NJA Meteorology

[NJAowner]

Has NJA cuts its meteorology dept? The day before I was flying recently, I was told if I wanted to speak to meteorology I needed to do so before 10 p.m. This was the first time ever I have ever been given a time parameter. In distinguishing itself from competitors NJA has always stressed that it has its own 24 hour meteorology department and does not rely upon third party services.

If this is true, what do the pilots think of it? I am sure the midnight shift was not all that busy, but I guess it was used by some.

Thanks.

 

[NJAowner]

NJA On board items

I am trying to figure out whether it is a trend, coincidence, or my imagination. But have on-board stocks been cut back?? I notice less of everything from movies to tylenol to playing cards on all of my flights in the past few months. If so it must save a dollar or two per flight-- maybe even $5.00 -- , but now I have only 2 movies (none recent) to choose from and have to remember to bring cards if I want to play card games with my kids in flight.

I would say "fly safe" at the end of this email, but a few of you read way too much into it.

 

[Dooker]

So ... you need to call Netjets to figure out what the weather's doing?

 

[x402]

I am trying to figure out whether it is a trend, coincidence, or my imagination. But have on-board stocks been cut back?? I notice less of everything from movies to tylenol to playing cards on all of my flights in the past few months. If so it must save a dollar or two per flight-- maybe even $5.00 -- , but now I have only 2 movies (none recent) to choose from and have to remember to bring cards if I want to play card games with my kids in flight.

I would say "fly safe" at the end of this email, but a few of you read way too much into it.

I know they have trimmed the stock, however, in my fleet there certainly is enough stock for each leg. Tylenol and all. We still have a cabinet full of movies and all the NUGO bars you can eat. There are items we used to stock that now need to be ordered w/catering. (They are happy to do this.)
I suggest that you relay your concerns to OS and have your specific needs noted on your profile. Even if it is something as small as Tylenol, most of us will see it and be sure it is onboard for your trip.
I/we appreciate your support as we go forward here @ NJA.

 

[Pervis]

At one point, as an example, our Falcons had over 3000 stock items on board. Stuff that would rarely be used. We have reduced the number of items, but kept the items that are popular, like pringles, pretzels, nuts, Fiji water, etc. If your jet is not stocked, I would bring it up to your crew and OS team. If you have specific preferences, like movie or music genre, set your profile.

As far as wx personnel, They are indeed staffed 24/7. I can attest to that as demand has steadily increased and I have been "blessed" with late and long shifts of late. Again, call your OS team, and if they aren't helpful, ask for their superior.

Cutting back on playing cards saves nadda. I would rather believe you have run into a few instances where jets have not been able to visit our stock lockers.

 

[NJAowner]

Weather

So ... you need to call Netjets to figure out what the weather's doing?

Yes Dooker - I doc all. When I am 1000 miles away from my destination and bad weather is expected there, I like to look at my alternatives -- change city, change flight times, etc. I like to have something a little more reliable than accuweather.com.

 

[7on7Off]

So ... you need to call Netjets to figure out what the weather's doing?

Yes Dooker - I doc all. When I am 1000 miles away from my destination and bad weather is expected there, I like to look at my alternatives -- change city, change flight times, etc. I like to have something a little more reliable than accuweather.com.

You actually have to call in for that?

What I am asking is if you don't call in and there is bad weather forecasted, they wont automatically look at alternatives? I'm not trying to be a smart A$$, I'm just surprised that its not automatic?

 

[platinum750]

adds.aviationweather.gov

 

[platinum750]

have the limo swing thru a 7-11

 

[fischman]

NJAowner,

If a meterologist isn't available, ask if they can connect you to a dispatcher. When I call in with a weather concern, I usually have a conference call with the 3 of us. NJA dispatch has never let me down.

