Working at FlightSafety International — Reviews by Employees

So glad that all my feelings about FSI have been confirmed. I spent 7.5 years with the company. I was an excellent instructor and have the documentation to prove it. On 4 different occasions I applied for upper management positions and was passed over. Folks hired right off the street, really? The kicker is every time I interviewed for one of these positions the ideas that I came up with for the company were later implemented with no credit. That killed my moral more than anything.

I was TOLD I had to resign after being late for the 3rd time, in 7 years. Every time I was late was when I was working for someone else too.

I always thought this was just a CMH FSI problem because of the current CM A$$hole. But it appears wide spread.

I always thought the pay was ok. Of course I was still under the old incentive pay program when I left. Home life was good, I was used to being gone 3 weeks at a time. Scheduling was an issue. Had many meetings when I asked how much heads up time can we expect? Calling me 5 hours before you need me for something after I wasn't on the schedule for the last month isn't fair. Put someone on a stby position a week every month and ok, but don't just call me a cry how you're stuck.

No loyalty from management. I worked the over night shift for all but the last 3 months I was there. After my Dr said I needed to get off that shift PM was mad because no one else wanted it. No dip, it's because it sucks. How about an pat on the back and a "good job" once in a while.

God I hate that company. I'm so happy I was able to steer some business away from them.

Don't even get me started on the DOT. Lair, never stuck up for instructors, if we did something we were told to do and it was wrong he never once accepted the blame. He always denied. And it cost me money in docked pay twice.

I have so much to say.....never will I work there again and never will I go to FSi if I have a choice as a client.

I guess I quit. After realizing that I put in 4,000 hours when the salary is based on 2020 (take some unpaid leave...you will see that's how it works...in my case, 62,000 per year/2020=31 per hour...so when i took 5 days unpaid, i was docked $1,240) but in reality it's 62,000/4,000 which should equal $15 per hour. What's funny is i could have taken 20 days unpaid, still had to work 10, and not be paid anything. That unpaid leave, at the hblc, counted as part of the 8 days off. so did sick and vacation time. i worked 18 days in a row, was promised comp time, then on my trip to see my children i was told i would have to take unpaid leave. thus my learning experience above. when i got back, i was scheduled to work with 135 clients that i wasn't on the approved list. called the pm, he said i was. i told him i was looking at the piece of paper and i wasn't there. sunday morning, by the way...the place was empty. he told me i was and said i was fine to do it. i said i signed a piece of paper saying that i would be fired if i did it. wasted my prep time chasing this problem down, till a pm actually in the center sunday morning dug around in an inbox in the 135 office and found a revised letter with my name on it. off i went.

next day...scheduled in ground school. whew. something i know, understand, and am good at. wait a second! it was changed to an avionics package i've never taught before. called the pm. 758 and he's not there. he says i'm qualified to teach it. i said M*&e, i've never seen this before. He said "kerry, i know you have" and accused me of trying to get out of work. I said "M*&e, i'm trying to do whats best for the clients. i've not even seen this avioncs presentation before, i'm working for the clients here and it is upsetting to me that you think i'm lying to you...i'm sorry i can't do this" he goes on trying to explain why i should do it and i tell him class starts in 2 min, i gotta go, i'll do the morning but find someone else who knows what they're talking about for the afternoon. five min later i have an ados in my classroom doing a pop up management qa. i've taught thousands of hours, kicking serious butt, i was good at what i did, and management decides to qa me in a class i've not ever taught. thanks for that m*&k.

i tried to move up in that center, and when M*&^*n found out i was dating someone i met online (he thought i was married) i found myself in a meeting with him, our TR guy, and me with the CM telling me that my personal life is affecting my performance. or, as he called it, my pARformance. He couldn't even say "simulator"...he called it a "simmalator". how the f^%k did he get to be a CM when he couldn't say "simulator". oh well. anyway, i tossed three years of spotless performance appraisals on the desk and said "show me where my personal life has affected my work performance". he couldn't do it. i said if i was gay would we be having this discussion. he said if my being gay affected the people who worked for me, then it would. I looked at p(*l, our TR guy, and said "did he just say that???" and tr guy stammered "well what's he's trying to say is..." and i cut him off and said "look, you two know exactly what i'm gonna be thinking if i am demoted or not considered for a promotion" and guess what, three weeks later i'm demoted. $35,000 less a year cause i'm dating. i took a recording i made of that conversation to my attorney. he told me i would not win that case here in wichita, i would have to pay him enough to send it through to state supreme, because wichita is very very interested in making sure that employers here know they they can do what they want. Wichita is the air capital of the world for good reason. Sedgwick county district 18 court makes sure the employers can run over employees.

