Check out www.welcomebigwigs.com. I know it's suppose to be funny, but I think they missed the boat here. What a slap in the face to CEOs and GA.
Here's one CEOs response:
This is a copy of the letter my boss sent to JetBlues Dave Bargerin response to their welcome Bigwigs ad campaign:
David;
I am the Chief Executive Officer and General Partner of an asset management firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut that employs over 500 professionals with offices in more than 10 states. We own and operate a corporate fleet of Falcon Jets that move executives and employees throughout the US and Europe seamlessly, sometimes through the very same airports serviced by your airline, Jet Blue. In fact, in many instances where our own fleet is either previously engaged or unavailable, Jet Blue has been the choice of transportation for individual flights, last second arrangements and even my own children when their schedules do not match the movements of our own aircraft.
For your reference, I am also an Airline Transport Pilot rated to fly each type in our fleet and spend my trips flying in the front left seat. I have been extensively involved in aviation for nearly 35 years and in my previous life in investment banking at Salomon Brothers and Citigroup was involved in the syndicated efforts providing financing for the growth of your airline.
I am sending this message to you because I am beyond insulted with your company’s “Welcome Bigwigs” ad campaign. I am insulted to the point of prohibiting our company employees from flying on your airline from this point forward on company business and will discourage them from utilizing Jet Blue personally.
Corporate aviation has become the whipping post for the unknowledgeable as the result of the arrogant indiscretions exhibited by the management of a failing industry. Your advertising, however, piles on and paints us all with the same brush in an unconscionable slap at the very industry you share airspace with. While your fleet is composed of non-domestically sourced aircraft, both Airbus and more so Embraer benefit greatly from the research and development that goes into their corporate jet products, typically sold at a substantial premium to and subsidizing the costs of your airliners. Since you haven’t expanded your markets to the Kansas and mid-west realms, home of the General Aviation manufacturers, you probably aren’t aware of the damage your offshore sourcing of aircraft coupled with your slaps at the utilization of their product causes on an ongoing basis. General Aviation and Commercial Aviation manufacturing in the US remains one of the biggest components of US GDP – also one of the few industries that the US leads the world in. Thank you, by the way, for creating the competition by selecting fleet types that neither contribute to US GDP nor create manufacturing jobs domestically. Why don’t you call either Jack Pelton at Cessna or Joe Lombardo at Gulfstream to see how the errant and irresponsible remarks and actions against corporate aviation have contributed to the downturn in the sector? How many customers do you estimate you lost through the job losses and resulting inability to travel.
But maybe you can get Rick Wagoner to book a Jet Blue flight instead.
Our aircraft are time machines – incredibly productive corporate tools. To manage a nationally diversified operation with international relationships, our Flight Department has, on more than one occasion, been the core of logistics that led to successful transaction, asset and capital management. As opposed to adding the two hours on each end of your airline’s flight while we travel to and from the major airports that you serve and are forced through the TSA and related cues, we have the ability to board an aircraft not more that 20 minutes after leaving our offices and arrive at our destination less than half an hour after we land. The time savings and creation of this and other corporate flight departments provides another competitive edge that will help the recovery of our economy and feed your airline ticket cues longer term. Don’t bite the hand that might feed you.
By the way; our dispatch rate and on-time record is well in excess of 99%, contrasting sharply with our own experience on your airline – once virtually the exclusive to our enterprise. Need I remind you of the experience of passengers on most of your JFK outbound flights on February 14, 2007, just to name one example? Our General Counsel reminds us of that incident regularly – she was headed for Fort Meyers, FL that night with her family – it only took about 16 hours to get there.
You and your ad department might find the campaign witty, amusing and timely. Most of your corporate customers with flight departments will take offense. With a stock price down 45% YOY take our 500+ customers over to your competitors and multiply my actions by what ever factor you want to and my guess is that your shareholders will not share in your amusement.
Here's one CEOs response:
This is a copy of the letter my boss sent to JetBlues Dave Bargerin response to their welcome Bigwigs ad campaign:
David;
I am the Chief Executive Officer and General Partner of an asset management firm based in Greenwich, Connecticut that employs over 500 professionals with offices in more than 10 states. We own and operate a corporate fleet of Falcon Jets that move executives and employees throughout the US and Europe seamlessly, sometimes through the very same airports serviced by your airline, Jet Blue. In fact, in many instances where our own fleet is either previously engaged or unavailable, Jet Blue has been the choice of transportation for individual flights, last second arrangements and even my own children when their schedules do not match the movements of our own aircraft.
For your reference, I am also an Airline Transport Pilot rated to fly each type in our fleet and spend my trips flying in the front left seat. I have been extensively involved in aviation for nearly 35 years and in my previous life in investment banking at Salomon Brothers and Citigroup was involved in the syndicated efforts providing financing for the growth of your airline.
I am sending this message to you because I am beyond insulted with your company’s “Welcome Bigwigs” ad campaign. I am insulted to the point of prohibiting our company employees from flying on your airline from this point forward on company business and will discourage them from utilizing Jet Blue personally.
Corporate aviation has become the whipping post for the unknowledgeable as the result of the arrogant indiscretions exhibited by the management of a failing industry. Your advertising, however, piles on and paints us all with the same brush in an unconscionable slap at the very industry you share airspace with. While your fleet is composed of non-domestically sourced aircraft, both Airbus and more so Embraer benefit greatly from the research and development that goes into their corporate jet products, typically sold at a substantial premium to and subsidizing the costs of your airliners. Since you haven’t expanded your markets to the Kansas and mid-west realms, home of the General Aviation manufacturers, you probably aren’t aware of the damage your offshore sourcing of aircraft coupled with your slaps at the utilization of their product causes on an ongoing basis. General Aviation and Commercial Aviation manufacturing in the US remains one of the biggest components of US GDP – also one of the few industries that the US leads the world in. Thank you, by the way, for creating the competition by selecting fleet types that neither contribute to US GDP nor create manufacturing jobs domestically. Why don’t you call either Jack Pelton at Cessna or Joe Lombardo at Gulfstream to see how the errant and irresponsible remarks and actions against corporate aviation have contributed to the downturn in the sector? How many customers do you estimate you lost through the job losses and resulting inability to travel.
But maybe you can get Rick Wagoner to book a Jet Blue flight instead.
Our aircraft are time machines – incredibly productive corporate tools. To manage a nationally diversified operation with international relationships, our Flight Department has, on more than one occasion, been the core of logistics that led to successful transaction, asset and capital management. As opposed to adding the two hours on each end of your airline’s flight while we travel to and from the major airports that you serve and are forced through the TSA and related cues, we have the ability to board an aircraft not more that 20 minutes after leaving our offices and arrive at our destination less than half an hour after we land. The time savings and creation of this and other corporate flight departments provides another competitive edge that will help the recovery of our economy and feed your airline ticket cues longer term. Don’t bite the hand that might feed you.
By the way; our dispatch rate and on-time record is well in excess of 99%, contrasting sharply with our own experience on your airline – once virtually the exclusive to our enterprise. Need I remind you of the experience of passengers on most of your JFK outbound flights on February 14, 2007, just to name one example? Our General Counsel reminds us of that incident regularly – she was headed for Fort Meyers, FL that night with her family – it only took about 16 hours to get there.
You and your ad department might find the campaign witty, amusing and timely. Most of your corporate customers with flight departments will take offense. With a stock price down 45% YOY take our 500+ customers over to your competitors and multiply my actions by what ever factor you want to and my guess is that your shareholders will not share in your amusement.