 

[old*art]

I saw last trip a new different style playing card in the suppy locker, so they are still available. However they don't have wine cause of a spat with state revenuers. Other than that I had no problem entirely restocking my airplane. NJOwner some of the problem is so much goes stale. I expired three cases of pretzels at one location. I think the move is to try to ID the popular items - seems we go thru a LOT of chewing gum and jelly beans - and cut down on waste. The waste here in the past was INCREDIBLE. Again .. as suggested .. get with your OS team.

 

[Tristar]

Has NJA cuts its meteorology dept?

Why check the weather? We're going anyhow...

Lol - a little gas for your fire...

 

[Outta Here]

NJAowner,

If a meterologist isn't available, ask if they can connect you to a dispatcher. When I call in with a weather concern, I usually have a conference call with the 3 of us. NJA dispatch has never let me down.

I sure hope you are being sarcastic! LMAO!!!

 

[fischman]

I sure hope you are being sarcastic! LMAO!!!

Not at all. I think our dispatchers do an amazing job!!!

 

[ozpilot]

Not at all. I think our dispatchers do an amazing job!!!

Have to agree with that. I've always found them a valuable resource.

NJAOwner - we are not cutting back on the items your mentioned. As stated previously its most likely occurred because the airplane has not visited a stock locker recently. Not that I'm offering that as a good excuse; the crew can always order additional stock as required through catering - although its difficult to get Netjets branded playing cards in some of the more out of the way places!

Here's the bottom line - the front office Owner Service Representatives (also known as the pilots of Netjets) understand how difficult it is to attract new owners, and how easy it is to lose the ones we already have.

The only reason we get to fly in the front is because our owners choose to ride in the back. Why would I not take care of you? After all, your paying for my daughters education.

If you ever have an issue with a flight I would suggest you take it up with the crew. With due respect to the back office Owner Service Representatives in Columbus the crew often has the 'Big Picture' and we would like the opportunity to resolve the problem then and there.

If your not happy, we're not happy.

 

[NJAowner]

Oz -- I do not want to burden the crew with issues which are not in their area of responsibility.

And - so no one misinterpret my posts - I still believe that NJA is great and the best in its market. Just not as good as it once was, but hopefully it will get back there. I remain a thankful NJA owner.

 

[fischman]

Oz -- I do not want to burden the crew with issues which are not in their area of responsibility.

And - so no one misinterpret my posts - I still believe that NJA is great and the best in its market. Just not as good as it once was, but hopefully it will get back there. I remain a thankful NJA owner.

Please let the crews know if something, ANYTHING, doesn't meet your standards. Your satisfaction is our responsibility!

 

[realityman]

Please let the crews know if something, ANYTHING, doesn't meet your standards. Your satisfaction is our responsibility!

I agree 100%!! While flying the plane safely is our first and foremost priority, it is by no stretch our ONLY priority. After safety, the owner's comfort and convenience is the next most important task we, the crews, perform.

If something isn't right, please, tell the crew first! We are the ones who can usually get something resolved the quickest.

As always, thank you for your business NJAOwner!

 

[fischman]

I agree 100%!! While flying the plane safely is our first and foremost priority, it is by no stretch our ONLY priority. After safety, the owner's comfort and convenience is the next most important task we, the crews, perform.

If something isn't right, please, tell the crew first! We are the ones who can usually get something resolved the quickest.

As always, thank you for your business NJAOwner!

I agree with your agreeing with me. BWAAHAHAHAH!!!!!:beer:

 

[fishfry]

As a consumer, I'm w/ NJAowner. I can certainly see not wanting to bother the crew about the lack of playing cards, as an example. You are paying a lot for the flight, so you have a reasonable expectation that everything will be just so. However, if it is not, the crew is not always who you want to complain to.

First of all, there's really no way to complain about your private jet flight without looking (or feeling, or maybe even *being*) like a complete ******************************. Even if the crew doesn't look at it that way, you've got to admit that's the reality of the situation for minor complaints. You're already so fortunate to be traveling that way that any complaint just seems like you're tempting the gods to smite you down for being such an ungrateful dick.

