Late career advice
 

Gents,
I realize that the whole fractional vs Legacy debate has been thoroughly beaten to death. However, I’m in my late fifties, retiring very soon and looking at offers from a fractional and Legacy. I’m still very much on the fence about where to land. I’ll be a commuter at either option however life just seems better at a fractional at this point. 6.5 years at a legacy or whatever I want at a fractional. If I was in my 40’s it’s a no brainer. I get it.
Almost all of these comparisons historically have been younger guys without a pension.
WWYD?

Legacy. NBFO life still a better gig that fractional. If you were 63 and wanting to work to 70, I would say frax.

Big missing piece is how your commute would look for the legacy.

Majors retire at 65. If you want to continue flying until 70 NetJets is a great option. If you want to fly after 70 FlexJets is the best option.

You can try to fly for the majors, maybe make 737/320 CA before you retire, after flying w/b FO for a couple of years, which is a nice cherry on top of a career cake. But that makes it tougher getting to a fractional as they're not that keen on ex-121 pilots. Sometimes they hire but often it's a tough road to get down.

Depends on the legacy though. If he has 6.5 years left, he won't see WB FO at AA before he retires.

WB FO is going to folks with barely 3 years on property; thatll probably go up yes, since joke of a delivery/defer schedule, seniors bidding it and pushing him down, but not improbable for the OP.

Big picture being, if it was me? Legacy. Better earnings, better day-to-day work, better schedule even when junior, better retirement/disability/union benefits.

Im younger, but did the frac stuff and you don't want it where you are. Everyone says oh, shiny nice bizjet, tropical beach layover, blah blah. No one mentions your 7 day cycle, with 4 to 5 legs a day, tossing bags in the heat/rain/sleet, 0300 wakeups in BFE to get to the jet and the catering is messed up and there is no fuel truck and its all not your fault but its on you to fix and then the owner is blaming you, then grind through 14 hr duty day, then have them say hey, we need you to repo the jet for tmw so its 91 so your duty day ain't no thang...

Hardest of hard passes bud. Go legacy! Good luck.

The idea that the legacies are always the answer does some folks a disservice

I’m not recommending one over the other because personal preference plays into it, but your statement above is not correct. Home based is not the same as commuting…in a LOT of ways.

If it has any bearing, I’m 64, came back into the cockpit at 57, and fly for a fractional. I love it! Yes, it’s probably way harder than flying for a legacy, but for me it was absolutely the right choice.

First question to ask yourself is do uyou see yourself flying past 65.....If so 135/fractional is the way to go. NJ is the only company with an age limit and that is 70. In addition to being able to fly past 65, you also are likely to get a type rating in a jet that would help you get a 91 gig when you decide to slow down. MAny of the larger fractionals are not really considering retired airline guys anymore. The other consideration is where you live. You said you would commute "in either case" however, what type of commute are you looking at for the airlines? If you live in a small area with a regional airport and the junior bases at the airline you are looking at are not easy commutes (say sticks of Alabama with Jr. domicile LGA/JFK), makes the decisions easier. If you are at an airport that is not a domicile for your fractional, that makes the decision easier. There is no blanket do this or that. Its your QOL that nobody has asked about.

Fractional all day long.
Quality of life matters, you’re not a crash pad spring chicken anymore.

Frational and QOL should never go in the same sentence.