Good, Bad, and Ugly of Flexjet????

[Grey Ghost]

anyone have any info on schedules, upgrade time, and QOL???

 

[finnjl]

16 on, 12 off every 28 days/13 cycles per year

around $40000 first year FO pay

around 2 years for upgrade

work is pretty good, I have not worked a full rotation since the begining of summer (there must be a lot of lr45 FOs, captains have been working more from what I hear)

26 days a year vacation until 3 years then 39/year

seems good to me but I am sure there are people that will say it sucks and I am sure there are better places to work

I will let someone else put the ugly stuff as I really can not complain about it as I have been getting paid to stay at home. I will probably feel different when I am sitting in a hotel xmas and new years eve night bored as hell in the hotel farthest away from everything while my family is at home but that is aviation

Oh yea, I hate it when they put us in Ramadas and some Holiday Inns I wish they would just stick to the hilton brands, that is annoying and it makes me mad. Hotel quaility is lacking at times. That is my biggest complaint about this job.

 

[DirtyBeech]

I generally bid down to 15 day lines and almost always get it. Schedule wise I get about half of what I bid for which isn't too bad. I had season football tickets this year and only missed one game to work. I did manage to get both Thanksgiving and Christmas off this year so it can happen.

Floating rest and the breakfast/lunch catering would be my two biggest gripes.

 

[Grey Ghost]

so is it something like 7 on 7 off or is it like an airline's schedule??? i.e.5 on 2 off, 6 on 3 off, 4 on 4 off.....

 

[finnjl]

4,5,6 day trips
an example
4 on 3 off
6 on 5 off
6 on 4 off

i personally like
4 on 3 off
4 on 3 off
4 on 3 off
4 on 3 off
but PBS never seems to give it to me and I am not exactly a junior FO

 

[doylehargraves]

Good--Paycheck always comes
Bad---Paycheck isn't enough
Ugly--The size of the Learjet cockpit

 

[Pacific]

Just to clarify; vacation is 10 days paid per year taken at 5 days at a time.
These paid vacation days are surrounded by 4 unpaid off days on each side equaling 13 days off in a row but 5 actual paid vacation days.

 

[Flyingdog1]

Just to clarify; vacation is 10 days paid per year taken at 5 days at a time.
These paid vacation days are surrounded by 4 unpaid off days on each side equaling 13 days off in a row but 5 actual paid vacation days.

Correcto! Where NJ gets 7 days paid vacation periods.

 

[rumrnr78]

I hope this helps you:
I know a pilot hired in Feb 06 that upgraded on the Lear in Oct 07. Not bad for upgrade time. The bad: have to fly the line in the 300 at FO pay until the 45 tail number shows up early next year. Not sure what that is about.

Hotels are pretty good with the occasional Sleep Inn or whatever when you are in the boondocks.

Pacific is right about vacation so even though you have a lot of time off, first year pay will limit your options. A working spouse will really be a plus here!

Commuting on the company dime is better than the ol' dice roll I used to do to get to work but, make no mistake, it is still commuting. Trying to grab some shut eye on the first flight out with a screaming baby gets old fast. I think there is now a premium paid for early morning trips on the first day. I sure could have used that!!

You will fly with great people who know how to speed drink for that 2 hour window

I never figured out PBS and somehow got a series of 5 on 3 off a lot. Not fun but better than my previous regional schedule.

Put everything on a AA citibank card and you rack up mileage fast; Platinum challenge baby!

If you get the 300 you will be busy, but what a machine! That airplane rocks!

You will work hard and sometimes the schedule will stink. It is, however, better than any regional job out there and second to NetJets in the frac world. Probably better than a lot of smaller corporate jobs because of the stability factor. If management offered a working agreement on par with NJA I think it would be a place to work until retirement. Sadly, that is wishful thinking on my part.

If you understand, "it is what it is" then you will have much success.

Cheers-rum

 

[DirtyBeech]

so is it something like 7 on 7 off or is it like an airline's schedule??? i.e.5 on 2 off, 6 on 3 off, 4 on 4 off.....

It depends on what you bid, and what your seniority is. During football season I wanted weekends off and generally got them. My last couple of rotations looked like this:

6 on, 5 off
5 on, 5 off
5 on, 4 off

At the worst you are guaranteed 2/3's of time worked as time off meaning if you work 6 you are guaranteed 4 days off. It's all up to the system though. Like I said, I managed to get the holidays off and scored an 8 day off period in one of my upcoming bids. How that worked I don't know, but I'll take it.

 

[doylehargraves]

Let's be honest here. Our vacation time is BS. Yeah we get 13 days off but, 8 of those days I AM PAYING FOR OUT OF MY OWN DAYS OFF.

We should at least be paid 7 days for a vacation since we obviously don't work the traditional M-F.

This is another way the company is screwing us but, no one seems to recognize it.

 

[doh]

Vacation and rolling rest have already been listed as bad. Some guys also have a hard time not having a schedule. The owners only have to give 6 hours notice for us to pick them up, so you get changes from leg to leg. Some ex 121 guys don't like that, so caveat emptor.

 

[TurboHonda]

Rolling rest? Floating rest? What’s that?

If it’s what I think it is, it’s illegal. FLOPS enjoyed an indefinite rest arrangement for years. Once the union was voted in it came to a stop.

