2StgTurbine

I don't know about a family of 4, but here is what I pay for myself:

$65 a month for:

High deductible plan ($3,000) with an HSA
Critical illness ($15,000)
Accident insurance ($40,000)
Dental
Vision
Life insurance ($80,000)
Long term disability

PilotLife4me

Thanks for the all the good info. I thought about applying a couple months ago but after reading the following qualification I decided not too. From DPJ's website for SIC positions:

Must be type-rated in the aircraft under consideration, preferably also current with some time in type, if not current, the last formal training (approved Part 142 training centers; Simuflite, Bombardier, Flight Safety Inc., etc.), Initial or Recurrent, must be within three years of hire date. Training within two to three years will require a Requalification course, within one year, a Recurrent. Type ratings received from "in-house" training are not acceptable.

Have they eased up on this? 1500 hrs is all they need now?

Concerning the schedules, can you bid/ask for certain days off? Or, basically is there any flexibility of when the 8 on 6 off starts each month?

Can family members use Delta flight benefits?

How much movement/growth is going on right now?

Thanks!

2StgTurbine

Those hiring minimums were from the last round of hiring they did when they could be more selective. Only half the people in my class had type ratings in their aircraft. While they will take people with 1500 hours, they really want people they can upgrade (3,000 hours) They have upgraded nearly every FO who has the time, and the current FOs wont be able to upgrade for a few years so if you a lot of time, I am sure they will be interested.

The bid period is 56 days and there are two lines with alternating 8 days on/6 off. They don't mind you trading schedules with other pilots as long as the flights are covered and it does not require excessive airline travel. I know one guys wife was sick, so he got approval to go home early when a coworker volunteered to come out. Some people trade entire rotations with other people and end up doing a 15/13 schedule that gives you more days off in a year. Also, with the new PTO system, if you need to take a specific day off for a reason, just submit it to scheduling and they will approve it assuming their is coverage.

Delta controls the flight benefits, not DPJ. There are no buddy passes and Delta does not allow you to have a "travel companion." Your spouse/domestic partner, children, and parents get flight benefits.

There has been lots of growth and movement. I think there were 80 pilots a year ago, and now there are 200. On the Excel side, the most senior FO was hired in May. They more than doubled the Excel fleet in 2014 and will continue to get a few more in 2015. The CJ fleet grew a lot too. Last I heard, they wanted to get 15 CJs in 2015 but I am not on that fleet so I don't know the specifics.

2StgTurbine

I think they are getting 3 more Citation Xs this year too.

ha xpeh

Do they hire direct to the left seat? I am interested and typed on the XL. With the previous mention about pay all over the place where does a new hire start at? Is it 40K in the right seat?

2StgTurbine

All new hires start as an FO. They have been burned in the past when they had to move them to a smaller airplane, or downgrade them if they lost airplanes. They determined they would rather hire pilots who are willing to start as an FO and that can become a captain rather than hire a captain who is unwilling to be an FO.

Also, DPJ does not have its own training department and CAE just teaches you how to fly the plane. It would be risky for the company to send somebody out on their first rotation as a captain. It takes a few rotations to figure out the way the operation works. I know another person with Excel time that upgraded in 3 months, so even if you start as an FO, it would only be for a short period.

As of now, pay is $40,000 for all FOs and $60,000 for small and mid size captains. The pay might be coming soon. They have mentioned having a meeting to compare our pay with others in the industry (except for NetJets).

kls81

Doesn't seem like a bad place to work. I have a buddy that was hired there at the end of last year. He will upgrade any day now. He also mentioned the pay increase as well. The aircraft do seem to break a lot and the schedule does change quite frequently while on the road but it is what it is. They seem to stay true to getting you home on time at the end of your tour.

beech1980

I upgraded in 3 months as well. I had lots of time and 500 pic in the jet I was hired into. When I was hired in 2010 they were much more selective in their hiring as there were lots of type rated biz pilots looking for work. I will also vouch for the fact it takes a few rotations to get the feel how the operation works.... once you get the flow its like any other charter gig. They have been talking about raising pay since the end of 2011... We will see when that happens. When I was there managment made it clear that they didn't want to make it a career place with senior pilots. They want to keep the pay roll down. It was said that is why they don't want a 12 year fo pay scale. They also wanted to cap captains pay at a 8 year rate. It is in DPJ's best interest to get 3-4 years out of you and have you move on. So they can hire another 1500 hr, 40k pilot... Rinse and repeat! Don't get me wrong that is a great model if you are in management, but for you and me it's not a great model if you are flying to make a career out of this and hopefully one day be able to retire before you are 80 and dead!!

2StgTurbine

Even the pilots here complain about that, but they need a littler perspective. We get an email any time a plane on our fleet breaks. Almost every problem is a minor one. Lav doors getting stuck, radio altimeters not working, external door micro switches acting up, etc. Very rarely does something related to engine or flight controls actually happen (although they do). Almost everything just get MELed for a couple of days until the plane is at an airport where it can be fixed. Those thing happen to every plane that flies regularly. When I was at a regional, PACKs, APUs, trim switches, APs, and even external panel coverings would be MELed up until the last allowed day. Pilots just like to complain.

As far as the schedule changing, like you said, that is what 135 charter is. I have had about 3 pop up trips in the last 6 months. Most of the time you can trust the schedule looking 24-48 hours out. The problem is when you start looking at day 7 and 8 on day 1 of your rotation. That stuff changes all the time as airplane move over the country and aircraft are swapped to shorten repo flights.

Clue32

Thank you for all the great information on DPJ. As far as your home base, are OCONUS Delta destinations allowed or must you travel from the contiguous 48?