NetJets Home Base???

[Farmer]

What is the deal with the home base stuff??? What qualifies??

 

[charley varrick]

The real question is not what qualifies, but rather who qualifies. If you are not a NJA pilot on the ratification date (probably 11/21/2005), then you won't be eligible to use a HBA for quite a while.

If you are on property on the ratification date, then you can use an airport as your HBA, if it is served by at least two air carriers, one of which must provide service that arrives at one of the following airports by 10 a.m. local: DEN, LGA, EWR, JFK, HPN, PBI, MIA, FLL, CMH, DFW, DAL, LAX, LGB, BUR or SNA.

 

[Farmer]

thanks that helps

 

[Guitar Guy]

To add to Charlie's info, to qualify as an HBA, the airport must also have a flight that arrives after 2200 local but before 0300 local. If it doesn't meet this criteria, then the airport could still be used as an HBA but the crewmember would have to waive his rights to after-midnight compensation.

The other requirement is that if the HBA has its service revised such that it no longer meets the requirements to be an HBA (say one of the airlines drops service completely or you can't make it to one of 15 large airports by 1000 local anymore), the crewmember will have to immediately designate a new HBA. Depending on where one lives, that could be quite a burden and a long drive.

 

[sf3boy]

What qualifies the pilot?

Date of hire?
Date of first day of training?
Date of training completed?

 

[Guitar Guy]

What qualifies the pilot?

Date of hire?
Date of first day of training?
Date of training completed?

To be grandfathered for HBA, it's date of hire, which is the first day of training, either indoc or type training.

For a pilot hired after ratification, participation in HBA is seniority-based pursuant to the contract conditions.

 

[Insatiable]

After ratification, what are the bases going to be?

 

[Grizz]

CMH, DAL, LAX, PBI, and TEB. NetJets will offer new hires an aircraft and location in the job offer letter.

If you accept the offer, you will need to designate a satellite airport in addition to the domicile. Example - They offer you a Citation Ultra to TEB. You'll need to pick a satellite airport like EWR, LGA, or JFK. Every tour the company will have the option of having you show up to either TEB or your satellite.

We're all taking bets on how long it will be before the company comes to us asking for some relief because they can't attract enough pilots that want to live in those areas.

 

[milehigh6080]

We're all taking bets on how long it will be before the company comes to us asking for some relief because they can't attract enough pilots that want to live in those areas.

When reading the exact wording of the home basing language in the contract, it says that the company MAY limit home basing to 30%, but it doesn't say that it absolutely will only do it that way. Has the company indicated that they're absolutely going to start exercising that right immediately? Or is it just assumed because the simple fact that the company wanted it worded that way in TA indicates that they'll "probably" do it that way?

I agree with you that they'll have a hard time attracting qualified applicants. I plan on applying to Net Jets when I meet the minimums, and even though I live close to one of the five bases, I still feel a little unsure if I want to be locked into this area permanently. I'd like the freedom to be able to move where I want. I figure if the HBA issue can give someone like me who actually lives at a gateway a second thought, it'll certainly give the guy who lives 500 miles from the closest gateway a huge reason not to apply.

I hope for everyone's sake that the company does have trouble meeting recruiting goals and gives HBA to everyone, because I do worry that it's an intentional trojan horse planted by the company. 4 years from now, if they hire 400 a year like they say, there will be 1600 guys who are locked into a base who are jealous of the remaining guys who get the freedom to live where they want. Seems like a really elegant way to bust a union, it has the potential to fracture the pilot group and reduce the oustanding unity that was so instrumental in these negoatiations. Hopefully that's just the conspiracy theorist in me and it's really just a situation of the company being short-sighted.

 

[Grizz]

It's definitely tricky wording. Later in the paragraph it says that the 30% can be exceeded for grandfather rights. Does that limit the company to only exceeding the 30% in case of grandfathered pilots? If that's so, then they'd need to seek relief from IBT 1108 to let new hires on the HBA list without us dropping below 30%. Guys alot smarter than me will be arguing that stuff.

Here's the paragraph -

The Company may limit Crewmember participation in the Home Base Airport system to thirty (30) percent of the total number of Crewmembers on the most current seniority list, including crewmembers who have relinquished Home Base Airport rights pursuant to Section 13.2(b). Such percentage may be less than thirty (30) percent if crewmembers designate Domiciles, or more than thirty (30) percent because of grandfather rights as defined in Section 13.1(a).

 

[charley varrick]

We're all taking bets on how long it will be before the company comes to us asking for some relief because they can't attract enough pilots that want to live in those areas.

What's your bet, Griz?

 

[Grizz]

6 months to run through the pool of guys that want to try and live in LA or NY on that type of salary and then I'd expect to see some changes. But then again, I'll never again underestimate the ability of pilots to accept a crappy deal.

 

[Scaramunga]

If you are already employed before the TA is ratified and live within 90 miles of a domicile...do you need to choose a satellite airport?

Thanks!

 

[Grizz]

Scar -

Yes.

You do, however, have an option that a guy hired after ratification doesn't have. You can move outside that 90 miles and start using a HBA.

 

[xrated]

I'll never again underestimate the ability of pilots to accept a crappy deal.

AMEN to that brother!

 

[Hogan]

So no more Seattle as a base?

 

[G100driver]

Someone explain this to me as I do not get. WTF difference does it make where you live? You are going to be airlined to your airplane anyhow?

 

[Grizz]

The company believes that by setting up these domiciles, they can concentrate airplanes, pilots and maintenance there and save money. We're less optomistic about how well that will work.