That’s the question addressed in a new report from Aviation Week, which looks at the future of business aviation, as well as chronicles how the recent economic crisis forced Wichita’s three business jet producers, Cessna, Hawker Beechcraft and Bombardier’s Learjet, to cut 12,000 jobs, or nearly 30% of the local aerospace workforce, in less than a year.
The article quotes Jack Pelton, Cessna’s chairman, CEO and president as saying:
“It will probably be at least five years before we get back to 2008 production levels. We’re predicting 2010 as the market low point, but it will be a slow crawl out.”
