Cessna

Cessna machinists will be returning to work on Monday. The Wichita machinists' union accept Cessna's contract offer by default. 58% of union members voted to accept the contract.  Only 49% of machinists voted to strike.  At least 66% would have had to vote for a strike to truly reject the contract. "The committee unanimously recommended rejection and recommended a strike. But again, the membership decides, that's the thing about this organization, our members have the final say ," said Union President Steve Rooney Cessna Released the following statement Saturday night.

The CEO of Cessna parent company Textron says his company is watching the situation with competitor Hawker Beechcraft. During a conference call this morning, Scott Donnelly said that Hawker Beechcraft has assets in which Textron could have an interest and would be a good fit. Donnelly qualified that by saying the price has to be right, whether it's the entire Hakwer Beechcraft operation, or just the defense operation. Hawker Beechcraft filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year.

Layoffs could soon be expected at a Wichita plane manufacturer after a poor quarterly report. Cessna's parent company, Textron, said Wednesday the company is cutting Wall Street's forecast by 20 cents a share this year. A Cessna spokesman tells Eyewitness News that the demand for business jets is slower than expected. "Cessna continues to operate within a challenging economic environment and is experiencing a slower-than-expected recovery for the aviation industry, particularly in the light jet segment," the spokesman said.

A student pilot drives off the runway trying to land a plane at Jabara airport Friday morning. Both he and the instructor are okay, but the plane will never fly again. It's sad news for many area pilots, who flew on the well known Cessna 172 training plane. Owner David Dewhirst says the crash was a standard training accident during a landing. "It looks like the right brake locked up and caused the airplane to go off the side of the runway and ran into a drainage ditch," Dewhirst said.

Cessna plans to cut 700 jobs. Employees were notified through an email from Cessna CEO Jack Pelton Tuesday morning. Eyewitness News spoke with Cessna Communications Director Doug Oliver. He would not say where the cuts would happen, but many believe Wichita will bare the brunt of the layoffs. Workers say the news hurts, but doesn't come as surprise. "We had heard rumors that there would be a layoff, but we weren't for sure," said Delora Messer, "until today.

Airplane maker Cessna has offered voluntary retirement programs for 180 of its workers.  The company says the move is to align its workforce with the revised production forecast for 2013.  It's the second time Cessna has made the request in as many months. Union leadership tells Eyewitness News the Machinists have been working out the details of the early retirement offer for about a week and a half now.  Both sides say they hope it will prevent layoffs later on. "It is something different than we've done in the past," said Frank Molina, president of the Machinists Union.

A big order for Cessna and Bombardier as the company NetJets announces it will order up to 425 new planes. It's encouraging news for the aviation industry as NetJets places a $9.6 billion order with Cessna and Bombardier. Cessna will manufacture Citation Latitude right here in Wichita. NetJet will also buy up to 275 Bombardier Challenger aircrafts. Bombardier says it will manufacture those planes in Montreal, but will test them here. Dave Franson of the Wichita Aero Club says it's an indicator the economy is moving in the right direction.

Workers at one aircraft company worry about the fall-out from what happened at another. Hawker Beechcraft machinists learned on Monday they will vote on a new contract on October 9th. There's no contract offer on the table yet  because the two sides are still negotiating, but workers are already concerned. "We always follow the same pattern as the other aircraft companies," said Tony Allen as he left Hawker Beechcraft Monday afternoon. On Saturday, despite a majority of people voting against it, Cessna machinists ratified a lengthy contract offering small raises, higher health care costs and limited job security.

What happens at companies like Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier and Spirit AeroSystems, determine how busy things are at their suppliers. Wichita's Omni aerospace supplies to all those companies and says it's plenty busy. "When we hear facilities are expanding, offering new aircrafts, it's encouraging to us," explains Doug Leis, Vice President of Sales at Omni. Bombardier announced on Monday it's planning a multimillion dollar expansion. Cessna recently unveiled plans to start production on two new jets.

It took place across the street from Cessna, but a rally Thursday afternoon brought together workers from all of Wichita's planemakers. Their common goal, fight to keep jobs in Wichita and the time is critical - both Cessna and Hawker Beechcraft are negotiating contracts. By 3:30 Thursday afternoon Hoover Road in Southwest Wichita was lined with workers from Cessna, Spirit, Boeing and Hawkerbeechcraft. All coming together for one goal. Teresa Vasquez, a Cessna union member, tells Eyewitness News, "Wichita, Kansas is the Air Capital of the world and we want to keep it that way. " Thursday's rally was all about outsourcing jobs, and why the men and women there are fighting to see it stop.

