NetJets' profitability

[AeroBoy]

From today's AINalerts (http://www.ainalerts.com/ainalerts/alerts/051606.html):

NetJets Poised for a Profitable Year?
If Berkshire Hathaway’s first-quarter results are any indication, its NetJets subsidiary will record a profit this year, which would be a reversal from $80 million in losses incurred by the fractional aircraft provider last year. The investment company’s flight services division, composed of NetJets and FlightSafety International, had $919 million in revenues in the first quarter–a $152 million, or 20 percent, increase over the same period last year. According to Berkshire, this was “primarily due to a 23-percent increase in revenues from NetJets,” as the result of a 19-percent rise in flight operations and management service fees and fewer outsourced flights. First-quarter revenues for training provider FlightSafety increased a more modest 7 percent over last year. Pre-tax first-quarter earnings of the flight services businesses totaled $21 million, versus $7 million last year. Meanwhile, NetJets Europe CEO William Kelly said yesterday that he expects his company to post an operating profit this year and be profitable next year.

 

[notaNJApilot]

That's really interesting, and I hope it's true. But on the company side things are still scary.

 

[old*art]

Oldest trick in the book to head off other request for pay increases ... threaten layoffs.

 

[sweptwingz]

Any company that is posting record sales, buying large numbers of aircraft, hiring hundreds of pilots, constructing and enlarging it's buildings and expanding the company both in the USA, EU , and CIS, and has been doing so for 10 years, IS MAKING MONEY....Count on it.

Mr. Buffet doesn't buy non-producers. Period.

It's a money shell game, nothing more.

 

[CapnVegetto]

I find it so amusing how it was doom and gloom, fiery flaming pit of death during contract negotiations, and now, with fuel more expensive than ever, all of a sudden a profit is being made, with much higher pilot costs than before.

What a bunch of f-ing tools. Liars. I just don't know how they sleep at night.

 

[Diesel]

So lets give the god damn floor people a raise.

You want to keep good workers pay them a good wage.

 

[NJAowner]

A ?

Not taking any side here or advocating disseminating inaccurate information, but, which of the following would you prefer to be employed by and have your long term career with:

1 -- a company in a horrible financial situation which portrays it as such;
2 -- a company in a horrible financial situation which portrays it as great; or
3 -- a company in a fine financial situation which portrays it as horrible.

I have left out #4 on purpose -- a company which is in a fine financial situation which portrays is as such. Such a company can regret its statements by many (other than its unionized labor) like plaintiffs attorneys, shareholders attorneys, its suppliers, its creditors and others it does business with. Such a position may also make a company's employees (non-union, i.e., sales) complacent with the satus quo instead of always striving to move ahead and be better.

I would prefer #3 -- I know I will always get my check and it will clear and I have a long term job. Most employees can not afford the altruistic principle of having their company be #1 -- completely honest.

Fly safe.

 

[Ultra Grump]

So lets give the god dang floor people a raise.

You want to keep good workers pay them a good wage.

It's a crime that our schedulers are paid more than our dispatchers.

 

[gunfyter]

So lets give the god dang floor people a raise.

You want to keep good workers pay them a good wage.

I vote for Raises!

 

[RTRHD]

I think there just trying to see where they are financialy. (thats all)

 

[temcgrew]

Mr. Buffet doesn't buy non-producers. Period.

he didn't just buy netjets this year, when he did it was producing and buying up all that cessna could produce. It was also the cause of so many flight departments shutting down after 20 years and getting rid of pilots that ALREADY MADE good money. Some of these guys ended up at netjets on the crappy pay. All buffet wants with netjets now is to be the last man standing in the fractional buisness.
So don't fool yourself, yes he will be here longer that options, flexjet or anyothe one if it is only for his ego. But, he is still in the buisness to make money and will drop any buisness that doesn't produce. Factor this into his successor taking over, when buffets ego is gone, then what?

 

[Diesel]

God damn my whole post. Ugggh.

Okay its a shame the schedulers get paid more than the dispatchers. Its almost like throwing money in a hole in the wall. Dispatchers have their liscence on the line or at least some part of it.

