In my post, as is often the case with me, I didn't fully convey my thoughts. In my reference to being a cubicle worker, I was speaking of the office politics, not of extraneous duties. The guy next above me in seniority was a serious brown-noser to the chief pilot and senior management. He would nearly knock me over to get some face time with the chairman or the CEO. As you might have been able to tell, I don't exactly hold back from saying what I think. I say what I believe.
My flight department had two aircraft, a brand new Hawker 800XP, and at the time a challenger 601. I was hired for my Hawker experience, because the other five guys had none, and it would make insuring them easier. The Challenger was the "carrot". My problem was, I didn't care to fly the "heavy metal", as the chief piloted had counted on. The Hawker was over 90% business where as the challenger was 30-40% pleasure for the chairman.
The intent of my post was merely to cite a counter view to what I was observing on this forum. Not every job is a fortune 100 company. Even those that are, may at some time turn ugly. Like I've mentioned before, I've flown with two guys from Daimler-Chrysler. They lost their jobs after almost 15 years of service, while people with 1 year of service were retained.
I truly wish no one harm. However, there are unseen pitfalls I feel need to be discussed. Like I mentioned previously, (with very few exceptions) you have to get any deal in writing. Whatever you get, must be upfront, for the most part as well. Notice Diamond Jim's story. To do this, you have to have a little bargaining power, which reads as experience. Until then, you are usually at the mercy of whoever you can get on with.
Come to find out in my case (in my opinion), the chief pilot only hired me to prove his point he couldn't hire a young guy for fear either that person would fail or go to the airlines. He had buddies he wanted to hire, and needed to prove he had to do it his way. So, he reneged on his promises he made me to get me to leave. These promises included responsibility and pay, as well as others. I had promised him two years of service. I missed my commitment by 18 days, whereas my replacement only lasted ten months.
JetBlue came along at the perfect time for me. I was able to get another flying job with out moving. Often times, an operator in a smaller market won't hire you away from a regular corporate operator on that field. Many of the top executives are on each others boards, and don't want to embarass themselves. That's why it's a lot more common to go from a charter operator to a regular corporate gig.
I meant no offense to any of the corporate pilots that posted to this particular thread, or this forum in general. I do, however, stand by my post.
JayDub
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CXAV8 Just looking for a debate.
