Ricci is out at FLOPS!!

[flyboycpa]

Aspiring,

Thanks for the quick response. I appreciate you sharing with us all your credentials. I hope to someday have the number of hours and various type-ratings that you have. It just seems that the majority of your posts regarding Flight Options have a negative connotation.

As you know, there are many people that choose to make various assumptions, allegations, statements, or hypotheses about companies and people that they have no personal knowledge of, just to start the 'ole rumor mill. I just see it as a waste of time.

Sam

 

[Aspiring to be]

You gave her the clap!

I have no bone to pick with you or with FLOPS. I am not on a campaign against FLOPS. I have responded to a couple of post and most appear to be from a couple of naive FLOPS pilots. Since you will call me names and question my character I will just ask you a question. Is it true that Raytheon is bringing at least all of the old RTA aircraft to the Raytheon Service Centers for a 48 hr. period for a check-up? I have been told to check for proper parts, standard equipment that might have been removed or replaced. I am told that parts robbing and removing happen, maybe more than it should have. I do not think the pilots are to blame as I would doubt that many would even know. Flying with MEL’s are of course a common practice that is safe, if not a compound MEL, that is done by all companies including the airlines.

 

[Aspiring to be]

Sam,

I do hope that your future is bright and your flying career as full as mine has been. I am sorry that my post seems negative against FLOPS. I have a difficult time not responding and when I do as in the previous post I say more than I should. By nature I am opinionated and argumentative.

I do believe that regardless of the company there can be problems. It has been my experience that when money gets tight the first thing to suffer is the maintance. I would never say something that I did not believe came from a knowledgeable source. I do not believe in spreading rumors. At the same time problems cannot be fixed until they are first recognized.

 

[SheGaveMeClap]

I gave nobody the clap, I promise!! And I didn't even get it.

Just for the record, I didn't call you any names. Just asked a few questions, that's all. I haven't heard of any of the former RTA airplanes going into Raytheon service centers for a 48 hour period for inspections. That's news to me. I know the service centers are slowly closing. I've seen three or four close in the last few months. Not sure what that's all about.

Sure, there's some parts swapping going on. If there's an airplane that's going to be down for a few days and the mechanics need to borrow (or steal) a part from it to get another airplane running that much sooner, I see no harm with that. Get one airplane flying ASAP and you'll still have time to order that same part for the airplane from which it was taken. I've seen it a couple of times, but I don't know that it's happening too often. How often is too often? Doesn't seem like there's anything wrong with that.

 

[sky4]

Aspiring to be

I can not understand why you have jumped down on Options, almost everything you have said is false! I dont know who your friends are and unless they are heavy pro-union trying to start something and they told you because you like to spread rumors, they are telling you lies! I have been with Options for two years and I have never had any problems with mx, and if I did I would just write it up and ground the aircraft. We have very nice aircraft and all are very well maintained! You sound like someone that tried to get on with Options and got turned down, if this is the case I am sorry but please don't spread rumors that are not true, that is really not professional.

Take care and fly safe

Sky

 

[BrnJetFuel]

For what its worth.

A little over a year ago, Raytheon was worth around $750 million when they tried to sell Travel Air to EJA...(NetJets) and RTS asked, If your selling then how much are you willing to PAY for EJA to buy? Raytheons TA segment was in debt for around $90million. With such a loss EJA wasn't going to buy horizons from a carrier directly competing with its large aircraft segment and especially when they are losing around $90 million a year.

Now for the other half, Flight Options was unable to tap the PRIVATE market for $ and was in 70 to $90 million in debt as well. The two, Travel air and flight options, agreed to combine the two into one and have a net worth of Raytheons $750 million. This would help FO and TA as Raytheon needed a competitive edge on NetJets in selling its Hawkers, as NJA will not purchase from Raytheon as long as they are selling aircraft though thier TA program in direct competition.

Both combined companies thought they might tap the private financial reserve and both ended up with NOTHING. No $ would pour their way. Now Raytheon at a 49 percent stake was hoping that Flight Options with 51 percent interest would be the direct Netjets competitive machine to sell their aircraft and they could be out of direct fractional competition with NetJets.

