FROM THE EXECUTIVE BOARD

Dear Crewmembers,

NetJets Aviation faces challenges that would require an extraordinary effort to successfully navigate. These challenges and NJASAP’s suggestions for how the Company can remain viable in the long term were central to the discussion amid President Mark Luthi and Trustee Jim Hewitt, who met with NetJets Chairman Richard Santulli in his Woodbridge office along with President Jim Christiansen and Vice President S. Todd Weeber on Wednesday. During the three-hour meeting, the men engaged in a frank, robust exchange.

Before transitioning into the substance of this communication, we want to make a few points very clear: This message is intended to provide a straightforward, realistic overview of our Company’s realities. We are neither asking you to read between the lines nor to decipher subliminal messages. Quite the contrary, we are simply providing information that will ensure we move forward, together, with our eyes wide open.

To begin, based on information available on the FAA Web site, of the 400 aircraft dedicated to its U.S.-based operation, NetJets wholly owns approximately 147 of them. At the height of its flight operations in 2007 and early 2008, the Company wholly owned 30 aircraft. Considering one-third of our fleet is currently unencumbered, NetJets has no aircraft on order, flight operations are trending downward, and staffing levels are the same, we must be cognizant that we are in a scenario in which the numbers do not add up.

This unsettling equation was one that we began to examine more closely last fall and that compelled NJASAP to doggedly pursue a joint strategy to save pilot jobs. Our core motivation for leading the Joint Preventive Measures Campaign was not to help the Company address its financial challenges. Although its viability is a principal consideration, our impetus was furlough mitigation. The success of that venture, to date, is evident: Not one pilot has been furloughed, which is entirely due to our collective efforts.

Although furloughs and downgrades may become inevitable, our mitigation efforts have certainly forestalled, if not eliminated, this possibility. With this in mind, if you have the financial wherewithal to do so, please remain opted in and, if feasible, take advantage of a second option. Frankly, we can neither control the Company nor force management personnel to listen to and adopt our suggestions; however, we have the power to save jobs, and, at this time, this imperative must be our focus. Indeed, rather than expending such effort anticipating the Company’s next move, we are obliged to devote our energies and resources to helping ourselves.

To that end, NJASAP has assumed an active role in the furlough mitigation effort by placing select Executive Board leaders and SMEs on Union leave. These leaves simultaneously support the effort and give the Union access to advocates devoted to the full-time management of on-going projects and initiatives. It is fair to say a portion of each member’s Union dues are being used to prevent furloughs and downgrades.

As we have pointed out in several communications, NetJets must immediately implement programs aimed at eliminating waste and duplication and do not rely on additional financial sacrifices from its employees. Since the various voluntary measures programs were launched in April, programs and plans that appear to have genuine potential have yet to move past the discussion phase. Until these programs see the light of day, it is crucial that NetJets demonstrate the money being saved through the voluntary measures program is not being wasted, a point Luthi strongly emphasized during the meeting. He drew the group’s attention to the books recently sent to employee homes as an example of costly initiatives that cause employees to question their sacrifices and further erode morale rather than the intended goal of inspiring confidence and renewing commitment.

Although they reported having substantially reduced costs, the source of those cutbacks remain vague. We surmise the majority of those savings are attributable to participation in the voluntary measures programs across all employee segments as well as lower interest rates on outstanding debt, and a reduction in expenses that naturally occur during business downturns. When asked about the need to retain consultants, we were told their services are vital to the operation and their fees are not as costly as one tends to believe.

We have made no secret of our frustration with the Company’s failure to meet our expectations in the months since the JPMC was launched. We have yet to receive any type of communication that outlines a plan to sustain its long-term viability or to estimate at what point the JPMC will terminate. And the time to unveil an aggressive restructuring plan is now before employee anxiety gives way to thoughts of hoarding money, which would devastate the furlough mitigation effort.

As we continue to traverse these uncertain times, please continue to communicate with us. Your feedback, which has been used to develop incredibly innovative suggestions, is shared in each meeting with senior managers. This past week, we brought forward additional cost-saving proposals that Company officials committed to examine in the next few days.

We enjoy an established reputation as a professional, capable and productive pilot group. When beginning flight duty, we must set our concerns and anxieties aside to concentrate on providing the world-class level of service and safety our owners have come to expect. While you keep NetJets in flight, you can be assured NJASAP is working with the same tenacity and resolve to protect and preserve your professional interests today, tomorrow and for years to come.

Fraternally,

The NJASAP Executive Board

Editor's Note: This message was originaly published as part of the July 24, 2009, edition of The 411.