The Costa Citationair

[Fresh Air]

I'm reading these post and I've gotta ask Options and Shares pilots, who do you work for...your respective companies or are you just agents of 1108?

I work for myself and for my family. Period. I don't buy into the corporate "family" crap any more than the Union "brotherhood" crap. And I put my trust in whichever organization I believe will further the interests of myself and my family the best.

Once upon a time I put my trust in a corporation called RTA, and was rewarded with broken promises. Then I put my trust in a corporation called Flight Options (and its leader Kenn Ricci), and was rewarded with broken promises.

Now I trust the 1108 more than the Company. This is because I see the 1108 leadership working as hard as they can to further my interests, against discouraging odds and ridiculously pro-corporation labor laws, and being opposed and maligned at every opportunity by that same corporation that broke their promises and "moved my cheese" more times than I care to count.

Obviously, in the few years since our Local was chartered we have not made much progress in the all-important areas of pay and benefits. Those suck at Options. But that is due to the stubbornness of Options management and the tepid support of about a third of our pilot group, not due to any lack of effort by the 1108.

 

[GhettoBeechjet]

Fresh Air has a point but I disagree with him slightly. Uncle Kenn wasn't that bad to work for. He is very anti union and paternalistic but in general his defense to union drives was to keep the pay and working conditions good enough to keep the union off the doorstep. That being said when Raytheon pushed him out and took over Options the pain became quickly became intolerable and the 1108 came on property. The lesson is in aviation you need a union because the guy you are working for today that treats you pretty well may not be the guy you are working for tomorrow. After Mother Raytheon handed me huge increases in my health insurance premium for less coverage and tried to drop my wife's coverage, a VP of flight Ops that in my unprofessional opinion is a pathological liar, crappy crew meals, crappy hotels, scheduling that ran us all into the ground and wouldn't reason with any of us I learned. It turned this generally conservative, anti union guy into a dues paying MIG. If you don't have a union, get one because stuff changes fast. If you have one, support it. If you don't like the direction of your union, run for office or at least become active supporting a candidate for leadership. A union isn't a thing unto itself. It is made up of the pilot group and is only as strong or weak as the membership and the will of that membership. If you just bitch and bellyache about the union without getting involved or offering solutions to the problems you are giving management the ability to strong arm you. It's your union if you don't like it get involved and work to change it.

 

[Fresh Air]

Nice post, Ghetto. I would probably see things from your point of view completely if I had been around for the (pre-merger) "good times" at Options when you were the highest paid, enjoyed fast upgrades and growth, there was hope for the future, and Kenn was everyone's friend. I came too late for that, and have seen little except take-aways, so my view is a bit more jaded.

 

[WheresRocky]

Rumors

Rumors abound as the dude abides. Heard on the street 6 airframes are about to be cut from the fleet. As the ship is prepared to tug to salvage, I'll bet the Captain is still hiding from view refusing to make a statement cowering behind his office door.

Will there be furloughs and downgrades or will the ranks be left to rot through attrition and atrophy?

So sorry to see you go.

 

[Newkem]

Rumors abound as the dude abides. Heard on the street 6 airframes are about to be cut from the fleet. As the ship is prepared to tug to salvage, I'll bet the Captain is still hiding from view refusing to make a statement cowering behind his office door.

Will there be furloughs and downgrades or will the ranks be left to rot through attrition and atrophy?

So sorry to see you go.

Seems to me you already know the answers to your questions. Tool.

 

[WheresRocky]

Seems to me you already know the answers to your questions. Tool.

CS Management just published a video on the future. Sorry Newkum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7v0dWJQNtcs

 

[outerfix]

Rocky, your a class act. I will let the 250 pilots and their family's at CitationAir know that you wish them well. Taking joy in other people's misery is called Schadenfreude, it is most often exhibited by people with low self-esteem.

 

[fob727]

not in a position to sound off????????? Really??????? Then exactly what position they in????? There the only ones in a position to sound off that's why they were voted in!!! Your post is the most ignorant post ever in flightinfo history??they need to be sounding off everyday and they need to get rid of those lawyers that totaly f upped the scope clause that allowed ricci to purchase flexjet and not have one of our pilots benefit from it??or is that i fault too should i have done something to stop it??? Shouls i have written scope myself??? (i shoulda of woulda been done better then what we ended up with) why don't you take responsibilty for this unions short coming??? Instead of blaming i all you guys are doing is turning this pilot group against the inion and ricci will be getting his decertification vote as he planned..

