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flexjet problem at IAD

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Yea, And............

Yes..and....????

YOu sound like you are bitter towards Flexjet...

Get a life.

Muahahahahaha
 
Re: Yea, And............

Turbinehead said:
Yes..and....????

YOu sound like you are bitter towards Flexjet...

Get a life.

Muahahahahaha


Oh brother, talk about a vivid imagination....

I think YOU are the one whom needs to obtain a meaningful life....
 
Turbinehead,

A little harsh, don't you think? I think the original question posed was a legit question... I've seen countless Flexjet aircraft broken down all over the country. And I have 3-4 friends who fly Lear 60s and Lear 45s for Flexjet who complain about maintenance and training issues. So, a question like the one posed is completely appropriate - he saw a broken aircraft and was inquiring about it... You need to lighten up!
 
WOW

Wow - I mentioned something I saw, facts only (and yes, I would have mentioned it if it was any bizjet) and I am bitter?

Clearly there is nothing that I can say without something being read into it.
 
flexjet mx

Lumber yak:

What do you mean you've seen broken-down Flexjet airplanes all over the country? Do you mean to say that we have broken, burned-out airframes just rotting at airports all over the U.S., towed onto disused ramps, missing engines, control surfaces, and wheels, just waiting to be scavenged for scrap aluminum?

Or have you just seen some flexjet airplanes in maintenance?

So what if you've seen our airplanes in mx? How did you know they were broken down? Did you look at the mx log books? Check the MEL? Talk to the mechanics working on them? Talk to the pilots?

I doubt it. My point is, it sounds like you really don't have the foggiest idea what you're talking about.

If you have, in fact, ever seen a Flexjet airplane in mx somewhere, how do you know it wasn't scheduled mx? How do you know it wasn't a weekly service check? Flexjet uses mx providers in serveral locations around the country.

So, do Flexjet airplanes ever "break"? As a matter of fact, Flexjet airplanes do break, as all airplanes do. Big deal. We have excellent maintenance AND training (as the FAA, NASA, and several aviation auditing firms will attest).

And for your "friends" who complain about mx and training issues... well, whatever. No response to such vague statements is necessary. What was wrong, the instructor have bad breath? Is training too long? Did he fail a checkride?
 
Flexlrpilot357,

A bit stressed? Could that be because your company has gone down hill and is no longer seen as a "major" frax competitor? No movement in your seniority - some FOs pushing the 18 month mark... Morale in the tubes. Concern about the viability of the Global Express program with not many shares sold. Do these points sound familiar? I have my sources - I personally don't know one Flexjet pilot who DOES NOT want to leave and jump to either Netjets or the airlines whenever they are viable again. So don't blast me because you don't know me - or who I know at your outfit.

As for broken airplanes, I actually witnessed one of your shiney Lear 60s blow a tire on takeoff role at Scottsdale a while back. I give the excellent pilot credit for getting the airplane under control. Perhaps you are right that the statment "all over the country" is a bit extreme. I take that back.

In any case, I was addressing Turbinehead - not a good representative for your company...
 
Yak

No, I'm not worried at all, thank you. As far as I know, we're the only fractional that is actually profitable. We have been for the entire year. In the business world, that's a very good thing. Ask any major airline if they wish they were profitable.

Your comments show how truly ignorant you are about Flex, and I'm not going to bother correcting you with the truth. I'm only blasting you because you obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Are you saying that a tire blowing is evidence of shoddy maintenance? Interesting theory. Should the tire have been changed before the flight? Ever seen a Flexjet a/c on bad tires? Is a bug on the windshield evidence of poor maintenance too? How bout if I spill a coke? Please tell me about the other broken-down Flexjet airplanes you've seen. I'd really like to know.

Are you even sure that a tire actually blew? Was this even an airplane you were looking at? Maybe it was a delivery van, or your grandma's Plymouth. Tell you what, give me a date, and I'll tell you what happened. I'm sure a report was filed.

And suddenly our pilots have gone from lacking in or having problematic training to being "excellent". Well, training makes the pilot, right? I'll pass the compliment on to our training center in Dallas. I'm sure one of the practice aborts performed every 6 months contributed to the handling of this situation. Our instructors are the finest in the industry.

