1900cpt
Well-known member
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- Nov 25, 2001
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For those who dont get the magazine, or are curious...here you go:
Do I still want to head for the major airlines or should I consider the alternatives? It’s a question that many pilots have been asking themselves, especially after what happened last September, and one that more and more have been answering lately by applying to NetJets, the world’s largest fractional ownership operator.
The outlook for prospective airline pilots certainly looks different now than it did prior to the terrorist attacks, with some airlines faltering, many pilots furloughed, and pilot hiring scaled back at most large air carriers. But at NetJets, headquartered in Montvale, NJ, with its operational base in Columbus, OH, the skies remain bright, with expansion on the horizon.
“The growth rate of this company is phenomenal. Even in the worst of times, NetJets continues to fly at a record pace,” says George Lusk, manager of pilot recruitment and NetJets’ Citation Ultra program manager. “We’re taking more aircraft this year (78 scheduled deliveries) than we’ve ever accepted in a year.” And far from paring back it’s workforce, Lusk says NetJets plans to hire 500 pilots in 2002 and another 500 next year.
Job-seeking pilots are responding by sending applications in record numbers, but Lusk points out there are reasons beyond growth for pilot interest in working for NetJets. The job simply has a lot to offer, he says.
“We’re the best thing going. Six years ago, a lot of people saw NetJets as a stepping stone; that is no longer the case,” Lusk states. “This is now a career choice. Our pilots truly have a quality of life and job security you can’t find anywhere else.”
NetJets also offers speedy advancement to captain status, he says. “We don’t need first officers; we need captains. You are a first officer for a very short period, so to come here you have to become ‘captain-ready’ in a very short period of time.” Most new hires spend six months to a year before upgrading to captain, Lusk says, but “it can occur even quicker.”
BACKGROUND
The story of NetJets dates back to 1964 when Executive Jet Airways was founded by Brigadier General O.F. “Dick” Lassiter as a civilian version of the US Air Force’s Special Air Missions Squadron. With a fleet of 10 new Learjet 23s, Lassiter used military principles in aircraft utilization and management to efficiently ferry civilian VIPs on chartered trips. Since that time, expansion has been the company’s uninterrupted hallmark.
A name change to Executive Jet Aviation (EJA) came about a year later and the operation stretched internationally in 1965 with the establishment of Executive Jet Aviation SA, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Swiss operation was sold a mere five years later, but EJA continued to operate stateside, though by the ‘80s, it began to falter.
In 1984, former Goldman Sachs principal Richard Santulli—who continues as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer—purchased EJA. Apparently, Santulli initially planned to use EJA’s Columbus-based hangar as a home for a helicopter leasing business, but after agreeing to purchase a private jet with three friends and dealing with arguments about who would get to use it and when, the seeds for NetJets were planted.
Santulli looked into the logistics and legalities of leasing guaranteed service in business aircraft and by 1986, he was pioneering the fractional aircraft ownership model. Fractional ownership allows companies and people to buy shares in corporate aircraft, instead of owning their own planes and dealing with the attendant staffing and maintenance costs and regulations. Owners can buy one-sixteenth to full shares in most NetJets aircraft that allow them access to preset annual hours of flight. There’s also a monthly management fee and occupied hourly fee, but the savings in time, security hassles, and money over outright ownership tends to pay off for busy executives, professional athletes, and entrepreneurs.
Fractional ownership is similar to time sharing a vacation property, but unlike time sharing, it does not mean a customer will always fly on the specific aircraft he or she chooses. Instead, NetJets guarantees a plane of the owner’s purchase—or better—will be available on as little as four hours’ notice.
The NetJets fractional ownership program was an almost instant success, with its annual profits exceeding those of EJA’s charter operation for the first time in 1991. By 1996, NetJets Europe was established, in 1999, NetJets Middle East was launched, and there are plans in the works to expand the NetJets concept to South America and the Pacific Rim.
