Cpt Splash
Well-known member
- Joined
- Nov 20, 2003
- Posts
- 134
All this conversation is interesting and some of the theories are way out there. Being a person who has just recently left Flexjet let me offer my two cents.
There are those at Flex who want this to be the last place that they have to work and don't want to worry about leaving for another job, but at the same time they want the schedule and the salary that is becoming the industry standard for the fractionals thanks to Netjets. From my observations working for Bombardier has been an intersting experience. They are a very conservative company, not willing really to take any chances, like some of the other companies out there. They hide behind the product which is a superior one in terms of speed and performance. They keep their crews to a high standard because of the consequences that come if they are not working up to par. And the current management that is in place keeps the crew salaries low because they can. The pilot group is not organized as well as it should be.
Many will say that the way to get organization is union and union only, but look at CS. They were able to respond to NJ's new contract without a union. What about the pilots getting together in their own meetings and coming with an organized agenda to take to management? If you get enough of the pilots together, management can't fire all of you. The majority of the Flex crews live in Dallas so, getting together should not really be much of a problem.
The fractionals should be what the legacy airlines always wanted to be. Companies that set the standard in which everybody else tries to emulate. Companies that provide schedules, salaries, and benefits that forces the rest of the industry to come up to that bar. Flexjet, Netjets, Citation Shares, and Flight Options are all in a position in which they can change the traditional 135 operator, by the providing a service that the 135 operator has to match or close its doors. They should be companies in which pilots are knocking down the door trying to get into.
Netjets union (the recent MEC) has definitely been a positive voice and tool in changing the fractionals for the better. CS has responding well to it, lets see if the other two can set up to the challenge. I really hope that this meeting that is suppose to happen this week is going in that direction, because there are a lot of good pilots that work for Flexjet who see this as the last straw.
There are those at Flex who want this to be the last place that they have to work and don't want to worry about leaving for another job, but at the same time they want the schedule and the salary that is becoming the industry standard for the fractionals thanks to Netjets. From my observations working for Bombardier has been an intersting experience. They are a very conservative company, not willing really to take any chances, like some of the other companies out there. They hide behind the product which is a superior one in terms of speed and performance. They keep their crews to a high standard because of the consequences that come if they are not working up to par. And the current management that is in place keeps the crew salaries low because they can. The pilot group is not organized as well as it should be.
Many will say that the way to get organization is union and union only, but look at CS. They were able to respond to NJ's new contract without a union. What about the pilots getting together in their own meetings and coming with an organized agenda to take to management? If you get enough of the pilots together, management can't fire all of you. The majority of the Flex crews live in Dallas so, getting together should not really be much of a problem.
The fractionals should be what the legacy airlines always wanted to be. Companies that set the standard in which everybody else tries to emulate. Companies that provide schedules, salaries, and benefits that forces the rest of the industry to come up to that bar. Flexjet, Netjets, Citation Shares, and Flight Options are all in a position in which they can change the traditional 135 operator, by the providing a service that the 135 operator has to match or close its doors. They should be companies in which pilots are knocking down the door trying to get into.
Netjets union (the recent MEC) has definitely been a positive voice and tool in changing the fractionals for the better. CS has responding well to it, lets see if the other two can set up to the challenge. I really hope that this meeting that is suppose to happen this week is going in that direction, because there are a lot of good pilots that work for Flexjet who see this as the last straw.
