NJA Termination Letters

[YankeeEcho]

I wanted to codify this so we can revisit the issue in the near future. . . . . . The moral of the story – a large unionized pilot group has more to offer than many ever realized. . . . . . Further, the unionized group is out performing any historical data. . . . . Respectfully,

Dear Cast of Thousands;
Your statement is eloquent, fervent, passionate and persuasive - but specious.
It assumes that only with a union (and/or because of a union) can these performance measures be achieved. This is wrong. Others have met those criteria without a union and can continue to do so. I applaud your success and the achievement of increased performance - but don't force your solutions on others that don't need or want them.
I respect your right of self-determination - please respect ours.

 

[B19 Flyer]

Dear Cast of Thousands;
Your statement is eloquent, fervent, passionate and persuasive - but specious.
It assumes that only with a union (and/or because of a union) can these performance measures be achieved. This is wrong. Others have met those criteria without a union and can continue to do so. I applaud your success and the achievement of increased performance - but don't force your solutions on others that don't need or want them.
I respect your right of self-determination - please respect ours.

I've been saying this for months and everybody seems to think I'm the CEO of two different fractionals because I don't believe that unions help anything nowadays. You hit it right on the button. Nicely stated.

 

[Count]

Dear Cast of Thousands;
Your statement is eloquent, fervent, passionate and persuasive - but specious.
It assumes that only with a union (and/or because of a union) can these performance measures be achieved. This is wrong. Others have met those criteria without a union and can continue to do so. I applaud your success and the achievement of increased performance - but don't force your solutions on others that don't need or want them.
I respect your right of self-determination - please respect ours.

YE,
Its not about union or not union, its about cash.
More class 4 airplanes for NJA = more money for NJA pilots.

 

[Willy21]

Honest question here. What happens in 5-10 years when the GIV-GV line is replaced by something else? Is NJA going to give up scope on a new class 4 aircraft? Probably not. Wouldn't it be better to solve these problems before we get backed into a corner and things get ugly?

 

[CastofThousands]

Dear Cast of Thousands;
Your statement is eloquent, fervent, passionate and persuasive - but specious.
It assumes that only with a union (and/or because of a union) can these performance measures be achieved. This is wrong. Others have met those criteria without a union and can continue to do so. I applaud your success and the achievement of increased performance - but don't force your solutions on others that don't need or want them.
I respect your right of self-determination - please respect ours.

In my world only family, friends, and “The Man” above come before profession. Please notice I didn’t say union, which in my mind solely exists to advance the interests of our profession. As long as there is a “house” for the profession to convene, protect, and advance our professional interests, I will sleep well at night.

A pilot’s (*note “pilot’s,” not pilots) union or association is only as effective as the leadership and more so, the membership. As with any organization, ignorance and complacency are poison pills. So while many refer to it as a union, I genuinely only see it as an organization that exists for the profession, not for the benefit of the [union] organization. Meaning, L-1108 exists for the pilots, not the Teamsters. It is my personal opinion the IBT will eventually lose the NetJets pilot group (and possibly the Flight Options pilot group) because the IBT believes the pilots exist for the benefit of the Teamsters; backwards thinking, at best. So consider me the purist or the elitist, but rest assured my interests are continued professional development. This requires strong companies, progressive labor relations, and like minded people working together for everyone’s benefit; customer, employee, and shareholder. What makes NetJets unique is the fact the pilot group has incredible confidence in the pilot’s union leadership and organization – they respond to the leadership and organization – and today they are responding in a way that no management team has ever been able to get them to respond. The common thread to all of the above is, the union. Will it stay this way indefinitely? Most likely not. What we have today is very unique in every sense of the imagination. BUT, if management can learn and retool the organization to balance customer, employee, and shareholder interests, they will be able to build off the inertia NetJets has today. Ironically, I am saying management should be so good, employees should perform so well, and the customers should be so excited to write that check every month that the pilot’s union can primarily focus on professional issues such as safety.

If one takes a step back and looks at the global professional issues they should be able to recognize there are much better things to invest in than fighting management. That being said, management must do their part first, so the union/association can redirect their time and resources. So to the point, if having a union/association keeps management honest and fair, but, the union/association invests more time and efforts into professional issues such as realistic duty and rest regulations while advocating “one level of safety,” ATC funding and “Next Gen” ATC infrastructure the union/association is creating something the sole pilot looking for the pay check and the flight time can’t; a profession as opposed to a job.

Respectfully,

 

[wolfpackpilot]

Honest question here. What happens in 5-10 years when the GIV-GV line is replaced by something else?

The GIV is currently being replaced by the G450, and the V by the G550. Both of these planes are state of the art new generation aircraft that will see service life's of 15+ years. It will be another 10 before Gulfstream even announces a replacement for these aircraft.

Your looking at a minimum of 20-25 years before the current G planes are gone. Wow... just realized I will be too, its the big 40 this November for me.

 

[old*art]

Ah come on Wolf, you know the SSBJ is just around the corner !! Its the "Burn Before Reading" project at SAV.

 

[gunfyter]

Wow... just realized I will be too, its the big 40 this November for me.

That was the good old day....

 

[ProFracPilot]

It will be another 10 before Gulfstream even announces a replacement for these aircraft.

Maybe not a replacement for those aircraft. But there's going to be "Global Express Killer" (wide cabin) announced in the not-too-distant future...

...thread hijack over...

 

[wolfpackpilot]

But there's going to be "Global Express Killer" (wide cabin) announced in the not-too-distant future.../quote]

I believe your correct. Gulfstream absolutely has "something" new in the works. But I dont think it will be a replacement for any current product. The 450/550 line is selling very well, and I don't see them shutting it down for many years to come.

However, if the new wide cabin aircraft does everything the 550 can do and more; and it's within 25% of the current price of a 550 then its a different game.