Navajo31

Ditto. Flex has been great for me so far: much more variety than the airlines, much less whining among the pilots and other staff members. The 300 is a great plane, growing fleet, meaning quick movement up the seniority list (away from 6 days rotations to 4 days). You must be flexible (pun intended!) with schedule changes a daily occurance. You will handle bags, clean the cabin, restock the plane. But for most pilots, this is the best deal going!

rickair7777

A fractional is probably better compensated and more enjoyable at first, but there are a few long-term considerations:

- At a regional or major you should be eventually able to bid trips that get you home pretty much every night. At a fractional, you are generally 7-on / 7-off with little or no opportunity to bid for specific layovers. For a family it might be better to be senior at a 121 operation.

- Do you want to work at a major someday? Regional time will give you a slight edge due to your 121 experience and larger aircraft.

- Travel: If you like to do personal travel, regional non-rev privileges can be huge. My semi-retired parents go somewhere monthly, and my wife and I go everytime we can. I use over $30K per year in non-rev bennies. I think most folks don't get near as much value out of it as I do, all depends on what you like to do.

- Stability: I think fractionals might be more stable than the average regional, since fractionals have customers, while regionals just have contracts. Increased congestion, NAS revisions, and slot rationing might impact fractionals, but I suspect they would simply fly more into under-utilized secondary fields.

jelloy683

That's kind of the same situation I'm stuck in. I'm finishing up flight school, and I've currently bee offered a job to work in Spain as a corporate pilot,(rich friend's dad owns Eclipse Aviation) however I'm struggling wondering if i should stay here and do the regional gig or jump over to Europe. I'm wondering what's better for my long term career, which is flying for the majors here.

Rickair, somebody just brought up that same point the other day regarding the bennies. Yeh, you get paid more doing corporate, but you dont get the travel passes, so take away whatever you have to pay for travel from your annual salary, and it ends up pretty close (depending on the person)

rickair7777

I know people who almost never use the bennies, and it's a lot harder with multiple little kids. My immediate family and I don't even need passes on DAL and UAL, just eticket ourselves online or do it via phone. I really only count fun travel as a bennie, not commuting although living where you want counts for something. Like you said, the value depends on the person.

UCLAbruins

You fly for a freek***g regional, a turbo-prop regional of all things, and having trouble deciding whether to take the Flexjet job??? wow, If I was in your shoes, I would jump all over that.

Flexjet has the backing of Bombardier, talk about job security. Not to mention the CL 300 is my favorite airplane in the world (obviously the airplane is not a reason to take/leave a job), just icing on the cake.

SharkAir

I'd like to think that I could go to Flexjet (but that's perhaps a big assumption), but I still don't think I would just because I'd hate the schedule too much. But then, I have a family and some other constraints. I suppose if I were single and free to do as I wish I'd probably go there if I had the opportunity.

oldschoollear

Has Flex considered adding bases? I have heard they frown on commuting.

Bill Lumberg

Is Flexjet still planning to add Lear 60XRs (Pro Line 21 equipped Lear 60s)? If so, how many total and how many added in 2008?

highnpressurizd

Unless you wont be happy flying anything but big airplanes, I'd go with Flex. However, if your undecided about that like I was when I made the move, wait until you have your 1000+ TPIC. I logged 1300+ before leaving my last job just to ensure that particular box would be checked at every potential employer. Another thing to consider is the time value of money. People often point out the higher pay at the end of a career with the Majors. In your first years at a good frac you'll make anywhere from 15-30k/year better than many majors. If you just invest that wisely, you'd most likely end up better off financially at an earlier point in your career than many mainline pilots. Also, with higher load factors, the travel benies aren't what they used to be (so I've been told, I've never flown 121). This is however just my humble opinion. You should weigh the factors carefully and decide what job will ofter the best quality of life for you and your family. Regardless of what some may say, money only goes so far in that regard.

Good Luck
HnP

FlyHappy

Why too many people telling you what to do. The real question is what do you want out of your career? You need to look at the pros and cons of both 121 and 91k flying. Then based on your research, make a decision that works for YOU, not what all these people are telling you that you MUST do. Some people leave 121 flying for the fractionals and hate it. Others come from 121 to fractionals and love it. It really depends on what you want. My only advice is that focusing on money like so many people on here do, is the worst way to make a decision. You really need to look at QOL issues, the type of flying and what fits best for YOU. You know what regionals are like, but have you really researched fractional flying? They are very different animals. Don't make a decision based only on what people on this board are telling you that you MUST do! A couple years ago, people on this board were telling everyone to stay away from NetJets, now everyone seems to think they're the greatest thing ever. Do what makes the most sense for you.