TomSaab3

Is there anyone out there (post contract new hires) that does the commutting thing with netJets? If so, here are a few questions. Any Feed back would be appreciated.

-What are your 1st day show times typically?
-what is the anticipated upgrade time?
-What is the Jr. piece of equiptment
-What is the Jr. Domicile?

lpcunity

Well I'm very new here at NJA and not yet even out on the line but I know some pilots who will commute and most of them have jumpseat. I know that living in the city you are based will lead to a better quality of life. The 1st day show time will be in the morning, so you will need to get in the night before and have somewhere to stay. NJA does not require you to live anywhere near you base. The upgrade time might be 2 years and it might be longer. The Jr. AC can be almost any AC (not the BBJ or FA 2000EX) and they all pay the same except the Excel/XLS gets more, about 300? a month. LA is where they are looking for people but people in my class were at all bases. NJA is a great company and I'm stolked to be here.

Bengalsfan

Remember that there is now the 2 year domicile lock, and you at least have the chance of switching domiciles after 2 years.

Anybody know how successful people been trying to change domiciles?

ToiletDuck

All iknow is that my old instructor works there and after working for regionals for a few years he is as happy and one could be. He said he'd walk anyone's application into that company.

jtf560

I believe the domicile lock is only after you switch. I'm pretty sure you can get hired into one domicile and then change when a slot is available and then you start the 2 year domicile lock. That lock doesn't keep you from upgrading into a different domicile if you can hold the upgrade before your domicile lock is over.

jetlag7

Hey Tom!

I was hired in January (post contract) so I'll try to hit each of your questions.

First day show is always in the morning -- if you plan to commute, you're gonna' have to get yourself to your domicile the night before.

Upgrades??? Well, now that's the "Million Dollar" question. There are about 2600 pilots on the seniority list and word is we plan to hire another 400 in 2007. There was an upgrade class a few weeks back with guys in the high 1800's for the CE-560 Ultra. (For comparison, when I was hired in January, upgrades were around the 1300 mark.) When I was hired, everyone was saying 3 - 5 years, but I'm not so sure right now. At least for me, it's looking more like I'll see a class by my 2-year anniversary.

Jr. Equipment -- we've got "Senior Pappa's" in just about every fleet, but most of those guys seem to steer away from equipment sans APU. If I had to pick, I'd say the before mentioned Ultra and the BE-400 Hawker seem to provide a home for our more Junior Captains. (my first upgrade will most likely be in one of those fleets)

Junior Domicile -- Early on, they were letting us pick which domicile we wanted from the list, but nowadays I hear they're just assigning newhires wherever there is a need. (assigning pilot domiciles when we have a fleet of "homeless" airplanes doesn't really make sense to me, but I'm not paid to ponder that mystery... )

Commuting -- although there is no requirement to live at your domicile, I went ahead and moved to mine. (I commuted for 10 years with the airlines and I didn't want to put up with it anymore)

A good friend of mine lives in RDU and commutes to PBI. (another new-hire who got on post-contract) He's on the 7/7 schedule, and can predict his work schedule more than a year in advance. (just have to count every other week as a work week on the calendar) He buys one-way tix on SouthWest 3 months out for like $60 bucks a pop to commute in to his "crashpad" the night before he's on duty. On his last day, when the company books his airline ticket back to PBI (his domicile), he gets the ticket switched to RDU and pays the difference in fare. (if any) Since he has to make the commute twice a month, he's out $120 bucks or so for two one-way tickets.

It stinks having to pay for tickets, but anyone who has ever been "bumped" while jumpseating can appreciate the piece of mind a ticket with a guaranteed seat can bring. Also, since he's buying tickets, he's eligible for Frequent Flyer programs. (SouthWest, has something like every 10th ticket is free) Over time, this can lower the cost of commuting significantly.

Anyways, hope this helps!!

mooneymite

My advice to anyone contemplating working for NetJets and commuting: Don't.

I live in ATL and commute to PBI. Every 7 day trip becomes a 8/9 day trip. Your 7 days off are really 5 off. The company does not do anything to help a commuter...they expect you to be in your base when you start and they can technically start you pretty early in the wee hours.

At the end of your trip, you are transported back to your domicile, or you can be released where you happen to be at the end of your trip, but you have to get your own way home. While it is true that you can claim expenses up to the cost of the "dummy ticket", try getting a last minute, walk-up fare home and then pay the $20 surcharge. It hasn't worked for me unless I happen to be released within a rental car drive of home.

I've seen NetJets pay $900 to buy me a ticket to FLL and then $50 for a rental car to PBI to get me home, when the airfare to ATL available to them at the time of booking was $380. They sent me to PBI.

NetJets is great, but it is not commuter friendly.

Don't do what I'm doing. Just plan on living in the domicile.

familyman

That atlanta to pbi commute must be awful. I feel your pain brother.
Hopefully nja will give everyone hba again. The talk is it might happen
before the new contract negotiations.

I commute as well but not nearly as long. My drive is exactly 3hrs. 40 minutes. Honestly, it hasn't been bad at all. Although, I've only held
a line for a month now. It beats moving. The real estate market here is in the
pitts. I drive and make all the phone calls that I can't get to when I'm
flying or at home w/ the family. I leave the night before my trip starts and
use the hotel points to book my room.

LAfrequentflyer

What do you do on your 7 days off? Can you CFI? Can you work part-time at Best-Buy or something like that to have a few extra $$$.

mooneymite

You may do whatever you choose. The only stipulation is that if you fly commercially, that you report the number of hours flown to your chief pilot to make sure you don't exceed FAR's.

I don't think they'd be in favor of flying for another fractional!