I heard that XO is laying off pilots (10) and other staff. Any truth to this?

F

15 pilots. Not good news.

Sorry to hear this news.
Here's to hoping for better news this summer.

Here is hoping that the older "fly for fun guys" do the right thing and step up and are first to participate in the voluntary furlough

It is true, and very sad. We fear it is the beginning of the end.

Or the beginning of something new. Time will tell.

Are furloughs following seniority?

Buwwwwwaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaaahaahaaha(cough cough).........oh man that was funny stuff right there.

Very sorry to hear about the furloughs. Just curious, how did the pilot group feel about the prices XO is charging for flights, versus the rest of the industry? I know it was to hopefully put the little guys out of business, then raise prices, but was that in the of the pilots minds that at some point this might happen?

If that was their intent, I don't think they did a good enough job. XO currently has far from competitive pricing for the super-mid to mid-size realm. Although the level of service, equipment, crew, and onboard amenities they offer are tough to match, part 135 on demand charter is largely a broker driven industry. This commands competitive pricing.

That being said, many small operators still find creative ways to keep costs down to be able to compete with the "big guys". Creative ways that larger companies cannot seem to match (at least for the long run). Often times you will find significant savings going through these small operators rather than the larger, more "reputable" (from a passenger standpoint) ones. In my opinion you will always have the ma & pop 2 to 5 plane operators out there basing out of small out of the way airports providing slightly less than stellar service at significant savings.

Where I imagine XO plan(ned) to make this up was not in undercutting the competition, but simply providing the better service at the premium price hoping that the savvy traveler would recognize the quality and decide it was worth the money.

Anyway... I really had my hopes on this place. Still do. I sure hope they find 15 volunteers in short order! Good luck to all you guys. I always enjoy talking to you folks on the road. No one likes to hear this.