Originally Posted by
FRAC
I’ll chime in, at Flexjet (DRL) domestic red label which is all Challenger and Legacy/Praetor fleets you can build your own schedule (absolutely zero company interference). It is the only reason I’m here. I can work my schedule out to get my kids bdays off and our anniversary off guaranteed. I’ll work every 3rd holiday annually. If you team up with the right crew some want New Years and 4th of July off and are willing to work family holidays. It’ll take years on any fleet at a major to guarantee those days off without a sickcation. Retirement is way better at any major or lcc but we can literally fly two 5 day rotations a month and keep all our benefits. Family of 4 I pay 99 bucks a pay check for exceptional healthcare. What do you legacy guys pay for healthcare?
I spent 11 years in the fracs. I managed to get Christmas off once. Thanksgiving 3 times. And so on and so forth.
5 years at the airlines and I’ve been home for 3 Thanksgivings and 2 Christmases with late departures on two more Christmases meaning I saw my family more in that short time than in a decade plus at the fracs, and I’m not on the road 6-8 days at a time to do it.
Granted, that’s not on a 3 man team building my own schedule. But that takes several years to get into as well as you’ll serve time in the right seat before enjoying Phenom captainship first.
Wide body life is nice I’m sure. It is also a long way from reality for most pilots today. I don’t think anyone applies anywhere hoping to to live that sweet life 20 years later. The movement is such at the majors right now that good schedules where you actually see people you care about on important days isnt hard to attain. That’s wasn’t always the case.