B727DRVR

Hey Gazoom,

We have pilots who fly out of New Bern, NC, Dothan, AL, and in the middle of nowhere Lake of the Ozarks. I fly out of ILM, BNA, and SMF part-time.. Most of those places have only Regional service, but again, we have the most generous home basing policy in the Industry.

CapricornMan

The home base isn’t much of a concern.

Are you running 14hr duty days and min rest while on tour?

Most 135 ops are fatiguing pilots out.

Any thoughts are appreciated!

B727DRVR

Hey Capricorn,

I won't lie.. We definitely work hard here, especially in the XL and the Light Jets.. But it is doable, and I don't work any harder than any of my buds at Netjets, WUP, XO, etc. and we definitely work less than some. After 2 Min Rest days, we get Fatigue Mitigation with extended rest per the FCM/GOM: This isn't your do-it-or-your-fired, typical Part 135 from the 1990's. If you are tired, call fatigue! Our Chief Pilot and ACP's will support your decision.

We work hard, but we enjoy our time off with no commuting or training on days off unless you want to, no "Junior Manning", and you know your schedule a year in advance.. No 3, 8, 10, 12, etc. "hard" days off, UNLESS you have an owner trip, and then you HAVE to fly and move your "hard" day off to another day...: I never understood how those companies could possible refer to those days of as "hard".

But in a nutshell, yes, we definitely work hard, especially in the Excel. But not TOO hard.

Wolves81283

Looking at coming over to FE comparing it to going to endeavor. Lots of differences for sure.
what is the current vibe of the company? I am not sure long term goal but have a large family and most likely would want to go to a major or LCC after a few years, but also like the option of hanging my hat somewhere permanently. What are the thoughts of everyone here and I appreciate any input or advice

PilotodeFE

The new SVP of Flight Ops is a hopeful sign. Day to day is fine, pay is fine. Sounds like the biggest QoL on the road pain points (crew meals and hotel quality) are on the immediate to-do list for the new SVP of Flight Ops. But it also doesn't sound like a return to self-booking is coming, unfortunately. Communication in general often sucks between pilots and those at HQ. It takes too many layers and too long to accomplish things that are needed in short order to ensure smooth ops and good customer experiences.

Long-term I think people struggle to see movement to other fleets here. Supposedly a clearer, more defined process is being worked/published (as of now, on paper you just have a 2-year seat lock and then are "free" to move fleets at company need, but people have been stuck on lights and mids desiring supermid and heavy for a lot longer than two years)--if so that would help the longevity side of the equation. There were also some previous promotions to larger fleets that seemed to blatantly supersede seniority and were based on "who ya know," but I really would say a lot of that seemed tied up with the old SVP of Ops (who was himself a big pain point for a lot of pilots).

Mgmt has talked a lot of late about decreasing insurance costs for spouses/dependents in the near future, but nothing on that yet. 401k matching was doubled recently but still needs work.

I'm comfortable here day-to-day, but I'm not sure I see myself here forever without some relatively big, continuing improvements.

That said, between here and 9E? It depends on what you wanna do long-term anyway. 135 and airline flying are completely different beasts. I will say, you'll make a lot more here in the first years than you would at any regional, and you'll upgrade to solid pay quickly.

Gotham

What happened to WW?

B727DRVR

WW is still here, but he is back to mainly flying. Having been in high ranking positions for the majority of his career, he really came here just to fly. He reluctantly took the management positions here to help with fleet standardization and growth, but that was always supposed to be temporary. He has returned to flying mainly, which was always his main desire.

100LL

Hope this helps.

PilotodeFE

I gotta say if the implication is that FE is a bottom-feeder, then tbh you have never really worked at a bottom-feeder. A lot of things need changing and improvement, but as someone who has actually worked at a true ****box, this place is night/day.

B727DRVR

Ditto, Piloto!

I have been here 4 years next month and this place, already nice when I started here, has improved exponentially with regards to pay, benefits, ASAP, PAG, etc. We have gotten about a pay or QOL raise per month since June, and they are talking about another one shortly. The Company is like a wide receiver hearing the approaching footsteps of the defensive end (pilot shortage) from behind, and they have sought to get ahead of it.. In my opinion, they have attempted to step up and continue to try to improve out pay and QOL, especially as of late. While we still aren't "Netjets" for pay, benefits, and QOL, neither was Netjets, "Netjets" prior to their Contract '05 and subsequent ones.. They have come a long way since 2005, and every pilot in our Industry owes the NJASAP pilots a debt of gratitude for setting the standard for all of us to strive for.

You see, Piloto, 100LL is a troll who has made a career on here of bashing us, Wheels Up, etc. Like most trolls, we have no idea where he works, if he even flies, or if he is burning 100LL for fun or a career. Unlike pilots who clearly identify themselves on here.. "Left Seat UPS 767", "F/O AA 777 Intl", etc., we have no idea from 100LL's posting history of who he flies for, if anyone. But given his disdain for us and WUP, one can only imagine the Unicorn, rainbow sprinkles life that he must enjoy to consider WUP and us "bottom feeders"..

I survived life at a bottom feeder in the mid 1990's, and this is no bottom feeder.. If flyExlusive discovered the cure for the flu today, 100LL would bust on us for not discovering it last week, LOL...