not sure....but fdx has many lines which are out and backs..am and pm...home every day....i know a guy who has not overnighted in a hotel for 10 years!...he only flies pm out and backs...leaves at 2pm...home at 1130pm...

 

Is that a very senior bid?

 

Don't forget Allegiant. They have almost all out and backs.

 

pm..yes am..not really...but i know a few who do them during the school year...home at 8am...kids off to school..sleep great!...awake when kids come home..eat dinner...kids to bed..nap..off to work!

 

The funny thing about NJ guys is they say that they don't commute, but as I see it, most guys commute to and from work on every schedule. Just because you have a positive space ticket to get you where you are going doesn't make it anything less than a commute. I drive to the airport to work a trip. It takes me 15 minutes and I guess that is a commute too.[/quote]

Totally different!! First you are commuting on company time....NOT YOUR OWN TIME, and your getting paid for it. Plus it is the responsibility of your company to get you to where you need to be, not yours. There is no stress or worry about getting to base on time with cancellations or pushing your luck.

Yes, you still might be sitting on an airplane twice a week, but it is not like communting on a 121.

 

Working under the OLD contract was VERY different than under the new one.
The new contract is VERY different...pay...schedules...etc.
The new working conditions are somewhat different than they were years ago.

Having said that, SWA ROCKS !!! There are only 3 airlines that I "would have" left for my current position at NJA...SWA, UPS or FEDEX...in that order. Why not now ? Because of age (over 40) and commuting...it sucks.

As for the "commuting" argument above, you are COMMUTING when it is on YOUR TIME and YOUR DIME. When you airline from home, on the company's TIME and DIME, it's just part of your duty day


Congrats on the SWA job

 

Great responses to my post. I think these are helpful to folks trying to decide between airline/nj. My point is not to push one or the other but to state why I left NJ. The truth is that if that '05 contract had offered less money but better schedule options it would have been a much tougher decision to leave.

I am a commuter, by the way. However, I probably have one of the easiest commutes in the airline industry. I drive an hour to the airport and fly an hour and a half to my domicile. There are plenty of flights and I sit in the cabin nearly every flight. SWA has a great commuter policy as well so I really don't stress about making it or not. Having said that, commuting does add some additional nights away from home, but even with that I like the schedule better. Lately I have had a couple of commutable lines which means no extra nights away but they are rare. Who knows, I may eventually move to a domicile but for now I have a good set up and the family is happy. After all that moving in the military this is great to me.

As for working hard at NJ, I was in the Ultra which was the "entry level" jet for NJ at the time and we worked alot. Anywhere from 4-6 legs a day was common. Though as someone stated many weeks were easy, especially if you got an aircraft with mx issues.

I think the stability at NJ is better at the airlines, because rich folks get hooked on having thier own airplanes like crack cocaine. On the other hand, even NJ has threats (Very light jets, environmental concerns) But lets face it, we all, NJ or airline or corporate or crop duster, chose a shaky profession to be in. We just make the best decisions for our family and enjoy the good times when we can.

For those of you trying to decide what jobs to shoot for here is some unsolicited advice: flying jobs rest on a tripod made of SSS. Salary, Security, and Schedule. Usually one of the three is missing, so you either try to find the one that's most important to you get that job, or a comfortable combination of the three. So far at SWA I have them, but no guarantees exist.

Finally, I used "homeskool" as a joke, given that its image in some folks eyes is of a shoddy education, whereas our experience is that most of the kids we knew were very smart. Our kids are no longer homeskooled but we have the utmost respect for those who are. No offense taken, BTW.

Thanks again for the great, and for a message board very respectful, replies. I wasn't sure of the responses I was going to get and fully expected to take some heat rounds, but this has been a pleasant surprise.

Seacrest out!

 

Great thread!

Having worked at JetBlue and now NJA I get asked all the time by fellow pilots in my reserve squadron which route they should take. Of course I can't answer for them but I can certainly give them a detailed list of the pros/cons of each, at least in my view.

For me, commuting is the deciding factor with regard to the airlines. If you live in a domicile or are willing to move to one, then go for it. Commuting? NJA all the way! I can tell you the ability to choose from 100 crew bases and be able to change with 30 days notice is incredible.

I live about an hour from a SWA domicile (BWI) and if offered a job there I would certainly think long and hard about it. If I had to commute, I wouldn't even consider it.

Best of luck to everyone in this chaotic industry!

 

Hi!

Allegient and USA 3000 (both if you live IN BASE) are home every night. I know there are more jobs like that, but I can't think of any off the top of my head.

cliff
GRB

 

Minor correction. NetJets (Executive Jet Aviation) did furlough pilots in the late 80s.

Santini. The difference is that NetJets guys are on the clock when they are riding space positive. If there is a NJA guy riding in the back he is being paid for it and he is not traveling on a day off. He is also earning FF points to get space positive tickets for the wife and kiddie's next vacation. If I drive :30 min to the airport I start getting paid when I park the car.

As has been mentioned, NJA is not for everyone. If you have an uncontrollable need to know where you will be at 2pm next week, this is not the job for you. The 7/7 for my wife and kids is great. I can’t see how spending 24 hrs a day for a week is bad but some families don’t like it at all. Some guys like having Weekend start days, I don’t like them at all. If you like flying to hundreds of different cities instead of the same 12 cities each month, then you might like it here.

However, the lifetime earnings at NJA far exceed either of those.