JetBlue

[batsky2000]

Anis
Have you done either job-NJA Pilot or JB Pilot?
I have done both-and agree with Lake Alice.
I am not here to bash NJA-I enjoyed my time there but for a 30 year career its about preferences.
Just not having to call the screen readers alone is worth it(just kidding).

Fly Safe
Chuck
Ps I do miss the crew food though.

Well, I have done both also and have to say just the opposite, I enjoy not having to commute on my off time versus having them airline me and fly me on my 1st day ON, and airline me home on my last day ON, being able to use my home airport as my domicile, then having a full 7 days OFF without having to worry about a phone call when they try to junior assign you, I don't have to have a crash pad any more, I don't have to beg for a free ride to get to work or to go home, with the 7/7 schedule, I work less than 5 months in a year when you include 2 training cycles, and vacation, I don't have to worry about bidding for a schedule every month, I pretty much know my whole schedule for the year minus training, to me that was a huge pain, having to bid wastes a lot of time, sorting through all of the bid lines, the only thing I have to worry about when I come home now is to do my expense report, and it is all electronic anyways, some of the other huge differences between us and JetBlue is the fact that your benefits are company paid for, and we have one of the highest matching 401k plans in the industry, even bigger than SouthWest, and much better than JetBlue's, not bashing, just stating the facts, plus excellent hotels, company provides you with a cell phone, actually a blackberry, even better, you get to keep all of your points and miles, and to be honest, when I use my miles, I have a real ticket, when I non-reved family, they got bumped more times than it was worth, with miles, they have a real ticket with a seat assingment

I can keep going, but again it is all about what you want, I am glad to leave the airline industry, it was not for me, it was fun to fly for a major, but that all died away, I told them NO when the recall came, I am having to much fun where I am now

 

[cgmason1]

Batsky
I have to agree with you.
The perks at NJA/NJI are great.
Fully Paid Med/Dental, 401K-very nice
Also the time off you get at NJA/NJI with vacation and a few strategically placed sick days is also excellent.

When you say you have done both-do you mean JB and NJA/NJI or another airline?
The main reason I brought up having been at NJA and JB is the previous poster shows him/herself as a dispatcher and sounded like they were slamming someone for a job decision in a position in which they can't totally identify with.

If I was in the same position as some of these guys facing this decision it would be tough to leave and start over again.

I left at the 3 yr point-and would still do it today just based on the day to day job-and I love being able to be in the position to do day turns and be home every night-if thats what I choose.(of course you have to live in base for that to work out and have the seniority to hold it).
Also at JB we dont bid lines-we bid trips via pref bidding.(ie I want weekends off, a certain trip, start time/end time etc)
So your pref's dont change each month-you dont have to spend allot of time scouring the trips and rebidding.

Anyway-just info.
I know everyone is passionate about their job/company and doesnt want to see it put down.

Now please send me a steak ceaser and all the hilton points you can spare.

Fly Safe
Chuck

 

[Lake Alice]

You're right - it comes down to a personal decision. However, you left before the new contract. I think it would be difficult to justify leaving Netjets now given Jet Blue's slower growth going forward (slower than the last few years). If you are a Captain earning $100K+ and you live in a domicile of your choice and have a schedule you enjoy, an offer from Jet Blue or any other 121 looks less appealing. To each his own I guess...

I would still have left. Long term I will make more money at JB than at NJA. Currently I work less than I would at NJA, days and hours. Commuting, I go up the same day and come home the same day. I know what time my trips start and end and what my commute is like. As I mentioned before I am much more in control of my life than I ever was before. I needed a weekend off that I wasnt scheduled so I droped a trip and picked up another one that gave me the weekend off. My QOL on the road has also significantly increased. Red-eys or not I know exactly when and where I will be sleeping. 100K at NJA was not worth it for me to stay. QOL at NJA for me only meant not commuting, thats it! Crew food and above average hotels does not make for great QOL in my opinion.
When and what time do I go to work and come home. Thats QOL to me, something NJA can't provide. None of this includes moron CP/PM's and being hung out to dry. Granted, that sort of thing can happen anywhere but we haven't established stabbing people in the back as a presecent at JB.

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking NJA or anyone elses choice to stay there since it got me where I wanted to go but from my perscpective my life drasticaly improved the day I started at JB. Long term I will make more money, have more time off and work tons less.

