Question for former airline pilots now flying corporate

[Flashbang]

Any regrets? I know it's almost a no-brainer to leave just about any regional for just about any corporate gig, but I'm more interested about any legacy or LCC drivers who either left their airline gigs to pursue corporate flying opportunities, or were furloughed, got a corporate gig and never looked back.

 

[willNOTfly4free]

If you haven't done so already, check out this thread.

http://forums.flightinfo.com/showthread.php?t=102132

 

[CRJCA]

It is not a no-brainer to leave just about any regional to go to just about any corporate gig. There are many regional jobs that are much better than a good number of corporate outfits. I left a regional but only because it was to a Fortune 10 company. Small corporate outfits are to be avoided due to job instability. If youre not happy, take the chance. I would never look back and have had offers from numerous airlines, including Southwest. Corporate is just for me.

 

[FurloughedAgain]

Oh I looked back. Thought about it long and hard. Fought off a little bit of shiny jet syndrome and made my choice.

Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions.

 

[G100F16]

Flashbang,

I was active 4.5 yrs at UAL (20% below me, FO A320/B727/B737); furloughed about 4 yrs. Just resigned my recall last month. ZERO regrets and no looking back. Love flying the corporate gig.

I'm know lots of people who enjoy being airline pilots; that's fine, but that was not for me.

I learned this from the experience:
"Life is too short to waste time on something you aren't passionate about."

Cheers and recommend you press with pride.

 

[Rick James]

I miss the airlines alot, but I would never go back considering the job I have now. It seemed like I had two lives when I was at the airlines. I would go out on a four day and have a great time (usually) and when I began to miss home, the trip was over. Flying with all the different people was great and I made a few life long friends from it, but the B.S. just got to me. Airline pilots are an employee number and a necessary evil to management, while corporate pilots provide an invaluable tool to the company, from my experience. It was a very hard choice to make but I now look forward to overnights and my commute is 15 minutes. Good luck in your quest...

 

[rumrnr78]

Let's see, 400 hours or so a year, clothing by a major preppy provider plus cleaning!! I left a fractional but it was a no brainer.
Did I forget, stock and money bonus? My place rocks as do many others who don't subscribe to a "shortage" or "SJS".
Demand what you are worth, the jobs are out there!!
Fly safe, Rum

 

[AA717driver]

You just have to be VERY careful when choosing a corporate department. Unlike the airlines, there is a huge disparity in the quality of management in corporate and that will rule your life.

There are a handful of really top notch big departments, some good F500 departments, some not so good and a handful that will make your life hell.

It seems to me that there are some really high quality smaller departments out there--you'll never fly "the big iron" or make that kind of money but your QOL will be awsome.

I will say that one thing I noticed about corporate is that few people stay at the same department for a long time. Either they get bought, go out of business or (in my case) the conditions change and what used to be a good deal isn't and you move on.

Both types of jobs offer certain attactive benefits and both have their drawbacks. It just depends on what you're looking for. Good luck. TC

 

[Tgaug6300]

I am very lucky, with the flight department that I work in. We have 52 pilots and 32 airplanes. The best thing with having the number of pilots that we have is all of the different backgrounds (Air force, Navy, Airlines, Corporate or other Civilian). I would say about a quarter of our guys are former Airline Pilots (most are from Major carriers, very few Regional). All of them have said to me that they have no desire to go back. The quality of life, and not having to commute is the biggest reason. As said before QOL is very important.

 

[treetop flyer]

Either they get bought, go out of business or (in my case) the conditions change and what used to be a good deal isn't and you move on.

Hey TC what's up? Drop me a PM sometime. TF

As for leaving 121 for Corporate...I left to fly for a small part 91 company. What I thought was going to be a great small town gig became an on-call 135 job with poor QOL. Now I'm flying great equip. for a big company who puts a HIGH value on pilot QOL. I couldn't be happier and while I miss the great people I flew with, I don't miss the day to day BS that existed at my former 121 employer.

As others have said...there are LOTS of jobs out there in the part 91 world. Some good and some not. Gook luck!!

Treetop

 

[matthewjohn]

Ya, I have regrets and do miss it, but I did not have a choice in leaving. My company went bankrupt. It beat corporate in most every area. Corporate for me is better in the fact that my commute is 15min and the pay is a little better. Cons are: I have worked more weekends doing personal trips in the past 5-6 months than I did in 6 years of airline flying :there is no schedule and get no guaranteed days off except designated vacation weeks during the year, so planning things is non existent. Right now corporate is probably the lesser of two evils (if you can get in with a good one) unless you can get on with one of the golden goose carriers.

 

[blzr]

There are goods and bads for both. I liked having a schedule and work rules at the airline, but I like the QOL of corp.

