Spoke with an XLS crew today in the van to the same hotel today. Both pilots seemed quite unhappy with the situation at Netjets complaining that:
1. Understaffed (reason why you need to bring furloughees back)
Some fleets are. Some fleets aren't. Overall, my WAG is we're currently about 150 short due to training float and increased demand.
2. Shorter overnights leading to much higher fatigue levels
That happens when computers do most of the scheduling with ZERO lookback at the crew's previous workload.
3. No real movement from fleet to fleet unless your fleet loses airplanes
Getting a LITTLE better with the arrival of new airframes.
4. Claimed certain fleets are proving very unreliable (thank goodness CL350s are coming)
Some fleets have always had more "issues" than others. If anything, the previously reliable fleets are starting to have more problems primarily due to age and short-sighted maintenance policy.
5. Claimed many FOs "talking" about applying to legacies but waiting to see new contract terms
Good surfers ride the FRONT of a wave. This contract fight will be another 24 months, minimum. Why wait to apply? You can ALWAYS say no. Anybody at NJA with a 4 digit seniority number and still in the career window for a legacy that isn't applying to every legacy even considering adding pilots, needs to rethink. Immediately.
It was an eye-opening conversation but I always take them with a grain of salt, but I have heard this theme consistently recently. Tough situation. I hope some furloughees get called back gradually to provide some schedule relief (especially with the busy holidays approaching) because QOL sounded like it has degraded. Makes you wonder how many furloughees now employed elsewhere (e.g., Jet Blue, Part 91, etc.) would even consider returning to be on the bottom of that list...