Lets fly for Vistajet?

[Out of Duty]

So it seems Vista is hiring again? I turned it down some time ago, and mates at Vista are planning on leaving.

Firstly they say the Financial Future of it is questionable, but that has its own PPRUNE thread.

There are a lot of interview questions and questions about working for Vistajet on the Financial Future thread, rather let's put the interview questions here. Whilst the market and conditions around Europe are constantly improving in favor of the pilots for the first time in a decade, Vista seems blind to the fact. Hell, even Wizzair is offering a sign-on bonus, a retention bonus of 25 000, 15 On /15 Off, 14 On /7 Off or 5 On / 5 Off.

PLEASE ANY ACTUAL PAST/CURRENT VISTAJET CREW CORRECT ME ON ANY OF THE BELOW:

Conditions:

1. 17 On /13 Off: The crew is getting called out to work a day or two early, then getting home late in the evening on the day they are supposed to fly home. Many simply accept the early callouts because they are worried about being overlooked for an upgrade or losing out on their annual extra day's payout (see point 2) if they say no too often. Don't even think about part-time - many of the senior crew ask and are often denied this. Lets not even get on the idea that crew are asking for 15/15 as Flexjet offers.
2. The company says they pay extra if flying over X amount of days per year. That's true to a point, but they review your performance in all areas and then threaten to deduct what they will pay you for those extra days if, let's say, your Visas are not done on time, you don't submit hotel, taxi, refueling, airport handling receipts on time, if flight planning gives you a bad review, etc. So try calling in fatigued only to make planning unhappy a few times - let's see what happens to your yearly review.
3. Not everyone has the same Per Diems. Some crew earn 30 Euros in the world's most expensive destinations, whilst others might get 65 Euros, and no, it has nothing to do with seniority if you are a Captain, a First Officer, or a Cabin Crew member. The crew complained about this over a few meetings only to be told "We're working on it," or "Per Diems are not there to cover all your food costs whilst away from home." Try 36 Euros in New York for an entire day.
4. On the note of Food, you get no food, i.e. no crew meals. Try flying a 13-hour duty day five days in a row, hoping the passengers won't eat everything so you yourself can eat their leftovers (if they ordered any food at all) only to land late at night in places where the hotel food is now closed, and you aren't able to walk to the shops if there are any. Also, if there are any, it's probably your first time. So instead of resting, you are running around trying to find someplace to just get a basic human need, food. It's not like Ryanair, where you at least return to base and have food at home after a long day at work.
5. Let's talk Duty. Some crew tell me there are times when crew are close to or beyond their duty limits, be it rest or actual duty but can fly Private rather than Commercial right? I'm not so sure, but apparently, Vista does this. Be prepared to be asked on the odd occasion to make your flight a private one for the owner or his daughter because management is too scared to say no. If you say no, well again...good luck with any upgrades or future at Vista. 4 legs might become 5 or your min rest might have a new definition of minimum rest.
6. If you call in fatigued the day before, I'm told that Vistajet will call it sick leave instead. They want you to give them advanced warning that you are starting to be fatigued. This makes sense in a normal operation. However, most crew don't call in fatigued as an advanced warning because they can see on their roster over the next two days they have only two flights and then a 36-hour break. When in reality, however, their two flights over the next two days suddenly become three/four flights, and the break is removed from the plan if it's not mandatory, which suddenly becomes another 4 flights.
7. On the note of talking about breaks, everyone I know at Vista tells me that they only find out they had their 36-hour break/rest period after it has already happened in many cases. So how can you rest if you don't know whether you are on proper rest or not? Is that legal? Apparently, it is/was in their OM that says they can do that.
8. So you want to fly the Global on a 12-hour flight – Vista fleet has no proper crew rest bed. It has a chair that doesn't go all the way back. If the pax have too many bags, guess where the crew bags go? Behind the reclining chair. The Global 7500 - does up to 15-hour flights with a bench chair, which is in the open kitchen. So you must try to sleep while the cabin crew prepares things for the pax or if you are a gentleman sleep on the floor and let the Cabin Crew sleep on the bench chair.
9. So you need to catch an airline a day or sometimes two days early to help the company out to Nigeria, Tokyo, Chile - what about business class? No, if the cost is over X amount (which is quite low apparently) it's a simple no. Also, don’t forget, Vistajet books tickets a day or two before, so the tickets will almost never be low enough in price for an upgrade. Netjets and Flexjet offer business automatically on any proceeding flight over 6 hours. Vista doesn't - it's one of the many reasons already mentioned, that many crew are applying to Flexjet.
10. So you want to be a TRI/TRE, expect to work on your days off. With no vacation days allowed at Vista.
11. You get no leave at all. It's 17/13, the leave they mention in your contract is just to make it legal. They force leave on you every month during your 13 days off.
12. Again 17/13 – well your simulator training, your in-house CRM, Fire Fighting - those are all done in Malta on your 13 days off.
13. Remember Point 2? The part about having to pay for hotels, aircraft refueling, taxis, etc. When you get something wrong on the receipt, maybe the company address, or VAT number, it's not scanned properly, accounting hounds you on your days off to contact hotels to try to get a new receipt.
14. Remember point 4? Many FOs are leaving to Ryanair, but not only because they aren't being upgraded, not only because they don't get food after a long day of flying, but very simply because the pay is better. Does that not say something to you?
15. Many crew, I’m told, are planning to leave for Flexjet - Something like 25, is what I'm told. Why? Well, look at the pay comparisons.

Salary Comparisons per year:

Keep in mind, for the airline boys and girls before looking at the salaries, take note that, unlike at an airline, you arrive/leave between one and a half hours up to two hours before & after a flight on private jets. Sometimes 3 hours after a flight if flying the Global. Why? Well, you need to check up on the catering (has it arrived, is it the correct catering), put the covers on / take them off, put in/remove the pins, clean the cabin, sort out the beds, vacuum, polish the wood (not your wood), polish the stairs, sort out the laundry, refill the water yourself, load your own bags, load the passengers' bags when they arrive, download maintenance information on the company laptop to be uploaded to the outlying technicians, download flight data reports directly from the aircraft and upload it to the safety department, download and then upload the latest FMS cycles, charts for the plane and iPads - do it again if it didn’t work the first time (takes 40 minutes), put the engine covers on in winter / desert ops, remove all the alcohol in winter so it doesn’t freeze overnight, check the engine oil, and if need be, get on the ladder, top up the oil yourself, and if in doing so, you ruin your shirt, ask Vista for a new one but pay for it if it hasn’t been 2 years already. That’s just some of the things I can recall from the Vista crew. Also, don’t forget on your 36-hour rest period, you will go shopping to restock the plane with things like Coca-Cola, run around trying to find very specific wines, polish, wet wipes, etc.

Captains:

• 50k less than Netjets Europe (and that’s being conservative)
• 35k less than Ryanair/Lauda/Flexjet/DHL
• Wizzair and Avion Express pay more but not quite certain just how much more.
• Keep in mind Flexjet might be private, but their crew get business class, crew meals, 75 Per Diems no matter what base you are at & 70 on the company card for dinner.

First Officers:

• 30k less than Netjets Europe
• 25k less than Ryanair/Lauda/Flexjet
• Keep in mind Flexjet might be private, but their crew gets business class, crew meals, 75 Per Diems no matter what base you are at & 70 on the company card for dinner. Vista still pays some of the crew 30 Euros Per Diems and wonders why the crew is leaving.
• A Netjets FO recently earned 160k last year because of all their incentives for extra work, extra work over the summer, etc.
• Ryanair even offers x Amount of Airport parking per year. Vistajet was asked by the crew but got told no.