 

[buttercup]

I would still have left. Long term I will make more money at JB than at NJA. Currently I work less than I would at NJA, days and hours. Commuting, I go up the same day and come home the same day. I know what time my trips start and end and what my commute is like. As I mentioned before I am much more in control of my life than I ever was before. I needed a weekend off that I wasnt scheduled so I droped a trip and picked up another one that gave me the weekend off. My QOL on the road has also significantly increased. Red-eys or not I know exactly when and where I will be sleeping. 100K at NJA was not worth it for me to stay. QOL at NJA for me only meant not commuting, thats it! Crew food and above average hotels does not make for great QOL in my opinion.
When and what time do I go to work and come home. Thats QOL to me, something NJA can't provide. None of this includes moron CP/PM's and being hung out to dry. Granted, that sort of thing can happen anywhere but we haven't established stabbing people in the back as a presecent at JB.

Don't get me wrong, I am not knocking NJA or anyone elses choice to stay there since it got me where I wanted to go but from my perscpective my life drasticaly improved the day I started at JB. Long term I will make more money, have more time off and work tons less.

Dont even waste your time trying to reason. It's no coincidence here that everyone that has been at both companies has said Jetblue is better. Let those who enjoy being Daddy Warbucks' little bit*h have their ways as they leave their families for a week at a time like animals. It's sad that some people never want better for themselves and their families.

 

[Heavy Set]

Dont even waste your time trying to reason. It's no coincidence here that everyone that has been at both companies has said Jetblue is better. Let those who enjoy being Daddy Warbucks' little bit*h have their ways as they leave their families for a week at a time like animals. It's sad that some people never want better for themselves and their families.

Some people prefer unlimited/varied destinations vs. the same routes over and over again. Some people prefer high performance aircraft (does not include Ultra/Encore and Beechjunk) vs. the standard bus. Some people prefer union representation and protection vs. company promises. To each his own - people have different opinions and viewpoints.

The people who you claim love Jet Blue vs. Netjets probably left before the new Netjets contract was achieved. From what I have heard and read, Netjets was a crummy place to be over the last few years - especially before the new contract. I rember that people left Netjets in droves with some justifiably hard feelings. No job is perfect. You sound like you can't look forward and instead only look backwards and how BAD Netjets used to be. The original poster of this thread has a pretty good deal going with a great salary, no commute, PIC status, long vacation breaks, etc. The new Netjets doesn't sound so bad like the older version - but we all realize things can change in this business. Don't slam people for providing advice based upon is very good situation at this time. You never know - Jet Blue might not achieve the growth (and upgrades) everyone expected over the next few years with all of the increased competition. You never know what will happen...

Personally, I would stay at Netjets and enjoy my high salary, PIC position, zero commute, varied destinations, great benefits/401K, and great vacation allowance (with the 7/7 schedule). But that's just my opinion...

 

[batsky2000]

Dont even waste your time trying to reason. It's no coincidence here that everyone that has been at both companies has said Jetblue is better. Let those who enjoy being Daddy Warbucks' little bit*h have their ways as they leave their families for a week at a time like animals. It's sad that some people never want better for themselves and their families.

This was a pleasant conversation till you joined the foray, Look, to each their own, I worked for United, was furloughed, turned them down when they called me back, and this was not my first furlough, when has Netjets or for that matter any Frac furloughed? NEVER!! I said that I have been on both sides and prefer Frac way better, I turned down a chance at SouthWest for NJI, and if you want to see why read the above post, you bring up that 7 days is hard, what are you smoking, I guess you never sat Reserve at an airline, I did for over a year, that really sucked and i commuted, my commute required 2 hops unless I wanted to drive an hour away to catch a 1 hop, plus I was not willing to move, so I did the commute till it got old, but you are calling us that do a 7/7 slaves? are you serious? I get 7 days at home, that allows me time to do many other things that I would not be able to do if I only had 3 or 4 days off, and the company does not call me to try to junior assign me either, and when I take a week of vacation, I have 21 days off in a row, do you? and I have 2 weeks per year till my 5 year mark and then I get 3, with just the 2 weeks and training twice per year, I work about 4 months in the year, how about you? And you think that our job is that much harder? one tour I spent in Europe and flew 4 legs the whole 7 days, another tour I airlined to Hawaii, and flew to Sydney, and spent 5 days there till I airlined home, and I can keep going, how about your boring tours? I work half as much as I did when I worked for the airlines, and I have time to enjoy myself when I am on the road, I look at each tour like a vacation

You are a sad person to think that we are like animals when you should look at how you treat your customers and how we treat ours, your customers stand in a security line for an hour, march on board like cattle, and get fed scraps if they are lucky, our customers bypass all of that hassle, I would rather be a Limo driver than a cabbie or greyhound bus driver

I have a bunch of friends at various airlines that bug me all of the time about trying to get them here, they are not furloughed and would rather leave than stay where they are, in fact one friend is at JetBlue, he has been there for 2 years and does not enjoy it, so I guess there are plenty of animals who would rather fly here on a 7/7 schedule, go figure

And by the way, My life and my families life improved 100% when i joined NJI, versus flying for the airlines

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT NEXT TIME ANIMAL!!!

