Regionals to Fractionals
 

Hello, I’ve read through as much as I could and found it touched on once or twice but hoping for a little more in depth information. Got an interview scheduled so no need to stress about making a decision till the interview is passed but also want all the info I can get before that time comes. Looking for peoples experience leaving the regionals for flexjet? I understand the schedule is different and the customer aspect is different. Before going to the airlines I hadn’t even thought about the fractionals, now that the opportunity might arise it seems exciting but also “scary” leaving what I know for something so different. Thanks for any and all info!

I should also add I currently commute 2.5 hr flight :/ (and live in a FJ domicile)

I personally can't speak on this as I was never a 121 guy prior to coming here.

That said, I have plenty of friends here that did come from the regionals in the last year, and not a single one of them regrets it. That's not to say that several of them still aren't still looking for opportunities with the Majors/Legacies when the come comes, but literally none of them have said they wish they would have stayed at their regional.

YMMV

I’d be VERY cautious. I was 121 and I’ve been in 135 for 4years. Black in white it’s a no brainer I’m a 3rd year captian and with some overtime Im $180~$200k range. Know my schedule a year in advance, no commuting, rental cars, crew meals, door dash stipend, keep hotel/ airline points. There’s perks…but it’s a young bucks game. What they don’t tell you is it’s day 9 of 15. Your in TEB in July pax are delayed by 1.5hrs. They finally arrive only to now find out you have an EDCT delay. Meanwhile ops is already asking you about tomorrows trips for your 12pm departure out of ASE-MIA with 8 people @ 1200 local MOS projected temps are 29c-33c (fuel stop) with max baggage weight for a VERY VERY important client. Finally your loaded up for the second time in TEB and a cabin PACK $hits out on you and there’s 2 infants in the back in the middle of summer. You can MEL it but now you need a fuel stop and now you don’t have the duty. So you call ops they put another crew on the trip you Uber to EWR for a short airline flight to pick up a new jet and another journey. Some guys will say “that dosent happen at XYZ we’re amazing” we’ll a 135 pilot is the mix of a glorified Uber driver and Amazon delivery truck. Constantly re-stocking airplanes, flight planning, weight and balance, arrange hotels, a lot of “please book this or cancel that” . I’ve done both sides. It’ll make you a damn good pilot and some people love this job and to each is on but that story is one of many. I’ve got my foot out the door of 135 and into121 where I can hang my hat. A lot of work rules at regionals suck and and so does commuting but I’ll match my best day against your worst any day of the year. Best of luck

Currently 27, a girlfriend, no kids and certainly not afraid of working hard but stories like that are what make me nervous. 121 has its days but for the most part is pretty easy and can say “not my problem”. Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated!

Thanks for the reply, that seems to be the consensus from what I’ve gathered!

A few things on this. There is some good info here, but it’s very rarely like this. I can only speak to my experience, but this situation is absolutely worst case scenario. There will be a lot of changes and dynamic stuff happening but you may only encounter this type of scenario every few months if that, or ever. Also, you won’t have trips greater than 8 or 9 days long unless you choose to have that. So if that’s not your thing don’t worry too much. Other than that, we restock, and clean but we don’t do the flight planning (just verifying that everything is legal and safe), we do not arrange any hotels, cars, or airlines. Most passengers are very well behaved and don’t cause any issue seeing as they own part of the plane, but occasionally you’ll have ab issue. Again, not the norm. Finally, they won’t push you to do something that is absolutely not safe, or if you’re fatigued. It’s definitely a little more work than the regionals, but it’s really not all that much to be honest, and you’re treated better.

Again, just my two cents from my experience and what I’ve observed.

If your considering Netjets, this situation of working 9-15 days would NOT apply. The most you can work is 7, unless you bid the 8 on 6 off schedule. The only other way beside bidding the 8/6 to work more than 7 days is to volunteer. The max you can ever work at Netjets is 11 days, but you’d have to volunteer for that specific tour to be 11 days. Those are pretty hard to come by right now with the lack of extended days being offered.


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If you want easy, go 121. If you want fun, fly fractional.

I don’t know if this poster works for Flex or not, but this post is not representative of what life is like at Flexjet. There are plenty of long days and you’ll work hard here, but the above post is absolutely full of misinformation designed to put forth an unrealistically harsh view of the company. I’ve been 135/91K my entire career so I can’t speak to the transition from 121 regionals to Flex but there are plenty of people here on the seniority list who have come from regionals and I’ve flown with plenty who rarely if ever regret making the move. Most will stay here for a year or two then head off to the major/legacy of their choice.

Best of luck with your upcoming interview. It’s a good company and outside of NJ (depending on what you want) there’s no place better to be on this side of the industry.

Thanks for the reply, appreciate it!