FLOPS furlough another 24

[dime line]

In a couple of years Flexjet might as well be called FlightOptions. It will be the same company with the same old FLOPS players running it. Just remember RTA/FLOPS equaled about 225 airplanes and 950 pilots back in 2002, and in 2013 prior to FLEX , we had about 80 ish planes and 400 ish pilots, that is a decline in business under this management and prior managements. So FLOPS has never grown since Riccis merger with RTA.

Look at how things are going now, FLOPS, more or less was a viable company, now we're loosing BJ and CX, so all that is left is 40 ish phenoms and 5 legacy. Pretty stellar record for 20+ years in business.
Look at FLEX, (flex guys chime in as I'm not up on your numbers) LJ 45 going away, LJ85 (not flex fault) not coming. LJ 75 (Ricci rocket 2) not quite the badazz plane it was suppose to be, did order 20 C350, only a couple of g450's and globals + 1-g650 ???, only one ordered I guess, I forgot his personal g-5.
Aerion of (2014)....= Lineage of 2003( pipe dream of riccis)

 

[ksu_aviator]

Everyone at FO and Flex should know what is coming. Union busting strategies are not unpublished. Did you expect a furlough? You should have. I'd expect another one, probably about a month before sitting down and really hitting the negotiations. Expect another one as negotiations draw to a close.

Also, expect cut backs on perks. Like your crew meal? Well, don't expect shrimp and steak requests to be honored. You might get imitation crab and bologna sandwiches. You should also expect to see MEL items deferred and extended more often. There will be more enforcement of rules that aren't well enforced, like uniforms or delays. Someone will be fired for something that wasn't so bad. You will be told that the company is in trouble and the only way to save your job is to give in.

You can fight back. Be very very familiar with company rules and your contract. DO NOT VIOLATE EITHER FOR ANYTHING EVER! Make sure your uniforms are pristine and that the company never hears you complain. If they hear you complain, they'll keep going down the same path because, in their mind, you are about to break. File formal complaints with the union and do it as often as company/contract violations happen, but never...NEVER...for anything that didn't happen. NEVER spread rumors. If you want to turn pilots against the union, spreading rumors that are not true is the fastest way to do that. The union should establish a word of mouth campaign with designated pilots that are given truthful information to give to other pilots. Do not repeat anything that doesn't come from a designated pilot. Be positive about your needs. Better pay and better schedule would make me more productive.

In short, be professional, be honest and don't give them anything to use against you in negotiations. You have the upper hand. This is the worst time for a company to negotiate. Demand is high, supply is low and you are the seller in a seller's market.

 

[Imissmypilot]

You know KSU Aviator, as much as I have railed against our union leadership at Flexjet I do have to give them props. They have never lied, even when it would have done them some good in the short term.

Meanwhile all I can see from management is lie after lie after lie. Just got confirmation today from a trusted source who's been right about everything else: in the weeks prior to the roll out of the RL VP announcement, RH has been actively recruiting low seniority numbers into the DRL and IRL programs. He's promised them spots out of seniority regardless of what the rules supposedly are. Shameles.

Yet half the Flexjet list still want to believe it will all work out if they just let it ride. Hard to believe after the predictions of everything the union said would happen have come true, we are still not getting that Kenn Ricci is a ruthless narcissist who will stop at nothing to get his way.

Our choice is merely whether or not we're okay with that. I guess some guys have their answer. Sadly it is that they are just fine with it.

 

[shanes123]

Ksu and imisspilot two most on the point posts seen in long time . I only disagree with the fact KR picked FLEX for a reason he had a grip on the pulse of the pilot group. That's why Citation Air deal didn't work. He has found the IGM of the industry and nothing is gonna change the majority. Decert will happen. And this company will be setting the bar for a whole new low while he gets richer n richer. Anyone see the new uniforms the Marching Band got?
Any Flex guys wake up yet? naaahhhh

 

[GlorifiedCabbie]

if anybody wants to make their own donation;
Notre Dame Bands
100 Ricci Band Rehearsal Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone: (574) 631-7136

 

[jetwash]

if anybody wants to make their own donation;
Notre Dame Bands
100 Ricci Band Rehearsal Hall
Notre Dame, IN 46556
Phone: (574) 631-7136

So it wasn't the ROTC uniform that he wore on campus, it was the marching band uniform?