Punctuation.

 

[Newkem]

Taking joy in other people's misery is called Schadenfreude, it is most often exhibited by people with low self-esteem.

With a little schizophrenia mixed into the cocktail. Your losing it rocky, what happened to the sinking ship theme - couldn't you find a link to the Titanic movie soundtrack.

Beware the karma.

 

[bailout]

I know of 6 pilots coming off the seniority list within these last 2 weeks. Hopefully all can find something else before being put on the street. ( well, except for the managament minions and Kool-Aid drinkers )

 

[Newkem]

No mention of Floptions - Cessna Gung-Ho at NBAA

CITATION CONTINUES TO BE TOP CHOICE WITH FRACTIONAL OPERATIONS
Brad Thress, Cessna senior vice president of Business Jets, says: Businesses conducting fractional operations continue to choose Citation business jets more often than any other brand of jet. Stated another way, there are more Citations in the installed fleet of fractional operations than any other business jet. We believe this is a great reflection on not only the dispatch reliability, safety record, and comfort of the aircraft, but is also a strong testament to the superior direct operating costs of our fleet.

NetJets has the largest private jet fleet in the world and announced the largest private aviation order in history in August of 2012. As part of that record-setting $9.6 billion agreement, NetJets ordered 25 new Cessna Citation Latitude aircraft with options for 125 more, with deliveries expected to start in 2016.

We have a long-standing, successful relationship with Cessna and we are delighted to be working with them on the NetJets Signature Series Citation Latitudes,? said Adam Johnson, NetJets senior vice president of Global Sales, Marketing and Service. The features of the Latitudes will help differentiate our fleet and provide our customers with the safety, service, reliability and efficiency they require, as well as expand NetJets overall fleet capabilities.


NetJets holds the distinction for being the world?s largest Citation jet operator. The fractional company's installed base of aircraft includes more than 50 Citation X aircraft, making NetJets the world?s largest operator of the Citation X. Cessna Citation jets outnumber the closest competing manufacturer in the NetJets fleet by a two-to-one margin.

JetSuite is the fastest-growing private jet charter company in the U.S. Based in Irvine, Cal., JetSuite is currently operating six JetSuite Edition CJ3 aircraft and intends to acquire two more refurbished Citation CJ3 aircraft by the end of this year. JetSuite CEO Alex Wilcox says: The Citation CJ3 allows us to operate with an extremely high level of confidence and efficiency. The Citation CJ3 demonstrates amazing performance without sacrificing on cabin comforts. When we can count on 98% mechanical dispatch reliability across our fleet, we are able to offer private, efficient and safe air travel to more people than ever before.

Executive AirShare is a fractional jet ownership company based in Kansas City, Mo. The company has seen a 20 percent increase in fractional ownership over the past year. The company has introduced three Citation CJ2+ aircraft to their fleet of business jets, offering comprehensive jet service from hubs in the central U.S. and the Great Lakes region. ?The Citation CJ2+ aircraft fit perfectly within our offerings, and meets our customers? needs for range, seating and speed in an impressive fashion,? says Bob Taylor, Executive AirShare founder and chief executive. In addition to fractional packages, the company also offers share leasing, an equity-building jet card program, and aircraft management plans.
_______

 

[WheresRocky]

No mention of Shares in that article - confirmation of many unanswered questions.

Why did Cessna fail to mention Options operating a fleet of X's?

Perhaps this is a set up for the grand announcement later in the week by Herr Ricci for a huge Cessna order making them the largest fractional in the industry.

Or perhaps it is what it appears to be, a fluff piece. Puffing up to make itself appear bigger and badder while atrophy takes hold.

 

[Newkem]

Wholly Uninspiring

http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/21/3071537/cessna-ceo-scott-ernest-at-nbaa.html

Kick the bum out and get someone with genuine enthusiasm. Sounds like he can't wait to get home.

 

[Ludicrous Speed]

who got played

I've read several comments that go like this: 'Ricci has played the union' or 'Ricci made the union look bad' or 'Ricci has divided the pilots'. Assuming these statements are not just conjecture, then you're also stating he had a definite purpose or definite intentions here & that the Citation Air 'deal' wasn't just about getting more planes and returning furloughed FO pilots.