Do you expect me to take the "other" flexjet pilots you "know" as evidence of the quality of my company? Based on what you've written so far, it's likely you're referring to conversations you've had with your stuffed animal collection.

Keep digging your hole.
 
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Lumber yak, since flexlrpilot357 is such a stickler for accuaracy, allow me to correct your "18 month FO's", statement. In fact, my buddy I was hired with is actually coming up on 36 months. If they are the only profitable fractional, yet still no growth or upgrades, I'll gladly stick with my poor, on the verge of collapse, Berkshire Hathaway company. I kinda like growth and upgrades.


P.S. Did you hear we ordered another 160 airplanes last week. Oh dear, how ever will we pay for them.
 
Don't worry, Mr. UK. You'll get yours. Mr. Buffet didn't become a gazillionaire by investing in companies that operate in the red.

Don't believe you're in the red? Read Berkshire's annual report. You're a big money loser. Buying airplanes isn't the same as selling them.

By the way, some homework for you: Compare and contrast NJ's and Flex's Capt. pay and FO pay. You guys have some cheap captains, don't you?
 
I've been reading this board for awhile and continue to be amazed at the back stabbing among frac pilots. Yes, I do fly for NJA. I have met and spoken with pilots in all the fracs. We are the same people doing the same job! Some like Flex for their benies, some like Flops for their home basing, some like Cit Shares for their pay, some like NJA for their stability and future. We all like our jobs! All planes break! Some, hopefully few, pilots make mistakes! Flex had two 60s run off the runway when the pilots knew they had hydraulic problems before landing on short runways. Options ran two off last year. And yes, Mighty NJA did run off the end of a runway in TX and the plane was totaled, thankfully no injuries.
The economic health of a frac company is never great. The huge profit is from sales, not operations. We at NJA did turn a profit last year and it was offset by a writeoff of NJ Europe. Flex did not make money last year! This year they are reporting a profit while shrinking their fleet and adjusting ops. Just the facts. Flops is a good company and they are handling their merger pretty well considering the complexity of the issues.
I just hope that all frac pilots keep their jobs and we all continue to grow and prosper! Whether your plane is blue, green, black and red, new, or used; there is enough to go around!
 
Flexjet

1) Slim177 you are right we are all just pilots and lucky to have good jobs at that.

2) The Flexjet fleet is growing not real fast but it is growing.

3) I have been with Flexjet for over 6 years and have always kind of taken everything with a grain of salt.

4) As far as adjusting OPS, we have we adjusted them from losing money to making money and that is something everyone at Flexjet should be proud of. Doing well in this economy is truly a demonstration of talent. To be honest with you all of the Fractional Providers should be proud of how they are doing.

Maybe pilots are competitive by nature, maybe some don't like to see others happy but in the end we are all fortunate to be doing what we love.

Sincerely
 
flexlrpilot357 said:

By the way, some homework for you: Compare and contrast NJ's and Flex's Capt. pay and FO pay. You guys have some cheap captains, don't you?

Hey Flexy,

Let's wait and compare it when our new contract is done. OK?

Later,
gump;)
 
Well, I did the "homework", and I left Flexjet. The math wasn't hard to figure out. I was making $36,000 at Flex as a second year FO. Over here I made $42,000 my first 12 months (No, that is still not good). For the learning impaired, that's a $6,000 a year raise off the bat. I don't like to flaunt a contract that we don't have yet, but the fact is, this will be settled before I would have upgraded at Flex. Whatever the number that is finally settled on is, 50%/65%/100%, etc., it will be much better than if I stayed at Flex. And that isn't even factoring in the intangibles such as working environment, morale, and so on.

Slim is right, we shouldn't be quarreling amongst ourselves, but as a veteran (survivor?) of Flexjet, it bothers me seeing the place portrayed as something it is not.

As for the MX, you are right flexlrpilot357, it could have been anything, inspection, repo to different FBO, who knows. I will say that before I left, I did notice a slacking off in attention to MX. One of my last tours was flown with a plane with 13 open write ups.
 
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Holy WOW

Holy WOW guys - I just passed on some info - now it is into: "my daddy can beat up your daddy".

I am sorry I mentioned it. In fact, from now on, I will keep my mouth shut.
 
