I've been at XO for well over a year and I've yet to fly with anyone that I did not get along with. But not sure if they would say the same about me... 😀

When you are on a flight that is of any length of time, there is always a good chance that it might at some point. Depends on the individuals involved of course. I think this would apply to any outfit.

Pretty rare here to be in a cockpit with anyone I don't mostly look forward to 8 days with. It's a great group because there was a lot of emphasis put on that throughout the hiring process for a long time. Part of the interview process used to be a social outing at dinner, a lot of weight was put on referrals, etc.

Some of that special sauce is gone now I think but I also think it's so engrained in the group it won't be going anywhere. I think part of if is the big emphasis on QOL here over hard $$. That tends to attract a certain type of person not so caught up on the size of their house and how fast their boat goes (not that we don't all have egos, we are still pilots after all ). That kind of person can typically be a decent human and realize when the other side doesn't want to be ram rodded with politics or COVID talk or whatever the hot topic is. For me, the pilot group is far and away XO's best asset as a company and best aspect of my job as a person.

How would the 15/13 schedule work if you also fly in the military. I can’t imagine you can drop in the middle of a 15 day hitch without really screwing over everyone. Getting ready to sign the offer letter and I’m trying to figure out if this would be a good fit for me given my current obligations. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Do they only offer the 15/13 to new hires, or do you have the option for the flex schedule?

You have the option for 15/13 or flex … 8/6 seems like it is an option but there’s a limit to how many 8/6 bids they award and it is seniority based.

There are direct hires to the Global 5000 as SICs. We have 6 of them, so movement isn’t too fast, but it’s there recently. We also currently have 2 managed Global 7500s, and they were all hired shortly before the planes came online.

there are plans to add four or five Challenger 604s, and I just recently heard of a possible GulfStream coming. But it may be early in the stage for that.

Do you get to bid on another aircraft at XO at some point or are you always on the aircraft assigned when hired at XO?

Changing airframes would be the exception, not the norm. Yes, some guys have gone Citation X--->Challenger and Challenger--->Global, but that it is not the normal progression. Usually you stay on the type you started on. The biggest chance of changing aircraft is on the addition of a new type. We have at least 2 (with rumors of a 3rd) new type additions in plans right now, so there are strong possibilities of senior/experienced guys/girls getting one of the first seats.

I am about to start INDOC soon and would like to be on the Challenger instead of the X as is what my email from training said other day. I am wonder how much of an issue it would be to ask to change before I start and who would I put this request into.

Thoughts?