 

[buttercup]

This was a pleasant conversation till you joined the foray, Look, to each their own, I worked for United, was furloughed, turned them down when they called me back, and this was not my first furlough, when has Netjets or for that matter any Frac furloughed? NEVER!! I said that I have been on both sides and prefer Frac way better, I turned down a chance at SouthWest for NJI, and if you want to see why read the above post, you bring up that 7 days is hard, what are you smoking, I guess you never sat Reserve at an airline, I did for over a year, that really sucked and i commuted, my commute required 2 hops unless I wanted to drive an hour away to catch a 1 hop, plus I was not willing to move, so I did the commute till it got old, but you are calling us that do a 7/7 slaves? are you serious? I get 7 days at home, that allows me time to do many other things that I would not be able to do if I only had 3 or 4 days off, and the company does not call me to try to junior assign me either, and when I take a week of vacation, I have 21 days off in a row, do you? and I have 2 weeks per year till my 5 year mark and then I get 3, with just the 2 weeks and training twice per year, I work about 4 months in the year, how about you? And you think that our job is that much harder? one tour I spent in Europe and flew 4 legs the whole 7 days, another tour I airlined to Hawaii, and flew to Sydney, and spent 5 days there till I airlined home, and I can keep going, how about your boring tours? I work half as much as I did when I worked for the airlines, and I have time to enjoy myself when I am on the road, I look at each tour like a vacation

You are a sad person to think that we are like animals when you should look at how you treat your customers and how we treat ours, your customers stand in a security line for an hour, march on board like cattle, and get fed scraps if they are lucky, our customers bypass all of that hassle, I would rather be a Limo driver than a cabbie or greyhound bus driver

I have a bunch of friends at various airlines that bug me all of the time about trying to get them here, they are not furloughed and would rather leave than stay where they are, in fact one friend is at JetBlue, he has been there for 2 years and does not enjoy it, so I guess there are plenty of animals who would rather fly here on a 7/7 schedule, go figure

And by the way, My life and my families life improved 100% when i joined NJI, versus flying for the airlines

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT NEXT TIME ANIMAL!!!

Easy there big fella you work for NJI!! NJI vs. SWA or JBLU is a toss-up, but the title of this thread is NJA vs. Jetblue. That is a no-brainer

 

[Lake Alice]

one tour I spent in Europe and flew 4 legs the whole 7 days, another tour I airlined to Hawaii, and flew to Sydney, and spent 5 days there till I airlined home, and I can keep going, how about your boring tours? I work half as much as I did when I worked for the airlines, and I have time to enjoy myself when I am on the road, I look at each tour like a vacation

Settle down junior. As as214 said we aren't discussing NJI. NJA and NJI are completely different. You are correct, NJI is like a vacation. NJA, not so much.

 

[On Your Six]

This was a pleasant conversation till you joined the foray, Look, to each their own, I worked for United, was furloughed, turned them down when they called me back, and this was not my first furlough, when has Netjets or for that matter any Frac furloughed? NEVER!! I said that I have been on both sides and prefer Frac way better, I turned down a chance at SouthWest for NJI, and if you want to see why read the above post, you bring up that 7 days is hard, what are you smoking, I guess you never sat Reserve at an airline, I did for over a year, that really sucked and i commuted, my commute required 2 hops unless I wanted to drive an hour away to catch a 1 hop, plus I was not willing to move, so I did the commute till it got old, but you are calling us that do a 7/7 slaves? are you serious? I get 7 days at home, that allows me time to do many other things that I would not be able to do if I only had 3 or 4 days off, and the company does not call me to try to junior assign me either, and when I take a week of vacation, I have 21 days off in a row, do you? and I have 2 weeks per year till my 5 year mark and then I get 3, with just the 2 weeks and training twice per year, I work about 4 months in the year, how about you? And you think that our job is that much harder? one tour I spent in Europe and flew 4 legs the whole 7 days, another tour I airlined to Hawaii, and flew to Sydney, and spent 5 days there till I airlined home, and I can keep going, how about your boring tours? I work half as much as I did when I worked for the airlines, and I have time to enjoy myself when I am on the road, I look at each tour like a vacation

You are a sad person to think that we are like animals when you should look at how you treat your customers and how we treat ours, your customers stand in a security line for an hour, march on board like cattle, and get fed scraps if they are lucky, our customers bypass all of that hassle, I would rather be a Limo driver than a cabbie or greyhound bus driver

I have a bunch of friends at various airlines that bug me all of the time about trying to get them here, they are not furloughed and would rather leave than stay where they are, in fact one friend is at JetBlue, he has been there for 2 years and does not enjoy it, so I guess there are plenty of animals who would rather fly here on a 7/7 schedule, go figure

And by the way, My life and my families life improved 100% when i joined NJI, versus flying for the airlines

GET YOUR FACTS STRAIGHT NEXT TIME ANIMAL!!!

