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GAMA / WHEELS UP - Current Pilot Experiences

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GAMA / WHEELS UP - Current Pilot Experiences

Old 12-09-2018, 04:45 PM
  #11  
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Guard is right. The strength of the franchise is that the King Air runs about a grand less an hour than the jets. It is not a fractional in that it does not require a large outlay to "join the club." WheelsUp is all 135, not 91K.


WheelsUp is targeting a more dollar conscious customer, but the good news is that there are many more of them. When you get into the big cabin airplanes you are competing over a much smaller customer base.



Netjets was originally conceived to attract small company's that didn't think they could afford to operate their own aircraft. Instead of buying a complete airplane you could buy a share of one. Wheels up is a membership organization, you can even buy a membership at Costco. Wheels Up Memberships Available From Costco | Jet Charter News Alerts, Broker-Operator Directory ? FlightList PRO


Here is the basic cost breakdown. [Membership regular price for individuals is $17,500 annually and corporations $29,500 annually according to Corporate Jet Investor. Annual dues (starting second year) are then $8,500 for individuals and $14,500 for corporations, plus a fixed hourly price for each hour flown – the cost per hour of getting on the King Air is $4,295 per hour and the Citation Excel/XLS is $7,495 per hour according to a report from the private aviation industry resource.]


The WheelsUp model is much closer to the "Marquis Card" model. That's no coincidence as WheelsUp CEO Kenny Dicther invented the concept. It was so successful that NetJets bought it. Marquis Jet Card | The Black Card | Centurion Card | Visa Black Card | Luxury Credit Cards


WheelsUp is attracting the lower end of the market but it is a much larger market to begin with.
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Old 12-09-2018, 05:02 PM
  #12  
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Originally Posted by Allegheny View Post
NetJets didn’t buy MarquisJet because it was successful. Kenny didn’t fit in with Sokol and Sokol pushed Kenny out.
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Old 12-10-2018, 02:34 AM
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Originally Posted by MWilliams View Post
NetJets didn’t buy MarquisJet because it was successful. Kenny didn’t fit in with Sokol and Sokol pushed Kenny out.
Marquis is making NJA a lot of money of you believe management!
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Old 12-10-2018, 04:11 AM
  #14  
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Originally Posted by Guard View Post
Marquis is making NJA a lot of money of you believe management!
Today that may be true, but in 2009 Marquis returned a lot of aircraft and was a huge money loser for NetJets. The card sales dried up and put a big chunk of the 495 on the street. I like Kenny, he always seemed like he cared. That doesn’t change the history that Marquis is a short term revenue stream that can be unstable.
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Old 12-10-2018, 04:42 AM
  #15  
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2009 probably had something to do with a crashing US economy, not a form of membership one would think.
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Old 12-10-2018, 05:11 AM
  #16  
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I am not saying that MarquisJet is a bad business. I’m responding to the person that said Marquis was bought by NetJets because it was successful. There was a lot more that was going on, including the 2009 recession.
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Old 12-10-2018, 05:47 AM
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Ha. And KR from FO put in a bid for Marquis at that time as well I am sure NJ didn't want him stepping and taking that business from them even though it did lose money after the market crash.
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Old 12-11-2018, 03:11 AM
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Originally Posted by MWilliams View Post
I am not saying that MarquisJet is a bad business. I’m responding to the person that said Marquis was bought by NetJets because it was successful. There was a lot more that was going on, including the 2009 recession.
Kenny is a brilliant sales man, he and his high school buddies have created a great business with WU, but like Marquis Card he puts all the risk on someone else, this time Gamma!
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Old 12-25-2018, 10:49 AM
  #19  
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Originally Posted by CodyJude View Post
Gama Pilots,

Thank you in advance for sharing your answers and experiences.

I’m looking at joining Gama with the focuses being on schedule, quality of life, and benefits. I’ll be coming in as a Captain with quite a bit of corporate and 135 experience over the span of 20 years. Not looking to achieve Airlines. I am a corporate pilot. The pay seems to be OK, and the benefits seem very nice, but it’s always the little nuansecs that can make or break a job.

I’d like to ask the current pilot pool about their experiences.

Is the 8 on 6 off schedule worth how hard you work during the 8 on?

How hard do you actually work? Legs, hours, etc.

Are the hotel accommodations nice?

Do you receive crew meals?

How is the airline travel back and forth?

How is the equipment?

Do you have to change the ‘honey pot’ yourself every leg?

What are things to be aware of when making the decision, that isn’t advertised during the hiring process?

Are you basically looking towards greener fields, or do you feel content to stay with Gama for a long time?

Anything and everything that can be added to the conversation to aid in a decision is deeply appreciated. Thank you!
I think others have answered most of your questions, so I'll keep this short -

I was hired over the past year as an FO. I, along with most of my class, resigned within a few months. They (mgmt) put on a great show during training about their safety focus, but day-to-day experience dictates otherwise. They hired most (all?) of my class over the phone - no interview. My personal opinion is they are a violation waiting to happen. Lots of corners were cut during my time there. Chief pilot has criminal rap sheet (look it up). If he (or a few others in mgmt) have anything against you - your chances for upgrade are minimal. This didn't happen to me (wasn't there long enough), but several senior instructors warned me about it. It seemed like everyone was trying to leave - or at least the ones who were young enough to go to a 121.

There are some positives - but I felt the negatives far outweighed them.

Just one person's opinion here, FWIW.
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Old 12-26-2018, 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Brody View Post
They (mgmt) put on a great show during training about their safety focus, but day-to-day experience dictates otherwise....Lots of corners were cut during my time there.
Curious. How so?
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