Career fork in the road
01-20-2019, 06:20 AM
#11
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,271
Originally Posted by Fixnem2Flyinem
I’m currently in the interview process for a fractional. I’m a regional FO on the verge of upgrade but know that’s where the music stops if I don’t want to commute while living in my hometown. The fact that I really don’t want to leave the place where my wife has a support system while I’m gone is pushing me into this decision. I played the commuting game for a few years, almost quit flying because of it. The major airline we fly for has a base close to home, but it’s senior and the major we fly for isn’t one of the top 3.
Don't you guys have flow to AS? Honestly you could wait for that, and just drive to SEA until you can hold PDX. Long term you'd be better off financially at ANY legacy, even AS or HA, than a fractional. And if you ever really need money bad you could upgrade early and commute to reserve. At least you'd have the option.
Fractionals are coming apart at the seams right now, upgrade is very long at many (no mandatory retirement age at most). Fractionals offer positive space and set blocks of days off... but you pay a big price for that when you're at work. Long busy, tiring days basically eat, sleep, work for seven days.
Back in the day fractionals looked to be the up and coming thing, regional pilots were eager to get on, and with the majors all BK, it was pretty competitive. May have worked out well for some guys who got in early, but it's probably not the best bet for someone in your shoes today.
01-20-2019, 08:11 AM
#12
New Hire
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Aug 2017
Posts: 7
Originally Posted by rickair7777
OK so you fly for QX and live in PDX... nothing else even remotely fits the geography you just described.
Don't you guys have flow to AS? Honestly you could wait for that, and just drive to SEA until you can hold PDX. Long term you'd be better off financially at ANY legacy, even AS or HA, than a fractional. And if you ever really need money bad you could upgrade early and commute to reserve. At least you'd have the option.
Fractionals are coming apart at the seams right now, upgrade is very long at many (no mandatory retirement age at most). Fractionals offer positive space and set blocks of days off... but you pay a big price for that when you're at work. Long busy, tiring days basically eat, sleep, work for seven days.
Back in the day fractionals looked to be the up and coming thing, regional pilots were eager to get on, and with the majors all BK, it was pretty competitive. May have worked out well for some guys who got in early, but it's probably not the best bet for someone in your shoes today.
Don't you guys have flow to AS? Honestly you could wait for that, and just drive to SEA until you can hold PDX. Long term you'd be better off financially at ANY legacy, even AS or HA, than a fractional. And if you ever really need money bad you could upgrade early and commute to reserve. At least you'd have the option.
Fractionals are coming apart at the seams right now, upgrade is very long at many (no mandatory retirement age at most). Fractionals offer positive space and set blocks of days off... but you pay a big price for that when you're at work. Long busy, tiring days basically eat, sleep, work for seven days.
Back in the day fractionals looked to be the up and coming thing, regional pilots were eager to get on, and with the majors all BK, it was pretty competitive. May have worked out well for some guys who got in early, but it's probably not the best bet for someone in your shoes today.
01-20-2019, 08:52 AM
#13
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2017
Posts: 279
Originally Posted by rickair7777
OK so you fly for QX and live in PDX... nothing else even remotely fits the geography you just described.
Don't you guys have flow to AS? Honestly you could wait for that, and just drive to SEA until you can hold PDX. Long term you'd be better off financially at ANY legacy, even AS or HA, than a fractional. And if you ever really need money bad you could upgrade early and commute to reserve. At least you'd have the option.
Fractionals are coming apart at the seams right now, upgrade is very long at many (no mandatory retirement age at most). Fractionals offer positive space and set blocks of days off... but you pay a big price for that when you're at work. Long busy, tiring days basically eat, sleep, work for seven days.
Back in the day fractionals looked to be the up and coming thing, regional pilots were eager to get on, and with the majors all BK, it was pretty competitive. May have worked out well for some guys who got in early, but it's probably not the best bet for someone in your shoes today.
Don't you guys have flow to AS? Honestly you could wait for that, and just drive to SEA until you can hold PDX. Long term you'd be better off financially at ANY legacy, even AS or HA, than a fractional. And if you ever really need money bad you could upgrade early and commute to reserve. At least you'd have the option.
Fractionals are coming apart at the seams right now, upgrade is very long at many (no mandatory retirement age at most). Fractionals offer positive space and set blocks of days off... but you pay a big price for that when you're at work. Long busy, tiring days basically eat, sleep, work for seven days.
Back in the day fractionals looked to be the up and coming thing, regional pilots were eager to get on, and with the majors all BK, it was pretty competitive. May have worked out well for some guys who got in early, but it's probably not the best bet for someone in your shoes today.
