Textron Aviation now says it will exhibit at this month’s NBAA business aviation exhibition in Las Vegas, reserving course after last week backing out of the event amid a machinists strike in Wichita.
The strike remains ongoing, but on 2 October Textron Aviation says it “will return” to the NBAA show “with a static display of industry-leading aircraft”.
Textron Aviation, which manufacturers Cessna and Beechcraft aircraft, calls its course reversal a “response to customer feedback” but does not provide details.
“The company’s presence [at the exhibition] will be focused on showcasing new product investments” to its lineup of Cessna Citation business jets, it says.
Textron Aviation plans to have a Cessna Citation Longitude, Latitude, CJ4 Gen2 and M2 Gen2 on the NBAA show’s static display at Henderson Executive airport near Las Vegas. It will also display mock-ups of its Citation Ascend and CJ3 Gen2.
Textron Aviation did not respond to a request for more information. Its statement makes no mention of the attendance status of sister company Tru Aviation, which, as of last week, had also cancelled its attendance.
The NBAA exhibition, the business aviation industry’s largest annual trade show, is scheduled for 22-24 October at the Las Vegas Convention Center and at nearby Henderson Executive airport.
Textron Aviation on 25 September said it and Tru – both are subsidies of parent Textron – had cancelled plans to exhibit at this year’s event, citing the need to “maintain our business operations during this time”.
Two days earlier, on 23 September, Textron Aviation’s 5,000-strong machinists union went on strike in a bid to secure a more-lucrative employment contract.
Union members account for about half of Textron Aviation’s 10,000 employees at Wichita, and the strike has hobbled the company’s manufacturing, service facilities and parts and distribution services.
Textron Aviation has warned the strike could keep it from meeting production and delivery goals.
Textron missing NBAA would have been another blow to the show. In recent years, other major aircraft manufacturers have chosen to sit out the exhibition and other related industry events, saying they can better spend marketing dollars elsewhere.
Gulfstream will not be attending NBAA this year, and French business jet maker Dassault Aviation is not listed on NBAA’s exhibitor list.
Bombardier is scheduled to attend, though it skipped the EBACE show in Geneva in May.