Just a quick question for those in the know. Do the NJA pilots really believe they are going to get a 50-100% raise?

Being a loyal BRKA shareholder for many years, doesn't that go against Mr. Buffetts track record?

Just wondering.
 
Flexlrpilot357,

I am surprised you are able to pass your medical with that blow-up. Watch out - you may bust an "o-ring"...

Not to belabor the point much more, but I know what I saw regarding the blown tire - I saw the line people picking up the tire shards off the runway. Were you there? I didn't think so. Did you hear what the Lear 60 Captain had to say about maintenance issues at Flexjet (quite negative)? I didn't think so. Are you claiming that FO's are moving up to Captain positions in less than 18-24 months? I didn't think so. Did you say that Flexjet management has not been a revolving door? I didn't think so. Do you see huge groups of pilots rushing from NJA or Flight Options to Flexjet? Nope. Did you say Flexjet morale is positive like Netjets morale at this moment? Nope.

You may not believe it, but I know A LOT more about Flexjet than you think. I also know people in the organization (pilots and otherwise).

You don't know me and I don't know you. With your explosive attitude, I am glad. Suffice it to say, that according to actual Flexjet Lear 60 captains I know, Flexjet was a better place to work a few years ago. Let's hope it returns - perhaps anger management classes for certain pilots would help...
 
I have been on this forum for a while now, and have enjoyed it immensely.

That said, as a NJA Ultra PIC I am embarassed by some of these wacko "pro-nja" posts. Please don't judge all NJA pilots by some of these loudmouth juviniles.

We're all in the same boat, lets paddle in the same direction.


Flame away,

Toploader
 
The contract and ANY rumors you hear are just that RUMORS!

I do believe we will get a minimum of 80%-100% raise. It is totally inline with Mr. Buffetts style. He has gotten a good value out of us and understands the economic realities of this contract. He wants to hire the best and keep the pilots he has. That equates to improved economic and lifestyle issues. I also think he would like a pay scale that no other frac company can afford. Some pilots are all about loyalty, but alot are about the money! A large pay raise would hurt Flex and Flops and Cit Shares recruiting.
I know Mr. Ricci says he will top our raise and I do hope we get a huge raise and then Flops tops it. It just spirals the industry standard upwards.
I believe our commitment to getting more large cabin planes will set us apart. We have more large cabin planes now, and are getting alot in the near future. I think that is where the long term salary benefits will come from for all the current pilots at NJA.
 
I was fascinated by this:

And suddenly our pilots have gone from lacking in or having problematic training to being "excellent". Well, training makes the pilot, right? I'll pass the compliment on to our training center in Dallas. I'm sure one of the practice aborts performed every 6 months contributed to the handling of this situation. Our instructors are the finest in the industry.

Does this mean that flexjets has an ab-initio training program? As someone said above, I don't think so. The skill of the pilot in controlling the aircraft with the blown tire goes back to the many hours of experience he acquired long before he met the minimums for flex. Certainly, recurrent training is a contibuting factor in a pilot's success, but it's more likely that most of what made the pilot good was learned before the flex application was filled out. And yes, Bombardier DOES have great instructors.

Clearly, Warren Buffet learned a long time ago what needs to happen to make money, and he is adept at doing it. If I were to look into my crystal ball, in five years Netjets will dominate the fractional market, and by a huge margin.

Now, does anyone know what was wrong with the plane at Dulles?
 
capt_zman said:
Just a quick question for those in the know. Do the NJA pilots really believe they are going to get a 50-100% raise?

Being a loyal BRKA shareholder for many years, doesn't that go against Mr. Buffetts track record?

Just wondering.



Maybe you should research Mr. Buffett a little better! He bought this company for less than 1 Billion. NJA now has net liquid assets of over 4.8 Billion. That's 480% of a ROI, as it stands now. In 24 months from now it will be over 600% ROI if NJA liquidated everything....hum......

Mr. Buffett has "publicly" stated that an 80-100% pay raise for the pilots of NJA was "expected" and that was over 5 months ago.

If you are, as you claim, a BRKA shareholder you would know that Mr. Buffett promotes the program day and night. Do you think he would do so if it "[went] against Mr. Buffets track record?" Mr. Buffets' track record is to hold on to companies with long-term viability (i.e. he recently dumped Disney). NJA is a long-term company.

