NJA size

[Hawker dude]

Can someone please tell me how NJA operates at a ratio of just above 5 pilots per aircraft and the 4 aircraft carriers above us by size operate at 15 pilots per aircraft.

how does this make sense? of course we can't get an answer from management or the union.

 

[T-1GUY]

Above us ?

 

[glasspilot]

Because airlines staff multiple crews per plane per day. Fractional pilots usually keep the same plane all week.

 

[gret]

an airliner flies more than 3K hours per year

 

[jtf]

The numbers at NJA are currently closer to 6 per airplane and only required to be at 5 per the contract. We are actually quite fat compared to the vast majority of fractionals and way fat compared to charter and owner-operators. I would sure love to see NJA staffed at a higher level since I'm working my behind off on all my work tours, but I doubt we will see that any time soon. The only reason we are over 5 is all the guys and gals in training as they get displaced. I sure hope they don't figure out how to get 3000 hours or even 2000 hours a year out of fractional jets because if they do, it would probably be with much less staffing than the airlines and a lot more work for us.

 

[Dassault]

Another major difference is the airlines work mx on their planes each night and keep them operational much easier than NetJets does. It is not unusual for half the planes in any one fleet to be down for mx each day at NetJets.

 

[aa73]

Is NJA still the place to be? Good QOL, happy crews? I ask b/c I ran into a NJA the other day and whilst chatting, I got the impression it wasn't so rosy anymore. Couple of years ago I was actually looking at jumping ship from AA when it looked like I was furlough fodder.

 

[jtf]

NJA is a good job, but it is currently shrinking and won't be hiring for a looooooong time. The guys and gals on the bottom are nervous and management is willfully breaking the contract more and more. It was a much nicer environment when the union and company played well together, but I still like the job quite a bit. That doesn't mean I'm not looking to see what else is out there since I don't really trust my job to survive forever. It is a vastly different job than AA and good in it's own ways. Knowing what we know now, I'm sure you won't be giving it a second thought since the retirements at AA will be coming fast a furious soon so you probably won't have to slave too much longer before your a captain (almost certainly you will be a captain well before you could even get hired at NJA).

 

[aa73]

Thanks, jtf... nah, no plans of leaving AA, just gathering the info for my up and coming aviation friends who constantly ask me for advice on where to go. Hope it works out for you guys, I know tons of people who went there when Indy Air went under.

73, ex Blue Ridge

 

[jtf]

I would be willing to bet that lots of current NJA pilots end up at AA whenever AA starts hiring again. Things should get interesting in the next few years.