Here is what needs to happen.

1Return the power to the acp's. The only people they need to be held accountable to is the cp's and the pilots. Nobody else. They make a decision because they are pilots it ends there.

2. Give the fm's raises and increase their authority. I'm not saying anything crazy just common sense stuff. They don't need to check on 3 people just for a simple thing.

3. The dispatchers need to have their fleet spit up or the increase in amount of dispatchers. Let's get rid of the file and forget and have dispatchers that know one fleet inside and out and are able to flightfollow us.

 

[gutshotdraw]

3. The dispatchers need to have their fleet spit up

Some fleets spit up more than others

 

[gunfyter]

Some fleets spit up more than others

Now Now... this is the land of E Pluribus Unum.

 

[AirBear8]

3. The dispatchers need to have their fleet spit up or the increase in amount of dispatchers. Let's get rid of the file and forget and have dispatchers that know one fleet inside and out and are able to flightfollow us.

I second that. The other day the dispatcher filed an RNAV SID out of LAS for our Ultra. When the Captain called and asked why he did that they said that dispatcher rarely worked Ultra's and wasn't aware or forgot about the no RNAV SID/STAR restriction we've had for many months now.


AirBear

 

[Publishers]

First of all, one good quarter does not a year make. If any Florida company did all year what it does in the first quarter, you would see some records.

Secondly, someone mentioned fuel --what does that has to do with anything other than if you did more outsourcing which they said they did less.

The key words there were "higher fees".

 

[gunfyter]

Amigo,

You were proven wrong on the things you said before our new CBA.

You will be proven wrong on profitability.

The old CBA had was inefficient for the company. The new CBA is a money maker. Profits will follow.

 

[MorePilotPay]

So lets give the god dang floor people a raise.

You want to keep good workers pay them a good wage.

No kidding. These are the people that were keeping the company together last year while some crewmembers were calling in sick or downing their planes. Now they can't even get a measly 3.5% raise? Someone better figure that one out soon.

 

[RNObased]

That's really interesting, and I hope it's true. But on the company side things are still scary.

Would you care to expand on that comment??

 

[Diesel]

No kidding. These are the people that were keeping the company together last year while some crewmembers were calling in sick or downing their planes.

ummm i'll just let you stew in that assinine comment.

 

[G4dude]

I find it so amusing how it was doom and gloom, fiery flaming pit of death during contract negotiations, and now, with fuel more expensive than ever, all of a sudden a profit is being made, with much higher pilot costs than before.

What a bunch of f-ing tools. Liars. I just don't know how they sleep at night.

How utterly amusing! The reason NJA lost so much money last year was the deliberate and unconsionable grounding of perfectly good airplanes, in order to put pressure on Santulli. I had two NJA FOs visit me as I sat in my Gulfstream to tell me about what was going on. They were disgusted, to say the least.

 

[G4dude]

I second that. The other day the dispatcher filed an RNAV SID out of LAS for our Ultra. When the Captain called and asked why he did that they said that dispatcher rarely worked Ultra's and wasn't aware or forgot about the no RNAV SID/STAR restriction we've had for many months now.


AirBear

Hey Bear, how are you enjoying NJA? I remember when you were preparing to come on board, hope all is working out.

 

[Correcting]

Deliberate...

Unconscionable...

Yep, that pretty much sums up Santulli.

Our collective NJA pilot conscience is clean. Our wallets our fatter. Santulli stuck it to us for 4 years. We finally stuck up for ourselves. He had it coming. He wanted a good fight, and he got it.

I don't know how you G-WIZ boys do it, but at NJA, we don't fly broken planes. Not one single plane was written up that didn't have a legit writeup. We just stopped doing anything more than the absolute minimum that was expected of us, just to kind of show the company how much of a difference motivated pilots really do make.

And now we're on the verge of profitability. Gee, go figure.

 

[DO-82 driver]

And don't forget the amount of money NJA had to pay in grievance settlements.......10's of millions of dollars. You break the agreed work rules...you will pay for it...eventually.

