Originally Posted by
airbus
FlexJet took out a PPP loan and closed some crew bases temporarily during the beginnings of covid. The Chairman Ricci seems like he could be a flim flam man since the layers of the company are infinite (as far as all the other charter companies they own). However he is in several aviation halls of fame and is respected in the C-Suites as well as a pilot. NetJets held steady during th upheaval of pandemic however.
Let's get some facts out there instead of guessing from the outside. Just want to make sure the reasons for the "closing" of the crew bases during COVID are known. While they weren't actually closed, the decision was made to use company assets (Phenom's) to move crews from larger "hubs" to their aircraft so that the operation could continue without exposing crews to the larger airport environment and airlines for travel (which was made more difficult by the mass cancellations and reduction of flights by the way...). Yes, some had to drive a considerable distance to a hub (via company provided rental car or paid mileage if you wanted to take your own car), but they were still working and that was a choice the crew members could make. With the PPP, it allowed the company to offer a crew member a set number of days to be paid each month (forgot the actual number) to just stay home. Again, crew members choice. I believe Flexjet did just fine during COVID.
As far as all of the other company's under the Directional umbrella, none of them overlap/compete against each other and most are complimentary to each other. With the acquisition of Constant Aviation last month, we now have a huge maintenance presence in house, which means we can get our aircraft serviced faster and back online to support our customers needs. Sounds like a good business plan to me.
You can make up your own mind as to the company and if it's a good fit for you, but having facts usually helps.