ACASS

[ContractFlyGal]

Ok, this company truly sucks. While the flying may be interesting, they have recently STRANDED a crew in the UK and have failed to purchase them return tickets. Be very careful if you hook up with them, they may not be all that great to fly for.

[chandlers dad]

Might want to look here: http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=257500&highlight=acass

Several of us disagree with this statement. If they did strand a crew, pls provide details. We all know of a company in the ME who has done this several times but never heard of ACASS doing this to anyone.

[ContractFlyGal]

I personally know the Captain and F/A that were stranded. And it did indeed happen. The Captain also has not been paid. For some folks it works, for others it does not. The F/O on the trip lived in Europe so he got home easily, the other two had to find their way back....

No e ticket ever came through for either one of them...

[B200Drvr]

Have also worked for Acass with nothing but good service so far.

[FlatTwin]

What do you mean "they were stranded?" They finished their flights and were due to go home and ACASS told them to FO or the airplane broke or ???

Usually the entire crew does not go home at once. The entire time I flew with them they had one person rotate out at a time, not the entire crew at once.

Every time I headed home I was given a choice of the airline and many times routing or departure time. One or two times they were having troubles finding a flight and I did it on the internet, paying for it with my personal credit card. Always was paid for when I submitted my expenses.

A little more info would be nice here. Something does not seem right.

[ContractFlyGal]

The F/O lived in the EU and was sent to a different aircraft, no one purchased a ticket for him and he found his own way home. The F/A never received an e-ticket and was told that if she purchased her own, Acass would not pay for it. She went home on buddy passes from a friend. The Capt was to rotate out about a week after the F/A. He NEVER received a ticket home, or his last wire transfer. Probably can get some email copies if anyone truly wants to see them. I can also probably get the tail number of the aircraft.

[chandlers dad]

Please get the number of the airplane...

If its the one that I was just told about this is the correct situation.

This flight attendent was given 5 different airline options from ACASS to fly home. She did not like ONE of them and then turned her cell phone off so that the office could not contact her.

Dispatch found out that she did not like any of the flights because it "cut into her shopping in London time" and what is more important, shopping or going home? Course if you stay longer and do not make your scheduled flight, you can then try to get another days pay, which pays for the shopping! Novel idea...

Next is that her hubby (not a buddy as you were told) flies for US Air and she flew home on a pass but evidently tells everyone that ACASS stranded her in Europe whilst playing the sympathy card.

Come on my dear, if you are going to be slinging mud you have to be ready to get covered in some of it. Lets have the number of the airplane as you offered above and tell us that the above is not correct. Otherwise both you and your FA friend owe ACASS an apology. Sure they do mess things up from time to time but your "friend" playing games like this is bound to bounce back and meet with the truth eventually.

[JoeCo]

OH this is getting interesting!! ...please do go on

[chandlers dad]

CFG,

Whats going on? Cat got your tongue? Wheres the airplane number and all the information that you were going to get back to us with?

CD

[IFLy4Free]

I have sent a PM to CD, I will not post private information in a public forum. I am the flight attendant in question. CD has a lot of incorrect information.

As far as Acass, there were some minor issues but they have been ironed out. My contact with Acass has been nothing short of agreeable and has helped me settle everything.

This topic is boring..... end of story.

[chandlers dad]

Just received a PM from the FA above. While some of the information I was given is not what the FA states is correct, there is a lot more truth in what I posted than what ContractFlyGal posted.

Glad to see that "Iflyforfree" and her experience with ACASS worked out. I personally have nothing against anyone on this thread but ACASS has treated me better than several other contract agencies and slamming this company was not correct.

Suggest that ContractFlyGal learn from this and spend less time posting things that she cannot prove is correct. Sad that she does not have the backbone to apologise. There are contract agencies out there who deserve treatment like this (have flown for a couple of them) but ACASS has not been one of them IMHO.

CD

[bman0429]

Acass has good people working there. Everyone I have ever worked with has been super friendly. I have never not recieved a pay check on the one contract I did for them. So I cannot say that that is an issue.
The one thing I will say (and say with full knowledge that some of these folks read this board) is that they are seriously depressing the wages and TOS for contract pilots. The rotations are to long and the rates are well below industry standard. Done contracts for several different MGMT cos and even after ACASS adds their profit margin to your labor their rate is far below what it should be.
Everyone who works as a contractor or even thinks about doing so should bear this in mind and I don't think anyone can dispute it? If I am wrong please someone correct me.

In general pilot employment services should not exsist. The community of pilots is small enough to provide contacts where companies shouldn't have to pay an extra 20-30% premium for a crew svcs company to provide a job lead!!!

[greywings]

In an ideal world, that would be the case. However, someone has to coordinate things; negotiate contracts with clients, keep a database of qualified (or not) crew, update that database, arrange transportation, accommodation, medical coverage (when provided), have standing agreements with training companies, fuel providers, etc., etc.

Few, if any, clients would be prepared to negotiate each and every contract with an stream of job-seeking pilots.

At the end of the day, the 'services companies' do a necessary job, and, in many cases, justify the extra 20-30% charged to clients. The thing that distinguishes them, though, is the way they do the job. Some with professionalism, good humour and a desire to things the right way. Some not.

A bit like pilots, really.

[FlatTwin]

in many cases, justify the extra 20-30% charged to clients.

Excuse me? I know for a fact that at least two of the contract agencies charge at least 3X that they are paying for Captains.

One owner showed us the contract (which is highly illegal from the contract agency's standpoint) and this guy was being charged $34,000 a month for a single Captain. The Captain was being paid $10,000 a month! You do the math but thats $24,000 a month profit from one flight crew member.

Take $10,000 a month and put that towards office costs and expenses that still leaves $14,000 a month profit on ONE PILOT. Lets be honest here. These agencies are making A LOT of money, not 20-30% when you realize that several of them are fielding 2-300 pilots a month.

FT

[justlooking_tks]

They not only rip off off clients it seems but they are a bunch of tossers also.

Let me give you an example. I pilot I know applied for a job that was advertised by them. He was qualified, current and in country with all the validations etc. Guess what? Yep, you got it, no reply.

I think when he reads the previous post he will be glad they didn't respond.

[chandlers dad]

Just looking

So when any company does not respond to "your friend" (nice way to not mean yourself) that they are immediately "a bunch of tossers??"

Have you ever thought that they did not need "your friend" or that "your friend" was not qualified for any contract that they had at that time.

How old are you? With 25 posts it makes one wonder.

CD