Questions for NetJet Pilots

[gunfyter]

... that X looks like it's doing Mach .90 just sitting on the ramp. I remember the first time I saw one I thought if I could afford to I'd fly the thing for free I'd do it just for the fun of it.

AirBear

You come to the right place then....

 

[AirBear8]

LOL, I said if I could afford it I'd fly it for free.

I just got a good debrief over the phone with a NetJets union rep, it was very informative. I think he gave me a balanced look at life with the company.

One thing he didn't know was flex pay for F/O's. He said Captains could make an extra $8K to $10K/yr doing that but he wasn't sure about F/O's. If anyone knows this I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to add up what I can make the first year or two.

Thanks again,

AirBear

 

[Grizz]

For new F/Os the Flex pays about $450 more a month.

 

[AirBear8]

For new F/Os the Flex pays about $450 more a month.

Thanks for that info. I should have also asked about per diem, the rep I talked to wasn't real sure what that added up to other than it was $1.60/hr. I think the total is a LOT more than I'm getting at Mesa ($1.18/hr) and you get a lot more hours of it because of they way you're trips are run. My guesstimate if you're doing flex was over $600/month, but I'm not very certain of that.

You guys are helping me out a lot here, I am very gratefull for the assistence in making this difficult decision.

AirBear

 

[Diesel]

1.60 an hour starts when you leave your gateway until you get back. As long as your working the company will buy you food. I don't ask for much but I have to be kept well fed. Period End of discussion.

I wouldn't plan on perdiem. As a new hire you will sit in the bullpen quite a bit. Not collecting per diem.

2 weeks of indoc
Probably a break
2-3 weeks of aircraft training
3 days of aircraft training
ioe backed up so far expect to sit for a month or two as an SIC

 

[Hawk Driver]

One thing he didn't know was flex pay for F/O's. He said Captains could make an extra $8K to $10K/yr doing that but he wasn't sure about F/O's. If anyone knows this I'd appreciate it. I'm trying to add up what I can make the first year or two.

First year F/O on "Flex" is $2697/mth vs. $2259/mth 17 Day or 7/7.

Hope this helps.

HD

 

[rk772]

Does NJ seat-lock you into your initial equipment for a period of time or can you bid into bigger equipment after IOE?

 

[Hawk Driver]

Does NJ seat-lock you into your initial equipment for a period of time or can you bid into bigger equipment after IOE?

Every new pilot and captain upgrade are seat locked for two years. HOWEVER, should a bid come out that they couldn't fill and you bid, the company has the option to release you from your lock and allow you to move to another airplane. I bet no one has been released from a seat lock in a long, long time. They were allowing this years ago when there were so many upgrade bids that they couldn't even come close to filling.

HD

 

[njwingman]

AirBear8 --

If you decide to make NetJets your next home, we will welcome you.

However, a bit of advice before you make the leap:

1) Don't count on per diem as a source of income. Figure on it making up for the overtime and legitimate expenses NJ will beat you out of. The management style here is to jump over dollars to get to the nickels, and they are masters at it. I've never seen anything like it.

2) Be able to hang in financially for at least three years. I STILL remember the first 3 years here and how tough it was financially and I was on captain's pay after the first 9 months. You need lots of credit to get you through.

3) The upgrade situation is going to be tough for a while. All the bids are going very senior simply because guys are bidding into a/c for the schedule they can hold. This may or may not improve with a new contract. We hope so, but I don't advise betting on the come.

4) If you have lots of time, they may put you into the larger aircraft. That's the way it seems to me from my perspective. Don't know it to be a fact.

Good luck.

 

[AirBear8]

Thanks again for all the info. Today I've talked to 2 NJA pilots who saw my post. One was a volunteer with the union and the other an ex-usair pilot like myself. I think I got a pretty balanced view of what to expect.

I do have a lot of larger plane time from a variety of planes I flew at US Airways and from the CRJ200 at Mesa. I even flew the old 67 pax Fokker 28's at Airways. So I'm hopeful I'll get one of the midsize or larger planes.

As for the pay I don't think it'll be that bad except in training. I won't mind working days off and I think there will be plenty of oportunities for that. I took another look at my Mesa pay and I think $55K is a long shot. Min guarantee would run around $49K. If I can hold a line the whole year I might get closer to $54K, but that's iffy because we have very poor cancellation pay. Then I've got to knock $5K off to pay medical insurance and commuting cost, and that's not putting any value on the stress and hassle of commuting.

I'm going to go to the interview and listen to what they have to say. I know they'll paint a very rosy picture but I think I've gotten enough intel to have a good idea of what's realistic or not.

AirBear