Best thing I ever did for my family life was leave NJ for a major. I just started 4th year and the ability to manipulate my scheule to be home when I want is irreplaceable.

Living in an out of the way place and not commuting is a valid reason for going and staying at nj but nearly all the people I know who’ve left said it was a no brainer. Too each his own. Just my .02

I live in a major city hub. It just happens to be one of (if not the most) senior bases at the major airline that I’d consider. So I’d probably be a one leg commute to most other bases. But, it’s still a commute.

Being 4 years in, how many days off a month are you averaging? And are you at your desired domicile?

If it is a senior base at the airline you would consider, at least you would be commuting on company.

I also hit 4 years in at my airline, and I work typically 12 days a month. Even my first year I was working 14 days and getting above min credit. This is going to be very airline specific though.

What airline are you talking about, and what base? What DOH is the plug at your desired base?

Based in LA and commute from San Diego. LA is our junior base now which certainly helps my relative seniority in base but this month I’m tues-Thur pm trips. I am 16 days off for the month with 111 trips when the award came out. . I picked up a premium two day that paid me 24 trips this past weekend that had me home by 4pm the second day. Grand total 135 and 14 days off. To make that at nj I would be gone far to long for my taste and killing myself in the process. No thanks! Awards just came out for July and I’m a wed-fri start with pm starts.

I enjoyed my time there. I flew with some of the best pilots around and some of the absolute worst who have no business stepping foot near an airplane. All in all I’m thankful for my time and the friends I made there.

AA. CLT. Im not sure about the plug’s DOH.

The number 1 reason I left NJA was because of schedule flexibility. You simply won’t be able to move days around or get certain days, like weekends off, with consistency.

No matter we’re you go. You are going to miss stuff for the first couple of years by being junior. You’re going to have to realize that.

AA has a ton of retirements and will experience rapid movement. COVID struck fear into a lot of pilots concerning layoffs and viability, but it will return with major retirements.

also, don’t discount being able to bid overnights at home. I know some commuters that are home more than in base pilots. Although this most likely won’t be consistent either.

I will see if I can find out. That is worth finding out, as it will give you an idea of how long you have to commute and what your QOL is going to be like if you get hired there. Also, I assume you are at a wholly owned and plan on flowing potentially to AA?

This is a big one. I know several friends who commute from their home, and bid overnights at home. They spent 25 days a month in their own bed.

Thanks for all of the perspectives, everyone. I suppose the question that I have to ask myself is - do I want to be home the most (airlines), or do I want to have the most consistent schedule (NJ)?

That’s not an easy answer. My wife, of course, wants both. But that combination isn’t found in aviation. At least not any flying jobs. I’m sure that no matter which path we choose, we’ll be able to figure it out. I love flying, but my family will always come first.

If you don't want to have to think about how to get to work, NJA is a good fit. You can get hired at NJA, be based in CLT and choose the 7/7. You can essentially become a mindless robot when it comes to how and when you go to work, and when you are home. I mean that in a good way, but that has to be what your priority is in order to see it as a good thing. My priority was making more money and having more time off with the ability to have more flexibility, so NJA didn't fit.

Managing your days off, bidding, trading, dropping, picking up, potentially commuting, reserve etc. takes more time and energy to manage. You already know this as you do it, but at a major you can reap the benefits and if picking your days off, picking stretches of days off. A 25 year captain at NJA has to work the same amount of days as a new hire FO, there is no ability to bid for higher credit trips so you can have more days off. How much extra money you make is completely up to the company, not you.

There is no perfect fit and which ever way you choose, you will be thinking about the other option wondering if it was the better fit lol. I will say if flexibility and days off are your priority, NJA will not be your answer.