Day: August 6, 2009

After a monthslong free fall, it feels like the business jet market is starting to stabilize, said Jack Pelton, head of Cessna Aircraft. “At some point there, we’ll be able to call the bottom,” Pelton, the company’s chairman, president and CEO, said of the drop in the market. “The negatives, like (order) cancellations are slowing down; we’re starting to see orders start to rise again.” Aircraft deliveries are expected to hit their low next year, which will be followed by a steady climb, he said. “The slope of that rise will be dependent on what the economy does,” he said. Pelton’s boss, meanwhile, said Cessna’s parent company is not interested in selling the Wichita company. “I don’t know where all the rumors come from,” said Scott Donnelly, president and chief operating officer of Textron. “I think I can be clear that no one is interested in any way, shape or form in divesting Cessna out of Textron. It’s a central asset of what Textron is.”