Biggest compaints from owners??

[smfav8r]

I was just curious what are the biggest complaints owners have about fractional ownership?

From owners and pilots I've talked too: scheduling seems to be a problem, not getting the same type of aircraft you purchased, lack of personal attention, different crews, etc.

Are there any other gripes from owners you hear on a regular basis?

The reason I ask is....I own a small 135 operation and I'm looking to add a couple of fractional ownership aircraft.

Any problems or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[leardawg]

When I flew for a Frac a common thread seemed to be a lack of truth telling and straightforwardness from owner services. Apparently, being BSed and outright lied to was a fairly common occurence.

One example: We had an early morning trip originally scheduled for another airplane. Because of duty/rest requirements, we would not be able to make the original pickup time. When we arrived, the owner casually asked "So you guys had some weather delays getting out of XYZ I hear?", when in fact the weather was fine. Owner Services made up a bogus story rather than just tell the guy the real situation. When they find out about things like that (which they often do, because by and large they aren't stupid), it leaves a very bad taste in their mouths.

 

[gunfyter]

Sell Offs

 

[notaNJApilot]

Sell Offs

x 10

the owner pays to fly on NetJets aircraft, not someone else's.

 

[gutshotdraw]

1) Sell-offs

2) Owner Services, er, "creative representations"

3) Scheduling

4) Catering

5) Ground Transportation

 

[Dep676]

At Options I would say that they are lied to by owner services on a constant basis. That really makes them happy then we get to hear about it.

 

[Dilligaff]

I agree with gunfyter and notaNJApilot. Chartering another type of plane is the most common complaint that I hear. I was in LAS and we had two customers there and one of them had a Citation chartered for them. They were trying to fight over who was going to take the chartered plane because they both wanted to fly on the plane that they bought a share of.

Others include:

Catering (wrong meals, no meals, no condiments or flatware)

Overzealous sales department ("this plane can outperform the space shuttle and carry twice as much!") Be realistic with the performace capabilities of the airplane when presenting it to your owners, i.e. payload vs. range.

Communication Don't BS these people. They didn't become millionaires because they're idiots! They can see through it.

They expect everything to be taken care of for them if they request it. (ground transportation - limo or rental cars, catering, hotels, etc) If they ask for it, give it to them. That's what they pay you for.

While I'm at it, here's some complaints from pilots:

Schedules, or lack thereof

Getting up to date charts

Scheduling hotels and ground transportation in a timely manner

Arranging customs and providing the proper customs documentation

Communication

Our company is doing a great job of listening to and addressing these problems brought up by the crews. They are your eyes and ears of what's going on out there.

Good luck to you. I hope it works out.

Dilligaff

 

[smfav8r]

Thanks for the replies so far.

Sounds like Owner Services are reading from the playbook from Customer Service at the airlines.

I'm thinking less owners per bird may help with some of the above problems.

Instead of 16 owners, maybe 10?

Does anyone know if most of the owners of a 1/16th share use there full 50 hours?

Most of my customers complain about the monthly charges at the Fractionals. They feel if they don't fly their airplane that month, they shouldn't be charge. They would rather buy block time, like the Marquis Card with NJ.

That being said, the ego driver still creates a need for ownership and not just plan charter.

I figure 10 owners with 75 hours per year may work out well, but I could be wrong...

Any thoughts?

 

[smfav8r]

Dilligaff,

Thanks for the response.

I agree with you 100% about listening to the crews.

Luckily for my crews, I still fly constently. And man do I get earfulls when something is completely FUBAR!

I try and fix any and all of the problems brought up by the crews. So far, so good.

I'm trying to get a jump on any associated problems with fractional ownership, trying to get it right out of the shoot so to speak.

I'm hoping to learn from any mistakes some of the bigger companies make.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[notaNJApilot]

16 owners per a/c? 10 owners per a/c? that's still too much. more owners means more possibility of someone else wanting your aircraft at the same time you do. so the fix is to have more aircraft available, but as a startup, you probably don't have that option.

when santulli started NetJets, he sold quarter shares...hence the QS tail.

things like the marquis jet card with 1/32 shares are another contributing factor to the lack of profit at netjets.