NJ Email "In CommunicationS" in Future

[CFIIer]

Not to mention, one of the richest dudes in the world owns NetJets. That's gotta be worth something...

 

[fifinella]

Laser1234 I agree with a lot of your post and you have a lot of valid points IMO. I have a couple of good friends there and they like it there if that type of flying and the whole "customer service" focus (read here - a@@ kissing) does it for you. I don't think NJA is "the place to be" or the be all end all, but I wouldn't delete them as an option. Submit an application and you never know....If I were in your situation, I would keep all options open.

 

[Trash8Mofo]

Also, Management is aware that NJ is considered to be the place to go in a tight job market. No matter what kind of love fest is going on between management and labor, management will always convert that kind of political capital into advantage for their side.

• I know this last point is also not very scientific ........

Your entire post is not very scientific. It sounds like you have a case of Stockholm syndrome. You are saying just because you have been fcuked over, you do not deserve to be treated fairly. Rather, to be treated poorly so that you won't be disappointed if things were good and then turn for the worse.

Your perspective of airline management is understandable. IMHO, there are two types of management. 95% of airlines have the first, which is the "team" that brought in from the outside. Most often they are so concerned about making the balance sheet looks good in the short term to satisfy the board and fatten there incentives, they do things that are detrimental to the health of the company.

Then there are the "original teams", their companies are their babies if you will. Southwest, NJA are example of it. Warren Buffet makes sure that this happens for NJ. One of his CEO hiring criteria is to pick someone who is indepently rich and do not do the job for the money, with a track record to boot. He specificly says this in the Berkshire 2005 annual report regarding his opinion of Rick Santulli, NJA CEO.

 

[Bronco Buster]

I have been at NJA for 15 months. Prior to that I was in the Air Force 20 yrs and at NWA for 19. NJA is not perfect and a t the moment our hiring process seems to be a bit gummed up. It's definitely different from the flying that I've done in the psat, but I love it. The pay and benefits are excellent and when a family tragedy strikes the company response is awesome. Being gone from home for 7 days at a time can be a drag, and if you find it demeaning to load bags and clean airplanes or don't like bending over backwards to help strangers, then this definitely is not the place for you. For me getting to fly to airports that I've never heard of before and flying excellent equipment, not to mention the many fine people that I work with and for, makes it totally worthwhile and highly rewarding. The biggest plus that this company has going for it is that it's founder is still running the company. It's like flying for Pan Am when Juan Tripp still ran it or Eastern when Rickenbacker was still around. Not only is Mr. Santulli the founder of this company, but he's also the creator of this fractional airline concept. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that this is his baby, and he'll move mountains to make it succeed and grow. Aside from that, a good friend of mine who is a master cabinet/furniture maker worked at one of Mr. Santulli's homes for a couple of weeks and told me that the Santulli's are some of the finest folks that he has ever dealt with.

 

[Diesel]

I have been thinking about applying at NJA. I am currently a pilot at a part 121 major airline who is soon to be furloughed. I probably have adequate pilot qualifications. I could also give evidence of customer service excellence. Of the options out there now, NJA looks like a good one for me. Even so, I have decided that I will not be applying.

The flying looks like fun. The compensation is adequate. The contract seems fair. Every NJ pilot I’ve talked to says he/she wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I need a job. So what’s the problem?

It’s hard to explain but I just have a bad feeling about NJ. These are some of the things that bother me;

• I think that any company that is currently billed as “the place to work” may be due for a correction. We all know many examples of this from the history of airlines. It seems almost like painting a big target on your back.

Also, Management is aware that NJ is considered to be the place to go in a tight job market. No matter what kind of love fest is going on between management and labor, management will always convert that kind of political capital into advantage for their side.

I've been here a while, not as long as some but longer than others. While that doesn't make me an expert its given me a lot of insight into what runs this place (on both sides).

There are hundreds of stories every year of the company bending over backwards to take care of us. Whether it be flying a BBJ to pick up a fallen pilot's family and leaving the plane he last flew in in the exact same position and repositioning a crew to fire it up so the wife could sit in his seat one last time before they flew the body home in a BBJ... to what they did for my family when my dad got sick.

They sent me home so fast my head spun, and said don't you dare come back to work till your ready. And even when I came back to work I wasn't ready so I took a LOA for 6 months to get my head set straight. They never questioned it, they just said please take care of your family.

So yeah looking at us from the outside it looks like a screwed up company that you might think is here today and gone tomorrow but when they take care of employees first like they have they will always be around.