In the mid-1990s, respected financier Warren Buffet bought interest in NetJets after traveling with it as a customer, then in July 1998, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. purchased ownership of the company from Santulli.
In June 2000, NetJets opened a new operational headquarters complex at Port Columbus International Airport. It features an 80,000-square-foot hangar capable of housing up to 30 NetJets aircraft, with an adjacent 45,000-square-foot aircraft support area, and 75,000 square feet of office space.
On April 30 this year, Executive Jet Inc. officially changed its name to NetJets Inc., the name previously reserved only for its fractional aircraft ownership program. “Our research shows that using the names Executive Jet and NetJets created confusion among the press, prospects, and occasionally even among our NetJets fractional aircraft owners,” Santulli explains. “Changing our corporate name to NetJets Inc. reflects the importance of the fractional ownership program as our primary business.”
Executive Bios
Santulli
Richard T. Santulli is chairman and CEO of NetJets Inc. From 1969 to 1980, Santulli was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Co. where he held various positions, including vice president of investment banking and president of Goldman Sachs Leasing Corp. A native New Yorker, Santulli graduated in 1966 with two Master’s degrees in mathematics from Polytechnic University-Brooklyn.
Steven Brechter is COO of NetJets Inc. Prior to joining NetJets, he spent 26 years at Pratt & Whitney and United Technology Corporation. Brechter has a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Hartford Graduate Center in Hartford, CT.
James W. Jacobs is vice chairman of NetJets Inc. He is responsible for numerous corporate functions, including general business development and corporate direction. Jacobs founded Turbine Air Management which, through growth and acquisition, formed United Air Fleet and was acquired by NetJets in September 1989. He also is a pilot with several commercial jet aircraft ratings.
Stephen P. Bishop is senior vice president and CFO of NetJets Inc. Prior to joining NetJets in 1998, he was managing director of finance and operations for Bellcore Professional Services, the world’s largest telecommunication consulting company. Bishop holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Maine and an MBA in finance from Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Business Administration.
Richard G. Smith, III has been executive vice president of NetJets Inc. since 1990. He began his career with NetJets as a line pilot in 1978 and also has held the titles of director of training, chief pilot, and director of operations. He is currently responsible for the company’s flight operations, security activities, and maintenance activities; negotiating support agreements, vendor agreements, and collective bargaining agreements; and for long-range planning within the organization. Still an active pilot who is type-rated in five business jets, Smith is on the advisory board for the Ohio State University Aviation Department. He is a graduate of Davidson College and The Asheville School.
APPLYING
Pilots thinking of applying to NetJets recently received extra incentive as the company dropped its $450 application fee. NetJets also pays for applicants’ travel to and from its interview locations, and for their accommodations. The company says it received nearly 11,000 résumés from qualified applicants in 2001 and hired approximately 550 pilots.
Pilots seeking an application should send a résumé to:
NetJets Pilot Recruitment
Attn: Crew Scheduling
625 N. Hamilton Road
Columbus, OH 43219
If the applicant meets NetJets minimum qualifications (see sidebar, pg. 24), he or she will receive an application in the mail to complete and return. Once the application is received, the company begins by conducting PRIA-compatible background checks, and then forwards the most promising applications to FlightSafety International (FSI) in Daytona Beach, FL. FlightSafety, which also is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, then schedules interviews and simulator checkrides for applicants at one of its facilities in Atlanta, St. Louis, Toledo, Wichita, KS, or Long Beach, CA. Alternatively, NetJets periodically conducts what it calls “blitz interviews,” in which company representatives go to a particular city and call pilots in for personal interviews. Those who pass the pre-screening blitz are then referred to FlightSafety to schedule the remainder of the interview process.
It may take up to 30 weeks after submitting an application to receive an interview invitation, but having a recommendation from a current NetJets pilot seems to significantly speed the process. Some recommended pilots report receiving an invitation within a couple of weeks of applying.
