Thanks for the info! While an airline career would be great (as you've previously mentioned), I am ultimately looking for a down-to-earth company that values people while offering growth potential - not just income growth (but that is important), but growth opportunities into another fleet type, additional responsibilities, etc. - and a good work/home balance. I want to work somewhere I can see the company as an end-in-itself rather than a means to an end. I'm just now beginning to learn more about FlyExclusive, and will very likely apply in the near future.

Cool Multi,

I’m pretty happy with this gig, or I wouldn’t be posting on here. I’m truly saddened to hear what has become of your current employer.. With so many senior friends there, I hope that things either improve there soon or they land someplace better. No reason you shouldn’t apply as a Direct Entry Captain here when you are ready.. Let me know when you do.

Take care

Hello, Just got a call from the DO asking me when I could start. I have a tentative class date of July 27 for indoc, a week off, then off to school for the Sovereign. I have a good deal of 135 experience, but haven't flown this type of 135 before (mostly smaller companies, with an occasional 91 contract gig). My question... I have heard great things, and not so great things (who is this WW guy?? definitely in the "not so great" category), what is a typical day like in the Sovereign fleet? Which fleet flys the most and which flys the least? What is the upgrade wait time for the 680? When I did my interview, they told me 3 months to a year, not very specific. Thanks!

Welcome aboard, VMO!

The 680 is an awesome jet and a great type to have. Having said that, the 680 fleet along with the X flies less than our workhorse fleet, the Citation Excel/XLS/XLS+.. Your upgrade time will vary on your total time, your time in the jet, and how quickly YOU are ready to upgrade. While there are no “typical” days here, I would guess that the 680 averages 2 legs per day. You might sit at home on Day 1 on Home Reserve, paid of course, or sent home a day early, still paid. You just never know what your rotation will look like in any fleet, but the great thing about a larger Part 135 Company is that you have strength in numbers, i.e., the Company won’t shut down just because you got sick or a family member did. We have depth in all fleets, with no forced overtime, “junior manning”, and you know your schedule a year in advance. They don’t mess with it.

As far as WW goes, you can go back and see what I wrote about him in some of my previous posts.. This one poster considered WW the Antichrist, responsible for Pearl Harbor, 09/11, the Great Recession, Covid-19, and all his personal disappointments and failings.. which is totally ridiculous. WW and I were new hires together, and I could tell that he was sharp the moment that I met him, and I tried hard to get him as a sim partner, but that didn’t work out. WW had come from the highest levels levels of the FAA and wanted to do nothing to do with anything other than to just fly.

However, when asked, he stepped up into Fleet Lead on the XL, and totally cleaned up and standardized the fleet. He kept being asked to temporarily fill open positions, going up to the VP of Flight Operations. There, he got the blame for IMPLEMENTING decisions from above to keep the Company running and people employed when there was blood in the water all around us with other Companies shutting down and laying off pilots. The pilots here that know WW personally, know that he was always a pilots advocate even when that wasn’t necessarily the best political move. He oversaw several pay and per diem raises during his tenure and was always pushing for more. He was in the meeting that decided to keep us at home with full pay for a month during Covid-19’s initial stages where other pilots elsewhere were shown the door. Some of the unpopular decisions he implemented were the temporary 15/13 schedule for all during COVID-19 (policies also implemented by some of our competitors/partners), taking hotel selection away from individual pilots (Travel and Hotels dept. will take a suggestion though.. I am about at 70% success rate with that), and increasing Per Diem, but taking away crew meals (they are back now, but certainly not 3 steak and lobster dinners like Netjets, &#128514. Again, these were policies that he was directed to implement and that made him some enemies. But the Company didn’t hire him to be Mr. Popularity, they hired to lead and implement decisions, sometime unpopular ones like shutting down the Line Pilot Recruiters, including me, because we were unable to reach the numbers set for our Recruiting calls (They brought back two of us shortly after). He resigned that role shortly after that to get back into flying more, politics less, and is a Chief Pilot on our Supers.

Also, WW is a TOTAL smart a$$ with a twisted sense of humor, and I love that about him. He loves to give you shiznit and can take it as well. If you aren’t thin skinned, you will enjoy a rotation with him. So, in a nutshell, I respect WW. And no, if you are wondering.. I’m not WW, nor am I compensated to be his Chief Defender, 😆. How’s that for honesty….

Hello everyone!

I’m thinking in applying. I’m looking for QOL and a good salary and benefits.
How likely is to get a 15/13 schedule? I’ll be commuting from Spain.
How many hours you guys fly per month on average?
How much (net salary) can I expect?
I understand you are guaranteed 13 days off. Can they involuntary schedule you to fly on those days?
How long in advance you get your schedule?
How long is the initial training? Days off during training?

Thank you!!

Does fly exclusive offer part time schedules similar to Netjets(8-12 days a month )?

I’ll let B727DRVR handle the FE schedules, but I can tell you that NJ does not have “part time” schedules. All schedules are full time, they just vary from an average of 13 days/month up to 19 days/month. Bidding is seniority-based if you want one of the lesser days/month.

Within each of those schedules, you may be able to have tour lengths ranging from 5-8 days per tour, and can volunteer for extra days.

Hey SpanishPilot,

They would love for you to choose the 15/13, and that is a junior schedule award, so I would say that it is about 100% likely that you would get and keep 15/13. I would say that you will get between 40 an 60 hours per month, depending on your fleet. Starting pay (No Bonuses, Extra days, or $12,000+ 15/13 schedule per diem included) is $81,000. Lots of chances to make more money here and there. Your days off are your days off and their is no "Junior Manning" here: Your schedule is pretty much written in stone unless you decide to or agree to change it.. Once you get your schedule, you will know what days you are working a year in advance. Of course, with our type of flying, you will hve no clue WHERE you will be on those duty days.. Training is roughly one month with some required CBT brior to INDOC, 5 days of INDOC in KISO, and roughly 3 weeks of simulator training at FSI or CAE. You usually get a day or two off during initial, but that is for studying, LOL.

I hope that helped to answer your questions.

Hey Desi,

We currently only offer the 8/6 and 15/13 schedules here, and Like my esteemed colleague Peabody stated, neither Netjets or flyExclusive offer part-time as of now. I believe that Wheels Up group offers a part-time option.

Good luck!

Thank you for the info! I really appreciate your help. What can I expect during the interview?