Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Well said. The only time I actually used PTO was when I cashed it out.

I think a lot of the talk about breaking contracts and being concerned about having to pay back the contract came around right after benefits were cut. A lot of people were upset about it, and I can't really blame them.

Sure, the insurance is still fine, but it was a pretty big hit for people with families when they specifically chose btq for the benefits package. What frustrated me about that whole thing was that while benefits were cut to save money, there was no effort made to generate any revenue by charging for unaccompanied minors, overweight bags, etc. Fees for those types of things are industry standard at this point and in my experience, passengers were surprised when they WEREN'T charged for them. Sure, it's great for the customers... But from what I saw, it crushed the morale of many full time employees.

So like you said, get what you need from Boutique and carry on. It is absolutely excellent experience for low time pilots, especially those looking to go 121 once minimums are met.