What's really up at Flexjet?

[FastJP4]

Maybe they're to busy picking up overtime while 85 squirm. FR playbook 101. I think the 85 on the street realize there will be no call back unless there is some massive amount of new customers - which isn't likely.

FR is an anti-pilot operator - always has been. The upper half of the seniority list could give a rat's a$$ about their fellow pilots. It is a "me" operation from the top down. What used to be a good career company is now trying to out do Flops as the bottom feeder of the Fracs. FG will see to it that that happens. I am hardly surprised to see the upper half scrambling to pick up OT with their "brothers" on the street. When most of them were hired, Flex was a bottom dweller - and it was the only company these guys could get on.

 

[doh]

I could be wrong about the charter but I believe we have contracts with some 135 operators. That is why the charter cost is not zero. I haven't heard of actual use charters though. It does seem like I am getting more airport standby, but I haven't really counted the number of standbys this year vs. last year, so that is just perception. I have no idea about OT days. I haven't been offered one yet. I have gotten more than 14 days assigned on my line once though. I wish they had offered reduced schedules before they furloughed as well. Did I touch on all your questions? Sorry for the disjointed reply, but it is late.

 

[Club ORD FO]

According to the recent CP updates, charter is pretty low. I have not been doing a lot of excessive standby. I have seen people asking for OT days and I don't agree with it. I've tried to drop days and cant, so we are certainly not overstaffed at the moment. I think the new rest rules are complicated but better than they used to be

Lots of people grumbling on the road about lots of stuff, lots of union talk, but so far all talk.

And I'm also raising my BS flag. You write/sound like a pilot and not a pilot's wife

 

[gret]

You go girl!!!

Flexjet needs a lot of action, but they need to stay quiet because of the question about Part 135!

You brought up some good questions about the entire industry!

 

[Nolife]

When most of them were hired, Flex was a bottom dweller - and it was the only company these guys could get on.

While I was hired because I had a pulse and didn't drool on myself I could have gone to other places. I had four ground school dates with as many companies to choose from and I chose Flex since it seemed like the best of my options regarding future career positioning at the time (NJA didn't call). BTW... two of the other places have closed doors and the other furloughed deeply. So I would have been screwed either way.

Wife- my personal take with no official source is that there may by a small recall in the fall, Oct-Nov time frame, to cover the traditional busy season. I've run into several crews on the road and they all say Flex cut too deeply. I think your husband may be safe for the remainer of the year.

If that doesn't happen I'm not optimistic about getting recalled until late 2010 if ever. We've entered a new economic paradigm where money will not be so easy to come by and only the truely wealthy will be able to afford airplanes. Perhaps that was the problem in the first place. Some Flex customers had no business being involved with fractional ownership as they had no real wealth. Good luck to all involved.

 

[netjetwife]

Welcome to the board, Flexwife!

FW, please don't be put off by the somewhat rocky reception. If it's any consolation, I faced the same doubt when I started posting here, too. When there's distrust of management it can easily make the pilots wary of sharing their complaints publicly. Some are slow to trust an outsider because union-busters (and even some managers) routinely use under-handed tactics to undermine labor groups... So that's bound to make some in your group doubly cautious. Be patient and when the issues are discussed --prudently--you will be able to show your support for the Flex pilots. I'm sure many posting here are interested in learning more about the circumstances facing the Flex pilots and their families. Those who have gone through similar events are usually quite willing to lend their moral support and share observations on what one can expect to see from management (punitive scheduling, intimidation, FUD, etc) when they are trying to squash organizing efforts. Hang in there and welcome to the board, FW!

Food for thought for those of you being excessively doubtful: Reading this thread took me back to my early days of posting here. It took a lot of posts just to convince some of the pilots that I truly was only an informed wife who wanted to discuss the issues affecting my family. There's obviously a Netjetwife, so it makes sense that there's also a Flexwife. I know you guys have heard that saying ...behind every good man there's a good woman. FW's on your side so her husband is too.

When pilots share their concerns at home, no one should be surprised that their wives take the situation as seriously as they do and want to compare notes with others in their group. Think about it.. when criticizing management openly by posting here, a family member doesn't face the same risk of negative consequences that the pilots do so we wives are in a good position to bring up the issues. And we certainly have lots of experience trying to raise a family on sub-par aviation wages! I can still remember my agitated posts from 2004. I was trying to rally the troops and then get the POSTA defeated because the NJA FO pay at that time was so low that some of our families qualified for govt assistance and punitive scheduling was disruptive to family-life. For too many frac families out there things are still very bad and I doubt very much that their management is sharing the pain of this recession equally. At the very least, pilots and their families deserve to know that if furloughs are required they will be done fairly-- by contract rules.

If the Flex pilotgroup is going to stand up for themselves, they will need the full support of their families and it will take a lot of discussions to get the entire group on board. An informed spouse is a great ally. A big reason that the grass roots movement at NJA grew into StrongUnion was because the leaders actively encouraged family support, knowing that it would be critical for success. Best wishes to the Flex pilots and their families! NJW

 

[netjetwife]

My BS detector is pegged. Nope. It's broken...

Now we'll go through 10 pages of "flex*wife" trying to convince everyone he's someone he's not.

Hopefully not. Having made that mistake myself when I began posting here, I will advise Flexwife to ignore the naysayers... and stay focused on the issues, instead. Club, I don't think FW writes like a pilot. In fact, she spells much better than many of the pilots posting here.

Joking aside, it is not at all surprising that a concerned wife wants to talk about issues that her husband has been discussing at home. Actually, the topic of how a company handles finances at a time they also furlough pilots is a subject that merits industry-wide attention. It has already, or could in the near future, affect all of the frac pilotgroups. It costs (read wastes) a lot of money to send pilots out on the road, only to have multiple crews sitting around the FBO. In FW's position (next in line to lose her family's income) I'd have started asking questions, too. The fact that NJA is leaving a lot of pilots at home to save money makes the Flex practice look even worse. I don't see the concern and effort to prevent furloughs that we're seeing (so far) at NJA/I. That's too bad. I'm sure the Flex pilots have also worked very hard (it goes w/the job) and deserve better treatment. Unfortunately, too many times managers will just take the easy way out and get rid of pilots rather than working harder to save money and jobs. If that is happening, I would hope that more Flex pilots/spouses would speak up. Discussions like this can also remind those at other fracs to pay close attention to operations these days and to compare notes with each other ---like FW is trying to do.

 

[flex*wife]

Thanks!

And I'm also raising my BS flag. You write/sound like a pilot and not a pilot's wife

I think I should be insulted, but instead I'll just assume you are self absorbed enough that in your world I should consider it a compliment.

 

[bunman45]

Ever see the "crying game"!

 

[gunfyter]

I think I should be insulted, but instead I'll just assume you are self absorbed enough that in your world I should consider it a compliment.

I think the mistakes you have made are subtle.... You slip by using pilot "lingo" here and there in your posts. For example using TEB instead of Teterboro. Its sort of like someone from NYC trying to hide that fact by faking a Mississippi accent. My wife was an Air Force flight nurse on C-130s and C-141 ... she wouldn't use TEB in a post.

Of course, if you happen to be a private pilot or have some other aviation background ... that would explain why you could sound like a pilot trying to cover up that fact.

On the other hand ... you write and spell too well to actually be a pilot. :laugh: