ExtendedDays

DPJ isn’t going away. DAL sold most of it off to WU but Delta is still involved.

Guard

I'd avoid NJA, they preach one thing and practice another, returning to a lot of the old labor issues. Got a call from CP after two fatigue calls, was basically a warning that I was still on probation, avoid!

LJ JE

NJA pilots spend ALOT of time sitting standby at the FBO maximizing their 14 hour duty days. At XO, you'll spend all that time at the hotel with your rental car. What that's worth to you is a personal decision, but should definitely be a big consideration.

ExtendedDays

Having worked 135 jobs similar in operation in XO, and having worked for NJA, I can say that daily QOL at work is very low at NJA. No rental car and you will have a 12 hour duty day, almost guaranteed. I loved the days of flying charter, getting a 3 day trip somewhere, and having a rental car.

Das Auto

Decade of 7&7 vs 8&6 though.

ExtendedDays

For sure. 8&6 is less time at home, that is 100% a fact. But knowing friends at XO and hearing their schedule, I think you will actually be less fatigued at the end of a work trip, than the average NJA trip. Not always the case, that's for sure, but it sounds very rare to do 4 legs a day, almost every day. I did 4 legs a day for 7 days on countless work weeks at NJA. On paper though, 7/7 sounds way better and does get you more time at home. I came home more often than not, needing 2 days to recover from the work week though.

KAluv85

I enjoyed my time at XO but don’t think you can go wrong with either choice. NJA is more of a career spot and most informed guys at XO will tell you that. Better Schedule, Pay, Vacation, 401k. Advantages of XO are better life on the road, only super mid fleet, and quick upgrades because guys are heading to Legacies, SWA and dream 91 gigs. Obviously guys are doing that last one at netjets but you’ll have less lifers to contend with.

There are slight differences between 91k of netjets and 135 of XO and passenger expectations. Think Time Share vs Airbnb.

As for WU just think of it this way a couple of xo guys have gone to NJA. A lot of Gama/DPJ/TMC have gone to XO and NJA. And 99% of XO and NJA guys would think about a desk job before going to Gama/DPJ/TMC. Good Luck!

AirBear

NJA is better for a career, XO better for fast upgrade if you're looking for PIC time and then move on. Also, NJA pilots are pretty happy right now, relative to the past. The company and union are working hard on quality of life issues. And keep in mind NJA has deep pockets via Berkshire Hathaway and will survive a recession just fine. That's one reason owners spend more $$ to go with NJA. Owner satisfaction and "likelihood to recommend" are nearing record high levels.

One of NJA's selling points is fast recovery times. To do that they need crews on airport standby. Typically if you're finished flying after an 8 or 9 hour day you'll spend some time on standby if there are flights in that part of the country that need a backup. I didn't mind it, most FBO's have nice crew areas and I had my laptop with me, never ran out of games to play or videos to watch. We rarely worked more than 12 hours unless there were wx or ATC delays.

There have been some disturbing reports of probationary pilots being hassled and even terminated over fatigue calls. Don't know the story with that, whether they were "gaming" the system or not. I do know many PIC's will help a probationary pilot out by making the fatigue call, or by finding some nitpick MX item to write up.

ExtendedDays

I won't argue anything else you said as it is opinion and/or not wrong. However this comment is completely inaccurate. NetJets had a long and hard furlough during the last recession. Another recession will impact NJA absolutely, it is a luxury item. The level of impact might be reduced but I wouldn't be so quick to say it would service a recession just fine.

Flyfalcons

But, NJA did in fact survive the last recession while other companies did not. A pilot looking at the fractionals may do well to compare debt vs assets at the above mentioned companies.....