Flying J Declares Bankrupcy!
 

I had no idea that the J was in trouble. I always thought they were the most profitable of the truck stops, but I guess not.

Oil firm Flying J files for bankruptcy protection - Yahoo! Finance

I honestly have never had any use for the hooks. Both companys I've worked for used comdata and the J don't accept them. I never understoood that because it can't be good for their business.

IMO they suck anyways. They have the absolute worst food at any TS.

The J is not going away they're just reorganizing there debt. Unfortunately the bad food is here to stay LOL !!!

Food at the J is no different than most of the Petro or T/A ...the petro might have a better buffet ,but I never ate at the buffets ...mainly b/c of all the unwashed hands at the buffet ...And the J can't possibly have worse food than the PILOT ,which is usually Arby's or Wendy's ...and of course Subway.

I used to stop at the Flying J in Napanee on my way to Montreal, thought the waffles were pretty good, it was usually 3 a.m. though that may have had something to do with it:)

flying j isn't that bad... by far the worst of the restaurant food has to be TA.. best of the chains has to be Petro.

Today, their website shows many locations that are critically low or completely out of fuel. I'm not sure if there is any relationship to their current Chapter 11 filing, but I can't see any reason all these locations should be having fuel supply issues.

Check it out: Flying J

Flying J does not accept Comdata or other fuel cards because they do not want to have to pay the fee associated with those cards. They use TCH, which is owned by Flying J. They (other truck stops, because the J quit allowing this completely at the commercial diesel fuel islands) also (illegally, I believe) charge more for fuel being purchased with a credit card because the credit cards charge merchants a fee based on a percentage of the purchase. These fees are customarily 1.5% to 3% of the total purchase price. When fuel was $4.50 a gallon, that would cost the truck stop as much as $33.75 for one 250 gallon fill up. The J stopped accepting credit cards completely because of proposed lawsuits by OOIDA and others, because the credit card companies (specifically Master Card) make their merchants sign agreements that state that the merchant will not charge credit card customers any more than cash paying customers.

I use a EFS card at the J's and get cash price plus a quarterly rebate check.

the best food is by far many mom and pops types. Uncle pete's and shenandoah are two that come to mind right off the top of my head

Seven Feathers, I-5 Exit 99, Canyonville, OR is very good as well as Romine's Truck Stop, recently taken over by TA, located on I-80, Exit 112 in Illinois are two of the very best. Not sure how long it will take TA to destroy Romine's, but it is sure to happen.

The only fuel card that is not accepted by Flying J, as far as I know, is Comdata. I've seen both EFS and T-check used. The fued between Flying J and Comdata started years back. And, more recently, T/A has joined the fray and refused to accept TCH.

Back in about the mid '90s, Comdata decided to charge the driver an extra dollar on all transactions. Flying J said that the driver was already being charged enough and in protest, refused to accept Comdata. Over a few years, Comdata was negotiating with Flying J and thought they were nearing an agreement so that Flying J would accept the card again, and Flying J came out with the TCH card. When that happened, it made Flying J a competitor and Comdata will no longer permit their card to be used at a J. A Comdata rep told me that if they allowed the cards to be used at Flying Js, Comdata would no longer be in business.

Over they years, their fued reminds me of a couple of kids in a schoolyard. The "hard-on" they have for each other makes me think someone on both sides of the issue is immature.

And, as to the food, I've done a lot of eating at a J. I tend to get far better service than at a T/A, and it ranks far above a Pilot or Loves. Some of the places I do like to eat are at Wilderness Crossing, junction of US-45 and WI-29 at Wittenberg, WI. The 51 Truck stop north of Wausau, WI, and Abbeyland Truck stop at Curtis, WI, exit 127 (I think) of WI-29.

Not anymore. J & TCH sued TA and won. Go to the following link to read more: http://www.tatravelcenters.com/Files..._%20050108.pdf

I always liked the J. I always pay cash for fuel & the J was almost always the lowest price. as far as low oil prices being a reason for the financial trouble... after the huge rise over the last few years, you would think that would be enough to off set the low price now, wich has just been here for a few months now. the showers were i.m.o. cleaner than other truck stops. the J-TA & PETRO were always packed , so i guess they all did somethings right for some drivers. everyone has there favorite

What happened with The J, is that like most large companies these days, they regularly took out short term loans to keep business flowing. These loans were based on the value of the assets of Flying J. Since Flying J not only owns its own refinery and pipeline, it also holds many tens of thousands of acres of oil rich property, the loans they were getting were mostly based on the value of the company’s oil reserves. Think of the difference in value of 100 million barrels of crude oil reserves at $148 a barrel as compared to the same estimated value if the oil is worth (or selling for in this case) $38 a barrel. The same loan companies that six months ago wouldn’t have batted an eye at lending The J $100 million (after all, they had oil reserves worth billions) today will not loan them the same money, because the company’s main asset (oil) is worth only a third of what it was.

