What are the differences between Corporate and fractional flying. In your opinion which is better and why? Is the pay different? Im just trying to get an idea on which route I want to take. I know this is the corporate forum so I know it will be biased....so I just want to know what your opinion is.

Thanks for the help.

 

From my understanding when you think of fractionals you think of netjets flexjets, etc. These places offer essentially a way to buy a fraction/share of flight time. You then get the opportunity to use that plane ex number of hours based on a certain timeframe e.g. 50 hours a year 1/16th of a share according to the netjets site is a little over 400 grand a year. For wealthy people or corporations that travel often that can't afford their own fleet of jets, this can be very cost effective. www.netjets.com is a good place to get all the details. Corporate is a pretty broad spectrum. One of the more common examples is a lot of companies have their own fleet of jets they use for business. These places rely heavily on internal recs and knowing people. You're not going to just get hired off the street by microsoft to fly their jets, you better know some people and do some sucking up before you look at a job with them. Places like netjets internal recs aren't as important because you are flying around with all kinds of different clients and while it would help to know some peeps in netjets, there are plenty of people who are highly qualified who know no one in the company, but get hired. The minimums are also very high while a corporate environment, it can fluctuate. hope that helps I'm sure there is someone who can help you out more.

 

It depends on what you are looking for and what's available at the time you are looking.

Frax guys know their on-duty schedule months in advance, but it's generally something like 7 days on, 7 days off. Take away vacation time and you're looking at just under half of your life on the road - not for me if I can help it.

Corporates vary widely. Some of them are great, some not so great. Each department has there own culture. The trick is finding one that closely matches your own personality and career desires. Pay and benefits can be higher than frax or they can be lower than frax. They can start higher than frax but lag over the long term or they can start lower than frax but surpass them over the long term. It can be uncertain going in if you don't know someone that is already there to tell you what it's like. If you strike onto a good one, though, it can be a great ride. Another thing about corporate is you generally get to know your passengers and fellow pilots pretty well over time. If they are good people, this is a great feeling. If they are not good people, it can be hell. In frax, you may never see the same passengers again and you may only fly with your current fellow pilot for a week and may never see them again, either.

If you are the type that needs to know what you are getting into from the beginning, frax is probably the way to go. Nothing is hidden - what you see is what you get.