Oh...and then there's the time where the sim was running :18 behind schedule. well, i got in a little early and did my four hours then the guy behind me got in early. but, he called his on the hour after telling me it was okay we would work it out. well, it worked out alright...i was sandwiched out of 3/10 of an hour. so, my guy didn't get a course complete. i got drug into another meeting with all these freakin people telling me how i lied, etc etc and all i could do was hang my head and admit guilt. NOBODY TRUST L*^^Y H!^*&S cause that guy will burn you, talk to himself, and then tell you "the Lord bless you" and "I am a servant of the Living Gaud"...those that know him know what i mean...he can't freakin talk either. cept to himself.

anyway, so i went part time. they decided to keep to not using part time. so, in effect, i guess i quit. best decision i've made in a long time. i got a couple of types out of it, got back in the industry, but i sure wish i would have taken that job at skywest four year ago instead.

best wishes to all of you. when i get somewhere, i'm gonna refer about half of you to join me.

Piss poor management and discriminatory hiring practices...need I say more?

Anyone who has read previous posts about FlightSafety will understand the score. I am just simply confirming how bad this place is. First of all, I must say that the front line people that I work with are top notch. The instructors are very knowledgeable, and if it weren't for their dedication, this place would be falling apart. Now for the real story. FlightSafety management style: Fear, Ridicule, and Intimidation. And thats the honest truth. With the "downturn" in the economy last year, FlightSafety used that to instill fear into all staff. They terminated many employees last year, stating it was necessary for financial reasons. However, they were very targeted as to whom they terminated. I know of two instructors in my department that were "let go", simply because they were in the military reserves, and their schedule would interfere with their ability to be scheduled at FlightSafety. Management didn't like that, so they got rid of them. But it was for economic reasons?!?! Right! Give me a break. So, as for job security, unless you kiss the asses of upper management, they'll let you go if you don't play well with others. As far as instructor pay, its mediocre at best. we used to have an Instructor Incentive Plan, which was instituted a few years ago to deal with the high attrition rate of instructors. Well, the "suspended" it last year due to the "economy". But, anyone with a brain knew that it was temporaty anyway. Now we all work well over 100 client-contact hours (called DALs) per month, which is absurd. This past month, I know of one instructor who had nearly 130 DALs. That kind of schedule is unsustainable. But if you complain to management about it, they simply state that we should be glad we have a job and just deal with it. Work schedules are absolutely insane. 8am sim period for a few days, and then turn around and give you the 8pm sessions. Schedules constantly change, since management will do whatever the clients ask for, regardless of the impact it might have on the lives of their employees. I can't even plan a dentist appointment or a haircut!! More than seven days in a row is common, with 9 or 10 showing up more often. Then getting a one or maybe two day break to wash your FlightSafety shirts, so you can do it all over again! There is no work/life balance now. Its only work. I see many instructors leaving as soon as the opportunity arises. Which is a shame, as there is a tremendous amount of collective knowledge in this building. And that is not easily replaced. But management doesn't see that. They will "react" to the crisis when it comes, rather than be proactive and prevent the mass exodus that is sure to come.