Here’s the link detailing the problem: Falling oil, credit crunch trigger Flying J bankruptcy filing - Salt Lake Tribune

As for liking truck stops, I can’t stand any of them (the big chains, anyway) and do everything I can to ensure that they get as little of my money as possible. Most offer substandard food, service and merchandise at grossly inflated prices. I was just out on the road for six weeks and besides fuel, spent under $100 combined at truck stops. I’ve never managed a truck stop, but I have managed enough restaurants, convenience stores, etc. to know that I’m being ripped off every time I spend money in one of these places.

There are still a handful of Flying J's that will take Comdata. These are franchise stores mostly in the Northwest. I don't believe any of the corporate stores take Comdata. There are several fuel cards that may be used at Flying J, such as T-Check and EFS. Fleetone is not taken at Flying J, at least at the corporate stores. As I recall, Flying J stopped taking Comdata because they were charging both Flying J and the carrier's a fee each time it was used. Unless Flying J has recently stopped taking credit cards for fuel they still take them. They do charge a higher price for using a charge or debit card, but don't charge a fee for any of the fuel cards. Most fuel cards charge a flat fee per transaction. At one time Flying J only posted the cash price for fuel on their signage. They now make a distinction between cash and credit pricing. Customers would get irate when the paid for their fuel when Flying J added a fee to cover the credit card charges.

FlyingJ basicaly said "If you wana use credit you have to use our credit card, TCH" and a lot of people like me said "Hu, you thinks so ?" "I can do whatever I want". Sure, fuel might be 1 cent a gallon more where I fuel but I picked it, and don't have to wait for 5 motore homes to get outa the way.
My last thought on FlyingJ !!!!!!!! Who is the only national truck stop that refuses to fly the American flag from it's flag pole !!!!!!!
FLYING J

We got tired of being treated like typhoid mary at the Hook..... There is only one that I will stop at, it is in LaGrande, OR . Pot Roast sandwiches !!!

There used to be one or two that would take Comdata somewhere east of the Mississippi, but I forget where. I know that The J has only filed Chapter 11, but I'm glad I have a FleetOne account just in case something happens with TCH or Flying J. Plus, having a FleetOne card gets you national account pricing on Bridgestones. Funny thing about FleetOne... I called them today to check what my weekly limit is, just in case I need to start using that card as my primary fuel card, and they would not raise the limit above $2500. My FICO scores with all three credit bureaus are above 750, but they said it was due to us only having one truck. When freight starts rolling again, we normally run 6k miles a week. I asked them what I should do when fuel goes back up to $4.50 plus a gallon and I hit my weekly limit after three days and two fill-ups. The CSR didn't seem to give two hoots about that potential problem… so much for OOIDA being out to help the little guy. One thing I can say about TCH is they bumped my weekly limit up to $10k without me asking and didn’t even bother telling me they did it.

I make my wife go in to sign for fuel receipts. It often results in bad things if I have to go inside The J and they are being jackasses as usual.

Why stop in LaGrande if you can go to Troutdale and eat at Shari's? Best coffee ever and the food is way better than any Flying J.

My office and yard is a few miles from Troutdale....:lol: Sharis is better than the Hook, but as highschoolers Sharis was the hangout after the parties...:lol:

I take it you have not had a Pot Roast Sandwich from the la grande hook ???

I've eaten there a couple of times, but I have not sampled the pot roast sandwich. I really am not a fan of eating at any of the J's, and only do so to use up our coupons that cost as much as $2k for a $5 coupon. We do love Shari's though, especially their high octane coffee.

The la grande J is a franchise. The restaurant is old school mom and pop place, many locals eat there cause the food is good.

I know it's a franchise... it's pretty obvious, and the food I've had there has generally been better than standard Hook grub.

don't have to wait for 5 motore homes to get outa the way.


I myself have never waited for a motor home in the truck diesel island.

I wondered about that myself, but was afraid to ask.

Flying J doesn't seem to care about the trucking business. Some of that could be coming from so much of the vandalism I see at many of their stores. I have seen their service continue to decline over the last decade. There was a time when they seemed to really care about our business. Now they mostly seem to want the RV business. With the economic slump that may change, especially with the reorganization.

I have had to wait before, but it has been awhile.

oh yeah, def the mom and pops are best.. there's a restaurant in az at i-10 mp 94 i believe, tonopah that serves up great steaks.

