Flying for a corporation.

ONe of the many job opportunities that aspiring pilots can choose to pursue is one in the corporate world.  Executives of big companies such as JPMorgan Chase, Bank Of America, Ford, GM, Wal-mart , ETC... all have to travel and get to their stores / branches / offices. what have you, in a reasonanle amount of time and as cheaply as possible.  One of the easiest ways to do this is to develop of a flight department.  I have called many companies around the area including FORD and JPMorgan Chase, to get some information about their internal flight or aviation department, all without any sucess of information because they stated that it was classified.  Bank of America treated me like a journalist and wouldnt say or disclose anything until getting an OK from a media relations person.  Nevertheless I did find some closure

All of us who live in either Michigan, Ohio, and Indiana ahve heard of Meijer INC.  A large chain of grocery supermarkets.  They only have stores in three states, but like any other large company, quick and efficient travel is of the utmost importance.  After calling their corporate office I was directed to their aviation department and spoke with their chief pilot Lance Brower. Who game me some information on their flight department. 

Meijer INC. Flies out of the Grand Rapids airport and only opperated one aircraft a Beech 1900 Turboprop. I asked to why only one aircraft and he stated that they do not need a jet for their trips as a store is at most only 3 to 4 hours away in the beech.  Something they dont see they need a jet for.  They strictly opperate under FAR part 91, and do not to any 135 charter operations at all.  THis is because Meijer is a private company. 

As far as the logistical information goes:. The pilots that are on the payroll are on an on call schedule, but dont have to worry about 2 am or 3 am wake up calls to go fly.  as all flights happen durring the day according to the chief pilot.  Salaries and Benefits that the pilots may get was not disclosed as he said that was a private matter with the company, and he did not know.  I would have to call the HR department and deal with HR public relations reps who would be hesitant to give me that information.  I asked for the minimum requried esperiences needed and he said that the the pilots do not need to meet standard 135 minimums.  He said that more time the better, they would not hire a 250 hour commercial pilot, but 1200 hours total time is not needed either.  This leads me to assume that they would not openly discuss this sort of information and I went on with the interview. 

Managing jobs in the flight the department are also available, but the department is small and they only have 3 office people including a receptionist.  I asked what the minimum required experience for that was, and he stated that high school diploma was sufficient but college degree in business management would be prefered.  Knowledge of the FAA and regulations is also needed. 

As far as hiring goes, Meijer has been using the same pilots for about 6 years now, he said that they are happy with their jobs and dont plan on leaving anytime soon.  So Meijer will not be hiring pilots in near future at least.