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Avantair thriving in this economic downturn...

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NJW once again 5 years in service at avantair pays more. I know this is threatening to you and your cause but ignoring it will not make it go away. It is pretty obvious that upgrade times at Netjets have slipped and as a result this will impact the pilots expected salaries. You have plenty to focus on at Netjets why dont you do that. We are fine.
 
Again, I have to protest. NJW, you simply do not know much about my company. You say our executives are overcompensated and our pilots are underpaid. How do you know that those bonuses were actually accepted? How can you possibly know what our work rules are? You want to be inclusive, but you tell us what is wrong with us before you ask the opinions of those who would actually know. So, NJW, let me ask you. Have you seen a single post from an active Avantair pilot that seemed even vaguely discontented? I can't remember any. And yet you tell me that I am undercompensated. Please, let me be the judge of that, and I will happily refrain from suggesting that I know anything about the virtues or problems that may or may not be occuring at NetJets. That way I can continue to feed my family safe in the knowledge that my company is profitable, growing, and content, and you can rest easy certain that you have not caused harm where you did not mean to.

Again, I appreciate the civil discourse, if not the intent.

Regards, Wacoflyr
 
NJW, leave this alone please. You are making us look like a$s holes. These guys are all grown up and take care of their own issues.
 
The fear of one company undercutting another is a valid concern because it does happen-- frequently. I hate the thought of pilots' wages potentially being a part of that; if they were closer that wouldn't be an issue.


Avantair is undercutting the big 4. That's a fact and it's not disputed. But it's not being done because of pilot pay. It's being done because of the plane we operate. My airplane generates 20% of it's lift from it's fuselage. Every plane NetJets flies gets ZERO lift form it's fuselage. In fact, every NetJets planes gets less than zero lift from the fuselage, they get drag too.

The point is it's not my pay that allows Avantair to undercut. It's a plane that goes just as high, goes 9% slower, but burns 60% less gas, and has a bigger cabin.

How about you rail on Planesense for awhile. They fly the "other" turbo prop fractional and their 5yr CA is listed on Airline Pilot Central as only 56K. That's WAY WAY WAY less than Avantair.

I asked before what 5yr NetJet Captains made when NetJets was on it's six year mark. You replied with some sillyness. So what was it? When RTS ran NetJets for 6 years, what was the 5yr Captain pay rate. I'll even let you adjust for inflation. Go on. Spill it. You want to compare apples to apples? Then post what a 5yr NetJet Captain made in 1992. Until then stop insulting me and my family by complaining how little I make.


GP
.11
 
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Glass, I didn't understand your question at first because you guys focus way more on the age of each company than I do. It's a valid question but one that would require lots of research to do a fair comparison--economics of the time, frac market back then, company financial backing...etc..etc... It sounds interesting; I look forward to your report...:) But even if it turned out to be about the same what difference would that make? The NJA pilotgroup wouldn't do things the same way again, knowing how it turned out. They were underpaid waaay too long. I think all the fracs can learn something from each other.

I know I learn a lot from posting with you guys. I've never heard of Planesense. Now, hopefully, that admission doesn't upset BF who's worried about me talking to you guys about issues we're all affected by. ;) Likewise, I didn't know your plane burned 60% less gas. That's impressive. From an environmental aspect, especially, I hope it motivates other manufacturers and frac companies to follow suit.

BF, hopefully Avantair pilots and other FI members are fair enough and mature enough not to hold my curiosity and concern about the industry against others. I feel it would be rude of me to ignore their questions after asking my own and I've always believed that greater understanding comes with increased discussion of the issues.

Waco, I'm trying to learn. Please be patient and understand that I do have good intentions. I want to see all the frac pilots respected and compensated like the professionals they are. I didn't say something is wrong with Avantair pilots. It's the big gaps in frac pay that I find unfair. My strong support for the Options pilotgroup should tell you guys that. As for discontented posts--not recently but there have been some in the past and I have also exchanged PMs with Avantair pilots who wanted to see more pilot involvement there.

Haz, I agree that 5 yr service pay should be studied--not ignored. Had I not posted with you guys I may have missed that. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, so that I can follow the issue.

Aft, I'm glad to be able to tell you that you've missed the mark by a mile. It's not my family's income that concerns me. (I fully encourage those in the military to go for the retirement pay as it makes a huge difference and brings a lot of peace of mind and security.) Aside from my basic dislike of unbalanced situations where there isn't a logical justification, my concern stems from knowing that one group's payscale does affect others. We saw that when many frac pilots got a raise after the NJ pilots did and I know that frac pay--industry wide--is dissected at the bargaining table. I think increased wages at Avantair could help the Flt Ops pilotgroup. Additionally, if your 5yr pay is better than that for NJ FOs then that could be used to help them out when the contract is amended.

