Innovative ways to save money...

[PlaneJohn]

Have you seen the cost of catering at some of the FBO's? I've put as much as $80 for 2 box lunches on my fuel bill which consisted of a sh1ty fruit cup, and soggy sandwich. If your pax are insistent that you do your part on being frugal, then maybe they can do their part by eliminating catering and having the limo stop at subway on the way back to the airport. Take all the alcohol of the plane. With a former employer we used to carry a cooler full of beer and white wine, more times then not it was never used, and the crew had the unpleasant responsibility of disposing of it. In all seriousness if you have done your part to be efficient for your department, and there is nothing left to cut, then it is probably time to dust off the resume. Do you work for a car dealer? I knew a guy who worked for a car dealer and he made the copilot work on the sales floor when he wasn't flying. Those guys are the cheapest astards to work for!

 

[SabreFlyR]

Have you seen the cost of catering at some of the FBO's? I've put as much as $80 for 2 box lunches on my fuel bill which consisted of a sh1ty fruit cup, and soggy sandwich. If your pax are insistent that you do your part on being frugal, then maybe they can do their part by eliminating catering and having the limo stop at subway on the way back to the airport. Take all the alcohol of the plane. With a former employer we used to carry a cooler full of beer and white wine, more times then not it was never used, and the crew had the unpleasant responsibility of disposing of it. In all seriousness if you have done your part to be efficient for your department, and there is nothing left to cut, then it is probably time to dust off the resume. Do you work for a car dealer? I knew a guy who worked for a car dealer and he made the copilot work on the sales floor when he wasn't flying. Those guys are the cheapest astards to work for!

Pretty broad brush your painting with there. They are not all bad, I have worked for a dealer for 6 years and I can tell you we do nothing that is not related to our jobs as pilots. Our airplane is kept in impeccable condition with an open check book to keep it that way. He and his wife both give us personal checks for our birthdays and at Christmas plus our normal company bonus, wife's/girlfriends are invited on trips regularly and we have a standing policy that if we have a life threatening emergency at home while on a trip we are to take the jet and go home and they will airline. Yep pretty cheap turd to work for.

 

[guido411]

Have you seen the cost of catering at some of the FBO's? I've put as much as $80 for 2 box lunches on my fuel bill which consisted of a sh1ty fruit cup, and soggy sandwich. If your pax are insistent that you do your part on being frugal, then maybe they can do their part by eliminating catering and having the limo stop at subway on the way back to the airport.

My point is restated, if the boss needs to save $200 /day on catering there is an underlying issue that can't be fixed by a pilot. Blood from a turnip.

Where does it stop? Sharing hotel rooms to save $150? Renting a moped instead of a car while on layovers? Paying for your own meals? Or maybe it gets worse and the boss can't pay for adequate mx? Tread carefully.. .

 

[Gulfstream 200]

My point is restated, if the boss needs to save $200 /day on catering there is an underlying issue that can't be fixed by a pilot. Blood from a turnip.

Where does it stop? Sharing hotel rooms to save $150? Renting a moped instead of a car while on layovers? Paying for your own meals? Or maybe it gets worse and the boss can't pay for adequate mx? Tread carefully.. .

Rich people are funny....we have a six figure flight attendant, yet I know my boss would pitch a fit about $200 boxed lunches!

They dont bat an eye at a 50mil plane or 10k bottles of wine as that is for THEM. They want you to save money everywhere else.

I have always just found it part of the game. No worries. Id actually be more worried if they didnt seem to care.

Saving money?? Fuel and Handlers.

Fight for fuel prices like mad and do it constantly. Make deals to buy xx gallons per year at a fixed price.

Find a good independent dispatcher and use them directly. Use Arinc for all your Europe trips. It takes 4 minutes to run and file a flight plan and 2 minutes to call the FBO. We dont go as far as getting permits ourselves when going further, but we do many trips that Universal charges 30k for and we do them for 4k.....with better service.

Hotels, meals, cars etc is picking up pennies while tripping over dollars....think fuel and handlers. Nothing pisses pilots off more than nit picking hotels and dinners. From my experience thats a common fault of "pilot managers" I'd rather they be happy and work to save 300k in fuel and fees each year rather than analyze a Marriott vs a Hampton Inn....dont laugh, I have seen it!

Good luck.

 

[PlaneJohn]

Pretty broad brush your painting with there. They are not all bad, I have worked for a dealer for 6 years and I can tell you we do nothing that is not related to our jobs as pilots. Our airplane is kept in impeccable condition with an open check book to keep it that way. He and his wife both give us personal checks for our birthdays and at Christmas plus our normal company bonus, wife's/girlfriends are invited on trips regularly and we have a standing policy that if we have a life threatening emergency at home while on a trip we are to take the jet and go home and they will airline. Yep pretty cheap turd to work for.

Painting with a broad stroke yields a better coverage! At least thats what the can says. You are right sir. My experience is limited with Car dealers, but the one I do remember wasn't pleasent. You'd think I was a Democrat or something vilifying one industry over another. Sounds like you have a good gig. Please except my apology.

