right questions to ask as well as protecting your food once it is on the aircraft is paramount to the safety of the mission. It is not just about the safety of the aircraft. Food safety is important. Remember, FOOD KILLS!
Further information can be obtained by contacting www.CorporateFlightAttendantTraining.com.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
CharterX Professional Plus member Averitt Air has started jet service from Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport as it seeks to capture the business executive market.
Jay Garrett, Averitt's operations director, said the company has based an eight-passenger Lear 31 at Lovell Field.
He said Averitt can go into 5,000 airports, many of which aren't serviced by passenger airlines.
The cost is $2,300 an hour, Mr. Garrett said, adding clients typically get their business done and return the same day.
"Time is money," Mr. Garrett said.
He said Averitt had been serving Chattanooga from its Nashville headquarters, but officials figured that locating a plane in the Scenic City could bolster business.
Mike Landguth, the airport's president, said Averitt's operation is a complement to passenger airline service.
"It's a good one-two punch," he said. Crystal Air also offers air taxi service at the airport, the official said.
Mr. Landguth said the airport receives 2 percent of sales of activity since Averitt is basing a jet in the city.
"If they're flying from Nashville, we don't get any of that activity," he said.
Mr. Garrett said while Volkswagen executives in the city might use a corporate jet, suppliers to the auto company's planned Chattanooga plant and others in for VW business would make good prospects for Averitt.
"There are a couple of other things stimulating industrial-type growth, and we may get a lift out of that," he said.
Mr. Garrett said the plane's maintenance will be done out of Nashville. In Chattanooga, the jet will operate out of Choo Choo Aero's facilities, Mr. Landguth said.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
CharterX Professional Plus member FlairJet, London Oxford Airport’s new private jet charter operator, will be the first to put the Phenom 100 on the UK ‘G’ register.
The company’s two aircraft (G-DRBN and G-SRBN), following inspection by the UK CAA’s Head Surveyor, are due to arrive into Oxford by mid to late October.
Chief Executive Officer, Captain David Fletcher, is currently undergoing type-rating in Dallas, while two other newly recruited pilots are training at Burgess Hill with CAE. In the run up to commercial launch the company has named two new management positions: Mike Chamberlain, Ground Operations Director and David Taylor, Operations Manager, both ex-Jet Options managers. They join Flight Operations Director/Chief Pilot Gerry Rolls, who will also be a training captain on the Phenom. FlairJet, backed by three London-based QCs, are managing these two entry level jets from a third party, prior to the arrival of their first purchased aircraft in 2012.
FlairJet pledges to offer a personalised, quality service, evolving the traditional air taxi - pitch up and fly culture.With a range of 1,160 nm (with reserves) FlairJet will focus on easy to reach cities in mainland Europe, domestic UK routes and also Scotland and Ireland. Its USP will be to deliver ‘a transparent, easy use, superior service,” said David Fletcher.
“The advantages of the cutting edge entry level jet technology, affordability and superlative style of the Phenom 100, including stylish interiors from BMWDesignWorks USA, will give us a real edge over other jet operators,” he said. FlairJet is setting out to target travellers who wouldn’t usually consider private charter because they perceive it is too expensive, or are too intimidated by the process.
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
‘Very Light Jets’ (VLJs) will play a key role in the future of European business aviation, but no one should believe that they will bring easy profits or easy jet prices.
That’s the opinion of Patrick Margetson-Rushmore, chief executive of London Executive Aviation (‘LEA’), one of Europe’s largest business jet charter operators.
LEA was the first private jet operator to introduce the Cessna Citation Mustang to the British Isles, in January 2008. The company is now operating six Mustangs, alongside six other classes of larger business jet, and has been the largest operator of VLJs and Mustangs in Europe for the past 20 months.
Speaking at ‘VLJ - Europe 2009’ in Oxford (UK) on September 24, Margetson-Rushmore said: “The importance of VLJs will increase over time, but not everything is sweet and rosy in the VLJ ‘air taxi’ garden. We are still at an ideas stage of an unproven market. The industry expectation several years ago was that VLJs would bring low-cost business aviation. The reality is that operating VLJs costs less than operating larger business jets but is by no means cheap. In terms of price, we are still in competition with aircraft such as the Cessna Citation CJ1 and CJ2, the Hawker Beechcraft Premier 1 and turboprops. In my view, therefore, VLJs are similar to the standard charter model, which invariably reflects upon the final price charged to the customer."
“In the current economic environment, it is impractical to expect to achieve 1,000 hours a year on short-range VLJ aircraft," he continued. "That doesn’t mean the VLJ revolution has failed, but the industry needs to separate hype from fact. I believe that there has been, and indeed still is, over-optimism on the expected usage of these aircraft. Over the last 20 months we have achieved an average of 360 hours per annum per aircraft and, especially with the economic downturn, we’re very happy."
“For operators like ourselves, I think it will be a long haul to success for VLJ air taxi operations, which mainly depends on the marketplace and the development of the customer base. But we at LEA are committed to that long-haul effort, and we will probably expand our fleet with more Mustangs and Embraer Phenom 100s. We’ll achieve that expansion through our established ‘hybrid’ business model. Some of the aircraft we will own ourselves and charter, some of the aircraft we will manage for third parties and charter, and some of the aircraft we will simply manage for the owners.”
