The Flight Options Army

[gunfyter]

Back at ya...

Pilots should help subsidize corporate profits by accepting only 30% of their Back Pay?

Hopefully Options pilots will learn from our mistake. its too great an incentive for managements to delay delay delay completing negotiations.

 

[NJAowner]

Be careful

Just because a certain alleged actions may have helps NJA pilots in their battle, it may not be the same for FLoPS.

The vast majority of the NJA owners like their company and their program and were willing to endure some of the inconveniences. On the other hand most of the FLoPs owners I know are waiting for their contracts to be up so that they may leave the program and would welcome the opportunity to call the company in default and terminate their contracts early.

It may be the same pilot pay issue, but otherwise different companies and different share owners.

Fly safe.

 

[gunfyter]

Good point so maybe OPTIONS needs to crack sooner... not listen to Ford and Harrison.

 

[Galaxy]

They wont.....
Mike S has a great history.. we will see the doors being chained long before a contract is ever even close...

 

[hammer2]

this is some good stuff.. reminds me of the good ole days.

 

[Corona]

there's nothing funny about that post corona.
we're at war just like our netjets brothers were a few years back, just as flexjet and cs will be in the future

You might misunderstand the source of my humor: The image of a pilot cracking managements' thick skulls by buying more-expensive fuel is a beautiful thing.

I am on your side, all the way.

C

 

[netjetwife]

I'm pleased to see a fighting spirit at Options. That bodes well for your future. Management will walk all over the pilots as long as they can get away with it. The more forceful the pilots become, the more motivated the company will be to hammer out a contract.

To those who still think someone in management is on their side--wake up! If they were going to treat the pilots like the professionals they are, they'd be doing so already. They won't change the status quo until the pilots demand it.

I agree that NJA and Flt Ops are quite different companies and the strategy may need to be adjusted according--perhaps. I refuse to believe, though, that there isn't lots of room for improvement. It always seem suspicious to me when aviation companies want to balance the budget on the backs of the pilots while you never hear about management salaries, or cuts in their QOL issues..... There were some excellent points in that essay!

Take heart Options pilots! The NJ pilots went through the same thing. There is light at the end of the tunnel and brighter days ahead. The more the pilots stand together the easier it will be. The louder your message, the faster it will be heard.
Hang in there!
Netjetwife

 

[RNObased]

Just because a certain alleged actions may have helps NJA pilots in their battle, it may not be the same for FLoPS.

The vast majority of the NJA owners like their company and their program and were willing to endure some of the inconveniences. On the other hand most of the FLoPs owners I know are waiting for their contracts to be up so that they may leave the program and would welcome the opportunity to call the company in default and terminate their contracts early.

It may be the same pilot pay issue, but otherwise different companies and different share owners.

Fly safe.

Owner,
That is the one of the best observations about this I have seen. Everyone assumes it will be a battle exactly like the one that happened at NJA. Like you pointed out there are major differences in just about every aspect of the two companies. Even the Options guys I run into on the road don't seem to be very up for the fight, heck half of them don't even know what is going on with the fight. If a lot of the owners leave FLOPS then it is moot point.

 

[netjetwife]

Apathy is nothing new. It can be found in the history of nearly every group that has reached a low point. It is one of the major reasons that people find themselves in troubling situations. The NJ pilots under 284 fit the same profile some have ascribed to the Options pilots. That doesn't mean things will stay that way. The NJ pilots didn't go from their apathetic 284 days to a strong union standing up for themselves overnight. I posted here in the beginning against some NJ pilots who were slow to rally to the SU cause. They eventually came around the more visible the SU movement became.

The more the Options pilots speak out the stronger they'll become and the more their ranks will swell---just like the NJ pilots grew as a union. Remember, they have a private board to share information and discuss their contract battle. I wouldn't judge their situation by what you hear on the road. Many doubted me about Strong Union in the beginning, too. They claimed they weren't seeing the grass roots movement I posted about. People tend to under-estimate the power of the silent majority. Just because they don't all wake up at the same time, doesn't mean that the potential for a strong union isn't there. The Options pilots have just become a union; a period of transition and adjustment doesn't seem unreasonable to me. It's certainly no indicator of the future. By that yardstick, the NJ pilots would still be in 284 blindly following bad leadership apathetically. They've improved their careers and QOL significantly. The Options pilots can also better their situation substantially.

No one is saying it will be easy, but it is definitely possible to gain a contract that gives them protection and improvements. It's easy to forget the struggle after the fight is over, but the NJ pilots had their share of uphill battle days, too. The Options group (pilots and their families) can draw from the SU experience and take hope from their outcome. Stay the course!
Best Wishes!
Netjetwife

 

[DO-82 driver]

NTW...very well said.

I would further add that the NJA pilots had a true belief in S.U. and many of us put our money where our mouths were and donated thousands of dollars to get things rolling when there was no certainty of success.

My donations of money and 4 airline tickets to my Union Brothers and Sisters had an unbelievable return on my investment....and I would proudly do it again.