 

[guido411]

Rich people are funny....we have a six figure flight attendant, yet I know my boss would pitch a fit about $200 boxed lunches!

They dont bat an eye at a 50mil plane or 10k bottles of wine as that is for THEM. They want you to save money everywhere else.

I have always just found it part of the game. No worries. Id actually be more worried if they didnt seem to care.

No offense G200, I've usually agreed with your posts but I have to point out that your "game" may be different than the poster's. You talk of $50M planes and a six-figure FA which is a game being played on a very different ball field than a poster that lists CE500 and LRJETs. You may be talking about two ends of the private jet spectrum. The guy in the King Air or CJ is way more likely to feel like he needs to skimp on things to keep an airplane and your guys go buy a G350 when the sqeeze is on.

Worked for a guy back in the day that had a twin turbo-prop, pinched pennies and wanted me to stay at his condo to save money (I refused). That plane turned into a piston twin and complained that we put too much gas on because it wasn't as cheap as at home. Then that airplane went away.

As I said, tread carefully.

 

[NCherches]

...Sad thing is the boss never even asked me to cut spending, but I enjoy saving him the most possible without giving up quality of life and/or safety. I guess I still take pride in my position. Like I said I figured I would get a lot of useless posts but figured some guys would have some cool ideas I may have overlooked as well... Contract fuel is kind of a no-brainer however I know so many pilots who simply are too lazy to set up accounts. My boss(s) are smart with money and that is why I am comfortable that my job will be around for years to come...

Being a corporate pilot is much more than flying a business jet...

 

[Gulfstream 200]

No offense G200, I've usually agreed with your posts but I have to point out that your "game" may be different than the poster's. You talk of $50M planes and a six-figure FA which is a game being played on a very different ball field than a poster that lists CE500 and LRJETs. You may be talking about two ends of the private jet spectrum. The guy in the King Air or CJ is way more likely to feel like he needs to skimp on things to keep an airplane and your guys go buy a G350 when the sqeeze is on.

Worked for a guy back in the day that had a twin turbo-prop, pinched pennies and wanted me to stay at his condo to save money (I refused). That plane turned into a piston twin and complained that we put too much gas on because it wasn't as cheap as at home. Then that airplane went away.

As I said, tread carefully.

Dont worry about offending me, its pretty hard to do (lol) - just dont insult my beloved Grumman. Its my identity.

Anyhow - I have honestly found the guys who watch every penny to be the most stable - from King Airs, to Learjet, to Globals/Gulfstreams. The ones that always seemed to fail were the ones that seemed bottomless, always talking about new planes, etc etc.

Staying at the bosses house? yeah...not happening. lol. We are at a whole new level there.

All I am saying is that most very wealthy people watch every penny, especially when its for things that aren't theirs directly (like your expenses) Sometimes I think its to let you know they watch everything, other times I think its because they are cheap as hell, and maybe thats how they buy airplanes...whatever, pay me well, treat me well, and I'm happy. I dont expect to live different on the road than I do at home. Decent, clean hotels, normal meals, etc. I dont need a Four Seasons, but I dont stay at Holiday Inn Express as I want a decent sleep off a busy road. I dont expect a Bentley to pick me up but I dont take compact rental cars, as I dont drive an unsafe POS at home. I dont turn in bar tabs. Common sense stuff.

As far as steep descents etc to save fuel - sounds more to me like busy pilot work. Flying optimum altitudes long range to save? slowing from .85 to .82 to save xxx...ok, so long as boss knows you are putting a number on his time....but once actually in the airplane and started, I personally do not worry about the money...I carry lots of fuel and divert around any wx, etc etc to give the best rides possible.

I still say - fuel, fuel, fuel. Thats the best place to save. You would be surprised how many people pay $1+ more per gallon than they need to.

I agree with Ncherches - flying is a small part of it. These people look at you as managing their asset - and nobody (certainly not a Mgmt company) can do it better than pilots who like their job.

 

[bizjet800]

I was new to this Hawker way back when, it was my first management attempt. The boss on the interview told me to save money whenever possible--on cheap fuel, cheap FBOs etc. I said no problem, I always get the best deals when possible. I even saved a ton of money on training costs, over $18k for me and my copilot.

My first trip with a contract pilot (copilot was still in training) I spent two days shopping for fuel and planning all the airports. I saved the boss about $3k in fuel. After the trip the secretary called about a trip expense. In question was a charge from Applbees for $23.00! She said that "seemed like a lot for one person." Needless to say that position didn't last. He's had 6 or 7 crews cycle through in a couple of years.

 

[BushwickBill]

Cynically I think a lot of the effort you guys are making isn't likely even noticed. I see a lot of guys busting butt for various reasons and they never even run it by the operator/ owner. Just be sure it isn't your concerns about money that is driving the cost cutting.

Also I don't consider a sacrifice worth it if you have nothing to show for it.