Originally Posted by
JMO127
CHALLENGER ALL DAY AND TWICE ON SUNDAY. You will thank me later. The X while fast and sporty, is small and tight up front as well as the back. It does however gain you about 35-40 mins on a transcon over the CL. The CL has over 6' of standing room, not so much on the X. Once you are on a fleet, unfortunately you cannot switch. There currently is a plan in place to allow more senior guys to bid over to the CL in small quantities but again it is extremely limited.
With all due respect to my fellow XOer JMO127,
“The X ALL DAY AND THREE TIMES ON SUNDAY“ 😎
There is a healthy pride among each of groups, just like there is any any multi fleet operations. The pay is the same so no advantage there. The X has smaller cockpit but if you want to go .92 you can’t be the size of a whale 😉. Challenger can get out of shorter runways without fuel stops vs X. X is 66 KIAS faster at altitude on average. The 300 are newer on average and the 300 FMS a bit more user friendly I’m told.
A new twist and not completely clear at this point is leaders are talking adding more aircraft to fleet...rumors are more used X’s on the market but haven’t heard about used Challengers. The latter may come at a higher price versus X and if so, more and quicker upgrade in the X fleet for new hires. That statement is caveated with the post COVIDA reality that times/circumstances can change fast.
Reality is I wasn’t asked which plane to choose before it was assigned prior to my arrival at INDOC. I was just happy to be onboard. The X has been a lot fun no doubt. You will like either thanks to the people in the fleet.
Switching from one fleet to the next until recently was not an option except at company convenience. That changed but only very slightly as flt ops was going to allow one person a year to make the switch...one has made that switch this month I believe. I wouldn’t bank on that occurring for you unless you wish to be here 10 yrs or more.