Cessna quietly cancels Columbus

[diggertwo]

http://www.pilotbug.com/?p=130

The previously suspended development of the Cessna Citation Columbus was canceled as reported in a recent Textron SEC filing. According to the document, Textron “decided to suspend the development of the Citation Columbus wide-body jet due to prevailing market conditions.” The aircraft, which was to compete in the already crowded “super midsize” cabin class, was previously suspended in April. Facilities and tooling built and produced in the program totaled $50M up until now, of which $43M has been declared unrecoverable. Development and construction of the aircraft were also to have employed 1000 jobs in Wichita, KS, home to Cessna Aircraft.

 

[BushwickBill]

Maybe they can come up with a less stupid name next time.

 

[tdwnds1]

Cessna is also retratcting a 1 BILLION dollar contract with Vought They were going to build the wings for the Columbus.
Thats gotta hurt.
Good thing they are being bought by Boeing.

 

[netjetwife]

'Bill, I think the name "Columbus" is fine. I don't know why you dislike it, but from a business perspective, it makes perfect sense that Cessna wanted to honor the company bringing them a big contract. Maybe they can come up with other work to replace those 1000 jobs and offset the $43M lost. Surely that's a bigger concern than the name?

Td, thanks for the info. The Vought employees/families must be relieved. I don't think most Americans reflected much on how far reaching the affects of private aviation can be on the economy. Alas, recessions have a way of educating citizens. When my husband first talked about the plans for the Columbus, I didn't even know where it'd be built, much less, see a connection between my family and those workers. We really are all in this together, aren't we? Good luck to us all! NJW

 

[o2bflyn]

'Bill, I think the name "Columbus" is fine. I don't know why you dislike it, but from a business perspective, it makes perfect sense that Cessna wanted to honor the company bringing them a big contract. Maybe they can come up with other work to replace those 1000 jobs and offset the $43M lost. Surely that's a bigger concern than the name?

Seriously? You can't be serious. You think that's where they got the name "Columbus"? Ever heard of a guy with the first name Christopher?

 

[netjetwife]

O2b, yes, I was serious. When I'm not I use to get my intentions across. NJASAP leaders interact with upper management (including RTS) so when they talk I listen, read the 411s, etc. I gathered that Cessna wasn't too concerned about name confusion because they expected the connection to be obvious since the Columbus was to be built for NJA of Columbus, Ohio (ever heard of that city...) and they wanted to give recognition to the company based there. As my husband noted, the double-meaning name would still work if Cessna sold the plane to other companies. For everyone's sake, I hope the economy revives enough for NJA to order new planes in the not too distant future. NJW

 

[jehtplane]

O2b, yes, I was serious. When I'm not I use to get my intentions across. NJASAP leaders interact with upper management (including RTS) so when they talk I listen, read the 411s, etc. I gathered that Cessna wasn't too concerned about name confusion because they expected the connection to be obvious since the Columbus was to be built for NJA of Columbus, Ohio (ever heard of that city...) and they wanted to give recognition to the company based there. As my husband noted, the double-meaning name would still work if Cessna sold the plane to other companies. For everyone's sake, I hope the economy revives enough for NJA to order new planes in the not too distant future. NJW

OH Brother, You seriosly need to get over yourself and NJ's influence over everything, gimme a break.

 

[o2bflyn]

O2b, yes, I was serious. When I'm not I use to get my intentions across. NJASAP leaders interact with upper management (including RTS) so when they talk I listen, read the 411s, etc. I gathered that Cessna wasn't too concerned about name confusion because they expected the connection to be obvious since the Columbus was to be built for NJA of Columbus, Ohio (ever heard of that city...) and they wanted to give recognition to the company based there. As my husband noted, the double-meaning name would still work if Cessna sold the plane to other companies. For everyone's sake, I hope the economy revives enough for NJA to order new planes in the not too distant future. NJW

Ok....if that's what you choose to believe.

 

[netjetwife]

Jeht, some posters here seriously need to practice fairness and good manners. I was simply sharing information. The limited NJ influence you perceived in my post was not exclusive to them. I think Cessna would do the same for any large account because it's smart business.

O2b, If you would rather believe that Cessna chose to honor a long-gone sailor, rather than a current aviation client, that's your prerogative, but I'll go with the info closer to the source. In the interest of accurate posting, I'll double-check with my husband when he calls home tomorrow. He's in Columbus for joint meetings...

 

[FLYLOW22]

O2b, yes, I was serious. When I'm not I use to get my intentions across. NJASAP leaders interact with upper management (including RTS) so when they talk I listen, read the 411s, etc. I gathered that Cessna wasn't too concerned about name confusion because they expected the connection to be obvious since the Columbus was to be built for NJA of Columbus, Ohio (ever heard of that city...) and they wanted to give recognition to the company based there. As my husband noted, the double-meaning name would still work if Cessna sold the plane to other companies. For everyone's sake, I hope the economy revives enough for NJA to order new planes in the not too distant future. NJW

Nah. They'd a called it the Santulli.

