Hello..............

Where would you go to work at: Boutique or PlaneSense ??

Both are PC-12 operators, both have a large selection of crew domiciles, pay is essentially the same on both companies.

Planesense in big on the East Coast, while Boutique appears to be dominate in the midwest and west coast.

I am looking at a DFW base.

Where would you go ???


Wright cyclones

If your heart is set on the PC12 you can look into Tradewind Aviation. They have a DAL base but I don’t know if they need pilots in TX. But definitely worth a look into.

A friend of mine is with Plane Sense. Very happy there. He lives in the upper Mid West. He commutes from KMSP. There are rumors of expansion to the west as they take on additional PC-12s and PC-24s. I believe an increase in the pay scale goes into effect the beginning of 2019.

No matter the operator, however, count on numerous legs on a daily.

Winter clothing???? Pack for Winter and Summer as many legs may between North and South.

But not different from the 121 world.

I’m sure other pilots from PC-12 operators will chime in.

All the best and continue to enjoy the ride.

Tradewind is an amazing company, but they are cutting down the TX operation.

If you are dead set on Dallas, I have heard better things about PlaneSense over Boutique. I had a good friend from school who was at BTQ in DFW for 2+ years who recently left for Airshare. He flew the Pilatus and King Air. I have encountered a couple other BTQ pilots at my company.

Apparently, everyone who touched an airplane at BTQ was great to work with. Issues arose with management-labor relations, a frequent complaint I heard was SS did not have a management style that jived well with the realities of EAS 135 flying. An analogy I heard was imagine the guys who ran jet brokerages like Jetsmarter were in charge of EAS flying, that’s SS. If you look on BTQs website, you’ll see they are intensely struggling to fill basically every position at the company. That says a lot about them.

PlaneSense has pros and cons too. The 8/6 isn’t terrible by most means but that’s a lot of days to be working and a lot of days off in a row. Your airline trip to the plane is Day 1 and the return is Day 8 of your cycle, which is nice. You will essentially have to have decided that PS is the place to be for 4 or 5 years before you’ll touch a jet (from what I have heard). I’m curious to hear about the pay increases there.

If you’re dead set on DFW I’d say PS.

Very good description on BTQ.

If you're looking into those two companies, I'd strongly suggest you also look into Gama Aviation (Wheels UP). I work for them now, and although we do get worked hard (especially east coast flying), it is one of the best companies I have ever worked for in terms of management. They're pretty much all pilots, and everyone in HQ is very cool and nice. They help you out whenever they can, whether it be paying for your food on days with lots of quick turns, paying extra to get you the direct flight home and many other things. I like it a lot here.

Aren’t first officer minimums 1,500 hours though?

Looking to retire soon from a non related aviation position. I have 4200TT, 650 turbine, ATP, CFI, CFII and MEI. I'm thinking either Planesense or Boutique in the Atlanta area. Who has the best QOL? That's the biggest concern. Do you see your home base in the 8 days that you are on duty or are you gone 100% of the time. Does anyone know the pay scale difference? I have a good 7-8 years left and want to make sure its with the right company. Thank you in advance for your help.

While it's been years since I left (they were 7/7) I can say you will work you butt off...about 50-70% of the older guys seemed to washout after coming back form 121 jobs hoping for a retirement job unless they were hired in management. It's a grind...lots of short legs, vfr, quick turns, tossing bags, short overnights, etc....and for the $$$, there are better places for less work in the corporate world as a contract pilot, or even 135 cargo.
6-9 legs, of self planned flying on a 14hr duty day was NOT uncommon.
That having been said, it is a fairly fun kind if flying, interesting airports, etc.
If you were based in PSM, you MIGHT see home on , a short overnight, but anyplace else would be a random event unless things have changed scheduling wise.
PDK guys would get home a bit...but not sure if that has changed... thinking it has, as I haven't seen many parked there recently.
Not saying, don't do it, but be honest with yourself about if you want to go to what is essentially an entry-level job and pay your dues again.