Let the rumours FLY ....

[gunfyter]

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content...0.html?sid=101

NetJets sees a bit of blue sky
Chairman expects a profitable year, with stable staffing, perhaps growth through acquisition
Monday, January 18, 2010 2:58 AM
By Marla Matzer Rose
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Eric Albrecht | Dispatch

NetJets' David Sokol

...

NetJets Chairman and CEO David Sokol predicted last week that the Columbus-based company will be profitable this year and that staffing levels will remain stable.

...

Growth in other ways remains somewhat of a possibility for NetJets.

Sokol said he's been approached by a number of smaller competitors interested in selling their businesses to NetJets. He said there's only "one potential deal" that's being worked on, and it could occur in the coming weeks. He said that deal would involve NetJets taking on the customers of the other company.

Other deals would have involved taking on more debt, something that's not in NetJets' plans.

...

"I feel really good about NetJets. I think we're on a really solid foundation," Sokol said. "I'm very happy with Columbus and the fact that we consolidated operations and brought the headquarters here."

The company always has had its operational base in Columbus but had maintained its administrative headquarters in New Jersey until last fall.

A number of smaller competitors have approached NetJets about selling their businesses, he said.​

 

[OPECJet]

Interesting, but I'd prefer not to be recalled at someone else' expense (if this would even start recalls).

 

[William Holiday]

Hmmm, that's very interesting.

 

[Jack Campbell]

Even if this deal doesn't go through, it shows Sokol is looking to capture market share in a slower market, which is exactly what a strong company needs to do now. This is gonna be interesting.

 

[DUATS]

How about this scenario: NetJets buys Flight Options. Then Bombardier and Cessna spin off Flexjet and CitationAir into a new company better positioned to compete with the 800 pound competitor.....

 

[jetmaster727]

Flex is the one worth buying!

 

[gunfyter]

Flex is the one worth buying!

I don't think we want any more airplanes (or more TYPES of airplanes) ... we have too many. Or more pilots ... we just furloughed. And the article said it won't involve taking on Debt... So is Bombardier wanting to give Flex away for free?

Its kind of hard to figure this one out.

 

[Flex-ible]

I don't think we want any more airplanes (or more TYPES of airplanes) ... we have too many. Or more pilots ... we just furloughed. And the article said it won't involve taking on Debt... So is Bombardier wanting to give Flex away for free?

Its kind of hard to figure this one out.

I agree that Netjets probably doesn't want any more types of aircraft; they need to continue consolidating.

Any purchase would probably be some type of stock swap to keep Netjets and Berkshire-Hathaway from issuing new debt. I would guess the debt mentioned in the article is existing company debt. And I haven't seen a recent balance sheet for FX, CS, or FLOPS - but I would guess FLOPS probably has more debt than the others, since Bombardier and Textron can absorb the debt themselves.

 

[Pervis]

Note that it says taking the customers, not the crews, assets and debt. It most likely involves buying up existing contracts, giving the customers an option they may not have right now.

Merging two companies would create too many problems right now. What would happen to the pilots still employed with the Frac that gets absorbed by Netjets while Netjets has 482 pilots furloughed? Merging two groups by date of hire works with the NJA/NJI situation because we have always been part of the same outfit. The furloughs affect both units. Any other acquisition would be like the USAir debacle. Way too many bad feelings would create a very unhealthy environment right now.

 

[Jack Campbell]

The article talked about Netjets taking on the customers of another outfit, not buying another company. They seem to be looking for a way to increase traffic, perhaps through some sort of fractional version of a code-share? What they DON'T need now is more aircraft types, or to open discussions on how to merge seniority lists after almost 500 of us are trying to find new jobs. They DO need more traffic, though.