For what its worth.
A little over a year ago, Raytheon was worth around $750 million when they tried to sell Travel Air to EJA...(NetJets) and RTS asked, If your selling then how much are you willing to PAY for EJA to buy? Raytheons TA segment was in debt for around $90million. With such a loss EJA wasn't going to buy horizons from a carrier directly competing with its large aircraft segment and especially when they are losing around $90 million a year.
Now for the other half, Flight Options was unable to tap the PRIVATE market for $ and was in 70 to $90 million in debt as well. The two, Travel air and flight options, agreed to combine the two into one and have a net worth of Raytheons $750 million. This would help FO and TA as Raytheon needed a competitive edge on NetJets in selling its Hawkers, as NJA will not purchase from Raytheon as long as they are selling aircraft though thier TA program in direct competition.
Both combined companies thought they might tap the private financial reserve and both ended up with NOTHING. No $ would pour their way. Now Raytheon at a 49 percent stake was hoping that Flight Options with 51 percent interest would be the direct Netjets competitive machine to sell their aircraft and they could be out of direct fractional competition with NetJets.
Well the joining of the two companies failed miserably as history will tell. Raytheon, whom manufactures solely King Airs and Hawkers joined in with a aftermarket reseller of used aircraft that sold a 100 hours and then gave an average of 15 hours away on top to every 100 hours sold of NetJets aircraft ownership in NEW aircraft. Flight Options never had a chance with not buying into new aircraft and the associated warranty of years of free maintenance that is provided with buying dozens of new aircraft.
Now we have an aircraft manufacturer of jets and turboprops, all under the name of Beechjet, Hawker, and King Air that bought into a company that buys into a company that’s Big Sell is that they buy the best of the used aircraft manufacturers. Gulfstream, Challenger, Falcon. All these types are in direct competition with Raytheon. Now we see the dichotomy.
FlightOptions defaults on their payments because they oversold shares to compete with NetJets and as a result the founder ended up being ousted only to be replaced by a Raytheon appointee. Intended result, of course not. Now Flight Options is in debt to the tune of $20 million plus and the only way they could meet the obligation with Raytheon was to give a greater controlling authority. Now Raytheon who got involved from the beginning to sell Beechjets, Hawkers, and King Airs is a 70% owner of a company that pursues the selling of Gulfstreams, Falcons, Challengers, Citations, and yes a few Raytheon products.
A person involved in the FO/TA program must ask if a company who just recently established a 49% stake in a fractional company only after a serious attempt to sell its fractional program off to NetJets is serious about keeping its current customers/employees now that it is a 70% owner of the same due to default by lack of payment. Raytheon is big but its values has been brought down greatly and by most by its involvement with its fractional ownership and involvement with Flight Options. Raytheon says they are committed. It was only a year ago that they desperately tried to sell off its fractional involvement. Now that they are the owners of now not just one, but TWO money losing fractional programs, that can only mean that time will more than likely shine upon the founder and giant among the fractionals, NetJets.
