I'm kicking around the idea of leaving my regional job for Netjets. The main reason is the variety of flying combined with the longer career opportunity and the new contract. I am currently a 7 year E-170 Captain. I live in Columbus, so the Columbus base would be fine with me.

While in the long run it looks like I could make more with NJ, I'm trying to figure out how long it would take to recover from the initial paycut.

Also, what is a typical reserve schedule like.

Any thoughts, or advise would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

Take a look at the pay charts here on apc.com. If you would rather fly 7/7 than the trypical airline sked then this might work for you. The pay is here and so are the bennies! There are pleanty of commuter Capts. jumping ship every day but the fire hose is starting to slow down. If you start to apply today to NJA you may not hear anything for a month or so.

The good side is good starting pay, complete bennies paid for by Co, flying state of the art a/c (not that the E170 isn't,) NO MORE TSA (except when dead heading.)

The down side is very long days, short layovers, and kissing the rear of uptight pax.

I would suggest you get the ball rolling - get the interview - see the operation - and make a decision.

Good luck!!

Baja.

 

Upgrade at Flex would be sooner.

 

The down side is very long days, short layovers, and kissing the rear of uptight pax.

Baja, just curious, did you happen to convey this attitude in your last interview with NetJets? Every job has its downside, yet "kissing the rear of uptight pax" has never been a part of the job.

The good side is good starting pay, complete bennies paid for by Co, flying state of the art a/c (not that the E170 isn't,) NO MORE TSA (except when dead heading.)

State of the art?, How do you define that?.
Many at NJA who do Jepp pub. revisions, or watch a mechanic load their Nav DB with a 3.5 floppy would disagree with you. IMHO, it would better to keep your expectations to a more reasonable level.
TSA hassles are more of an exception than the rule.
What's more common, is the nasty, rude, airline folks who hate their jobs and take it out on their pax.

 

Without more infor about you I can't say whether you will be happy @ (or is a wise move to) NJ or not.

Here's what I will say.

CMH
Plus - If this is home, you have the benefit of not having to commute or move to one of only 4 other choices.

Minus - The guys in CMH tend to get beat-up just a bit more because you are closer to much of the action. This means possible early day 1 shows and perhaps ferrying the plane home late on your last day. This isn't everytime, all the time, but more than some other locations.

Look @ the paychart to see how much you might loose by starting off. I'm not sure of the upgrade times now for new hires, but I would guess you could hold a PIC slot within 2-3 yrs if not sooner. The pay is much better and almost up to standard. With a 7&7 sched, vacation = 21 days off.

Can you handle a changing schedule? I had a friend come here from the airlines and could not stand that from the time he left the hotel until he got to the plane his day had changed sometimes more than 2 times. You must be flexible. I enjoy going to new airports. The really interesting ones have numbers in the identifier.

The pax. 99% of the pax are great people. Your job is to make the experience of flying on a private. This may mean you carry thier bags or offer a beverage before you leave the chocks. Be polite and friendly. Most will respond the same way. In the smaller fleets, most help themselves to whatever catering they have. If this is too much a--kissing, then it may not be for you. I have heard of instances where pax become abusive. The company will back you on safety issues.

The TSA is great job security. Our pax pay to not be "gate raped". There is little job securtiy in avaition, but the owners have money and will most likely have money long after the general public can't afford to fly.

I hope this has helped.

 

G2Baja, would you mind a vector to the pay charts you ref above "here on apc.com"? thx.

 

I've been at NJA for quite a while, flew for Express 1 (pinnacle now) and Airtran. All I can say is this job blows the others away, specially now that the contract is done. I've never felt I've As*kissed anyone, the campnay has always had our back when there are as*hole pax, NJA has even given owners there $ back and said see ya, we have owners ona waiting list don't need to deal with you.
Busy days are the norm, and after a year or 2 I now enjoy the changes and the fact that everyday is different. Future is bright, pay is almost right. I know everyone in my new hire class will make 120k (7years) without working but a handful of exteneded days. Every week you pocket at least $300 in per diem and expenses tax free due to crew meals and rembursements.

 

Sounds great to me. I've done the cargo 747 bit and now I am currently at Jetblue. Netjets contract beats them all.

 

Had a college buddy leave NJ for JB. He hated that the daily schedule was always changing.

 

Upgrade will be 2 to 3 years if the stars align perfectly- continued massive hiring along with lots of aircraft deliveries, lots (hundreds) of pilots retiring, and the continuation of the current captain to fo ration of about 2 to 1. Don't bank on upgrading fast, but at least you start much better than the regionals and the benefits are very, very good. You should be able to bank at least an extra $1000 a month in perdiem and overtime and if you get the Excel you can bank another $225 a month as an FO. You should be able to break 50K on 7 + 7 without trying too hard and if you are a real gogetter you should be able to break 60K first year if you stay on 18 day schedules and work the holidays and extend here and there. I was a 5th year jungle jet captain and while I will make less until I upgrade, I will blow away the regional pay as soon as I upgrade and with the benefits it is no comparison. CMH will probably have a lot of early shows day one, but that just means more overtime since you are on overtime for everything before 8am and anything over 9 hours of duty on day one.

The schedule will ALWAYS change from day to day while you are on duty. Don't come if that bothers you. I love the variety and I like changes, but not everyone is happy with that and there are definitely exairline guys here who complain about that- it blows my mind and ****es me off when I here that though since I can't believe anyone wouldn't know that is how it is before they ever even interview. So far it was a great change for me and with the uncertainty and decline in the airline industry right now I am really surprised that there aren't a lot more guys leaving for NJ.