Margetson-Rushmore told delegates: “We see our Mustangs as our new entry-level jet – a stepping stone for our clients into the world of private flight, bringing down the cost and opening up the opportunities to a wider audience. The Mustang is perfect for the kind of short-haul flights with 1-3 passengers that dominate European business aviation. And pilots tell us that the Mustang is fun to fly, light and agile, with a great use of space and good overall performance.”
E-mail your press releases, news tips and feedback to the CharterX News Editor at News@CharterX.com.
Wayfarer Aviation Names New CEO AMTOnline.com He recently served as President & CEO for Imaginaire Private Jet Charter, President & COO for SevenBar Enterprises, Inc., and has more than 20 years ... |
 Telegraph.co.uk | Will Fliers Flock to Swanky Flights? Wall Street Journal "This will appeal to people using executive jets, but with our whole network behind it," Mr. Walsh said. He promised service on the new route will ... BA's first all-business New York flights takes-off Cash and climate key challenges as BA launches business service to New York British Airways Tries Premium New York Flights |
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) recently welcomed a new study showing that, by a host of measurements, companies using business aviation outperform those without aircraft.
“This study shows what the people in the business aviation community have always known,” said NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen. “A business airplane is the sign of a well-managed company, because business aviation helps companies of all sizes be more efficient, productive and competitive.”
“It’s no surprise that America’s best-performing and most-admired companies rely on business aviation to provide concrete and unique competitive benefits that are reflected in shareholder and enterprise value,” said GAMA President and CEO Pete Bunce.
The study, conducted by NEXA Advisors, concludes: “Business aircraft users had a dominant presence, on average of 92 percent, among the most innovative, most admired, best brands, and best places to work, as well as dominating the list of companies strongest in corporate governance and responsibility.” The report also finds that business aviation alone is the only asset capable of accelerating strategic transactions and therefore providing a competitive edge to top-performing companies.
The study’s authors examined how companies included in the Standard&Poor’s (S&P) 500 performed in revenue growth, profit growth and asset efficiency from 2003 through 2008, the most recent six-year period for which complete data was available. Business aircraft use was tied to key enterprise drivers outlined in the study; S&P 500 executives were also extensively interviewed, and an independent cross-reference of findings was performed.
“In conducting this study, we found that companies using business aircraft outperform non-users across every key financial and non-financial measure of business success,” said the study’s lead author, Michael Dyment, managing director of NEXA Advisors. By way of illustration, Dyment pointed to a number of compelling findings included in the study. For example:
- Average annual revenue growth on a market cap-weighted basis was 116 percent higher for users of business aircraft than for non-users
- Average annual earnings growth was 434 percent higher for users of business aircraft than for non-users
- Total stock and dividend growth was 252 percent higher for users of business aircraft than for non-users
- Total share price growth was 156 percent higher for users of business aircraft than for non-users
- Market capitalization growth as measured by market value growth was 496 percent higher for business aircraft users than for non-users
The study also points to a number of other noteworthy connections between well-run companies and those that use business aviation, including the following:
- Among Business Week magazine’s 2009 “50 Most Innovative Companies,” 95 percent of the S&P 500 companies were business aircraft users
- Among the same magazine’s 2009 “25 Best Customer Service Companies,” 90 percent of the S&P 500 companies were business aircraft users
- Among Fortune magazine’s 2009 “100 Best Places to Work,” 86 percent of the S&P 500 companies were business aircraft users
- Among the same magazine’s “World’s Most Admired Companies,” for 2009, 95 percent of the S&P 500 companies were business aircraft users
- Among Business Week/Interbrand’s 2008 “100 Best Brands,” 98 percent of the S&P 500 companies were business aircraft users
- Among The CRO’s 2009 “100 Best Corporate Citizens,” 90 percent of the S&P 500 companies were business aircraft users
The study comes as NBAA and GAMA continue to highlight the value of business aviation to citizens, companies and communities across the U.S., through the two associations’ joint advocacy campaign, “No Plane No Gain.” Launched earlier this year, the campaign educates policymakers and opinion leaders about the essential role of business aviation in the nation’s economy and transportation system. To learn more, visit www.noplanenogain.org.
For a copy of the NEXA Capital Partners Study, visit No Plane No Gain.
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Air Canada and U.S. transportation officials said Friday they reached a deal to allow the airline fly National Hockey League teams within the U.S., averting the possible last-minute cancellation of flights that could have affected the NHL schedule.
U.S. law prohibits a foreign airline from flying passengers solely between U.S. cities. The deal lets Air Canada fly between U.S. cities as long as it also flies those passengers in and out of the U.S.
The conflict had threatened to disrupt the travel schedules of NHL teams for the upcoming hockey season, which begins Oct. 1. Canada has NHL teams in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.
Under the agreement, Air Canada must submit monthly reports to the Department of Transportation to demonstrate compliance. The airline will also name an official to monitor its own compliance, and it has agreed to transport only people who are affiliated with the teams that have contracts for the charter flights.
Air Canada violated the so-called cabotage laws during the 2008-09 season, the Department of Transportation said in a statement.
Air Canada offers season-long charters for sports teams whose schedules require play in the U.S. and Canada. Initially, the airline's clients were Canada-based hockey teams, but it had expanded its offering to U.S. teams in both hockey and basketball. Toronto is the lone Canadian NBA team.
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SC gov's state flights may raise tax liabilities The Associated Press As with private employers, a state is supposed to report taxable benefits for its employees. But in South Carolina, the agencies that manage state aircraft ... |