That's a great statement. In the end fellas, this is a personal decision. These types of flying are very different. I too have done both airline (furloughed UAL) and corporate and I prefer the latter myself. That being said, it is a personal choice and it is nice to have choices in this business...

Good luck to the people involved - make a choice and don't look back...

 

[buttercup]

That's a great statement. In the end fellas, this is a personal decision. These types of flying are very different. I too have done both airline (furloughed UAL) and corporate and I prefer the latter myself. That being said, it is a personal choice and it is nice to have choices in this business...

Good luck to the people involved - make a choice and don't look back...

Excellent point. However I'm willing to bet had you never been furloughed from United that you would never leave United to come to NJA. On the opposite end of the spectrum many leave NJA to go other places. Therein lies the difference.

 

[On Your Six]

Excellent point. However I'm willing to bet had you never been furloughed from United that you would never leave United to come to NJA. On the opposite end of the spectrum many leave NJA to go other places. Therein lies the difference.

I would never leave a so-called "stable" job paying $100+K working as a Captain with a great vacation opportunity (essentially 9 weeks with the 7/7 schedule) and excellent benefits for ANY OTHER POSITION - including SWA and Fedex/UPS. But that's just me. The original poster has a great position at the moment. I wouldn't want to give up a good Captain position with great pay/benefits to return to the right seat and a low salary (at least initially) and reserve status.

 

[skiandsurf]

After a long time reader, this is my first post. I had to say something.

You guys crack me up. If you want better for you and your family, then get out of aviation. There is no good aviation job. Do not kid yourself, they all suck. In todays times, there is no secure job or airline. Anyone of them can be gone in a year or two. Everyone of them takes you away from your family. Everyone one of them requires recurrent checkrides and FAA medicals. Everyone of these flying jobs sucks, I never tell people that this is a good or easy job. I tell them that I missed my kids first soccer game, or my daughters prom night. You guys should be saying the same thing. Dont brag about playing golf in Dubai, rather tell them that you were half way around the globe when your water main broke at the house and your wife was cursing you up and down.

Its people like you that the wages and work rules are dropping. Tell the truth. Make it so no one else wants this job, then we can start to make some money.

 

[j31flyer]

Correction

This was a pleasant conversation till you joined the foray, Look, to each their own, I worked for United, was furloughed, turned them down when they called me back, and this was not my first furlough, when has Netjets or for that matter any Frac furloughed? NEVER!!

Just to set the record straight, Flexjet has furloughed TWICE since 9/11. Not a rumor either. I interveiwed with them and was told straight from the company source.

 

[gutshotdraw]

You guys crack me up. If you want better for you and your family, then get out of aviation. There is no good aviation job. Do not kid yourself, they all suck. In todays times, there is no secure job or airline. Anyone of them can be gone in a year or two. Everyone of them takes you away from your family. Everyone one of them requires recurrent checkrides and FAA medicals.

Bing! We have a winner! Go to law school so you can turn right when you board the airplane instead of turning left. Then buy an ATG Javelin to satisfy the yankin-and-bankin urge.

Unfortunately, I'm too old, stubborn, and stupid to go to law school.

 

[ozpilot]

After a long time reader, this is my first post. I had to say something.

You guys crack me up. If you want better for you and your family, then get out of aviation. There is no good aviation job. Do not kid yourself, they all suck. In todays times, there is no secure job or airline. Anyone of them can be gone in a year or two. Everyone of them takes you away from your family. Everyone one of them requires recurrent checkrides and FAA medicals. Everyone of these flying jobs sucks, I never tell people that this is a good or easy job. I tell them that I missed my kids first soccer game, or my daughters prom night. You guys should be saying the same thing. Dont brag about playing golf in Dubai, rather tell them that you were half way around the globe when your water main broke at the house and your wife was cursing you up and down.

Its people like you that the wages and work rules are dropping. Tell the truth. Make it so no one else wants this job, then we can start to make some money.

Well said! For your first post that was excellent. For all you pilots "living the dream" ask you wives if they dreamed as girls of growing up to be single mums for half their lives? I never forget that my "dream" can be my wifes nightmare .... Ever notice that things always go wrong when your on the road? God bless pilots wifes (or husbands) - theres a special place in heaven for them