 

[Raskal]

I haven't done the 121 thing, and there seem to be good sides to both. The outfit I'm with, judging from conversations on trips with other corporate guys, seems very much middle of the road with QOL. I know that we picked up 3 furloghees from different carriers following 9/11. They all went back without hesitation and couldn't wait to do so.

They missed the schedule, the equipment and other things. I really don't know, but I do think about it often.

 

[GCAP]

I'm a long time 121, now corp/135. There are very good positions in the corp world, some much better then the 121. There is no way to compare without knowing all specifics of the corp. job you may be thinking about. I miss the protections of the CBA, but i don't miss any of the crap associated with the erosion of the "profession" in the legacy world. It is, as all other big decisions, a difficult one to make. Don't think for a moment that the 121 life is a sure bet and don't think the same of a "good" corp gig. I'm very happy where I am now---extremely impressed with the quality of the pilots on the 91/135 world and find the flying more challenging and more rewarding. Research, research and research and good luck in your decision

 

[AA717driver]

I guess the problem with both is the absence of a crystal ball. You can never REALLY know what it's like to work for a certain department until you've been there awhile and relying on the opinion of others is shaky at best due to individual likes and dislikes.

Since I worked for a private family, I might go to G200's department (corporate) and absolutely love everything about it. (Just the opportunity to work with G2 would be worth any hardship... ). I might go to 3M or BOA and hate the culture. You just can't tell.

With 121, you just never know what lies around the next downturn or what deal might be made at the next cocktail party that could ruin your career.

Once again, everything is a crapshoot. TC

 

[54fighting]

I might go to G200's department (corporate) and absolutely love everything about it. (Just the opportunity to work with G2 would be worth any hardship... ).

Are you kidding! See, I think he is a real piece of work, but that is just my opinion.

Back to the topic. I did about 5 years at a regional, was a very senior ERJ CA and was getting my first bid choice each month. But for me it was the daily grind that brought me down. I was also a commuter and bid 4 day trips. The commuting more than anything burned me out. I look back at it now and remember the good times that I had and how much I ejoyed the schedule.

Now having been in the corporate world for 6 years, the benefits far outweigh not having a schedule. But the reality is, in a good flight department, you are not on call 24/7/365. Very rarely are you called out on a pop up and for the most part, you know your schedule at least 2 weeks out, if not more. But the key is finding the right fit. There are some truly great jobs and some not so good ones. And that is the difficult part. Having a crystal ball does help.

 

[whymeworry?]

I flew corporate very briefly in the beginning of my career. Then I flew 121 for 9 yrs. During that time, I took two COLAs. One was to fly for an overseas airline. The other was to run a VIP Corporate Charter operation in the Middle East. That was some of the best flying I've done in my career till date. When that project was up I came back to 121 for 9 mos before getting on with a major. Now, I've supposedly hit the big leagues. I fly WB jets all over the world and I'm even holding 737 CA as of the latest bid. One would think the world is my oyster. Yet, I'm tired, burnt out and overall rundown by the schedules. We re working condsiderably harder on the 121 side of the business these days than ever before in history. Unless you're in the top 30% at an airline, it's hard work... not physically hard, just taxing on the body and the mind (read poor shchedules).

I miss corporate flying. I get approximately one solid offer per month and I'm not even looking so I know there is plenty of opportunity on the corp side. I've got too much invested in my career move thus far to abandon ship and jump back to corporate but the next time COLA get offered, I will take one and worry about finding the right gig once I'm officially out on leave.

Unless you hit the jackpot like me at got hired at the beginning of a boom, I would certainly chose corporate over airline any day of the week... assuming you found the right fit.

 

[ewarning]

Give me a call

I was an airline guy and went corporate after a furlough and I love it. The corporate way of life is much more satisifying.

Any regrets? I know it's almost a no-brainer to leave just about any regional for just about any corporate gig, but I'm more interested about any legacy or LCC drivers who either left their airline gigs to pursue corporate flying opportunities, or were furloughed, got a corporate gig and never looked back.

 

[matchthehatch]

Your job is only as good as your CP

Like AA717 said, the quality of corporate jobs runs the gamut. My best gauge of the quality of a job is the Chief Pilot. After my furlough in 2001, I thought myself lucky to find a corporate job. What I've found is that your job is only as good as your CP or DO. I'm truly lucky to be working for a guy who looks out for his pilots, but I had to work for several meatheads to find this gem of a job.

 

[vortilon-x]

corporate after the airline

I went into corpoare as well after almost been made redundant in the aftermath of 9/11. I must say I did not regret it and experienced in one month as much as I would do in one year regional airline flying. I love the variety you have with corporate and you are not just a number. However ther are some oufits out there you want to avoid. I was lucky as we did not fly too much and had always plenty of rest. I spent a great time away from home and thats why I returned back to regional flying. But if the right job comes along in corporate again, who knows, I would certainly look at it again.....