I think it’s becsuse guys with no 121 time current or otherwise, don’t know 121. I had to learn 121 AND a new type. It was all new to me, and it was challenging. Obviously I got through it but 135 is such a mixed bag, the bottom feeder crap 135 and NJA are wrapped into the same category according to some airlines. It’s all 135, it’s all weird, and therefore we would rather hire 121.

Plus all things aside. It makes sense to hire 121 pilots for a 121 job. Where the military gets his preference I have no idea, as a whole they are some of the crappiest people to fly with.

 

Wow. You lost me at the last sentence. That's not characteristic of you to make such a broad generalization. A better way to word it would have been: "in my experience..."

 

Yes, that makes total sense.

 

Yea it was a pretty pointed comment. I guess I meant that if you were to take all the different walks of pilot, it seems I hear more stigma about military aviators than everywhere else, and I can understand given my experience civilian, and being prior Navy in the Hornet community.

 

I’m usually not one to defend Netjets, but I feel it’s appropriate to balance some of the negative comments about the place. In my experience, NJA has afforded me a great QOL. Yeah the pay is kinda mediocre by legacy standards, the upgrade picture is bleak to non-existent, and the days can be long and the overnights can be short.

However, let me say a lot of the bad depends on the situation such as the week, or the season, or where you choose to live.
I live in BZN and I rarely work day 1 or last day. That’s huge. I often make overtime on day 1 without having to lift a single work finger. I typically airline first class due to my airline status too. There have been a few tours where I got paid to stay at home! I work a mix of 52 day schedule and 72 day. By earning 1 PTO day a month while on the 52 day, I usually have plenty in the bank to take some of the pain off the 72 day! I can also choose to pick up an extra work day or two at premium pay if I need a few extra $$$. I’m thinking they will be soliciting more volunteers here shortly since staffing has gotten so tight.

Health benefits are great. You’ll spend very little out of pocket and there are no premiums coming out of your paycheck.

Hotel points and airline miles make for some fancy and mostly free vacations! Fuel points usually pay for some very nice Xmas presents.

I make holiday pay, the airlines still haven’t discovered that perk.

Another part I like is I don’t spend countless hours flying every year. I average 350 flight hours in a very busy fleet (ironically the 350!). In my 121 days, I was flying twice that amount. The variety of flying keeps you fresh too and it’s not always the same places and layovers.....

Yeah, there’s a lot of crap you sometimes have to deal with, but there are avenues one can use to make your days and work load easier. Getting tired and think you can use a few extra hours to get some quality rest? Call in fatigued. Is the cabin trashed and the lav a biohazard site? Request a cleaning crew and walk away. Not getting along with your partner? Call your ACP and explain it’s not a good match. Did your crew food not show up, look disgusting, or is not what you ordered? Call and get a meal deviation and you can eat at any restaurant of your choice and get a meal credit.
These are all little things that some pilots forget they have at their disposal but when properly used can make a painful day at NJA a rare thing.....

Now as far as coming to work at NJA and living in a big base or hub, I would say be ready to work a lot and you’d be better off doing the 121 thing. For those living in remote bases though and dreading having to commute, NJA is a prime destination. To each their own!

 

Basically what I've been saying since before I even left NJA. NJA definitely works for out of the way or low cost of living cities.

Bozeman, Columbus, Des Moines, Bristol, Burlington.
Cities that would be tough to commute from, if you want to live in a log cabin with no cell service, or you pay $100sq/ft to live in a nice area with great schools - then you have incentive to look at NJA as a destination.

 

BZN is actually a good airport for commuting all things considered.

 

Not if you consider the load factors! I’ve seen a lot of pilots show up for a flight that only has 1 jumpseat available.

 

Yea you’d have to be high priority to have good luck commuting from there.

 

In all seriousness, what did you find so challenging about 121 ops?

It has been, hands down, the easiest flying and training that I’ve ever done.

As for military pilots, I guess they figure if we can fly point A to B and put warheads on foreheads or whatever assigned mission, than it shouldn’t be a problem going point A to B in a highly scripted 121 environment with another mouth breather in the cockpit.

You will have to teach the Navy folks how to flare for landing, however.