To settle the question regarding Flying J and Comdata's falling out, below is an excerpt from an article on Flying J's history:

"The company, which had begun marketing to national trucking fleets in the early 1990s, was also getting into the credit business, promoting its own fuel transaction card, a position that led to a conflict with Comdata, one of the leading credit transaction processors for the trucking industry. When Comdata and Flying J began negotiating to renew their contract, Comdata pressured Flying J to stop promoting its own card. Flying J refused, announcing that its travel centers would no longer accept Comdata's Comcheck card, and began encouraging customers to switch to its own or other third party cards; the break was complete when Comdata announced that it would no longer process transactions made at Flying J travel centers. With Comdata remaining a major supplier of credit transactions to the nation's trucking industry, the effect of the break on Flying J remained to be seen. Nonetheless, Adams told The Tennessean, "We're comfortable about life without Comdata." Indeed, Flying J's reputation among its customers in both the trucking industry and the general motoring public appeared solid."

The link to the full article is here: Flying J Inc. -- Company History

Below is an excerpt from the ruling on one of the appeals resulting from Flying J's litigation:


"This appeal is the latest episode in a lengthy antitrust suit brought by Plaintiffs Flying J, Inc., TCH, L.L.C., CFJ Properties, TON Services, Inc., and CFJ (collectively "Flying J") against Defendant Comdata Network, Inc. ("Comdata"). The underlying lawsuit, filed in 1996, arose out of Comdata's alleged monopolization of two product markets related to the U.S. truck stop industry. In May 2001, after nearly five years of discovery and pretrial motions, the parties entered into a settlement agreement. Comdata agreed to pay $49 million in damages and grant Flying J two licenses intended to open the markets at issue. Conflict soon resumed, however, when the parties could not agree about the meaning of one of the two licenses. Aggrieved by what it interpreted as Comdata's refusal to honor one of the licenses, Flying J filed a motion to enforce the settlement agreement in May 2002. The district court determined that Comdata had breached the settlement agreement and ordered Comdata to implement the license as interpreted by Flying J. Exercising jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1292(a), we REVERSE. In so doing, we emphasize that it is not our task to determine what would best remedy the underlying antitrust violation, but solely to interpret the agreement reached between the parties, in light of its plain language and the intent of the parties."

The link the complete ruling is here: 03-4262 -- Flying J Inc. v. Comdata Network Inc. -- 04/13/2005

I can't find any irrefutable proof, but from everything I have been able to find, the J is not owned by Arabs.

I believe the Flying J in Cour d' lene, Idaho is a franchise and accepts Comdata as do several in Washington and a couple of other areas. It has been a while since I have run much in those areas, but I seem to recall that they did accept the Comdata cards. As far as I know none of the corporate stores accept Comdata.

As far as ownership by the Arabs, someone noted it on one of the forums and had a link to the article. I can't seem to find it now, so I don't know if it is true or not. Perhaps someone knows one way or another.

GMAN, I’m agreeing with you in that I heard the same thing, I think it may have been in 2002; but I cannot remember exactly how I heard it or where I read it. I do know that I can usually find out just about anything on-line, and after spending a little time searching the ‘net I have come up with pretty much nada. I’ve found where J Adams is shown as a large stockholder and president. A 2007 article in Forbes lists J Phillip Adams as CEO and Scott D Clayson as CFO. In a more recent 2008 Forbes article Robert L Inkley is listed as CFO. Coachmen Industries’ website shows William P. Johnson, who is their chairman of the board as also being chairman of the board and CEO of Flying J. It goes on and on like this on other websites. You come up with all kinds of names for board positions over the last few years. None of them have Middle Eastern sounding names and most of them look like old white guys to me. Of course with a private company like Flying J, you never know who is in bed with whom, financially speaking that is. Some Saudi company could’ve plowed a pile of money into the company and it could be very hard to find out about it.

I did read where Conoco owns a big chunk of Flying J. I think they have some joint ventures with the c-stores and fuel. Unless privately held companies want to make their investors public it is difficult to find out who exactly own them. The title of the individuals matters little because they may not have any ownership in the company.

Here is a link from the ConocoPhillips website, United States - Marketing

This is on that page,

MultiService is accepted at Flying Js.

I saw The Flyin' Hooks troubles coming. Word has it that Rosie O'Donald, Martha Stewart, Kristie Allie, and "Mimi" from the old "Drew Carey Show", started hitting their lunch Buffet on a regular basis !!

:eek1::eek1::eek1::eek1:

You forgot Sally Struthers

Yes they do, they are a frachise of flying j i think, you'll notice they say boardwalk flying j on the signs

Broadway..... also in Spokane, WA and Post Falls, ID not CDA.

As are all the J's in western Montana, Broadway's.