 

[Club ORD FO]

I hope this helps you:
I know a pilot hired in Feb 06 that upgraded on the Lear in Oct 07.

Cheers-rum

That cant be right. if so, then I missed my upgrade. it is right at 2 years right now.

yeah...floating/rolling rest. I dont think it is legal, and I dont know why we (meaning the pilots) put up with it.

 

[rumrnr78]

Sorry club, Jan 06 new hire. And, with the ridiculous system at Flex it is over 2 year upgrade since the assigned tail number won't show until 1st quarter of 2008.
Cheers-rum

 

[vixin]

floating/rolling rest. I dont think it is legal, and I dont know why we (meaning the pilots) put up with it.

It sure is illegal. Have a NJ guy explain it. The rule is balck and white. RH pulled the wool over the pilots eyes forever on this.

 

[doh]

If it is not legal, why hasn't the FAA stepped in to stop it?

 

[vixin]

Because you havent killed anyone from it YET. The POI is in FlexJets back pocket. Do a little research on the subject and you will be be surprised. I used to have some links, but deleted them after I left FJ.

 

[NETFLIER]

the good, bad, and ugly go like this:

Its bad the way they treat you in work rules

Its ugly are the hotel

the good is when you leave.

In regards to the rest rules, they are being broken and the FAA in Washington now knows about it.

 

[Wankel7]

LOL, OMG did someone seriously complain about a SLEEP INN!

Not sure what silver spoon you were raised on but a Sleep Inn is not a bad joint...

I am used to Stupid 8 and lower levels....

And why would anybody like a Sheraton or a Marriott? The only places where $15 breakfasts are acceptable.

I am happy with the hotels at Flex...granted I would like them to be all Hilton's....but a I am not going to gripe about a Sleep Inn.

 

[BombJet45]

the good, bad, and ugly

In regards to the rest rules, they are being broken and the FAA in Washington now knows about it.

I am sure the FAA is jumping on an airplane this very minute to investigate. They do not care unless someone gets hurt and then only about the paperwork.

 

[Club ORD FO]

well, they shut down that TAC fractional recently. one of the reasons listed was that they were not following the rest rules

 

[CA1900]

well, they shut down that TAC fractional recently.

You mean TAG Aviation? If so, they weren't ever a fractional. They were a 135 Charter outfit.

 

[Deftone45075]

If you are referring to TAG, I believe it was in regards to operational control issues. Not sure rest had anything to do with it.

 

[Club ORD FO]

Yeah I meant TAG. In the report by the FAA, which was posted on here somewhere, their rest rules, or lack there of, was mentioned.

 

[CL300Pilot]

Club,

We have defined rest rules. Whether they are good, bad or indifferent, the FAA bought off on them. I don't see them coming in now and saying you are operating illegally. But who knows, the FAA suprises people some times.

The big issue for TAG was operational control, hence all of our recent management changes.

CL300Pilot

Yeah I meant TAG. In the report by the FAA, which was posted on here somewhere, their rest rules, or lack there of, was mentioned.

 

[rumrnr78]

Wankel- I was not putting down Sleep Inns. And, I was not born with a silver spoon! My background is CFII, Freight in the Shorts and ASA before FlexJet. I am happy for the experience but Flex is a glorified regional airline. Sad, really, because I was led to believe otherwise. Thankfully, life intervened, and I am out.

I happen to now work for a company that treats it's pilots like executives, which includes an executive compensation package, i.e. good pay, great pension (not like the bombardier calculation for payout- I know, who knows if it will it will be there), 401(k) with 80% match of my 6%, stock options, and bonus. For clarification: like we should all be treated!

My company puts us in Marriots, or the like, and the meals, including the 15.00 breakfast, are put on the corporate card. No more per diem, Thank God!! All authorized charges are on the card!

I wish you nothing but the best.

Cheers-rum

 

[Wankel7]

Wankel- I was not putting down Sleep Inns. And, I was not born with a silver spoon! My background is CFII, Freight in the Shorts and ASA before FlexJet. I am happy for the experience but Flex is a glorified regional airline. Sad, really, because I was led to believe otherwise. Thankfully, life intervened, and I am out.

I happen to now work for a company that treats it's pilots like executives, which includes an executive compensation package, i.e. good pay, great pension (not like the bombardier calculation for payout- I know, who knows if it will it will be there), 401(k) with 80% match of my 6%, stock options, and bonus. For clarification: like we should all be treated!

My company puts us in Marriots, or the like, and the meals, including the 15.00 breakfast, are put on the corporate card. No more per diem, Thank God!! All authorized charges are on the card!

I wish you nothing but the best.

Cheers-rum

No worries I was tired and grumpy....sounds like you have great gig now....glad to hear it !



Wankel

 

[GCAP]

I worked at Flex for a while. It is a very good company with very good equipment and very good pilots. All of the emotional crap here won't change any of that. With a significant pay increase and some improvement in work rules it would be a GREAT place to work. Maybe...just maybe that might just happen.

 

[JokerFuel]

I'm starting to think of my home time as the part of work that I dont sleep at a hotel. We need to make flex the best job in the industry. Sticky times ahead, not for the weak. This is a good job, lets Unite and make it a great one.