GrummanCT

Large cabin, part 91 business aviation can be fantastic right now if you are in a major metro area. You can easily walk in and make legacy captain pay on day 1.

Something not mentioned that I would consider however is retirement contribution. At your legacy you will likely get an additional 10% per year from your employer. If you have a lot
of years remaining, that’s a significant difference at 65, regardless of similar base pay.

ThreeGreens

I know that there are good corporate departments out there with great fleets, excellent pay, benefits and a decent quality of life. If you have been so lucky to get one of those, congratulations and consider yourself fortunate. But, one thing a lot of folks forget to think about is the "culture" of the group, in other words "how we do it around here". That can be the difference between a great job and one that isn't so great; in fact it can be downright miserable. Does the department practice what they preach or is that FOM just a decoration? If you've been 121 for a long time and move to a 91 department, odds are you will be shocked at the way they do things. I'm just saying going from a very standard way of doing things to something that isn't so standard may blindside you. Of course not every operation is like that, but they are out there. I think there is value in just being a number, show up, do your job, block out and head to the house without having to worry about office politics and all the other "stuff". I know we all have different opinions based on our own individual experiences with this type of stuff. Sounds to me like you've made it to coveted legacy job. I certainly wouldn't give that up for because you are bored. Much respect.

rickair7777

There was a very long period of post-deregulation shakeup which played out over decades and resulted in numerous BKs and more than a few liquidations. I *think* that era is largely behind us, things should be fairly solid for most of our working lives (obvious disclaimer for asteroid impact, nuclear war, etc).

The legacies are probably too big to fail (unless the economy was so bad that it didn't matter anyway, in which case most corporate jobs would be long gone too).

Here's another corporate department gone...

Well crap...

rickair7777

Right now 121 is generally better, assuming major airlines. Top tier airline jobs are more readily attainable right now than "unicorn" corporate jobs.

One notable thing non-airline flying can provide consistently is home every night and weekends off, assuming you select your employer accordingly (and their business model cannot change). In order to get that at an airline you'd need lots of seniority, typically a whole lot.

The other notable is more *interesting* flying is available in some non-airline jobs.

But if you just want stability, schedule flexibility, and money airlines are obviously the way to go right now. Assuming you can do overnight trips.

My perspective: I did regionals for flexibility while serving in mil reserves (my corporate buddies in private ops understandably weren't able to bang out for a month or three each year for mil). For a long time I assumed I'd join my buds in corporate after the mil, but the mil is almost over, I'm at a legacy, and the tea leaves say stay for sure. I'm calling it like I see it. Not an airline fan because I'm an airline guy, I'm an airline guy because that looks good right now.

I'm beating this drum because there are non-airline folks who may not fully appreciate what's out there. Like 9-to-5 people... they are typically floored if I get into a detailed conversation about my pay, benefits, and time off. They just have no idea, coming from their perspective. A senior exec at my wife's job (knowing my mil background) thought I might be a good fit for a manager job they had open and approached me about it. He was right in that it would be a fit, but I would have had to take a large pay cut, work more days, and be on call 24/7 to boot. And I'm an FO...

Armyguy

Still debating this. It does take seniority below 40% to get weekends and holidays off. Im a commuter so I will be on the road regardless. So this is a choice for me of local part 91 v legacy FO.

great schedule next month (not sarcasm). 11 nights in a hotel. 14 working days. Leave on sunday morning each trip, back home by noon last work day. 13.5k (pay/16% dc). Do that all year: @165k. Seniority will keep moving along so more pay or better schedule as time goes on (monday starts v sunday starts for example).

Corp job starting at 185k, drive to work, less overnights. Less security, less schedule flexibility. No checking non rev loads but no calling in sick if i need a break and also driving to the airport way more than 3x in a month like my current gig. No bidding southern overnights to avoid the winter either.

Lumberg823

if you’re senior to me than def go P91 😁. One thing to consider is what the compensation will be at the end of your career. We are all in contract negotiations right now and the rumors are something like a pension will be coming back but even with today’s contracts, the senior CA’s at your legacy are probably making 3-400 without trying all that hard and a lot more with some extra flying. Financial stability and flexibility buys a lot of piece of mind and freedom. Unless of course you are senior to me 😂. Good luck

B727 right seat

Don’t you even think about that!! Corporate position could disappear in next week. One corporate pilot found out his aircraft was being sold by seeing a
“aircraft for sale” ad in Trade-a-plane. No union protection in corporate flying. Seniority is very very important if the economy turns south. You have no/little seniority at corporate. New CFO can destroy a flight department faster that you can imagine..

Ihateusernames

So what did you do?


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Skip0927

This happened to me. Chief Pilot at intl large cabin Part 91 job. CEO died in sleep from heart attack. CFO became CEO and poof, we were out of private aviation. Thanks for playing....

JungleJetDriver

I have to agree with this statement wholeheartedly.