This (backcoursebob27) poster has many of his facts wrong or is conjecturing about things he knows nothing about. I suspect that he no longer works at XOJET. He is a troll and should be ignored.
The reality... 2020 was one of the most difficult years in aviation history. Despite taking huge losses XOJET did not cut pay, furlough, or change any compensation other than slightly reducing discretionary bonuses (averaged out to a miniscule cut for the pilots while management took a much larger pay cut). That's right, they paid the vast majority of the bonuses to every pilot in 2020 and did not cut pay, furlough, or change anything!
Our leadership from the DO, CP, ACPs and up to our CEO/COO are the best in the industry. They care about the pilots more than any other management I've ever seen and I've been around the block many a decade. Some companies may talk like they are pilot centric, this management actually is on a daily basis. Today the pilots at XOJET are making more money and have more benefits than anyone at XOJET has EVER had...Ever.
Management has worked with the Roundtable on every decision made (except for the B-scale, more on that in a minute). Management and the RT found ways to reduce costs that many pilots here know nothing about because it didn't affect their QOL or Comp. The pay freeze was necessary due to revenue losses but remember this comes after paying bonuses all of 2020 and sticking with the agreed compensation structure. While pay is currently frozen, very reasonable metrics were chosen to unfreeze the pay. Essentially the metrics require that when business returns to precovid levels our pay is unfrozen. This is extremely reasonable and most pilots here at XOJET understand it. Management worked with the RT to determine the best way to do this. It was not an easy decision I am sure, but necessary because of the business situation.
Now, management made a decision to create a B-scale (it has been published and it is NOT the Vista scale, nothing the poster said in this regard is accurate). The new scale is for anyone hired after Jan 1, 2021. Obviously this creates many issues as those of you familiar with the United/Continental merger alone can attest. Long term it is corrosive to the pilot group. This was a decision based on market forces that many believe market forces will correct in the future. Regardless, anyone who comes here will come here with the knowledge of what their pay and schedule will be. No one currently at the company lost their agreed upon compensation or schedule and will not lose it in the future.
Chaos in ops...at almost the same time that Vista bought us the company decided to move operations from California to Florida. 20/20 hindsight, this was a bad decision. We lost 80% of our experienced operations folks, that hurt us...and then Covid didn't help the rebuilding either However, improvements have been happening, especially recently. While it's not perfect, it's much better and getting better every day. It's a testament to our pilot centric management that they are constantly seeking PILOT input on how to improve ops and actually DOING IT.
Again, whoever backcoursebob27 is, he does not speak for 99.99% of the pilots here. The pilots here, almost to a person, appreciate all that our COO, DO, CP, ACP and other management do on a daily basis to fight for and protect the XOJET way. Let's not let one disgruntled, potentially former, employee tarnish the company and the pilot group.
Originally Posted by
backcoursebob27
Anyone who applies needs to understand the current situation with vista. XO is a now a far cry from what it used to be and is headed down as fast as they can muster.
All current pilot pay is frozen, and capped at ten year pay scale. They tell us that once we achieve 3 consecutive months of 2018 flight hours and yield levels, they will give us our pay back. The general consensus is that they are using the plandemic to get concessions until our current MOU is up, then put everyone on their crappy vista pay scale.
To achieve this, they will be creating a group of scabs using a “B” pay scale which no one really knows what it is but probably the vista pay scale: 75k for FO’s, CA pay at 120 until 5 years, then 123 until ten then capped at 129. One and only one week of vacation and training on days off. Maybe someone from the vista side can confirm if they are still training on days off.
They are pushing hard to get us to go to 15/13 and once they do this many will quit opening up the door for hiring said scabs who will undoubtedly be the people with prior DUI’s and busted checkrides.
Meanwhile we are flying as much if not more than ever, with the awful uniforms. Operations is not completely useless, and our workload has increased tremendously having to check everything they do, or forget to do. You are basically on your own, and spend all day correcting ridiculous mistakes and oversights. They told us this would get better once the move happened but a year in its even worse than before.
This is not hype, or an exaggeration, just know what you are getting into, as vistas true colors are coming through. Also they have purchased two charter outfits while cutting our pay, and spent 500k/per plane to paint and refurb the 300’s. They successfully took one of the best 135 outfits to work for, and destroyed it. The culture is totally different now, and they are not really transparent and honest like they claim to be.