Well the joining of the two companies failed miserably as history will tell. Raytheon, whom manufactures solely King Airs and Hawkers joined in with a aftermarket reseller of used aircraft that sold a 100 hours and then gave an average of 15 hours away on top to every 100 hours sold of NetJets aircraft ownership in NEW aircraft. Flight Options never had a chance with not buying into new aircraft and the associated warranty of years of free maintenance that is provided with buying dozens of new aircraft.

Now we have an aircraft manufacturer of jets and turboprops, all under the name of Beechjet, Hawker, and King Air that bought into a company that buys into a company that’s Big Sell is that they buy the best of the used aircraft manufacturers. Gulfstream, Challenger, Falcon. All these types are in direct competition with Raytheon. Now we see the dichotomy.

FlightOptions defaults on their payments because they oversold shares to compete with NetJets and as a result the founder ended up being ousted only to be replaced by a Raytheon appointee. Intended result, of course not. Now Flight Options is in debt to the tune of $20 million plus and the only way they could meet the obligation with Raytheon was to give a greater controlling authority. Now Raytheon who got involved from the beginning to sell Beechjets, Hawkers, and King Airs is a 70% owner of a company that pursues the selling of Gulfstreams, Falcons, Challengers, Citations, and yes a few Raytheon products.

A person involved in the FO/TA program must ask if a company who just recently established a 49% stake in a fractional company only after a serious attempt to sell its fractional program off to NetJets is serious about keeping its current customers/employees now that it is a 70% owner of the same due to default by lack of payment. Raytheon is big but its values has been brought down greatly and by most by its involvement with its fractional ownership and involvement with Flight Options. Raytheon says they are committed. It was only a year ago that they desperately tried to sell off its fractional involvement. Now that they are the owners of now not just one, but TWO money losing fractional programs, that can only mean that time will more than likely shine upon the founder and giant among the fractionals, NetJets.

 

[GooseHZ]

WOW Burn thanks for the doom and gloom.......i so glad NETS made so much $$$$$ last year. How much of that $$$$ are you getting? Or better yet how much is the IBT getting?


Why the slamming of FLOPS, i would think you would want us to grow, this industry needs two or three strong companies to keep it healthy. no one(not even you) knows what RTN is looking to do with FLOPS. I hope they do what they say and pump $$$ into it and fix some of the small problems. we shall see.


fly safe.

 

[Aspiring to be]

Not sure about your figures. Best understanding I had was that RTA was losing in the 2-8 million per year range. They were not losing 90 million per year. Raytheon might have lost those numbers but not RTA. These were Raytheon’s figures and most believe the actual lost to be much less. Not sure what the value of RTA at the time of the merger, again I assume you are talking about the value of Raytheon and not RTA. The aircraft transferred over to the merged company of FO. LLC were owned by the owners. Just not sure what value RTA really had. The core aircraft (owned by RTA were returned to RAC?) did not go over to FO. The value that RTA had in the merger I believe was just the sold aircraft and the value of having more aircraft to limit the time of positioning flights and the 20 million in loans to FO. LLC.


“This would help FO and TA as Raytheon needed a competitive edge on NetJets in selling its Hawkers, as NJA will not purchase from Raytheon as long as they are selling aircraft though their TA program in direct competition.
______________________________________________-


Raytheon had no restrictions on the selling of Hawkers to RTA. There was a restriction on the new Horizons. RTA would not be able to buy more than about three until EJA had I think 20 aircraft.

I doubt that even after the merger and the 20 million dollar loan from Raytheon that FO.LLc had a net worth over 20 million but I would bet was less than 30 million.

 

[P-3Hawk]

Flight Options to possibly say good-bye

According to Mr. Nahill those aircraft that do not have the dispatch reliability will be gotten rid of. In favor of a new and younger fleet.

 

[Diesel]

heard from an options crew that the X's were going to be gotten rid of for more raytheon products? Anybody heard this? The crews said their dispatch rate was pretty bad. Which we all know is true.