121 or corporate?

[AA717driver]

Do majors really care if you came from 121 vs 91?

No.TC

 

[AA717driver]

Now that young Parrothead has heard from you jaded corporate types, here's the airline side of the story :

Unless Parrot is 15 years old, he's going to be competing for that coveted "major airline job" with the thousands of RJ captains (many of whom were left standing when the major airline hiring music stopped on 9/12/01). These guys have several thousand hours of jet PIC time and are building more at the rate of 80 hours a month. AND he will have to compete with my ex-FO's (and the thousands of other cast aways from USAir, UAL, DAL...etc. all of whom have several thousand hours of big jet time--many with types and experience on 767's and the like.

It is ugly out there. The guys who are getting interviews at JB, AirTran and SWA are people like me. Ex captains at TWA or USAir or former major FO's who want a shot with a successful airline. It is a very LONG way to the head of the hiring line.

Did I mention it's REALLY ugly out there? You can find someone to blow sunshine up your a$$ and make a case for either path. AND you can find someone who will make you want to slit your wrists at the prospect of continuing your career in aviation. I just think you have more options by going corporate. But that's just my opinion, I may be wrong... TC

 

[Gulfstream 200]

In my experience, the best corporate jobs are the ones where the airplane is used primarily for business purposes. Then the pax want to get home just as much as you do.

These are the ONLY good corp jobs. Unfortunatly, many times one has to suffer through the "rich owner" and the "isnt it great to go to apsen every weekend" $hit jobs before landing a good one...

PS - I loved that "company provided cell phone" thing too!!!
..

Youre gonna need it, might as well shut off your home phone, you wont be there....

 

[sleepy]

I have two friends that fly for a very rich owner. They make a lot more $ than I do flying for a Fortune 15 corporation. However, I know that my job will be here for a long time, I don't know what will happen to them if their owner decides to sell the plane or die. I just went through training with a guy that also flew for a rich owner. His stories of $400 diners and all expenses paid trips to play golf at Pebble Beach sounded pretty nice, but I would rather have a $30 diner and long term job security. Just some things to think about.


Really though, if you want to get to a major airline (whatever that is, Southwest I guess), I suggest that you build your 121 PIC time at the Regional Airline.

 

[HMR]

These are the ONLY good corp jobs.

Wow...Where can I find one of those? I thought living on the beach, knowing my schedule two months in advance, averaging 20+ days off/month and working for a wonderful family ranked as a good corp. job.

PS-My avatar is from our last RON... 6 weeks ago.

 

[rocker]

I am furloughed from one of the largest major airlines. First off, I would like to give you the advice of giving up on that “major” dream job. Those jobs are gone forever, I expect the assault to continue on the contracts until they are whittled down and the pension plans are all gone. Throw in the threat of cabotage and you can see where this profession is headed. Not to say that there still won't be good 121 jobs out there, but the ones that got you hooked on a flying career are history.


My advice would be determine what means the most to you. If you want hard days off, union representation, seniority based upgrades, regular pay increases, and space-A travel stay 121. If you are willing to gamble, negotiate your own pay and live by the sked of the boss, go corporate.



The good corporate jobs are extremely hard to get, since no one is dumb enough to leave them, and they are impossible to get if you come solely from a 121 airline background, unless you have another sort of connection in the flight department. I am very unhappy in my current situation, I am gone nearly every weekend and I have no hard days off unless the aircraft is on jacks. I keep sending out resumes, making contacts, and working towards getting a corporate gig that I can stand and one that I can possibly retire from. But, once again, you have to be willing to relocate, and go where the good jobs are. Also, remember that these “party plane” companies will tell you almost anything to get a butt in the seat. I was lied to about my current position before I started, and I would be skeptical about any claims that are made to you about any “party plane” type operation. Since everything is dictated by the whims of the owner, you must give up all hope of having a normal life.



So, make up your mind, do you want to slug it out in the airlines with the realization that it will probably never get any better than what you have now, or ask yourself if you want to strike out and try to find one of those diamond in the rough corporate jobs.

 

[Gulfstream 200]

Wow...Where can I find one of those? I thought living on the beach, knowing my schedule two months in advance, averaging 20+ days off/month and working for a wonderful family ranked as a good corp. job.

PS-My avatar is from our last RON... 6 weeks ago.

Youre right...sounds like a great gig...

How long ya think it's gonna last???

I've had a lot of those sit around 20days and make good $$ jobs....I wish each one lasted....they just never did!

.

 

[HMR]

Youre right...sounds like a great gig...

How long ya think it's gonna last???

I've had a lot of those sit around 20days and make good $$ jobs....I wish each one lasted....they just never did!

.

Point taken.

Now...where did I put that sunscreen?