Readers, at my house we regularly discuss the plight of many other aviation families. I firmly believe that we're all in this together and I've never meant to slight any of you. :( My apologies to those who misunderstood me; apparently I didn't express myself clearly enough. Best Wishes, NJW
 
NJW, no one in the above posts misunderstood that you wanted to comment about our company's compensation package in a manner that was less than complimentary. We got one of your sad faces. Remember, there is no firmer base from which to make sweeping judgements than complete ignorance. We tried, in our varied ways, to explain to you that you were mistaken, and that we did not want your interference, no matter how well intentioned. You simply do not understand what is going on here, or what our quality of life is truly like. As an example, did you know that we almost never sit ready at the FBO? We stay in our hotels until we are truly needed. I frequently see NetJets guys sitting around at the FBO's, but the fact is I can only guess that they have a different policy, and that it may or may not work for them. Should I get upset that they might have work rules that are inferior to my own? I doubt that they would appreciate my interference. Do you see what I mean? One and all, we suggested that you please stay out of our business. Why would you then ignore our main point, while answering the minor ones?

Increasingly frustrated,

Wacoflyr
 
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C425, I'm only advocating that pilots speak up and seek credit for their contribution What makes you think we haven't? We just got a raise for our FO's - I guess that's not enough for you; how they interact with their management depends on the relationship they have. We have a good relationship. Obviously, each group can go it alone, but there is the viewpoint that more is to be gained from working together and I agree with that perspective. Please don't falsely claim that I'm disappointed in Avantair pilots. I have great respect for pilots, in general, and think frac pilots, particularly, work very hard. I'm disappointed that your company is growing but your wages aren't--yet. We are part of OUR company. When you said you were disappointed in Avantair you included us. I'm frustrated that this industry (actually, aviation in general) is quick to recognize upper management/executives with generous salaries, bonuses, stock options, etc but much slower to reward (in some cases even respect) Who are you to say we're not respected? pilots who are the front-line employees charged with customer service and safety.

I object to the term "harassing" that is not my intention, nor my attitude. From someone on the recieving end of your comments, I firmly disagree and stand behind my use of the work "harass". About your examples: SWA has a history of respecting employees and paying fairly. In the early days of SWA, they were paid much less than their peers, but still made a livable wage. That helped them achieve their market share and eventually made their pilots the highest paid 737 crews in the country. Unfortunately, NJA was slow to catch on and many broken promises preceded the current contract. Many NJA pilots will tell you that they waited too long to speak up. I'm not proposing instant and exact NJ payscales, Then what are you proposing? I asked you that before and still no answer. You do have a solution in mind, don't you? but I do firmly believe that Avantair pilots, along with their peers deserve to be in the same ballpark. I asked you in a previous post how you propose this happen without negatively affecting our bottom line and still no answer - I'm seeing a trend here. Detailed solutions are the purvey of those directly involved, chosen to represent their group in whatever capacity the majority deems best. Apparently, in your opinion none of us are doing a good job of it. If you are going to continue to harass us I suggest you offer up at least one solution. As we all know, I'm part of the support structure. I'm a cheerleader according to some here...:p Yes, you have been called a cheerleader. Reminds me of a not so funny version of the Molly Shannon and Will Ferrel SNL skit - they make a lot of noise, think everyone loves them, not very good at what they do and are generally annoying.

I do concede that my knowledge of the NJA pilots struggle for professional compensation affects my outlook and makes it harder for me to have faith in the IOU system. What is a realistic time line for wage increases at Avantair? As the one who is constantly on us about this, how about you take a stab at that answer - but we all know you will avoid it with some unartful dodge. How many quarters of posting profits does your group see as a fair time to wait? I don't know - you tell us. I ask questions because I think we can all learn something from each other. I do recognize the concept of working collectively for a common goal; Work together for a common goal? Sounds good, but that would require that we agree to work with you. We're doing just fine over here. If we need anything from you we know where to find you. I just tend to take a broader view and look for improvements for frac families industry wide.NJW

Ever notice that you don't get too many positive responses from our pilots on here? Ever wonder why?
 
NJW once again 5 years in service at avantair pays more..

HM,

Just so we're clear, according to APC (I know that you mentioned that those payscales are inaccurate but that's the info that I have), A 5th year captain at Avantair makes $4000 more that a fifth year NJ FO on the 7 and 7, $1000 less that an FO on the 15 day flex, and $9000 less than a FO on the 18 day schedule.

I do realize that doesn't take into account any of the voluntary measures, but it also doesn't factor in any overtime. BTW I don't know how overtime at Avantair is handled, so I certaintly can't speak for their additional earnings either. I also hope the best for both pilot groups.

IP
 

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