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Change is in the air at XOJET...

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propsarebest said:
DO NOT QUOTE ME ON THIS, but I have heard that the HS125 guys are being thrown back to the right seat. Just a rumor.
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Well, a lot of rumors in our building have proven to be completely wrong as of late.

I don't have a good grip on the fleet transferred Hawker captains' DOH vs "original" X/300 folks who have upgraded in the last year or so (they few upgrades we've had lately). If this rumor is true, would that mean the downgrades were done out of reversed seniority?
 
flyzimex said:
Well, a lot of rumors in our building have proven to be completely wrong as of late.

I don't have a good grip on the fleet transferred Hawker captains' DOH vs "original" X/300 folks who have upgraded in the last year or so (they few upgrades we've had lately). If this rumor is true, would that mean the downgrades were done out of reversed seniority?
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The Hawker street Captains jumped half the seniority list when they were hired and they are all still pretty darn junior. I doubt there are any Captains Jr. to the Hawker street Captains. That's not to say more senior guys were not upgraded after the Street Captains were hired, but DOH rules not time in seat. I've heard it has been an ongoing bone of contention amongst the pilot group especially since the Hawkers were retired, and as much as I don't like to see anyone downgraded, this at least sets that wrong right. I wonder if they will re-upgrade by seniority order or get to jump the line again when upgrades resume?
 
Guess I should have been more clear with my question. Know that I'm luckily not personally affected by any of this.

I fully agree with what the company did with the Hawker guys being upgraded over many of our senior, and deserving, FOs was wrong. In other words, as much as it sucks for any potentially affected Hawker guy this would set things straight again should this rumor be true. My stand has never been against the Hawker guys themselves, the company created that mess, but they were awarded something they should never have been given in the first place if all was done strictly by DOH.

Obviously with no union on property the company can do as they please, right or wrong. Fortunately it appears with our new leadership common and logical sense has entered the equation again.

Hopefully we'll know more by tomorrow.
 
No doubt about it. It wasn't the Hawker guys fault at all, and I have nothing against any of them.

Also, it's a difficult situation when you add a new fleet to an Argus Platinum operator. They have rules about crew pairings and time in type, so it's not so simple. Some street Captains are necessary at the beginning if you don't have experienced guys willing to move to the new fleet. XO just hired too many of them because they wanted to get all the planes on line at the same time. The problem was compounded when the fleet was retired in such a short time period. Like I've said before, It was a poorly thought out decision to bring on those old airplanes, and the outcome was predictable.
 
propsarebest said:
We barely have enough X guys\gals as it is now. The 300 fleet is just barely correctly staffed. There are also going to be reductions in the office as well.
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Exactly... As soon as they can't cover surge I think changes will have to be made. Hopefully they won't be losing anymore aircraft.
 
No surge crews UFN. If you happen to be ferrying a plane to MX, be prepared to airline to another MX base as soon as you drop off the first one.
 
propsarebest said:
No surge crews UFN. If you happen to be ferrying a plane to MX, be prepared to airline to another MX base as soon as you drop off the first one.
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I was put on surge for tomorrow on my "duty on day". Unfortunately not home surge, but in TEB via a one stop airlining. :(
 
el raton said:
Any truth to the rumor that XO has been or is in the process of being sold?
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Nothing that we've been told. Anybody that claims to have heard from a "reliable source" needs to question the credibility of that source. Anybody in the know would likely have had to sign a non-disclosure agreement. If it happens, we aren't likely to hear anything until after the fact.

TPG has had their money tied up in us for awhile now, much longer than is typical for them, so I'm sure they would entertain any reasonable offer.
 
That rumor has been floating around Options for some time..Just like the Flex deal you won't know til after the fact
 
The anecdotal evidence of where money is being spent says no we're not in trouble. Paychecks arrive on time and don't bounce. Vendors are paid on time and in full. Fleet wide upgrade to Gogo Text & Talk in progress. Initial new hire type ratings and transition training type ratings all in progress. Almost 100% increase in daily OT rate effective Nov 2013. Pay raises for pilots effective Jan 1. Pilot attrition has been incredible and they are finally admitting it's a problem and the purse strings are starting to loosen up.

With all that being said, I'm just a pilot and nowhere near the circle of trust. Just an observers opinion. Looking for strategic opportunities to expand? Yes. As in the GMJ/intel shuttle contract that we now operate.
 
t-bone said:
The anecdotal evidence of where money is being spent says no we're not in trouble. Paychecks arrive on time and don't bounce. Vendors are paid on time and in full. Fleet wide upgrade to Gogo Text & Talk in progress. Initial new hire type ratings and transition training type ratings all in progress. Almost 100% increase in daily OT rate effective Nov 2013. Pay raises for pilots effective Jan 1. Pilot attrition has been incredible and they are finally admitting it's a problem and the purse strings are starting to loosen up.

With all that being said, I'm just a pilot and nowhere near the circle of trust. Just an observers opinion. Looking for strategic opportunities to expand? Yes. As in the GMJ/intel shuttle contract that we now operate.
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I'd agree with your assessment. I used to work for a larger 135 and when they got in trouble it was widely known that Bombardier was holding aircraft at BAS facilities for payment, parts were COD, and other similar nonsense. Even then some had their heads in the sand. Doesn't sound like XO is in a similar situation. Attrition will probably be an issue for everyone with the big 121's hiring.
 
Downwind said:
Is XO in trouble or just a possible expansion?
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I would say yes their in trouble. Recently a xo customer told me that xo was charging hourly rates so low because they needed cash and said there was no way they could keep doing it and stay in business.

Maybe DAC is waiting like a vulture to pick up what's leftover from them. I think Pete Liegl would be a fool to try to acquire them.
 
chief9404 said:
I would say yes their in trouble. Recently a xo customer told me that xo was charging hourly rates so low because they needed cash and said there was no way they could keep doing it and stay in business.

Maybe DAC is waiting like a vulture to pick up what's leftover from them. I think Pete Liegl would be a fool to try to acquire them.
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Well, based on that premise, we've been in trouble since the day I flew a trip from TEB-VNY for $14,500. That was 6 years ago. You see, the thing is, when we need to move a plane into position for a client that is paying $8500/hour with a 2 hour minimum, we sometimes go to the wholesale markets and fire-sale that one-way leg. The airplane is going regardless, may as well get someone else to pay for the gas. Your passengers, on that particular day, could have gotten one of those deals. It's all part of the model to minimize empty legs.
 

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