 

[jetwash]

I can only imagine which group of pilots are going to get to wear the old marching band uniforms.

 

[shanes123]

That's hilarious. But sickening at the same time. And probably all true

 

[GlorifiedCabbie]

Yeah, but he can save a buck with used uniforms.

 

[shanes123]

Looks like he saved a few Bucks on the Dead Label Uniforms. I'm thinking Salvation Army rack.

 

[doh]

Looks like he saved a few Bucks on the Dead Label Uniforms. I'm thinking Salvation Army rack.

I'm thinking gay clown college summer garage sale...

 

[Imissmypilot]

I can only imagine which group of pilots are going to get to wear the old marching band uniforms.

Yeah, but he can save a buck with used uniforms.

Looks like he saved a few Bucks on the Dead Label Uniforms. I'm thinking Salvation Army rack.

I'm thinking gay clown college summer garage sale...

I'm really surprised no one has picked up on this.

Ricci is a primary investor of Affinity Apparel, the vendor for our dead label Nazi uniform. This comes through his ties to Resilience capital partners which resurrected it from Lion and rebranded it. There are many juggling balls in Ricci's act and you have to watch them all. DAC, Resilience, Stone Briar, Dragon plus a lot more not so well known ties.

The rush to get us all in the Nazi uniform before JCBA forces us back to the professional attire we are used to is so he can use this opportunity to funnel profits to his other companies and show a loss on the OneSky books.

Why just enough for less than a rotations worth of supply? I'm sure a cost benefit analysis was run to get that number into the sweet spot of his scheme. It's such an arbitrary and useless number. Too much to overlook but not enough to implement a professional standard. That should have been your first clue even if you had not known about Ricci's ties to Affinity.

The $5 million donation to Notre Dame was specifically for new uniforms. Who do you think they are going to use as the vendor for these uniforms?

Ding ding ding. Did I mention Kenn Ricci is on the board of trustees at ND that makes that decision? Do I have to spell out more?

In the real world this is called money laundering and tax evasion (or at least the first steps of it) but it's how him and his ilk play the game and win.

I'd be willing to bet money his wife or daughter is receiving design consultation fees for the new uniform too (a common practice in this scheme) but I can't get the right data to prove it.

Meanwhile all the sheep look up from their red label trough and bleat at his generosity and innovation before they dip their heads back in for the next round of gimme's.

Part of me is tempted to say he learned this trick from all his time spent as the Clinton's personal pilot but even I know one trip to Charlottesville does not qualify him as truly part of their inner circle.

 

[Imissmypilot]

BTW for those of you who are unaware, we refer to it as the Nazi uniform because one of our owners, with an Aushwitz tattoo to prove it, said the new uniforms reminded her of what the guards wore in the German prison camps. It was extremely upsetting for her.

This information was passed up the chain by several people. As expected, management acknowledged the transmission with promises to look into it and did nothing. Several months later, we're back on the uniform plan.

 

[shanes123]

Very Good Info. Did not know any of that but it does not surprise me one bit. Makes perfect sense actually.

I think we should get those big hats they wear. And maybe a free Trumpet we can stand in the FBO and blow it when waiting for the PAX so they don't have a hard time finding their pilot when they arrive


Any Flex guys wake up yet? naaahhhh!!!!

 

[GlorifiedCabbie]

"Why just enough for less than a rotations worth of supply? I'm sure a cost benefit analysis was run to get that number into the sweet spot of his scheme. It's such an arbitrary and useless number. Too much to overlook but not enough to implement a professional standard. That should have been your first clue even if you had not known about Ricci's ties to Affinity."
The uniform issue is a joke. You can't get 6 months out of a shirt even if you scrub the collars with comet with bleach. The collars are ruined after a couple of months, but I guess that is the professional look they want.