Netjets BBJ - Nice Winglets!

[Heavy Set]

I visited Van Nuys today and saw a gorgeous Netjets BBJ at Raytheon - it was wedged in tight near the passenger area. I really like the look of the winglets - and the pilots looked quite smug in the cockpit as it taxied out to 34 L for a blast-off departure with a left turn to the West.

Questions regarding the Netjets BBJ:

1. How many out of the 1,000+ Netjets pilots fly the BBJ? I know that it is a small fleet at present.

2. Do the BBJ pilots also fly the 7-On-7-Off schedule?

3. What percentage of BBJ flights are domestic vs. international at present?

4. What is a typical 7-day rotation like for the BBJ - do you end up crossing the Pond a few times - any examples of 7-day rotation?


I wish I had joined Netjets years ago. I have good experience, but I think the fractional-type of flying would have appealed to me. I hope the new contract works out for the Netjets guys and the BBJ pilots are paid what they are worth...

Great looking aircraft - and the winglets are cool!


Cheers

 

[Heavy Set]

By the way, the Netjets BBJ I saw today was one of SEVEN BBJs on the field at Van Nuys - it's a haven for big corporate jets....

Any Netjet pilots out there want to respond to my questions above?


Thanks

 

[bizjet737]

1. How many out of the 1,000+ Netjets pilots fly the BBJ? I know that it is a small fleet at present.

there are 24 "netjets" pilots on the roster, and about a dozen contract pilots hired to help get us up to speed on the bird.

2. Do the BBJ pilots also fly the 7-On-7-Off schedule?

7/7 is the only schedule on the bbj

3. What percentage of BBJ flights are domestic vs. international at present?

probably 80% domestic 20% intl

4. What is a typical 7-day rotation like for the BBJ - do you end up crossing the Pond a few times - any examples of 7-day rotation?

typical rotation? airline to the plane, sit in the hotel for 5 days, do a leg, sit a day, airline home - just did that and it's pretty typical. many trips sit in the hotel for 7 days - things are very slow. only flown 200hrs in 2yrs.

 

[Heavy Set]

BBJ Questions - How does it compare...

bizjet737,

I know a number of very, very busy pilots who would prefer your schedule...

Some questions for you: How do you like the BBJ vs. the other great airplanes you have flown at Netjets including the Citation X and the Falcon 2000 - how does it "handle" compared to the others? Which aircraft has been your favorite and why? Has your destination mix changed much from the Falcon which also flies internationally - do you find you are flying much further and really utilizing the max range of the aircraft - any examples?

Looks like a great airplane from the exterior!

 

[bizjet737]

i enjoy flying the bbj. a favorite? hard to say - i enjoyed the hot-rod x, the roomy and great flying falcon, too. the bbj is neat because it's so big.

handling, it flys ok, but nothing like the falcon or x, it's a lot heavier on the controls.

destination mix - NO MORE TEB!!!!! we still take it into 6000' strips, so lots of places most of the other planes go. i didn't know the falcon went international due to it's limited range.

my longest leg so far has been hpn-phog 11.8hrs, with an hour in the tanks on landing. another crew did 12.3 last summer. the hpn-phog is a regular leg for us, however, it's not often we fill the tanks (takes about an hour - the aux's are real slow to fill). since the plane isn't selling, we mostly do upgrades from the other fleets. the ultra owners really love it!

the biggest pain is going to be the new security rules - we have to search bags and wand pax in the fbo before entering the "sterile area" just like the airlines.

 

[mainah]

Can't wait to get far enough into my career where I think the Falcon 2000 is limited range.

 

[rice]

You'll know when that is when you constantly complain about your a$$ always being sore. Just kidding, well sort of.

 

[General Lee]

Bizjet737,

Sounds like a really interesting job. I flew the 737-800 a while back and I loved it. By the way, I am not familiar with PHOG---where is that?

Also, where are some other interesting places you have flown that BBJ? Ever been to Salzburg or Nadi? Do you fly into Farnborough when you go to London? Do you do a lot of Hawaii?
It does sound more fun than the typical airline job.

Bye Bye---General Lee

 

[mobs]

BIZJET 737

BIZ, Must be murder doing 12 hr. legs in the 737(only flew the 200 a good while ago) longest A 330 leg I have done was just at 11 hrs. winter time from LIRF to KPHL with about 142,00 lbs. of fuel. Have never had full tanks 172,000 lbs. 12 hrs. in the 73 would seem longer than some of my marriages. Mobs

 

[NJdispatcher]

PHOG = Kahului , Hawaii