And yes, I do fly for QX. From door to parking lot to Seattle will be a 4 hour drive at best for a SEA base. Plan on living 50 miles south of PDX in Salem. No thanks to a 5am show where I have to drive at midnight to get to work on time or again, lose a day off.
This is the funny thing. If you read the threads from the past on here, the Fracs were on top while airlines sucked. Now it has shifted and no one wants to go Fractional, all because of money. Also years ago during the downturn many got stuck at a regional and were happy to just have a job, now people are looking at guys funny that have been at a regional for a long time asking them “so, why haven’t you moved on?”. All the regionals have shifted in terms of who is king of the suck vs a decent place to build time. My point is, today’s turd can be tomorrow’s nugget. I’m not saying a Fractional will ever top a major unless a major is BK, but maybe the Fractionals will get better in the next 5 years as well. If not, I’ve done my research. I can live with the payscales that they advertise, I also don’t have an ego to be a CA like most pilots do. If I can fly a plane, support my family and provide the necessities while having a crap ton of time off such as 7 days at a time, I will be much happier than driving to SEA for that 5am show making all that money. Again, A choice being made knowing full well what I am missing out on, life is too short to keep sacrificing the now for then.
Last edited by Fixnem2Flyinem; 01-20-2019 at 09:15 AM.
01-20-2019, 09:41 AM
#14
Prime Minister/Moderator
Joined APC: Jan 2006
Position: Engines Turn Or People Swim
Posts: 39,271
Originally Posted by Fixnem2Flyinem
Thanks for the advice, a job at the fractional is better than being a mid level restaurant manager and that’s better than being a dishwasher. It’s all relative. Is it a cushy Major job? Nope, but making decent money to work literally less than half the year once including vacation sounds good to me.
And yes, I do fly for QX. From door to parking lot to Seattle will be a 4 hour drive at best for a SEA base. Plan on living 50 miles south of PDX in Salem. No thanks to a 5am show where I have to drive at midnight to get to work on time or again, lose a day off.
This is the funny thing. If you read the threads from the past on here, the Fracs were on top while airlines sucked. Now it has shifted and no one wants to go Fractional, all because of money. Also years ago during the downturn many got stuck at a regional and were happy to just have a job, now people are looking at guys funny that have been at a regional for a long time asking them “so, why haven’t you moved on?”. All the regionals have shifted in terms of who is king of the suck vs a decent place to build time. My point is, today’s turd can be tomorrow’s nugget. I’m not saying a Fractional will ever top a major unless a major is BK, but maybe the Fractionals will get better in the next 5 years as well. If not, I’ve done my research. I can live with the payscales that they advertise, I also don’t have an ego to be a CA like most pilots do. If I can fly a plane, support my family and provide the necessities while having a crap ton of time off such as 7 days at a time, I will be much happier than driving to SEA for that 5am show making all that money. Again, A choice being made knowing full well what I am missing out on, life is too short to keep sacrificing the now for then.
And yes, I do fly for QX. From door to parking lot to Seattle will be a 4 hour drive at best for a SEA base. Plan on living 50 miles south of PDX in Salem. No thanks to a 5am show where I have to drive at midnight to get to work on time or again, lose a day off.
This is the funny thing. If you read the threads from the past on here, the Fracs were on top while airlines sucked. Now it has shifted and no one wants to go Fractional, all because of money. Also years ago during the downturn many got stuck at a regional and were happy to just have a job, now people are looking at guys funny that have been at a regional for a long time asking them “so, why haven’t you moved on?”. All the regionals have shifted in terms of who is king of the suck vs a decent place to build time. My point is, today’s turd can be tomorrow’s nugget. I’m not saying a Fractional will ever top a major unless a major is BK, but maybe the Fractionals will get better in the next 5 years as well. If not, I’ve done my research. I can live with the payscales that they advertise, I also don’t have an ego to be a CA like most pilots do. If I can fly a plane, support my family and provide the necessities while having a crap ton of time off such as 7 days at a time, I will be much happier than driving to SEA for that 5am show making all that money. Again, A choice being made knowing full well what I am missing out on, life is too short to keep sacrificing the now for then.
I have a similar length drive, with some seniority I'll mitigate it eventually. Might even buy an airplane to commute to work some day, added bennie of sitting reserve at home.
01-20-2019, 11:57 AM
#15
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2010
Position: Baja Vermont
Posts: 5,177
Whatever you do at a frac, get a worthwhile type rating that you can bank on later. Not being more mobile is a real limitation in aviation, I was lucky enough to be near lots of opportunities, but Salem, OR, however nice, lacks aviation within an easy-ish commute.
GF
GF
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
