The Flexjet Netjets Rumor Mill

[BentOver]

Yea it sure sounds like we are for sale to me. The canned answer is that we are not but, why layoff AND keep all your airplanes? How ignorant is that? Last time I checked, the worst thing an airplane can do is sit. The fact that they are not getting rid of airplanes wreaks of a sale.

I think he should have used the words "protect profit" instead of "protect the business". So I guess be prepared boys, anytime there is a minor hiccup in the market, we layoff instead of running the business efficiently.

I think that any business for sale usually does not broadcast to the world that it is for sale. Especially when the business is tied to a publically traded company.... Many times, even with small businesses, it is kept very hush hush for various purposes. Owners/customers may freak out and I doubt Flex wants to self-implode before it is ready (or do whatever it is they are doing)..

Just my op.

Good luck to all the fract. outfits.

 

[DirtyBeech]

I just love how dear ol' Fred and company aren't forecasting any more layoffs this year. That's a good thing. They only missed our mx expenses by $4 million or so and over guessed our flying by 10-20%. They couldn't possibly be wrong on the job side.

Just as long as I get four days of notice before an indeterminate number of layoffs for unknown reasons. That's all an employee can ask of a top 100 company these days.

 

[doylehargraves]

Well, I'm not expecting them to admit ANYTHING on a sale/merger/breakaway, all I am saying is that everything that has been done over the last 5 years is geared towards independence from the mothership and, these latest "developments" allude to such an action. We have Bombardier Flexjet that became Flexjet by Bombardier(very small letters). Then a logo change highlighting the Flexjet name. Then a rebranding (twice in 3 years). Now we operate as an independent division of Bombardier and were told we want to be a sole source operator without having to rely on Bombardier. (which we have been doing for a few years now). Obviously Bombardier is not going to float us to avoid layoffs, therefore, immediate layoffs to protect the check sent to Bombardier each month. To me, all of this is a push to become an independent operator; however, there ARE advantages to Bombardier keeping us. We buy a lot of airplanes from them and then 5-7 years later we sell it again. Essentially each airplane sells twice to Bombardier. Thirdly, we are all insignificant in this large game of money shuffle and only act as widgets that run the assembly line of funneling cash to the mothership. At the end of the day, I don't care, I do my job and as long as my job is there I don't have to worry; however, as we are told, the water going out is greater than the water coming in so that creates an atmosphere of anxiety and worry. Therefore, I apply their analogy to my own personal situation: The level of "I don't care" isn't enough to exceed the anxiety so, I do what I can to find another job. I've never worked for a company that has such a communication problem as Flexjet. That is a problem that comes right from Fred. It wasn't like this under Mcquay. The atmosphere was highly professional under him and now it's loose, disjointed, and in a state of constant uncertainty coupled with a giggly carefree mindset.

 

[BentOver]

Having worked under Fred's umbrella I definitely feel your angst agianst him..and pain... When he went with VA, I said to myself I'd never apply there as long as he was in charge... Same with that Comair exec who went to Dayjet I believe it was down in Florida... back in the mid 2000's... History has a way of repeating itself with these guys who seem to keep landing top jobs despite poor performance.

When I said I wouldn't expect them to come out and say "Looking to Sell".. I should have said I wouldn't trust what any of them say.. Seeing how even if they were to look to sell Flex, they would never come right out and say it... I believe nothing of what come out of execs mouths.

Hope you and whoever is looking can find good jobs to replace what you have to go through now

 

[Pervis]

No announcement, just amateur hour at the Waterview.

FR just doing what he do.

Or was he refering to the NJA order just announced? Not sure how that'll play out for Flex, but I hope we continue our competitive nature and all stay gainfully employed. All the best to Flex.

 

[pers-headwall]

Let's get one thing straight ya' morons. All businesses are For-Sale at all times if the price is right. Now I know some of you "Michael Moore/Conspiracy" dopes don't get that, but that's the way it is. If we're sold we're sold (Unlikely at this time). If we're not sold, so be it. Quit stewing, whining, and imagining conspiracies where there aren't. Ya' gotta be an uneducated moron, like in the Middle East, to grab on to anything that comes through the rumor mill.

If you haven't noticed we're in an industry that is in a contractionary mode right now. Primarily due to the economy-Not Flexjet management DUH!.. As that goes, Flexjet has shrunk the least of any of the big competitors in the industry.

I suggest you sit down, shut the F up and vote in November. There's no quick fix to where we are at right now and dreaming up useless B.S. gets us nowhere.

 

[flex*wife]

Let's get one thing straight ya' morons. All businesses are For-Sale at all times if the price is right. Now I know some of you "Michael Moore/Conspiracy" dopes don't get that, but that's the way it is. If we're sold we're sold (Unlikely at this time). If we're not sold, so be it. Quit stewing, whining, and imagining conspiracies where there aren't. Ya' gotta be an uneducated moron, like in the Middle East, to grab on to anything that comes through the rumor mill.

