NetJets Europe will hire more than 100 pilots this year–the largest intake of aircrew since the fractional ownership program started in 1996. It is looking for applicants with a minimum of 1,500 hours total flying time, 500 hours multi-engine time, a valid European Union passport and a full European air transport pilots license.

Currently, NetJets Europe employs some 500 pilots who fly more than 900 European customers on a fleet of more than 85 aircraft. The types operated include Cessna Citation Bravos and Excels, Raytheon Hawker 800XPs and 400XPs, Falcon 2000s and 2000EXs, Gulfstream Vs and G550s, and the Boeing Business Jet.

According to David Marcus, managing director of NetJets Transportes Aereos (which holds NetJets’ European commercial aircraft operator’s certificate), most of the pilots it recruits have an airline or military background. He said that the company hires relatively few general aviation pilots “because of the disparity in training standards in that sector.”

In addition to professional experience and training, NetJets Europe is also looking to hire individuals with “the initiative and drive to provide customer service excellence.” He added that pilots need to have “receptiveness to learning, strong service orientation and an ability to communicate.”

Marcus told AIN that the company always attracts a healthy crop of applicants when it is hiring. He already has some 5,000 crew resumes on file.

NetJets Europe pilots take simulator recurrent training twice a year with FlightSafety International, getting either 24 or 32 hours in a simulator each year depending on the aircraft type they fly. The operator also does additional simulator training for challenging airports such as Chambery in Switzerland and Innsbruck in Austria. All crewmembers also do annual ground refresher training covering safety procedures and first aid.

The non-unionized pilots each fly just one aircraft type from the NetJets Europe fleet. Effectively, they work 18 days each month, consisting of six days on duty and four days off during busy seasons, or six on and five off at quieter times of the year. Pilots can live more or less wherever they like in Europe as long as their homes
are within 90 minutes of an airport with acceptable international airline connections with reasonable fare structures. The crews are managed day-to-day by the NetJets Europe dispatch department in Lisbon, Portugal. Chief pilots act as fleet managers.

According to NetJets Europe, its fleet is now more than four times larger than that of any other private jet operator in Europe and among the 10 largest fleets of any European airline, including national flag carriers. It claims to be the only “pure business jet operator” to have earned the IATA Operational Safety Audit certificate.

Pilots interested in applying for the new NetJets Europe positions should e-mail:
flightcreweurope@netjets.com.