Instructor pay is subpar. Some instructor pay (for long-time instructors) is less than that of a newly-hired UPS delivery driver. The Instructor Incentive Pay was eliminated as one of the company's many "cost control" items. It is the old "do more with less" mentality. Management has zero respect for the instructor staff. Instructor inputs are never requested by management for decisions directly affecting instructional events for either simulator or ground courses. It is all "top down" directed. As you might expect, few of the management personnel have an instructor background. The number of management "assistants" is overkill. Just about every one of the center management team members has an assistant. Management will not hire additional instructors to relieve the teaching burden, but will quickly fill an open "assistant" position. Benefits are continuously eroding. At one time, employees were able to be paid a minor bonus for not having sick days for a year's time. And, employees were able to carry forward vacation time, or perhaps be paid for it, if not taken. All that is gone. Job security is a continuing question. Layoffs were made, and they appear to have been specifically targeted. Management attitude is, "Be glad you have a job." No management personnel were laid off - surprise! Worklife balance? It is hard to come by. More than one instructor has forecast vacation for a special family event, months in advance, only to be told it would have to be canceled for work requirements. A stable weekly schedule is next to unknown. Management reacts to grant any and all client requests, no matter what the impact on instructor life or schedule. Career growth is possible only if one is favored by management. Instructors very highly qualified for a Program Manager position have been bypassed in favor of awarding the position to another management invidividual, who was not even qualified on the airframe in question. The New Castle (Wilmington) Delaware location is a good one. Coworker (instructor/evaluator) competence is extremely good. The instructors and evaluators in the simulator and ground school roles are what keep things from coming apart. Those people are a wonderful mix of former airline, corporate, and military pilots. Yet, when they voice alternatives to management proposed actions, they are marked as troublemakers, or worse. The work environment is tension-filled and unstable. Because of their actions and philosophy, management personnel above the program manager level are regarded with suspicion and distrust. Those who have been long-time employees tell me that a lot changed, for the worse, when the current company management took over from the company founder, Al Ueltschi. They appear to manage by fear (I mean that literally), so it is no surprise that local management reflects this attitude. I do not know if union organization is the answer, but things are not getting better.

Like so many others here have already mentioned, rank-and-file coworkers are great. Likewise, I really enjoy working with the clients. Program Managers generally seem alright and try to do a good job regarding instructors and clients. However, once you get above that level, management quality takes a nosedive. It seems like once an individual rises above the program manager level; character, respect and consideration for instructors takes a back seat to toadying to corporate and trying to make the center look better than other centers, at the expense of instructors. Upper management will nail you to the wall for the smallest issues. Yet, at the same time will work overtime to cover up their own mistakes. In short, they can't be trusted

As other instructors have pointed out, the pay is nothing to write home about. Especially, after they took away the Instructor Incentive Plan, and instituted Reduced Center Operations. This is especially galling, given that the work/life balance has gotten continually worse over the last year. They've tried to put a good spin on it though. For instance, corporate sent each instructor a a summary of their compensation and benefits to make us feel better about all the great benefits we get in addition to our pay. They must think we're idiots though, because they include the Social Security taxes they pay on me as a benefit I'm receiving. (Note to whoever thought up that little gem: You have to pay Social Security taxes on your employees. Its the law. Not some great benefit you are bestowing on me.)

Of course, stupid, little B.S. letters like that don't cost the company anything. And they know they have their employees by the short hairs right now, due to the economy. But the economy will eventually turn around and when it does their will be an unbelievable mass exodus from that place.

Would I recommend FlightSafety to anybody? Not only no, but hell no.

Agree on the co-workers, everyone is very competent. Great environment, vast majority are happy. Management is management, but they try their best, nice recognition programs, there's even one coming out for the sim techs. The pay is good considering I get to go home every night, that's almost unheard of in aviation. I don't know about others, my PM is great, works with me all the time, I get loads of time off (worked 17 of the last 30), just a great place overall.

After being asked my opinion, I forwarded my responses to my pm. He sent me a response email saying he didn't want people on his team that "weren't happy" and that I "needed to be looking for work". I sealed up my coffin at fsi by being honest about what i thought and felt and believed. Funny, we are supposed to be so accepting of customers who have complaints, but heaven forbid we have a problem. Seems as though this place has fed on it's young for 50 some odd years, so maybe he's right...it's time to look for work.

My coworkers, csr's, sim techs, and clients are great...with the exception of the occational instructor just waiting to throw others "under the bus" to make themselves look better to inept middle managers...but the good ones are enough to make the job enjoyable until i find something else.

I assume everyone has seen today's RCO email from corporate. Their arrogance has just greenlighted the unions.

would be ok but there is no time off and no life but that