As you know, NJASAP has been unable to negotiate in Section 6. Instead, they have used IBB and have fallen behind Legacy/QOL considerably in recent years. In addition, I've only ever seen one pilot union attempt to destroy members in good standing that disagree with them: NJASAP.

I wasn't comfortable with NJASAP or the collective decisions of the NJA pilot group determining my fate. There is much more solidarity with ALPA, much less corruption and they are more more effective. ALPA isn't perfect -- but I'm a happy and proud union member. They are much more aggressive and willing to fight for my best interests.

NJASAP currently has zero leverage to negotiate any improvements to anything. The company has owned the union due to the toxic culture and political failures. There is no chance of improvement. Zero.

In hindsight it was a very good decision to leave, although there were significant stressors that first two years after the transition.

I am at home much more than I was at NJA. This can't be stressed enough.

Work is much less stressful.

The biggest pro is the pilot group is more professional and I'm at home much more.

Cons: training, vacation, medical insurance, red eyes and the crew food at the airlines is absolutely abhorrent.

The pay is probably 30-40% more at legacies comparing apples-to-apples (considering time spent at work). It may not last, the economy and global political events are often unpredictable.

Being home much more may have a significant impact in your marriage. That may be a good thing, that may not.

NetJets is a very good company. I'm glad they were around during the last decade. NJA pilots were making more than legacy pilots then and had more stability during the decade of on and off bankruptcies. But, after that period ended things changed.

Best wishes to you. If you decide to stay, NJA is a very nice career -- however I know I could never do anything close to 7-days on the road ever again listening to Pedro's ego driven lies. Years wasted...

 

I remember being a senior CA at a regional with a wife and house full of young kids. I was comfortable and questioned leaving for a major. I took the leap and took a huge paycut and had to commute for a while. It sucked.

Fast forward to today, I am home an insane amount of time, have a great retirement, love my job, travel with the family, and put my kids through college. I didn't know it at the time, but that temporary pain of moving on would be one of the best decisions of my life.

i know comparing Netjets with a regional CA isn’t a great comparison, but if time at home, schedule flexibility, pay and retirement are top priorities, you get the idea.

 

I called out NJASAP on APC a decade ago go for their BS as we went into the super contentious negotiations, and got filleted for it. I can't believe Pedro and that NC and MEC have lasted as long as they have. Super garbage and corrupt union. I wonder how many of them have changed their tune now....

 

Thanks for all the great advice and feedback. I’m working on my app right now. This has been a huge help.

 

Former corporate guy here—interacted with a lot of NJ folks at FSI recurrents. In my opinion you can’t beat the long term financial and retirement gains the majors offer. Direct contribution plans, 401k, travel benefits, etc. A 25 year career is a multimillion dollar retirement program.

 

I left NJA at yr 14. As posted above, I was tired of the long duty days and body clock swaps. Yes, I fatigued at least once a tour. I left for SWA at the tail end of 2017. My schedule / life is way better now. I also live in DFW. My Wife is an FO at AA. I would reccomend trying AA hard. They have tons of retirements and honestly, you have 3 years commuting at SWA before you can get back to DAL.

 

Additionally, it's important to mention that there are no guarantees. While a transfer to a major airline from a fractional is likely to lead to a better long term life, nothing is certain.

A NJA pilot that went to Spirit years ago might be regretting their decision now.

Best case scenario it will take several years to break even and ideally you won't have to commute.

Good luck with your decisions.and opportunities.

NetJets shines when the airlines are all bankrupt. History has a funny way of repeating itself, unfortunately.

 

Nothing is certain at NJA either. They furloughed as a result of 2008 like everyone else did. I am almost certain that there are fewer pilots on property now at NJA than there were in 2015.

 

The Big Four (and probably AS too) are now quite literally too big to fail. Likely worst case, you could get furloughed for a while.

If any of those airlines actually liquidate, we'd have bigger problems anyway (WW-III, asteroid impact, etc).

With that said, going to bottom of a large list right now carries a non-trivial risk of furlough, but that's a calculation you'd have to make in light of the benefit over a career (remaining career duration matters). Good news is there are still enough retirements to get you at lease out of the furlough risk red zone relatively quickly.

WSJ is now reporting that the economy is looking more and more like a successful soft landing, so that plus retirements reduces furlough odds.

 

Spirit is not a Legacy and he’s asking about AA / SWA in Dallas. That’s a slam dunk easy decision with the only downside being the first year. Once he’s living in base for a Legacy life is so good that you can’t comment unless you’ve lived it. Perspective is nice when it’s apples to apples but NJA / Flex aren’t in the same category as a Legacy airline, that’s an apples to oranges comparison.

if you made the decision to stay vs leave then I’m glad it works for you but seems like for those that have left it’s been easy decision and the right one.