Would an airline ever say just go home, don't call us, and if you do we'll just say you haven't been home long enough? I doubt it. When my dad was sick Continental was hiring and I was talking to him about it. He looked around the hospital room and asked if I was an idiot? I said no I just want to fly international.... he said would an airline send you home on a private jet and then just say stay with your family? I still remember that conversation.

I'm not saying the hiring department isn't screwed up. I've been one of the loudest voices out there that there needs to be change for the better and they say its coming. I've apologized to everyone that's in the pipeline because I know its screwed up. Once your here though it is so worth it. I've never once worried that this job wasn't going to be here when I came back to work even after 9/11 we kept on trucking. I don't worry about the cost of fuel, I just worry about making the owners happy and getting them from point a to b safely.

The rest is just part of the job.

 

[o2bflyn]

I have been thinking about applying at NJA. I am currently a pilot at a part 121 major airline who is soon to be furloughed. I probably have adequate pilot qualifications. I could also give evidence of customer service excellence. Of the options out there now, NJA looks like a good one for me. Even so, I have decided that I will not be applying.

The flying looks like fun. The compensation is adequate. The contract seems fair. Every NJ pilot I’ve talked to says he/she wouldn’t want to work anywhere else. I need a job. So what’s the problem?

It’s hard to explain but I just have a bad feeling about NJ. These are some of the things that bother me;

• I think that any company that is currently billed as “the place to work” may be due for a correction. We all know many examples of this from the history of airlines. It seems almost like painting a big target on your back.

Also, Management is aware that NJ is considered to be the place to go in a tight job market. No matter what kind of love fest is going on between management and labor, management will always convert that kind of political capital into advantage for their side.

• I know it’s a buyers market but the NJA recruiting process really gives me a bad feeling. It seems to be a mixture of incompetence, arrogance and stupidity. I tried to override this idea by saying to myself “the company is very successful so they must know what they are doing.” Or I would argue “I am not in charge of the recruiting department of a very successful company so what would I know about it.” After all my efforts, I just can’t convince myself that there isn't some serious stupidity going on over there. The latest brag is that NJA offers employment to 10% to 20% of people who make it through their ridiculous screening process to the actual interview. What really bothers me is that some people on here who claim to be part of the hiring process at NJA seem to be proud of this. I won’t even go into the many reasons why this is a statistic that no one should be proud about.
• I know this is not very scientific but every time I see one of the gold ties waiting to board a flight in the concourse, they always look they think they are better than everyone else who doesn’t wear the gold tie.
• I know this last point is also not very scientific but at an airline where I used to work, I knew of four pilots who left to go to NetJets. Of those four, three of them were the biggest ****************************** bags I’ve ever met. In all fairness, the fourth was a really good dude. All we have to go on sometimes is our gut feelings.

Is NJ going to lose any sleep when my resume isn’t one of the 4,000 they have to sort through? I doubt it. To all who work at NJA or will work there, I hope it turns out to be the kind of ride that we all deserve.

Very interesting insight. I would offer this.

1. All companies, industries, hot dog carts, etc... have their good times and their bad times. I am sure you thought your job at the majors was going to be pretty good when you took it.

2. The hiring process is in a state up flux right now. Yes it has issues, but you can't judge an entire company based on the growing pains of one department. I imagine they willl be worked out shortly anyway. Keep in mind no one out there OWES you a job. It is the same idea in sports. If you want to be the best you have to beat the best.

3. NJA pilots walking around like they own the joint. Do you really want to hear all my stories about airline pilots looking down their collective noses at corporate/frational pilots?

4. When a company has over 2500 pilots you are going to run into a few that are real A-holes. It happens, work around it. I am sure there a plenty of jackasses at which ever 121 outfit you work for now.


Just my 2 cents. I certainly respect your point of view, but It sounds like you are looking for the perfect location where everyone is humble happy and the hiring process takes about 2 weeks from application. With as many resumes that are floating around right now I would worry about a place that moves that quickly.

Best of luck in your search. I truely hope you find what you want.

 

[RideandDrive]

As far as the arrogance it is here. I work at Netjets and a lot of these guys are making this out to be the panacea of aviation.

There are a lot of goobers that work here. We all know how hard it was to be hired here in the past.

 

[fischman]

NetJets isn't for everyone. Best of luck laserman2431 on your search.

 

[laserman2431]

Thanks Mr Fischman. Aren't you involved in the hiring process ar NJA?