NetJets Pilots And Management Still At Loggerheads

According to a Forbes article published yesterday (Dec. 19), NetJets management and its pilots union remain far apart on contract negotiations. NetJets says it has offered a 52.5% pay increase (cumulatively spread out through 2029), while the pilots representatives claim it would take a 60% increase “on day one” to be competitive with airline pay.

A new survey conducted by the University of New Hampshire on behalf of the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) indicates that two-thirds of the fractional provider’s pilots do not consider their job at NetJets to be a “career destination.” Citing lack of progress in talks on the collective bargaining agreement (CBA), 40% of NetJets pilots said they expected to leave the company within a year. About 500 of the 3,100 pilots who fly for NetJets participated in the survey, according to Forbes.

Paulette Gilbert, NJASAP vice president and a NetJets pilot for 22 years, said, “I spent 22 years trying to make NetJets the best it could be, but now even people in my demographic are looking at leaving because NetJets does not offer a competitive contract. You might make 60% less [than what major airlines pay].” According to the union, salaries at NetJets range from $77,000 for new-hire pilot up to a high of about $200,000.

Brad Ferrell, executive VP of administrative services for NetJets, said in a statement, “In November, we made what we believe was an extremely generous offer to NJASAP, which included 52.5% cumulative base wage increases [graduated through the CBA term ending in 2029] and other enhancements, without any additional duration to the current CBA.” The wage increases would start with a 23% increase as of Dec. 21, 2023, followed by 6% next year and 4% for each of the next four years for a cumulative total of 52.5%. Under the pay scale offered, NetJets said, the average salary for a NetJets pilot would be $288,000.

Ferrell told Forbes, “NetJets willingly and voluntarily negotiated with NJSAP throughout 2023, despite the fact there are several years remaining on the current Collective Bargaining Agreement. NJSAP rejected the Company’s offer, never offering their members a chance to vote on the proposed terms.”

According to the website Private Jet Card Comparisons, turnover among NetJets pilots remained below the national average at 7.3% for the 12 months ending Nov. 30, 2023.