Pilot Flying J
Careers at Pilot Flying J
MISSION
Pilot Travel Centers LLC (doing business as Pilot Flying J) aims to make long road journey in the US more comfortable, enjoyable, and safe through its network of truck stops.
FOUNDING STORY
Pilot Flying j traces its roots back to 1958, when James Haslam opened the first Pilot store in Gate City, Virginia. The Pilot chain expanded throughout the 1960s and 1970s, opening locations in Tennessee, Kentucky, and Virginia.
By 1978, the chain comprised a network of 101 stores. The Company opened its first truck stop in Corbin, Kentucky in 1981. These travel centres have since been the core of the Company’s operations.
In November 1993, Pilot entered a joint venture with Marathon Petroleum Company, following which all Pilot truck stops were rebranded as travel centres.
The Company went on to expand significantly in the proceeding years, notably via the 2003 acquisition of the Williams Truck Stop chain. Pilot ultimately bought out Marathon Petroleum Company and entered into a new joint venture with CVC Capital Partners.
In 2010, Pilot acquired Flying J’s network of travel centres, with the truck stops taking on the brand name Pilot Flying J.
Pilot Flying J is now the largest operator of travel centres in North America, operating a network of more than 750 locations across 44 states and six Canadian provinces.
The company employs more than 28,000 people. Pilot Flying J is listed by Forbes Magazine on its list of the largest private companies in the US.
Business model of Pilot Flying J
Customer Segments
Pilot Flying J provides fuel, food, and vehicle services via a network of travel centres across the US.
The Company typically serves drivers and long-distance travellers across the following categories:
- Long Distance Motorists, comprising general consumers driving private vehicles, notably recreational vehicles, across long distances either alone or as part of a group;
- Long Haul Professionals, comprising professional haulage drivers, truckers, and other professional logistics drivers; and
- Fleet Operators and Businesses, comprising commercial enterprises engaged in fleet management or transport, to which the Company provides business services.
Pilot Flying J is headquartered in the US, which is its core market. The Company serves customers across 44 US states, as well as across six Canadian provinces.
Value Propositions
Pilot Flying J provides value to its customers in the following ways:
- Reputation and Track Record – Pilot Flying J is a market leader and well-known brand in the field of truck stops and travel centres, with a positive reputation within the industry that dates back to the Company’s roots in 1958;
- Size and Reach – Pilot Flying J is the largest operator of travel centres in North America, serving a large customer base through network that spans 44 US states and six Canadian provinces;
- Accessibility and Convenience – Pilot Flying J offers range of digital services that make the Company’s services more accessible and convenient, including a mobile application, an online parking reservation service, and WI-FI services at its locations; and
- Range of Services – Pilot Flying J offers its customers a wide range of products and services across its locations, including a food and drinks menu, truck care and roadside assistance services, parking, fuel, amenities such as laundry facilities and ATMs, and convenience stores.
Channels
Pilot Flying J serves its customers primarily via its network of travel centres, which currently number around 750 across 44 US states and six Canadian provinces.
The Company serves customers across a range of self-service facilities and amenities – including coin-op laundry, ATMs, and shower facilities – as well as directly via foodservice outlets, convenience stores, fuel sales outlets, and vehicle maintenance services.
Pilot Flying J also provides roadside assistance services directly to customers via its dedicated roadside assistance team.
Pilot Flying J additionally operates a mobile application, through which it provides a range of services on a self-service basis. This includes parking reservation services, access to fuel prices, a trip planner, and fuel payment and booking services.
Customer Relationships
Pilot Flying J primarily serves its customers directly and on a self-service basis via its various facilities and amenities.
The Company seeks to provide as efficient and effortless service to customers as possible, its sales and service personnel interacting personally with customers to assist in their experience, responding to queries, handling complaints, and providing guidance.
Pilot Flying J operates a website at www.pilotflyingj.com, through which it provides information on its various services and locations.
The Company also offers a membership service via its website and mobile application, through which they are able to access deals, discounts, and exclusive offers.
Pilot Flying J’s roadside assistance services can be access over the phone.
Pilot Flying J is additionally able to communicate directly with customers through its various social media accounts, including with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube, and can communicate company updates via a blog hosted on its website.
Key Activities
Pilot Travel Centers LLC, doing business as Pilot Flying J, operates a network of travel centres and truck stops across North America.
The Company currently operates around 750 locations across 44 US states and six Canadian provinces. At these facilities, drivers are able to access facilities such as eateries, convenience stores, parking spaces, and fuel sales outlets; amenities such as laundry, shower rooms, ATMs, and payphones; and truck and vehicle maintenance services such as tyre changing, retreading, truck washes, and servicing.