Anyone who has a degree, or some knowledge of: Mathematics, Economics and/or Business knows that NJA Inc. is a cash cow for BRKA (B) and the best is yet to come.
 
Why don't you lighten up LR45JI?

Here's a quote right from his annual report, "Our NetJets fractional ownership program sold a record number of planes last year and also showed a gain of 21.9% in service income from management fees and hourly charges. Nevertheless, it operated at a small loss, versus a small profit in 2000. We made a little money in the U.S., but these earnings were more than offset by European losses. Measured by the value of our customers' planes, NetJets accounts for about half of the industry. We believe the other participants, in aggregate, lost significant money."

"NetJets experienced a spurt in new orders shortly after Sept 11th, but its sales pace has since returned to normal. Per-customer usage declined somewhat during the year, probably because of the recession."

With these statements in mind, I'll ask the same question again without being indignant, do you really believe you're going to see a 100% pay increase? Think about this for a minute. By the way, looking at the above quotes directly from the horses mouth, how exactly is NetJets a cash cow for Berkshire??????

Here's another quote out of the same annual report. "Executive Jet's results in 2001 and 2000 reflect operating losses related to expansion in Europe as well as significantly higher operating costs incurred to insure that a premier level of safety, security and service is maintained."

Maybe you think you will get a 50-100% increase in pay, but how would doubling the labor costs offset other costs to put NJA in the black??

I think you may have to break out your college economics book and look up ROI, because your numbers literally make no sense at all. How do you take the sum of the retail costs of the assets and subtract the purchase price and come up with the ROI??? What about incurred expenses and liabilities? Also, due to the scale of NJA and it's 4.8 billion in list price assets, who would actually pay this amount if they had to liquidate?

And yes, you are correct, he promotes NJA just like all his other companies under the Berkshire veil. What else would he do? His track record speaks for itself, making money, not losing it. Nice comparison with Disney, they won't be around very long, will they.

And one more quote for you, "As of Dec 31, 2001, Berkshire's borrowings under investment agreements and other debt, excluding finance businesses, included commercial paper and other short-term borrowing totaling 1.8 billion. Most of these borrowings were by Executive Jet and Shaw for operating needs."

Hate to burst your bubble, but you might want to look at the dot com rise and fall and see if you see any similarities with fractional ownership.

Amazing how this board brings out the worst in people.
 
Nice comparison with Disney, they won't be around very long, will they.

Since the departure of the creative talent to Dreamworks, Disney is indeed in serious trouble. Good move on Warren's part to dump his interest.

I think Netjets is going to exceed expectations. Not by Christmas, or even spring. But, they will.
 
Capt Z Man,

I am "lightened up"!

I simply don't like people coming in and trying to bash in an area that they aren't involved. I'm not going to get involved in a "mud-slinging" contest with you.

I do my job, happily, and expect you to do the same.

Thanks for your comments.

Respectfully
 
I don't believe that I was bashing anyone. It was a simple question pertaining to NJA. I wanted to know what the perception is regarding the contract, that's all.

Also, I am involved. My company owns a share in an Ultra. Mr. Bartone in Woodbridge is a good friend.
 
I haven't visited the forum in awhile and I can see its the same old stuff; "We're better than you and our contracts are better than yours," blah, blah, blah! We should all just be glad that we're still employed in these troubled times.
 
Thankful

It is just amazing that this constant banter back and forth about whose company is better just seems to continue and continue. I have been one of the 8000+ ex airline pilots on the street for the last 10 mos waiting for that first call. I finally got one and was able to get on with flexjet. Now, I can sleep better knowing that I wont have to sell my house or lapse on my bill paying. I appreciate the fact that I am once again employed, since another group of very qualified furloughees are about to hit the street. I suggest those of us who are working should be thankful that we can provide for ourselves and our families, instead of worrying about who makes more money where, and whose company is better, etc. I am sure we are all tired of reading about it.

Good luck to all in their pursuits, may we all get back to work soon.
 
Re: Falconhead

Turbinehead said:
Dude, go back to corporate where there is....

no stability....

and your principal could turn around one morning and say...i dont need these aircraft anymore.... buh bye now.

Brilliant response.... here is one for you:

Jack_ass.txt
 
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