Thank you 1108.....my garage being built right now is from the monies you got for me in grievances and retro pay.

 

[Diesel]

How do you ground a perfectly good airplane? hmmm

if a tree falls on a gulfstream pilot does anyone really care?

 

[gunfyter]

COTA is hiring!

Got a friend says 5th yr bus driver is $69K... same as was originally offered to NJA Captains in failed TA.

http://www.cota.com/cota/cotaweb/jobopenings.xml?intPageID=50&intSectionID=5&pid=,49

 

[G4dude]

Deliberate...

Unconscionable...

Yep, that pretty much sums up Santulli.

Our collective NJA pilot conscience is clean. Our wallets our fatter. Santulli stuck it to us for 4 years. We finally stuck up for ourselves. He had it coming. He wanted a good fight, and he got it.

I don't know how you G-WIZ boys do it, but at NJA, we don't fly broken planes. Not one single plane was written up that didn't have a legit writeup. We just stopped doing anything more than the absolute minimum that was expected of us, just to kind of show the company how much of a difference motivated pilots really do make.



And now we're on the verge of profitability. Gee, go figure.

Absolute bullsh*t. The FOs told me the real score, how you guys had a list of things to squawk which were not MELable. Don't kid a kidder.

 

[imotis]

Deliberate...

Unconscionable...

Yep, that pretty much sums up Santulli.

Our collective NJA pilot conscience is clean. Our wallets our fatter. Santulli stuck it to us for 4 years. We finally stuck up for ourselves. He had it coming. He wanted a good fight, and he got it.

I don't know how you G-WIZ boys do it, but at NJA, we don't fly broken planes. Not one single plane was written up that didn't have a legit writeup. We just stopped doing anything more than the absolute minimum that was expected of us, just to kind of show the company how much of a difference motivated pilots really do make.

And now we're on the verge of profitability. Gee, go figure.

I heard that during the negotiations the dispatch rate of the aircraft were way, way down compared to what it suddenly is now that the contract is signed. Since the planes don't become more or less reliable after a contract is signed were some pilots making non-legit write ups then or are they now pocketing the write ups that they should really be reporting? I don't think you can have it both ways.

 

[hydrarkt]

So it who cares if its mel'able or not. If its broke its broke.

Nobody cared when 4 years of stalled negotiations screwed the pilots. But all of a sudden the pilots stand up and say no more and we're the bad guys?

Riiiight.

PS the company fixed that under the mco program so that argument doesn't hold weight either.

imotis- isn't a low moral employee much less productive than an employee that is happy and feels the company cares about him the same way? Just ask the Floor people if about low moral. Or any pilot a couple of months ago.. pre contract

 

[Majik]

Absolute bullsh*t. The FOs told me the real score, how you guys had a list of things to squawk which were not MELable. Don't kid a kidder.

Ahhh, that makes a lot of sense. We only wrote up the broken things that were not MELable and continued to fly with broken things that were MELable.

Also, what does that say about your "friends"? You're claiming they sat idly by and watched their Captains make up grounding squawks that weren't really broken??? I'd say (if that really happened) that they were just as guilty as the people they are accusing of making up squawks.

And are those FOs still cashing their full paychecks or are they giving back the increase that was obtained (as you say) illicitly?

Finally, what does that say about you, a member of the NetJets Family, to just let that pass. I mean, there you sat, with witnesses, dates, and facts that have you completely convinced that there was wrongdoing, and you did nothing but throw useless allegations on a message board.

Now I would be foolish to think that, out of over 2000 pilots, that there was never an instance of someone fabricating a single write-up. But I never saw or heard of another pilot that saw someone do this. I don't know about the Gulfstream but I do know that I can go out and preflight most any Cessna and find something that doesn't meet the legal requirements and specifications of the FAA and aircraft manufacturer.

So, one of the many reasons (selling off the core fleet, overselling Marquis, funding losses and building a new HQ for NJE) NetJets lost money was because it took Santulli 4+ years to realize how important it was to have reasonably satisfied employees in the pointy end of his jets and that these pilots weren't going to bought off with a few beads and trinkets.