NJ for Families in 21 and Beyond
#21
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2020
Posts: 378
You live in CLT? Total no brainer. Go to AA.
on the 7/7 at NJA you will make 100K?? IDK, not even sure they make 100K. Lets say 100K. I can make 100K working at AA, 2 years in, by only working 100 days or less (100 days assuming minimum pay days for 100 days). 100 days/12: 8 days of work to equal the same money you would make at NJA as an FO on the 7/7 being gone 15 days a month. average calender day is 5:15 here, $161 per hour plus 16% 401K is just shy of $1000 ($984 to be exact). That is if your trip is minimum pay. On the other end of the spectrum there are turns that pay 8 plus hours per day. I did a turn the other day that paid $1600.
Anyways, have you ever flown charter, part 135, or corporate? It can suck. Same idiot captain for 7 straight days. Cleaning the plane, hauling bags, sitting at the FBO on standby.
Guys work more at AA because they want to make more but they dont have to. Especially when thinking about jumping to some non 121 gig such as NJA or corporate. Until this pandemic hit I did zero days of reserve. ZERO. Straight to a line in NYC out of training and it will be the same for you. This idea you will on short call reserve for 18 days in NYC for years is BS. Maybe a month or two, maybe. Too many retirements and too much upcoming movement. All the east coast US airway bases have the most retirements upcoming, especially CLT and they are growing CLT.
Here is the other thing for family life. You can call off sick if you need to make an especially important event. Try doing that in the middle of a trip at NJA.
on the 7/7 at NJA you will make 100K?? IDK, not even sure they make 100K. Lets say 100K. I can make 100K working at AA, 2 years in, by only working 100 days or less (100 days assuming minimum pay days for 100 days). 100 days/12: 8 days of work to equal the same money you would make at NJA as an FO on the 7/7 being gone 15 days a month. average calender day is 5:15 here, $161 per hour plus 16% 401K is just shy of $1000 ($984 to be exact). That is if your trip is minimum pay. On the other end of the spectrum there are turns that pay 8 plus hours per day. I did a turn the other day that paid $1600.
Anyways, have you ever flown charter, part 135, or corporate? It can suck. Same idiot captain for 7 straight days. Cleaning the plane, hauling bags, sitting at the FBO on standby.
Guys work more at AA because they want to make more but they dont have to. Especially when thinking about jumping to some non 121 gig such as NJA or corporate. Until this pandemic hit I did zero days of reserve. ZERO. Straight to a line in NYC out of training and it will be the same for you. This idea you will on short call reserve for 18 days in NYC for years is BS. Maybe a month or two, maybe. Too many retirements and too much upcoming movement. All the east coast US airway bases have the most retirements upcoming, especially CLT and they are growing CLT.
Here is the other thing for family life. You can call off sick if you need to make an especially important event. Try doing that in the middle of a trip at NJA.
#26
Gets Weekends Off
Thread Starter
Joined APC: Jun 2013
Posts: 110
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.
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.
IMO, there’s a big difference between flexibility and predictability. AA offers flexibility, to be sure. But how much of an investment is required to live in your desired base and have a predictable schedule? I’m not against AA. I have do have friends there. But each of them who are recent hires are commuting to reserve. None can hold Charlotte.
#27
Thank you. That’s some great information.
IMO, there’s a big difference between flexibility and predictability. AA offers flexibility, to be sure. But how much of an investment is required to live in your desired base and have a predictable schedule? I’m not against AA. I have do have friends there. But each of them who are recent hires are commuting to reserve. None can hold Charlotte.
IMO, there’s a big difference between flexibility and predictability. AA offers flexibility, to be sure. But how much of an investment is required to live in your desired base and have a predictable schedule? I’m not against AA. I have do have friends there. But each of them who are recent hires are commuting to reserve. None can hold Charlotte.
If you want to know 6 months from now that you have Tuesday off, but don't mind being dragged around like a piece of meat for 7 days on the road when you do work, NJA will be a good fit. If you don't do well with constant changes and running around for 12 hours a day, for 7 days, then you will burn out at NJA quick.
#30
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2015
Posts: 201
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