Personally, I think if there was any 'deal' at all, it was nothing more than a couple scratches on a table napkin. He never expected the 'deal to go through - because there was no deal. He didn't 'play the union'. He played the emotions of furloughed pilots & their families & all those saps who signed that assinine petition.

Wait - you think it was real? You thought his 'I'm a lawyer' speech was that compelling? Listen to me 'cause I'm a l-a-w-y-e-r?

" As some of you know, I have a law degree. Despite what you think, the study of law is not about memorizing laws nor is it about knowing how laws are implemented and enforced. The study of law is focused on understanding that most legal situations contain some "gray area" and it is about understanding how to make an argument to reinforce your "shade of gray". "

The audacity here's that he's lecturing people who look at the law /FARs every day & then writes about "gray areas". If I'm ever in trouble with the Feds, can I say, "Well gee whiz. My boss's got one 'a dem fancy law degrees 'an he says there's summin' called "gray areas"!? Think that'll work?

A few years ago, we would 've expected these types of games from Shrinker. Tricky Ricci's shown his hand to everyone that he's every bit as capable of playing the same games Shrinker played.

 

[Newkem]

http://www.kansas.com/2013/10/21/3071537/cessna-ceo-scott-ernest-at-nbaa.html

Kick the bum out and get someone with genuine enthusiasm. Sounds like he can't wait to get home.

You can add petulant and peevish to the above description of Earnest at NBAA.

http://m.bizjournals.com/wichita/blog/2013/10/avweb-cessna-ceo-petulant-and.html?ana=twt&r=full

Earnest and Clark, what a team.

 

[gret]

I watched the video posted and didn't see a problem. Reading the article and digging into the link in the article, it appears he must have been having a bad day.

Could have done a better job, but nobody is on top of their game everyday...except a couple of people on flightinfo! Should probably give him a pass until he really screws up and takes flying lessons.

 

[OHGOON]

I've read several comments that go like this: 'Ricci has played the union' or 'Ricci made the union look bad' or 'Ricci has divided the pilots'. Assuming these statements are not just conjecture, then you're also stating he had a definite purpose or definite intentions here & that the Citation Air 'deal' wasn't just about getting more planes and returning furloughed FO pilots.

Personally, I think if there was any 'deal' at all, it was nothing more than a couple scratches on a table napkin. He never expected the 'deal to go through - because there was no deal. He didn't 'play the union'. He played the emotions of furloughed pilots & their families & all those saps who signed that assinine petition.

Wait - you think it was real? You thought his 'I'm a lawyer' speech was that compelling? Listen to me 'cause I'm a l-a-w-y-e-r?

" As some of you know, I have a law degree. Despite what you think, the study of law is not about memorizing laws nor is it about knowing how laws are implemented and enforced. The study of law is focused on understanding that most legal situations contain some "gray area" and it is about understanding how to make an argument to reinforce your "shade of gray". "

The audacity here's that he's lecturing people who look at the law /FARs every day & then writes about "gray areas". If I'm ever in trouble with the Feds, can I say, "Well gee whiz. My boss's got one 'a dem fancy law degrees 'an he says there's summin' called "gray areas"!? Think that'll work?

A few years ago, we would 've expected these types of games from Shrinker. Tricky Ricci's shown his hand to everyone that he's every bit as capable of playing the same games Shrinker played.

Couldn't agree more. What's sad is that there is just not enough unity of purpose amongst us, the worker bees, to clearly signal:

NOT WITH US! NOT THIS TIME!

Instead there is always someone willing to kowtow and carry their water no matter how poisonous...

Shame on us for being so collectively naive. Until we change that, we will continue to find ourselves on the short end of the stick over and over again.

 

[shanes123]

Flops decertification vote is on its way! Riccis plan is right on schedule and soon FLOPS will be nothing but a smoking hole and the beatings at Flex will begin! Enjoy ass kissers.....

 

[GooseHZ]

Shane
Your all consuming hate for the FLOPS management that fired you has turned you it to a awful person. You wish for the demise of FLOPS so much that your forget the impact it would b have on the Families of all FLOPS employees.....you should be ashamed of your self.

 

[shanes123]

Shane
Your all consuming hate for the FLOPS management that fired you has turned you it to a awful person. You wish for the demise of FLOPS so much that your forget the impact it would b have on the Families of all FLOPS employees.....you should be ashamed of your self.

Did I say anything that's not true or accurate?