What it really seems like happens in those situations is that the *system* is at fault. I don't want to complain to the ops team that my pilot didn't stock enough mini-mothwashes for the flight because I don't believe it's his/her fault. If I thought the pilots weren't thorough and by the book, I wouldn't get on the plane in the first place. If there aren't any playing cards or enough mini-mouthwashes on the plane, my feeling is that the reason is that they were not on the crew's list (and you guys have to admit that no one can go over a check list like a pilot -- with the possible exception of a pair of them). What you want is a way to feed that information back to the operator without making the (always conscientious, in my experience) crew feel bad about something that's not their fault or getting them in trouble back at home.

Best,

fs

ps: Interesting I can say dick, but not ******************************. I would have guessed it would be the other way around ;-)

 

[grounded92]

Communication between crew and pax

Hello all,

I've been flying private jets for over 12 years and this thread perfectly summarizes crew/passenger communication. I'm wondering if the fractional companies could use this type of medium to facilitate improved relations between their varied groups.

I think it is important for the passengers to understand that many of the fractional pilots never intended to be in the customer service business. Their career expectations involved big iron, newspapers in the cockpit, crew meals and hotel rooms. This is important because many have not made the transition to pilot/customer service agent.

While many of us fractional pilots find satisfaction in the intimate charter setting and the customer contact, some don't. Yet. Please let your pilots know when the service isn't up to par. I know from experience that many pilots don't understand what the owners really value.

Example: I flew with a military/airline pilot who filled all the cabin stock space with chocolate nu-go bars. When I asked why he didn't add a little variety he was honestly confused. His experience was that if you were hungry you would eat....whatever was at hand. He was an awesome pilot but unable to see how the airplane looked from the back.

A owner pointing out deficiencies could have a much larger impact than the “counseling” of a co-pilot or management.

 

[Pervis]

Grounded, I can't speak for all fractionals, but NJA is very specific during the interview and IOE to address the areas you mentioned. I'll bet our competitors do as well. While former military and big iron pilots may need to adjust, it is ingrained from the get go that customer service is on a completely different level than boarding, turning left and closing the door.

All fleets have a clean and stock checklist, although some are admittedly outdated due to recent changes. These are being addressed. When you have 70-100 of one type a/c, it's important to standardize, as I'm sure you can understand. Can some crews do it better? You bet. But most do a pretty darn good job given the limited number of stock lockers and recent manning issues.

Fishfry and NJA owner, it is indeed the crew's responsibility to ensure the cabin is stocked and in working order if at all possible. It's no small thing to me when the deck of cards you've become accustomed to are not available. Additionally, if you like items that are not standard, you have every right to place that request on your profile or catering order and expect them to be available for your flight. These are not unreasonable requests from customers who pay top dollar for our services. It may seem rare in today's world, but I can honestly say that if you're not happy, I'm not happy-until I can change your situation to your satisfaction if it is at all within my grasp. I can also assure you whatever concerns you have will not interfere with the safe operation of YOUR aircraft. Pilots generally compartentalize very well.

 

[fischman]

Well said Pervis. I know I certainly don't mind getting in a crew car to get a deck of cards if it will make the person who makes decisions about a million dollar contract with my company happy. If something doesn't meet the standards of an owner the crew is usually the only ones who can immediately do anything about it.

Please let us know!

 

[Mike Jenvey]

<<<< Please let us know! >>>>

Concur!!

 

[DAS at 10/250]

All fleets have a clean and stock checklist, although some are admittedly outdated due to recent changes. These are being addressed. When you have 70-100 of one type a/c, it's important to standardize, as I'm sure you can understand. Can some crews do it better? You bet. But most do a pretty darn good job given the limited number of stock lockers and recent manning issues.

Sorry Pervis, but I'm calling complete and utter bullsh!t on this statement.