 

[netjetwife]

That would have been a nice ego boost for him but not very popular with other executives... Sir, the Santulli is ready for boarding. Just imagine the raised eyebrows!

 

[7on7Off]

NJW,

if Cessna was so in love with NJ to name an airplane after them, why are you flying beechjets instead of CJ-3's?

 

[HazMat]

NJW even if true it is silly to talk about after netjets cancelled those orders and all others which led to massive layoffs at cessna. By the way Colombus was not just a sailor. Check your kids history books.

 

[illinipilot]

NJW et all,

I tend to be favorably bais toward NJW becasue I like the product that she is selling but this is a quote from Jack J. Pelton, chairman, president, and CEO of Cessna;

"In naming this new model, we looked for a word that embodies the spirit of our company and the performance of this airplane," Pelton said. "With an adventurous and visionary attitude, explorer Christopher Columbus is globally recognized as one of the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean. That inspired us as we worked toward our design goal. The Columbus opens up so many non-stop transcontinental routes: Munich to New York, London to Dubai, Sydney to Singapore, Sao Paulo to Miami, and many other trips."

Netjets employees get a little excited about our company sometimes (as do most posters on this forum regardless of company) but I have never seen anything other than posts from other pilots claiming that this aircraft was named for Netjets Aviation.

IP

 

[glasspilot]

NJW, you can still save face here as Columbus, Ohio was named after Christopher Columbus the explorer. Wikipedia Reference

See? The plane was named after the city that hosts your beloved NetJets, which was named after the explorer, so that explains Santulli's quote about the explorer namesake.

 

[o2bflyn]

O2b, If you would rather believe that Cessna chose to honor a long-gone sailor, rather than a current aviation client, that's your prerogative, but I'll go with the info closer to the source. In the interest of accurate posting, I'll double-check with my husband when he calls home tomorrow. He's in Columbus for joint meetings...

Why is that idea so far fetched? They named the entire Citation project after a horse.

I used to live in Columbus...it does not make me an authority about how Cessna names their airplanes.

 

[o2bflyn]

NJW et all,

I tend to be favorably bais toward NJW becasue I like the product that she is selling but this is a quote from Jack J. Pelton, chairman, president, and CEO of Cessna;

"In naming this new model, we looked for a word that embodies the spirit of our company and the performance of this airplane," Pelton said. "With an adventurous and visionary attitude, explorer Christopher Columbus is globally recognized as one of the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean. That inspired us as we worked toward our design goal. The Columbus opens up so many non-stop transcontinental routes: Munich to New York, London to Dubai, Sydney to Singapore, Sao Paulo to Miami, and many other trips."

Netjets employees get a little excited about our company sometimes (as do most posters on this forum regardless of company) but I have never seen anything other than posts from other pilots claiming that this aircraft was named for Netjets Aviation.

IP

Good post....thanks.

 

[netjetwife]

NJW even if true it is silly to talk about after netjets cancelled those orders and all others which led to massive layoffs at cessna. By the way Colombus was not just a sailor. Check your kids history books.

Haz, when I casually passed on "insider" info about the name I didn't anticipate this much posting. That said, general interest doesn't have to end just because the project was canceled. Please note that I expressed concern for the affected workers--from the beginning. BTW, my sailor-aviation comment was made facetiously to emphasis the contrast. You might want to brush up on your reading comprehension. :erm:

 

[netjetwife]

NJW et all,

I tend to be favorably bais toward NJW becasue I like the product that she is selling While I appreciate your support, I dislike the negative connotation in "selling". I advocate financial security and stability for frac families that comes with respect and a professional compensation package for frac pilots. I don't consider that selling but I'll compromise on persuading... but this is a quote from Jack J. Pelton, chairman, president, and CEO of Cessna;

"In naming this new model, we looked for a word that embodies the spirit of our company and the performance of this airplane," Pelton said. ....

Netjets employees get a little excited about our company sometimes (as do most posters on this forum regardless of company) but I have never seen anything other than posts from other pilots claiming that this aircraft was named for Netjets Aviation. This is a good example of insider information. I'm sure other industries have their share, as well.

IP

Certainly the name has two meanings, but that is smart planning not just coincidence. In a joint leadership meeting my husband was told that Cessna would also use the explorer version to market the plane to other companies. Thus, the PR quote is not surprising. That doesn't preclude Cessna from playing up the city connection when interacting privately with the Columbus-based company placing (then) the first order. It is easy to see how the attraction of a dual purpose name would have won out over other candidates and how a smart company would make full use of the selling point it gave them. Hopefully, Cessna and NJA will meet in the future to discuss the appropriately named (on 2 levels) Columbus. Regards, NJW

 

[netjetwife]

... I used to live in Columbus...it does not make me an authority about how Cessna names their airplanes.

In my desire to be discreet perhaps I was too subtle? It's not the location alone. It is the fact that my husband attends many labor-management, joint leadership meetings there and participates in project planning. The authority you imply was not claimed by me. I am merely passing on a tid-bit of insider info I thought might be of interest to others in the frac community.