A little different NJ question. NJA to NJE?

[flyzimex]

Why does he not change his base to Miami and then commute on Iberia from Spain? Sure hes going to have to buy his own tickets but if hes on the 7 & 7 hes only going to work twice a month. Also if hes been here 8 years he has three weeks of vacation plus at least another week for PTO so 4 months of the year he's only be going to work once.

All up I'd say he'd have to buy 22 tickets. Even if he paid $1000 a ticket thats $22,000 a year. As an 8 year Captain hes making around $130K a year. Not a high price to pay to keep both marital bliss and one of the best jobs in aviation.

This is exactly the thing my friend is doing, except he goes between NY and Sweden.
A potential problem MIGHT be the Spanish tax authorities. I know taxes aren't as crazy high in Sweden (roughly 50 in that bracket), but he might get taxed both in Spain and the US. That's the problem my friend faces once he gets married (which is soon), or for sure when they have a kid. No way around the greedy tax man then.

Despite their high seniority it then might be worth taking the step over to NJE. As many off you might know a five week vacation is mandatory by law over there, so that would even improve over the US system. As things stand over there now a quick upgrade would be expected. A friend of mine, with no turbine PIC, was recently upgraded after one year at NJE.

I know it might be a bit of a gamble, but I think the Spanish companies are quite willing giving you a jumpseat (not only cockpit seat), so there might even be a possibility getting free rides across the pond.

I wouldn't mind being in my friends position at NJA, but I sure don't envy him having to make this decision.

FZ