Cessna shopping for Columbia?

From this morning's AVweb:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft, which has
been shopped around by the Malaysian government, its principal investors, for
about a year. Analysts say acquiring Columbia would give Cessna instant
penetration of the luxury touring market that it has all but surrendered to
Cirrus and the current incarnation of Columbia...Cessna's interest could be an
indication that its high-wing Next Generation Piston project has failed to
strike a chord with dealers and potential owners and it has decided to enter
the low-wing sweepstakes."

Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna owners.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

"Dan Luke" wrote:
From this morning's AVweb:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft, which has
been shopped around by the Malaysian government, its principal investors, for
about a year. Analysts say acquiring Columbia would give Cessna instant
penetration of the luxury touring market that it has all but surrendered to
Cirrus and the current incarnation of Columbia...Cessna's interest could be an
indication that its high-wing Next Generation Piston project has failed to
strike a chord with dealers and potential owners and it has decided to enter
the low-wing sweepstakes."

Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna owners.


Interesting prospect - I wonder if Lancair would be part of the deal
too? I'm sure Cessna would love to have their name on the 330kt
Evolution turboprop as they have nothing like it in their lineup. If
not, I don't think there's any reason why they couldn't continue to
sell the planes still labeled as Columbias.

On 2007-09-24 04:22:24 -0700, "Dan Luke" said:



Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna owners.

Cessna probably has the resources to provide better support.

Cessna's only problem has been a lack of planes. Another production
facility and a new lineup would make the dealers happy. In return,
Cessna's dealer and service network would probably make Columbia owners
happy.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

"C J Campbell" wrote:

Cessna's dealer and service network would probably make Columbia owners
happy.

Since buying an in-warranty Cessna, I've found the factory phone support
helpful and easy to access; they even return phone calls.

The Cessna Service Center system is less agreeable. My nearest CSC is a shop
50 miles away in Pensacola, and they are not Cessna experts by their own
admission. Up until last year, they were a Piper dealer. Fortunately, I
don't have to depend on them for avionics warranty work, since there is a
Garmin & Bendix/King dealer at BFM.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

"Dan Luke" wrote in message
...
From this morning's AVweb:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft, which
has been shopped around by the Malaysian government, its principal
investors, for about a year. Analysts say acquiring Columbia would give
Cessna instant penetration of the luxury touring market that it has all
but surrendered to Cirrus and the current incarnation of
Columbia...Cessna's interest could be an indication that its high-wing
Next Generation Piston project has failed to strike a chord with dealers
and potential owners and it has decided to enter the low-wing
sweepstakes."

Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna
owners.


About the same as BMW/Mercedes owners would have felt if the
Chrysler-Daimler deal had been reversed. Columbia's aircraft have the
quality of workmanship that BMW and Mercedes have long had.

It would be nice to have more service centers, but I'd be afraid the bean
counters would have the upper hand. IOW, the Cessna centers would also take
in Columbias, but whether that would be a "good thing" is questionable.

On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:22:24 -0500, Dan Luke wrote:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft,

Wikipedia (for what it's worth) writes that Cessna closed the deal.

Two days later, it was confirmed that Columbia was going to be sold to
Cessna.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Aircraft


--
Dallas

Dallas wrote:
On Mon, 24 Sep 2007 06:22:24 -0500, Dan Luke wrote:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft,

Wikipedia (for what it's worth) writes that Cessna closed the deal.

Two days later, it was confirmed that Columbia was going to be sold to
Cessna.[2]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Columbia_Aircraft

For a little better cite.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#196211

The Columbia news release says the sale to Cessna is contingent on the
bankruptcy court's approval and a final agreement with Cessna. According to
the news release, Cessna has signed a letter of intent to buy certain assets
and assume some of Columbia's debt. Carl Young said that the deal ensures
that existing owners and position holders will be looked after. "The sale of
Columbia Aircraft Manufacturing assets to Cessna offers the best avenue to
maximize value for all of Columbia’s stakeholders and existing and future
customers. Cessna is excited about the prospect of adding the Columbia
products to its product line and will provide additional capabilities,
world-class processes and financial strength to effectively serve existing
Columbia customers and grow the business. Under the agreement reached with
Cessna all product warranty and service issues will continue to be honored
post-acquisition and customers should expect an enhanced customer experience
once the deal closes," Young said.

Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna owners.

--
Dan
T-182T at BFM

Although being supported by Cessna maybe removes some of the exclusive
cachet of being a Columbia owner, for me it would be a major gain to
have an aircraft supported by a company with resources. Columbia has
been under-capitalized, and even if I had the $500K at hand I would
likely not have bought one simply because of the concern about parts
availability down the road since the company appeared not to have
staying power.

On 2007-09-24 04:22:24 -0700, "Dan Luke" said:

From this morning's AVweb:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft, which has
been shopped around by the Malaysian government, its principal investors, for
about a year. Analysts say acquiring Columbia would give Cessna instant
penetration of the luxury touring market that it has all but surrendered to
Cirrus and the current incarnation of Columbia...Cessna's interest could be an
indication that its high-wing Next Generation Piston project has failed to
strike a chord with dealers and potential owners and it has decided to enter
the low-wing sweepstakes."

Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna owners.

I suppose the worst thing that could happen would be that Cessna would
decide that selling 50 copies of a $700,000 airplane a year is not
worth it, shut down the production line, and use the facility for a
distribution center and manufacturing plant for the Cessna NG.

The fact is, the Mustang has hogged all the production capability of
the Independence plant, leaving Cessna completely unable to meet the
demand for piston singles.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor

I thought Columbia was in trouble when they stopped production and treid to
blame Garmin.
"C J Campbell" wrote in message
news:2007092707415916807-christophercampbell@hotmailcom...
On 2007-09-24 04:22:24 -0700, "Dan Luke" said:

From this morning's AVweb:

"Cessna is one of as many as three suitors for Columbia Aircraft, which
has
been shopped around by the Malaysian government, its principal investors,
for
about a year. Analysts say acquiring Columbia would give Cessna instant
penetration of the luxury touring market that it has all but surrendered
to
Cirrus and the current incarnation of Columbia...Cessna's interest could
be an
indication that its high-wing Next Generation Piston project has failed
to
strike a chord with dealers and potential owners and it has decided to
enter
the low-wing sweepstakes."

Wonder how Columbia owners would feel about being converted to Cessna
owners.

I suppose the worst thing that could happen would be that Cessna would
decide that selling 50 copies of a $700,000 airplane a year is not worth
it, shut down the production line, and use the facility for a distribution
center and manufacturing plant for the Cessna NG.

The fact is, the Mustang has hogged all the production capability of the
Independence plant, leaving Cessna completely unable to meet the demand
for piston singles.
--
Waddling Eagle
World Famous Flight Instructor