The Company operates a mobile application through which customers can plan trips, find fuel prices, and access other services. Pilot Flying J also offers roadside assistance to its customers. The Company is based in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Key Partners
Pilot Flying J works in close conjunction with a wide range of companies and organisations in order to provide the most efficient services possible.
These partners can be organised broadly into the following categories:
- Supplier and Vendor Partners, comprising suppliers of food items, consumer goods, fuel product, equipment, and other supplies that or utilised or sold across the Company’s network of travel centres, as well as third party providers of services that support the Company’s corporate activities more broadly;
- Systems and Technology Partners, comprising a range of technology companies and software companies that offer support to the Company’s mobile application and digital services, and help to develop other accessibility services for the Company’s customers;
- Community and Social Responsibility Partners, comprising a range of non-profits and charitable organisations with which the Company collaborates on various social responsibility and community projects across North America; and
- Strategic Partners, comprising various other commercial enterprises with which the Company collaborates on business development, branding, and other strategic projects.
Pilot Flying J has a number of partnerships in place. This includes a technology partnership with Sensys Networks, a retail systems partnership with GasBuddy, and a systems software partnership with Salesforce.
Key Resources
Pilot Flying J’s business model depends on its ability to provide a wide range of services to motorists efficiently and reliably.
As such, the Company’s key resources are its brand name and intellectual properties, its network of travel centres, its equipment and merchandise, its suppliers and supply chain, its mobile application and digital service channels, its partnerships, and its personnel.
Pilot Flying J’s most essential assets are its physical travel centre locations, which number around 750 in the US and Canada.
Cost Structure
Pilot Flying J incurs costs in relation to the operation of its network of travel centres – including occupancy and utility costs, the procurement of supplies and equipment – notably the procurement of fuel, the implementation of advertising and marketing campaigns, the development and maintenance of its mobile application, the maintenance of its IT and communications infrastructure, the management of its partnerships, the payment of salaries and benefits to its employees.
Revenue Streams
Pilot Flying J generates revenue through its operation of travel centres across the US and Canada.
The Company derives revenue across multiple streams, including via the sale of food and beverages, the provision of various self-service amenities, the sale of fuel, the provision of vehicle maintenance services, and the sale of goods via its convenience stores.
Pilot Flying J is a privately owned company and as such it is not obliged to publish its financial results online.
According to Forbes magazine, the Company generated USD 21.2 billion in revenue in 2017. Media reports suggest that the Company’s current annual revenues are in excess of USD 30 billion.
Our team
info: Jimmy Haslam (“Haslam”), the son of Pilot Flying J founder James Haslam, has served as Chief Executive Officer at Pilot Flying J since 2001. He is responsible for leading the Company’s overall strategic direction and implementing its corporate growth strategies. Haslam began his career at Pilot Corporation, a major shareholder of Pilot Flying J, in 1976. In 1980, he was named the company’s Vice President of Sales, Development and Operations, and in 1996 was appointed the company’s President and Chief Executive Officer. He held this position until his appointment to his current position in 2001.
info: Shameek Konar (“Konar”) has served as Chief Strategy Officer at Pilot Flying J since June 2017. In this capacity, he is responsible for formulating, facilitating, and communicating the Company’s strategic initiatives and business goals. Konar began his career in 1996 as an associate at Putnam, Hayes and Bartlett, where he focused on energy restructuring, environmental consulting, and litigation support. In 1999, he joined PA Consulting Group as Managing Consultant, following which he served for more than two years as a senior manager at Accenture. Between 2003 and 2009, Konar served as Managing Director and Senior Vice President of Strategy and Development at Constellation Energy, and from 2009 to 2012 he was Managing Director and Global Co-Head of Commodities Principal Investments at Goldman Sachs. Prior to joining Pilot Flying J, Konar served in consecutive Chief Investment Officer roles at Mercuria Energy Trading SA and Castleton Commodities International.
info: Michael Rodgers (“Rodgers”) has served as Senior Vice President and Chief Strategy and Information Officer at Pilot Flying J since June 2015. In this role, he is responsible for leading the Company’s business intelligence and data analytics, digital marketing, enhanced security strategy and company strategic initiatives. Rodgers began his career in 1989 as a credit operations manager at Boscov’s. In 1993, he joined Saks Fifth Avenue, where he held roles of increasing responsibility over a period of 22 years, including spells as Executive Vice President of Service Operations and Chief Information Officer. Prior to joining Pilot Flying J, Rodgers served for more than a year as Executive Vice President of Omnichannel at JCPenney, where he oversaw digital commerce and customer experience and omnichannel strategy.
