Airlines Vs Fractional

[rajflyboy]

In Last Years Recurrent class we were told that the company had 360 airplanes total including NJI >> This year we were told the # is 350! Simple math 360-350=10! They also made it sound like the airplanes being sold were being replaced! Who knows!

I guess the #'s make sense >> If NJA lost 10 Airplanes >> sounds like the 350 Figure was including NJA,NJI and NJM. I believe NJA is basically getting a new airplane for every airplane that is sold! NJA has to sell a few airplanes at a time as to not flood the market with a bunch of aircraft at once >> thus devaluing the market price of our airplanes!

 

[NJA Capt]

I never listen to the marketing numbers in recurrent.
The FAA registry in Nov 2002 showed 292 NJA-CMH aircraft. Nov 2003 showed 318 NJA-CMH.

 

[Diesel]

rajiflyboy if you love the airlines soooo much why don't you go there?

I can't figure out if you work at NJA or not. You talk about recurrent stuff and then you say how RTS is playing the union as fools.

The airline stuff isn't for everyone. I couldn't go back and forth to the same place all day long. I like the challenge here and the guys and gals I work with. Am I a lifer here? Probably.

The wife works at an airline so before you go all high and mighty that I don't know what I'm talking about I do. I see all the times she doesn't get paid for "soft time". Or the concessions she took. How about the time she was stuck for 3 days due to snow and didn't earn a cent. Or maybe it's commuting to work on an airline praying she makes the last flight. Maybe it's the crash pad because that's much better than being at home.

There are Pro's and Con's to each type of flying. I'm too lazy to list them all.

If you don't like the fractionals then leave. This isn't a stepping stone to the majors anymore. There are many guys like myself at all the fractionals making this industry into a place where we can hold our heads high. We're at the begining of a new industry of flying. There are going to be bumps, we need to get paid wayyyyy more but it's a gamble.

Your all over the map in terms of customer service then saying we aren't getting what we are worth then how great the regionals are. Choose a path and stick with it.

 

[Muddauber]

Airlines vs. Frax

I quess it all depends on what you like - I'm making more money now than I did at EJI and I'm not working 6 and 5 or 7 and 7. I like the equipment, the company, and the time with the Whisky who now has one in the hangar. Works for me.

Muddy

 

[WileE]

I did the regionals.

I know that the guys with seniority at a major would never think of leaving there. If I had fifteen years of seniority at Delta, I wouldn't either. I just don't think that it's going to be at all pleasant trying to work your way up to that position now, and by the time you get there, who knows what the payscale/working conditions would be?

All I know is that now I'm a ton happier as a fractional guy. I know that QoL can be better at an airline once you've been there for a while, but I'm loving life now and it will only get better with upgrades/raises/etc.. But with commuting or living someplace you don't want to be to go along with the uncertainty of an airline schedule, I'll stay here.

 

[bizjet737]

You better have JATO bottles attached to the X to make it go .92 at FL510.

best i could ever get in the X at 510 was .85

 

[jtf]

I agree with x402 about pushing the company forward into doing something about the contract. Why should the company do anything if they don't have to? Don't they already charge more in management fees to account for higher salaries, when since they are not paying these salaries, they are actually making more money that should rightfully be going directly to the pilots/ backbones of the company? It seems to me that the only way to make the company step up to bat is to use the threat of strike- follow the rules set up by the railways act and get the ball rolling for a strike vote and then cooling off period once it passes. Once the company sees the pilots are serious about a strike they will have to "bargain in good faith" and hopefully make something happen with a new contract. Does anyone really believe there is any incentive for the company to make it happen without the threat of an imminent strike? I'm interested in any other ideas for getting a company to do the right thing- it could help any pilot group trying to move their contracts forward. I'm at an airline and I would like to try the fractionals. I'm not active in my airlines union, but I pay attention to what it and others have done to move the bar forward and I've read Flying the Line to get some understanding into the history of how aviation unions have made gains for their members. I'm definitely no expert, but it sure seems to me that something more drastic needs to happen to force the companies hand. Good luck guys, I hope to join you soon.

 

[rajflyboy]

ALPA has one big advantage over the Teamsters! It just happens to be one of the most important issues as well!

They will do about anything to protect your job in any kind of enforcement action against a pilot by the Company! You will have them on your side and they will send the attorney's too! I don't have a warm fuzzy when it comes to this issue with the teamsters!

At ALPA >> I figured the Union dues would at least offset Attorney fees if I ever needed them!

As far as ALPA's success with the majors >> hmmm let me see >> A bunch of guys are furloughed and ALPA's hurting for revenue! Thats Success!


As far as being a Captain at a Regional >>> A few years back you could make it to the left seat in no time at many companies. Now obviously it will be a wait!

NETJETS could be a great place to work. I think we have a lot more issues other than money! The puzzle palace is way too inefficient! And we end up getting the run around on the road because of it! This ticks me off on a daily basis. The solution is staring Management folks right in the face but they for some reason will not fix it!

They need to make the Schedulers Accountable for their actions >> and the Schedulers need to have someone monitoring their every move>> PM's should be able to oversee the schedulers descision making! If not a PM >> then NETJETS needs to Put a Manager in the Casino to help make Descisions when things get bad>> Ie.. Weather and Maintenance problems! Schedulers run pilots around like Dogs and screw customers over and Cost the company Millions! Its time for management to hold them "Accountable"!

 

[rajflyboy]

I bet ALPA or any of these Unions would love the additional income of 1800 Pilots!!

 

[Lrjet55]

The fuggin' contract aint gonna get down any time soon no matter who is working it. ALPA is a freakin waste of space when it comes to the regionals or a fractional. ALPA does not beleive anyone other than a major should make that much money, ex. Comair. If ALPA truly believed they were worth it things would have been different.

Teamsters is just as bad. A bunch of truckers running around with their thumbs up their a$$es. They have done nothing for us and probably wont.

What we do have going for us is our MEC. It has taken an extraordinary lenght of time for these guys to figure out what they are doing but they have a clue now. The ultimate problem is still the company. They dont care about us or the contract and there is ZERO, 0, squad, NADA, nilch, nothing to motivate them or make them want to settle this thing.

The mediator is unable to come to CMH in January but he is willing to mediate provided we and the company come to him. Fair enough, right? Well do you honestly believe Santulli and his bunch of merry morons are going to travel TO a meeting. HELL NO.

We are basically screwed until this thing runs its course. The MEC knows what we want and time will tell whether we will get it or not.

Hopefully SWA, jB, Frontier and who ever else will take some of us to greener pastures. I thought I would be lifer when I got here. Flying brand new corporate jets across the world was what I always had dreamt of doing. This company can still be "The Place" to be but when. We all have a life to lead and waiting years and years for something that could or could not be great is a huge leap of faith.

Hey Southwest, "how u doin?'