Do I still want to head for the major airlines or should I consider the alternatives? It’s a question that many pilots have been asking themselves, especially after what happened last September, and one that more and more have been answering lately by applying to NetJets, the world’s largest fractional ownership operator.
The outlook for prospective airline pilots certainly looks different now than it did prior to the terrorist attacks, with some airlines faltering, many pilots furloughed, and pilot hiring scaled back at most large air carriers. But at NetJets, headquartered in Montvale, NJ, with its operational base in Columbus, OH, the skies remain bright, with expansion on the horizon.
“The growth rate of this company is phenomenal. Even in the worst of times, NetJets continues to fly at a record pace,” says George Lusk, manager of pilot recruitment and NetJets’ Citation Ultra program manager. “We’re taking more aircraft this year (78 scheduled deliveries) than we’ve ever accepted in a year.” And far from paring back it’s workforce, Lusk says NetJets plans to hire 500 pilots in 2002 and another 500 next year.
Job-seeking pilots are responding by sending applications in record numbers, but Lusk points out there are reasons beyond growth for pilot interest in working for NetJets. The job simply has a lot to offer, he says.
“We’re the best thing going. Six years ago, a lot of people saw NetJets as a stepping stone; that is no longer the case,” Lusk states. “This is now a career choice. Our pilots truly have a quality of life and job security you can’t find anywhere else.”
NetJets also offers speedy advancement to captain status, he says. “We don’t need first officers; we need captains. You are a first officer for a very short period, so to come here you have to become ‘captain-ready’ in a very short period of time.” Most new hires spend six months to a year before upgrading to captain, Lusk says, but “it can occur even quicker.”
BACKGROUND
The story of NetJets dates back to 1964 when Executive Jet Airways was founded by Brigadier General O.F. “Dick” Lassiter as a civilian version of the US Air Force’s Special Air Missions Squadron. With a fleet of 10 new Learjet 23s, Lassiter used military principles in aircraft utilization and management to efficiently ferry civilian VIPs on chartered trips. Since that time, expansion has been the company’s uninterrupted hallmark.
A name change to Executive Jet Aviation (EJA) came about a year later and the operation stretched internationally in 1965 with the establishment of Executive Jet Aviation SA, based in Geneva, Switzerland. The Swiss operation was sold a mere five years later, but EJA continued to operate stateside, though by the ‘80s, it began to falter.
In 1984, former Goldman Sachs principal Richard Santulli—who continues as the company’s chairman and chief executive officer—purchased EJA. Apparently, Santulli initially planned to use EJA’s Columbus-based hangar as a home for a helicopter leasing business, but after agreeing to purchase a private jet with three friends and dealing with arguments about who would get to use it and when, the seeds for NetJets were planted.
Santulli looked into the logistics and legalities of leasing guaranteed service in business aircraft and by 1986, he was pioneering the fractional aircraft ownership model. Fractional ownership allows companies and people to buy shares in corporate aircraft, instead of owning their own planes and dealing with the attendant staffing and maintenance costs and regulations. Owners can buy one-sixteenth to full shares in most NetJets aircraft that allow them access to preset annual hours of flight. There’s also a monthly management fee and occupied hourly fee, but the savings in time, security hassles, and money over outright ownership tends to pay off for busy executives, professional athletes, and entrepreneurs.
Fractional ownership is similar to time sharing a vacation property, but unlike time sharing, it does not mean a customer will always fly on the specific aircraft he or she chooses. Instead, NetJets guarantees a plane of the owner’s purchase—or better—will be available on as little as four hours’ notice.
The NetJets fractional ownership program was an almost instant success, with its annual profits exceeding those of EJA’s charter operation for the first time in 1991. By 1996, NetJets Europe was established, in 1999, NetJets Middle East was launched, and there are plans in the works to expand the NetJets concept to South America and the Pacific Rim.
In the mid-1990s, respected financier Warren Buffet bought interest in NetJets after traveling with it as a customer, then in July 1998, Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. purchased ownership of the company from Santulli.
