Packrat

Personally, I think 7 on/7 off home based sounds a lot better than 4 on/3 off with a day before and midnight commute home afterwards.

Not to mention no TSA, no idiot passengers, no airport airline "bus" terminals and not flying to the same 4 airports each and every month.

Tuono76

I've been reading aviation forums for a while now and I'm starting to notice a trend. There are a lot of dissatisfied, pessimistic flyers out there.

Maybe instead of constantly thinking, "I'll be happy once I make it to a major," or "I'll be satisfied once I'm a captain on a _______" - we could remind ourselves that we're getting paid to fly.

I plan on finding joy and satisfaction at each point in my career, and while I'm just starting out - I remind myself every day that getting to earn a living while engaging in my childhood dreams is the ultimate fortune.... and such a rare thing for so many people in the world.

Hercguy

Moody or DM, or Guard/Reserve?

Scrappy

Got hired at a major at 29.

All previous time is fighters...F-15/T-38/F-16. Flying a fatty in the USAF absolutely does not correlate to getting hired at a major. Not that flying a fatty is bad, but flying a fighter gets you just as good a chance (or better) to land a job at a major.

Not saying one is better than the other...just pointing out the inconsistency.

Packrat

I'd say fighter jocks have an equal chance at the airlines, depending upon the airline. For years, SWA gave an edge to fighter jocks. But that was because most of the management guys were Luke pogues.

Other airlines, not so much.

PilotJ3

I'm an FO I'm a regional (envoy), thinking to make the switch to a Fractional.

I've been searching around but would like to know if is really worth it? I'm senior enough to hold lines in every of our bases, still around 300# from upgrading but it doesn't look close enough. My only concern is that I will lose my travel benefits, other than that:

-it would be a pay raise of 10k for me
-I won't have to commute
-I work 4on - 3 off

Still thinking what to do...

kingairfun

I guess it would depend on what exactly one is looking for in a schedule...

For those that just love being in an airplane, or have no family at home, or no real extracurricular activities..... Then a schedule does not mean that much..

For me:

I still play baseball ( not softball) and am able to bid off every game.. Which I couldn't do at a fractional.

I also have a small business.... So I bid reserve and am able to almost be at the business 100% of the time I need to be.

Because I bid reserve, and live close to base, I enjoy a lot of time at home... ( well maybe enjoy is embellishing a bit.... I am married after all!!)

During the month of September I worked a total of 5 days.... At my pay rate that equates to over $1500 per day that I worked... I know, I know, it's not accurate since a reserve day is still work.... But anyways... Bottom line is I was on the road 5 days (3 nights out of my bed)

I also like to go to the gym 5-6 days a week... I am able to do that

None of the above was possible with Netjets because of the length of tours, and almost guaranteeing to be gone 18 days a month, or 7 days at a time onthe 7/7

727C47

To each their own I'm returning to the fracs after flying long haul 747s, ( loved it) , 7 and 7 allows me a reliable schedule, I can be with familia more, play more rugby, fly more C47, see more of my brothers in NJ, and the flying is varied enough to be interesting, the airlines rock, the freights rock, the fracs rock, the regionals, oh well, to each their own , God bless, cheers out, it's all good.

Al Czervik

Corporate and regional background now at a legacy. Have two buddies both at fortune 50 companies trying to get to a legacy. Their life is great and they have no complaints. They just believe a legacy is more secure.

ZapBrannigan

Left a fortune 50 company to go back to a major after a decade in corporate. When corporate is good, it's better than any major. When it gets bad, it's worse than the worst regional...

There's something to be said for knowing what to expect.