Planemaker Cessna says it has started implementing a plan to cut back its workforce. Last month, the company announced it would offer early retirement to 180 workers and proceed with layoffs for others based on performance and other factors. The company says the move is to align its workforce with the revised production forecast for 2013.  It's the second time Cessna has made the request in as many months. A Cessna spokesperson told KWCH 12 Eyewitness News it's premature to talk about exactly how many will be laid off in this process.

Airplane maker Cessna has offered voluntary retirement programs for 180 of its workers.  The company says the move is to align its workforce with the revised production forecast for 2013.  It's the second time Cessna has made the request in as many months. Union leadership tells Eyewitness News the Machinists have been working out the details of the early retirement offer for about a week and a half now.  Both sides say they hope it will prevent layoffs later on. "It is something different than we've done in the past," said Frank Molina, president of the Machinists Union.

Layoffs could soon be expected at a Wichita plane manufacturer after a poor quarterly report. Cessna's parent company, Textron, said Wednesday the company is cutting Wall Street's forecast by 20 cents a share this year. A Cessna spokesman tells Eyewitness News that the demand for business jets is slower than expected. "Cessna continues to operate within a challenging economic environment and is experiencing a slower-than-expected recovery for the aviation industry, particularly in the light jet segment," the spokesman said.

Planemaker Cessna has entered the world of motor sports.  Cessna is now a primary sponsor for the #1 of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing, which is driven by Jamie McMurray. It hasn't been determined which races will feature the logo on the car.  This is the first time Cessna and its parent company Textron have ventured into NASCAR as a sponosr. Their logo will also appear on Ganassi's other NASCAR entry and his Indy cars as an associate sponsor. Eyewitness Sports Reporter Heather Williams is following NASCAR Media Week festivities in North Carolina, be sure to catch up on her blog here: Heather Williams Backstretch Blog Cessna sponsors NASCAR driver

Money. It drives the world economy. It drives NASCAR. To build a racecar, take it to the track hire the staff and driver, buy tires and gas, then run the race with out it. That's what makes sponsors so important, even for the richest owner. On Wednesday two teams introduced new sponsors to the sport. At Earnhardt Ganassi, Cessna and it's parent company, will be joining Jamie McMurrary's team as a sponsor. And at Penske racing, Hertz will be joining the Nationwide program. "Cessna is such a cool brand," saide McMurrary.

The CEO of Cessna parent company Textron says his company is watching the situation with competitor Hawker Beechcraft. During a conference call this morning, Scott Donnelly said that Hawker Beechcraft has assets in which Textron could have an interest and would be a good fit. Donnelly qualified that by saying the price has to be right, whether it's the entire Hakwer Beechcraft operation, or just the defense operation. Hawker Beechcraft filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this year.

A big order for Cessna and Bombardier as the company NetJets announces it will order up to 425 new planes. It's encouraging news for the aviation industry as NetJets places a $9.6 billion order with Cessna and Bombardier. Cessna will manufacture Citation Latitude right here in Wichita. NetJet will also buy up to 275 Bombardier Challenger aircrafts. Bombardier says it will manufacture those planes in Montreal, but will test them here. Dave Franson of the Wichita Aero Club says it's an indicator the economy is moving in the right direction.

Cessna and Bombardier receive the largest order in private aviation history. NetJets announced it wants Cessna and Bombardier to build up to 425 new aircraft for its fleet. The transaction is valued at $9.6 billion. NetJets will buy up to 275 Bombardier Challenger aircraft, including 100 firm orders and options for 175 more. The order comprises 75 firm and 125 options of the Challenger 300 Series aircraft. Deliveries for this aircraft are scheduled to begin in 2014. The order also includes 25 firm and 50 options of the Challenger 605 Series aircraft, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2015.

A student pilot drives off the runway trying to land a plane at Jabara airport Friday morning. Both he and the instructor are okay, but the plane will never fly again. It's sad news for many area pilots, who flew on the well known Cessna 172 training plane. Owner David Dewhirst says the crash was a standard training accident during a landing. "It looks like the right brake locked up and caused the airplane to go off the side of the runway and ran into a drainage ditch," Dewhirst said.

What happens at companies like Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft, Bombardier and Spirit AeroSystems, determine how busy things are at their suppliers. Wichita's Omni aerospace supplies to all those companies and says it's plenty busy. "When we hear facilities are expanding, offering new aircrafts, it's encouraging to us," explains Doug Leis, Vice President of Sales at Omni. Bombardier announced on Monday it's planning a multimillion dollar expansion. Cessna recently unveiled plans to start production on two new jets.