Originally Posted by
Ifly4u2c
my goal is to be happy at what i do, that being said I don't think the routes from point A to point B, then back to point A, over and over again of regionals or major will get me as excited as not knowing where you are going next. Staying in the Fractional, 135 world is my goal.
So happiness is flying to random airports?
I’ll give you some advice. Once the allure of not knowing where you are going wears off, you will just look at your paycheck and days off like everyone else in this industry, and if you are at a place like NJA instead of an airline, you will become depressed. Take it from somebody who lived it. My whole career was 91/135 before I went to a major and I will never go back, ever. I’ll go practice as a sommelier if crap hits the fan economically. Right now from a financial standpoint I am saving/investing to retire at 60 and be financially set up. Whether that happens or not, I can tell you I won’t be one of the guys at 65 knocking on NetJets door begging for more cash to go fly to random airports.
This is a job now, you can very much enjoy an airline job. A regional is no more a career destination than a place like NetJets or XO. They are very similar in many ways except NetJets is more set up for people to spend long term there.
Sit down and do the math, numbers don’t lie. Historically on APC there have been several NetJets pilots they try and sell their own position (15+ year captain they extends several days a month) to make it seem like anyone can go there and expect a buttload of money right off the bat and it’s simoly not true. The math on career earnings even over a 20 year period, are actually laughable even compared to places like Spirit and Allegiant. If you can make it to a career airline, you are talking million of dollars more in total earnings than the top fractional. Forget XO and WU etc, even when you look at more cereer focused companies like NetJets, the money you leave on the table just so you can say you got to fly into Toothlessville Arkansas in a private jet is pretty stupid. This is a job for you, not a hobby correct? Go travel with all the time off you have once you work at an airline, and your mortgage company doesn’t take payment in the form of all the cool little airports you flew into...
Oh and I’ll add, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been career wise and it’s not just the money, it’s the lack of stress during work. NJA is an emotional and physical rollercoaster that cuts to your core after a while. The job beats you down to the point in which I don’t know how people plan on doing it for 40 years.