I saw zero difference in the quality of the airplane given to me from the previous crew from the 2008 hey days and the idle days of 2009. Every single Sovereign that I picked up I threw away at least 50% of the on board stock items. And 99% of all airplanes were NOT stocked in accordance (or even close) to the NJA 680 Master Stock list. Hell, most pilots didn't even know we had such a list.

Maybe it's gotten better since 16 Jan 2010, but I doubt it.

If your airplane isn't stocked it's a good bet it is your pilots fault.

 

[rajflyboy]

NJA Weather Department

Key to this is taking the weather information and relating this information to the flight operation from point A to point B.

Does NJA weather do that?? Well to be honest I don't think they do. This job is really up to the Pilots on that particular flight. The pilots are more capable of taking this weather information and making a "Go" or "No Go" descision or possibly finding a better route or altitude that would be more conducive to safe flight.

 

[Pervis]

Sorry Pervis, but I'm calling complete and utter bullsh!t on this statement.

I saw zero difference in the quality of the airplane given to me from the previous crew from the 2008 hey days and the idle days of 2009. Every single Sovereign that I picked up I threw away at least 50% of the on board stock items. And 99% of all airplanes were NOT stocked in accordance (or even close) to the NJA 680 Master Stock list. Hell, most pilots didn't even know we had such a list.

Maybe it's gotten better since 16 Jan 2010, but I doubt it.

If your airplane isn't stocked it's a good bet it is your pilots fault.

Just curious. What did you do about it? Email the previous crew? Call Pro Standards or the ACP? There are those that need a little push at times, and doing nothing gets nothing done. There has indeed been improvement of late, but we can always be better. As soon as we think we can't, we're doomed.

 

[rajflyboy]

Just curious. What did you do about it? Email the previous crew? Call Pro Standards or the ACP? There are those that need a little push at times, and doing nothing gets nothing done. There has indeed been improvement of late, but we can always be better. As soon as we think we can't, we're doomed.

So.....

You are x pilot that will not carry extra stock and then you fly your Cessna XL on a pax trip into Eldorado Arkansas. On the trip your pax take most all of the stock off the airplane and bada bing you happen to have a pax trip out of Eldorado in 1 hour heading back to your beloved KTEB.

What happens then? You don't have the time to cater the stock in and you hosed yourself by not having extra stock. You really hose the pax who wanted to drink a few drinks that you cannot find at the FBO.

So... how goes it??

There are many angles that make some of this stuff interesting. I wont rip on a guy that wants some extra stock on the airplane. In the same message I will not rip on a guy that is straight by the book either.

 

[DAS at 10/250]

Just curious. What did you do about it? Email the previous crew? Call Pro Standards or the ACP? There are those that need a little push at times, and doing nothing gets nothing done. There has indeed been improvement of late, but we can always be better. As soon as we think we can't, we're doomed.

I addressed the issue with ACP's during recurrent and with our "king" (I mean that in a nice way, he really knows the 680). The common reply was a shoulder shrug and a "what ya going to do?"

Where the fault is, I don't know. I do know that our restock "system" is/was broken.

The other thing that drove me effing nuts was that CMH would schedule the aircraft for a cleaning that night and not inform the crew. So, we'd bust our arses getting the airplane clean again so that the company could pay a crew to come in and do very little behind us. If you're going to hire a crew to clean then let the crew know. Why pay OT after 12 and cut into extra rest when we're already hiring someone to do the job?

Edit: I forget to address two other issues.

ProStans at NJA is tits worthless. They have zero authority to do anything other then have a kumbaya phone conference.

Emailing the previous crew always comes with a prepackaged response:"Sorry, we only had 30 min to catch our flight home".

 

[NJAowner]

Under stocked

Raj -- in that case the pilot says to the second owner "I apologize but the owner before you took all the ...." Since we are in XXX, Ark. and can't get restocked even by our caterer we apoligize (and maybe offer a free ugradein the future??) Honesty is the best policy and most owners are capable of understanding if told the truth.