High-Ranking NetJets Pilots Union Leaders Handed ‘Unprecedented’ Termination

The NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots alleged the two pilots were terminated because of their role in negotiating the union’s new five-year agreement with the private jet operator.
[File Photo, Courtesy: NetJets]

Two high-ranking elected officials within the NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP)—including the union’s vice president—were recently terminated from the company in what the labor group is calling an “unprecedented” move.

The NJASAP represents NetJets’ 3,430 pilots and recently signed a new contract with the world’s largest private jet operator.

In a news release published on Monday, the NJASAP alleged the two pilots were terminated because of their role in negotiating the five-year agreement, which was overwhelmingly ratified in April. The union also said the termination decision was “unlawful, unjust and in retaliation for the $1.6B in improvements the pilots negotiated during midterm bargaining that concluded earlier this year.”

NetJets said it had no comment on the matter.

The terminated pilots included the NJASAP vice president and strategy group chairman. According to the union, they were both captains with 23 and 18 years at the company, respectively. The two pilots had “unblemished professional records,” NJASAP president Captain Pedro Leroux said in the release.

“Choosing to terminate two high-ranking union leaders is not simply another hurdle to resetting the landscape, but a move reflective of a strategy that is not sustainable in the long term," Leroux said.

This move is the latest in an ongoing back-and-forth between NetJets and its pilots union. In June, the company sued the NJASAP for defamation over safety and pilot training claims.

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