- NetJets has sued its pilots' union, accusing it of defamation over safety claims.
- The union took out an ad referencing the Boeing blowout, but NetJets doesn't operate any Boeing planes.
- "We view the lawsuit as an attempt to silence us," the union's president said this week.
NetJets, the private jet firm owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, is suing its pilots' union.
Filed Monday in an Ohio state court, the lawsuit accuses the union of defaming NetJets.
The company sells ownership shares in private aircraft, giving customers the right to fly for a certain number of hours with short notice.
The lawsuit claims the 3,400-member NetJets Association of Shared Aircraft Pilots (NJASAP) made false statements about the safety of the company's operations.
In 2023, NJASAP said that training is being conducted by people "who have little to no knowledge of NetJets' standard operating procedures and aircraft," per the suit.
It adds that this year, the union published an article saying NetJets "persists in its effort to draw down a once vibrant safety culture."
The suit also said that in late January, the NJASAP took out an ad in The Wall Street Journal referencing the door plug blowout on an Alaska Airlines Boeing 737 Max, reading: "NetJets Owners: What if you looked out your window and saw a panel of the plane?"
That blowout sparked a crisis at Boeing as the planemaker works to improve its safety culture amid increased scrutiny from regulators.
However, NetJets doesn't operate any Boeing planes. Its lawyers said the ad was false and "clearly intended to alarm" customers.
NetJets is asking the court for unspecified damages and to prohibit the union from making more statements.
In a Wednesday press release, the NJASAP president, Pedor Leroux, said: "We view the lawsuit as an attempt to silence us."
"However, NJASAP has a federally protected right and an organizational and moral responsibility to our members — the NetJets pilots — and to our customers to raise safety issues, and we will continue to do just that," he added.
NetJets, in a statement shared with Business Insider, said it wouldn't comment on legal matters as its "focus is on providing the exceptional safety and service our owners expect and deserve."