Cessna, one of the makers of private jets, is launching a very aggressive campaign to convince corporate chieftains, and the public, that "it is OK to have a corporate jet," Advertising Age reported.
Cessna Aircraft Company, a division of Textron Inc., and a sister company to Fort Worth-based Bell Helicopter, is struggling to keep its business airborne after orders for private jets took a nose dive with the economy. In partial response to that, Cessna has been forced to layoff about one third of its entire workforce, or more than 4,600 people.
Cessna has not asked the government for a bailout, but through its new advertising campaign launched in the Wall Street Journal it's clear they are fighting back after the leaders of the major automakers became the whipping boys of members of Congress for flying private jets to Washington to ask for a bailout from lawmakers last fall.
Its ad boldly asserts, "Pity the poor executive who blinks" and gets rid of the company jet. "One thing is certain: true visionaries will continue to fly."