If you haven't noticed we're in an industry that is in a contractionary mode right now. Primarily due to the economy-Not Flexjet management DUH!.. As that goes, Flexjet has shrunk the least of any of the big competitors in the industry.

I suggest you sit down, shut the F up and vote in November. There's no quick fix to where we are at right now and dreaming up useless B.S. gets us nowhere.

Although I thought I'd never see the day and while I would have maybe said it a little more nicely, I agree with pers...

A union would still be a nice thing to protect and/or advance quality of life issues that never seem to get resolved but that time has come and passed. *****Maybe to be pursued again later but not anytime soon that I see... *****And believe me, I still know the players with the pulse of these things and they agree.

And it would not have helped this situation -maybe even hastened or complicated it to the detriment of those still there...

Best thing y'all can do is tighten the belts both professionally and personally and ride the storm out.

I don't know if Fred Greed is blowing smoke up your hiney's or not but it's irrelevant to the smart game plan at this juncture. *****

Best that you can hope for (and this would not be a bad thing) is to help recreate Flex as a boutique, high class fractional whose name is synonymous with personal care & chic - a certain je ne sais quoi if you will. *****

Leave NJA to continue on their path of fractional behemoth and the loss of uniqueness & personality that comes will that. *****Not a bad thing either - just different.

Think Saks vs Walmart, Opera House vs Madison Square, Indy vs NASCAR, Godiva vs Hershey's, Champagne vs sparkling wine. *****All are great but each one in those pairings signifies a step above. *****That is Flex's best bet - stay small enough to be exclusive and by exclusivity, build a brand that breaths excellence and luxury when mentioned.

Hey Walmart's awesome - I love it & Hershey's does the job, but you all must know what I mean, right?

Sure - it'll help if we can get back to the place where luxury is for one attainable and for the other acceptable but I have a feeling November will go a long way to helping that issue...

There is definitely a place in this market for both Flex & NJA. *****A differing business plan forward is actually helpful to both companies in the long run - especially if they will be competing in the same aircraft. *****

There's a lot of hope to be had here guys. *****FR might be the captain but y'all are really the ones in control. *****He can't destroy you unless you make that his only choice.

If NJA actually takes delivery BTW of all those orders but that's another thread for another day...

 

[DirtyBeech]

Ahh, a week later and this thread is dug up to tell us to bend over, grab ankles, and take it.

The election, while meaningful, will not stop the economy from tanking hard next year and staying that way for some time.

As far as being a high end boutique...too funny. As if NJ's hasn't thought of such revolutionary service ideas as knowing what the customer likes to drink. Standby for things to get stupid.

 

[doylehargraves]

Anger, denial, acceptance, we are hitting all the required steps here it seems. Bottom line is this: Fred has no idea where this business will be in 1 month let alone 5 years. His "ambitious" fleet plans are enough to make anyone throw up. I think the fleet plans are his way of steering the sheep to the slaughter house. Yeah, keep telling us we are going to be "x" size in "y" years and we will all shut up and keep our fingers crossed. If we can't keep our company at a sustained level right now, (in a post-disaster economy in a recovery), what makes him think that we will be anywhere else but where we are now in the next 12 months or 3 years?

Trust me, Fred has the name greed attached to it for a reason and, we have seen those reasons several times now. He is a protector of profit, not a legit business person with any real ideas of saving anyone's job. Until the top 3 or 4 people are gone at Flexjet, expect this mindset to continue.

 

[dashtrasher]

Doyle,

I thought you left Flex?

 

[doylehargraves]

No, still here but, will be retiring soon.

 

[hammer2]

This sucks!

 

[doylehargraves]

It doesn't just suck, it blows first. I don't think there is anything at this point that shows us this place has what it takes to be successful. In successful I mean, long term growth. We have a competitor that is going out of business and, we can't gain a meaningful amount of their customers. What an absolute failure of our sales people.

 

[Helmsalee]

Suck, blow is only a figure of speach.

 

[Jimmy]

Calm down Guys.....
It will all be cool.
Calm down......

 

[doylehargraves]

Because you say so jimmy. Keep living in fantasy land.

 

[doylehargraves]

Anyone else hearing about the axe coming again soon? More reductions or is this typical panic? The last one was a blind side so, you would think this rumor is false but, who knows, I don't trust anyone anymore.

 

[JokerFuel]

Fear mongering! That's it. Nobody knows. Rumour and BS. Don't buy into it. Yeah...Net Jets is getting Globals and Three Hundreds. So what! All the airlines operate the same equipment and well...poor example, but you get the gist. Flexjet makes money, and the pay-checks keep coming. For most of us, sorry to the folks on the street. Eventually this will turn. Or maybe it won't. Bottom line is, as pilots we simply don't know. Personally....I'm rowing this boat all the way to Dick City.

 

[Ref]

Its the same cycle over and over at Flexjet. The second the profit stops the jobs will be cut. I am glad I got dont have to put my family through the same crap year after year.

 

[doylehargraves]

Ref, yea it's getting old living with a question mark every month.