In June 2000, NetJets opened a new operational headquarters complex at Port Columbus International Airport. It features an 80,000-square-foot hangar capable of housing up to 30 NetJets aircraft, with an adjacent 45,000-square-foot aircraft support area, and 75,000 square feet of office space.
On April 30 this year, Executive Jet Inc. officially changed its name to NetJets Inc., the name previously reserved only for its fractional aircraft ownership program. “Our research shows that using the names Executive Jet and NetJets created confusion among the press, prospects, and occasionally even among our NetJets fractional aircraft owners,” Santulli explains. “Changing our corporate name to NetJets Inc. reflects the importance of the fractional ownership program as our primary business.”
Executive Bios
Santulli
Richard T. Santulli is chairman and CEO of NetJets Inc. From 1969 to 1980, Santulli was an investment banker with Goldman Sachs & Co. where he held various positions, including vice president of investment banking and president of Goldman Sachs Leasing Corp. A native New Yorker, Santulli graduated in 1966 with two Master’s degrees in mathematics from Polytechnic University-Brooklyn.
Steven Brechter is COO of NetJets Inc. Prior to joining NetJets, he spent 26 years at Pratt & Whitney and United Technology Corporation. Brechter has a Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Fairleigh Dickinson University, as well as a Master’s degree in mechanical engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute at the Hartford Graduate Center in Hartford, CT.
James W. Jacobs is vice chairman of NetJets Inc. He is responsible for numerous corporate functions, including general business development and corporate direction. Jacobs founded Turbine Air Management which, through growth and acquisition, formed United Air Fleet and was acquired by NetJets in September 1989. He also is a pilot with several commercial jet aircraft ratings.
Stephen P. Bishop is senior vice president and CFO of NetJets Inc. Prior to joining NetJets in 1998, he was managing director of finance and operations for Bellcore Professional Services, the world’s largest telecommunication consulting company. Bishop holds a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Maine and an MBA in finance from Northeastern University’s Graduate School of Business Administration.
Richard G. Smith, III has been executive vice president of NetJets Inc. since 1990. He began his career with NetJets as a line pilot in 1978 and also has held the titles of director of training, chief pilot, and director of operations. He is currently responsible for the company’s flight operations, security activities, and maintenance activities; negotiating support agreements, vendor agreements, and collective bargaining agreements; and for long-range planning within the organization. Still an active pilot who is type-rated in five business jets, Smith is on the advisory board for the Ohio State University Aviation Department. He is a graduate of Davidson College and The Asheville School.
APPLYING
Pilots thinking of applying to NetJets recently received extra incentive as the company dropped its $450 application fee. NetJets also pays for applicants’ travel to and from its interview locations, and for their accommodations. The company says it received nearly 11,000 résumés from qualified applicants in 2001 and hired approximately 550 pilots.
Pilots seeking an application should send a résumé to:
NetJets Pilot Recruitment
Attn: Crew Scheduling
625 N. Hamilton Road
Columbus, OH 43219
If the applicant meets NetJets minimum qualifications (see sidebar, pg. 24), he or she will receive an application in the mail to complete and return. Once the application is received, the company begins by conducting PRIA-compatible background checks, and then forwards the most promising applications to FlightSafety International (FSI) in Daytona Beach, FL. FlightSafety, which also is owned by Berkshire Hathaway, then schedules interviews and simulator checkrides for applicants at one of its facilities in Atlanta, St. Louis, Toledo, Wichita, KS, or Long Beach, CA. Alternatively, NetJets periodically conducts what it calls “blitz interviews,” in which company representatives go to a particular city and call pilots in for personal interviews. Those who pass the pre-screening blitz are then referred to FlightSafety to schedule the remainder of the interview process.
It may take up to 30 weeks after submitting an application to receive an interview invitation, but having a recommendation from a current NetJets pilot seems to significantly speed the process. Some recommended pilots report receiving an invitation within a couple of weeks of applying.