What flight schools do that students hate?
Join Date: May 2001
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3.36 an hour is alot when your running 4 machines for 6 hours a day. 90 quid a day.
Over a week thats 2-3 50 hour checks.
2 weeks and your over a grand.
You tend not to chase the pence but as soon as the increase is over 5p from the last time you did the prices you have to do something. And its the schools that don't that get screwed.
When I was full time the boss went on holiday for two weeks and we wern;t allowed to fiddle with the prices.
Day one the fuel went up by 10p a litre. All the instructors did very well that fortnight. Across 4 aircraft we had them in the air for 7.5 hours a day. 6 50 hour checks were required. And an extra fuel bowser had to be sent up so the airport didn't run out.
The boss was chuffed as hell when he saw the techlogs. Then over the next week realised that his sum profit for 400 odd hours flown was under 100 quid which after you take into account all the commercial bank charges etc will have been nothing. If we had been able to increase the price by 5 quid on the day it went up you would have been looking at 2500 profit over the two weeks.
Over a week thats 2-3 50 hour checks.
2 weeks and your over a grand.
You tend not to chase the pence but as soon as the increase is over 5p from the last time you did the prices you have to do something. And its the schools that don't that get screwed.
When I was full time the boss went on holiday for two weeks and we wern;t allowed to fiddle with the prices.
Day one the fuel went up by 10p a litre. All the instructors did very well that fortnight. Across 4 aircraft we had them in the air for 7.5 hours a day. 6 50 hour checks were required. And an extra fuel bowser had to be sent up so the airport didn't run out.
The boss was chuffed as hell when he saw the techlogs. Then over the next week realised that his sum profit for 400 odd hours flown was under 100 quid which after you take into account all the commercial bank charges etc will have been nothing. If we had been able to increase the price by 5 quid on the day it went up you would have been looking at 2500 profit over the two weeks.
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Central London
Age: 41
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I'm not so bothered about the old/knackered looking aircraft (so long as they are well maintained). But as others have said a complete lack of cusotmer service in any form is grating.
This doesn't have to be expensive at all. Just the basic good manners, common sense and people skills I should have thought most people would learn as kids! It doesn't take a lot to smile, communicate clearly and be respectful. I suspect a lot of it comes down to tight margins and poor salaries paid to admin staff. Pay peanuts get monkeys!
Insistence on using an antiquated and unreliable paper booking system (it's the 21st century for f
's sake) which leads to the right hand not knowing what the left is doing. This has cost me time and money more than once, getting a taxi to the airfield only be told that the slot has been double booked because someone had misread the booking sheet.
I'm now having similar issues with the same school trying to get a quote for, and book in, night rating slots. You'd think they didn't want the business from the difficulties I've been having, and if they aren't careful they won't be getting it.
This doesn't have to be expensive at all. Just the basic good manners, common sense and people skills I should have thought most people would learn as kids! It doesn't take a lot to smile, communicate clearly and be respectful. I suspect a lot of it comes down to tight margins and poor salaries paid to admin staff. Pay peanuts get monkeys!
Insistence on using an antiquated and unreliable paper booking system (it's the 21st century for f
's sake) which leads to the right hand not knowing what the left is doing. This has cost me time and money more than once, getting a taxi to the airfield only be told that the slot has been double booked because someone had misread the booking sheet. I'm now having similar issues with the same school trying to get a quote for, and book in, night rating slots. You'd think they didn't want the business from the difficulties I've been having, and if they aren't careful they won't be getting it.
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Strathaven Airfield
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MJ,
If I could fly those hours a year, I might - well actually, might not - be happy with such wafer thin margins.
As it is, my contingency allowance alone is a tenner an hour!
(And our three aircraft average about 500 hours a year each - but have been known to do 7 hours a day, but not for a fortnight in Scotland!)
Perhaps the problem is that with one hour in the air in a two hour slot, we end up with a 14 hour day at seven hours! Too many of those and you just want a dark room to huddle in!
If I could fly those hours a year, I might - well actually, might not - be happy with such wafer thin margins.
As it is, my contingency allowance alone is a tenner an hour!
(And our three aircraft average about 500 hours a year each - but have been known to do 7 hours a day, but not for a fortnight in Scotland!)
Perhaps the problem is that with one hour in the air in a two hour slot, we end up with a 14 hour day at seven hours! Too many of those and you just want a dark room to huddle in!
Join Date: May 2001
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Too many of those and you just want a dark room to huddle in!
12 hour days during the summer, 900 hours plus per year for the instructors. Days off you are taking planes to maint solo otherwise you you don't have anything to work with on the days you are working.
And its still happening to this day. Last time I did a full day instructing I was absolutely shattered. And gawd knows how I managed doing 6 days a week for 4 months straight during the summer.
