to leave a regional for a fractional or?

[ductleak]

Guys:

For those of you that are currently at the regionals, I am seeking some input here.

I currently fly for a very good regional that is great, but I commute to work out of Dallas. I will hold a line in the very near future.

I have an opportunity to go work at a very nice fractional operator soon... No commuting, better pay, PIC turbine time... You know... Really good stuff... I can't move to one of the bases that my regional flys out of due to family obligations and will always be commuting with the regional airline that I am currently at...

If you had the same opportunity, how would you approach this? I am seeking input from those of you that are out there now and who have "been there and done that".

Fire away!

 

[LAPD Airship]

go to the fractional....whats to think about here?

 

[lionflyer]

If you don't mind 7days on, 7 off, go for it. I would except I can barely stand being away 4 days let alone 7.

 

[Diesel]

the wife works for a regional. I work for a fractional. I love the 7 off. Took 3 months off this summer. It all depends what you want out of life.

Of course remember without a union your just upgrading based on merit and your pay raises are assosicated. I know a lot of FO's who keep getting passed over for upgrades.

Which frac flops or citation shares.

Wait if it's dallas it's Flex? Id' find out about their schedule. It's supposed to have changed quite a bit.

 

[ductleak]

Flex?

Yes, it could be FLex, but it may not be... CS also has a base here in Dallas. Does anyone have any info on both of these operators? Time off, etc... I am trying to make an educated decision here and do not know what to do for sure yet and the time is quickly ticking away... I do work for a great regional with a lot of growth in the next 2 years, but commuting and pay really do take a lot from the whole scene here...


More info????????????????? Fire away!

 

[porra]

look at all your options...Where do you want to end up at the end....If for example you want to end up with jet blue, you'll need time on a/c over 20K, Airtran wants 500hrs PIC 121, etc.... Since you said money is good, you don't have to worry about that....As for myself, 7 days off really souds good. No more commuting... wow...being based at home...
I know is a tough decision to make, but good luck...

 

[WileE]

I already made that decision.

I went for the fractional and haven't regretted it a bit. I was commuting too and having the solid 7 days off is great. Remember you aren't doing anything work related on those 7 days, just straight time off. If you have an in at one of the big 4 I'd leap on it. The flying is a lot more fun too, lots of cool airports all over the country. Variety is the spice of life an all.

 

[General Lee]

As the economy gets better, the fractionals will expand more to keep up with all of the new money out there. If you don't care about what you are flying (a Citation Exel vs an RJ), and you want quality of life and good pay (not great), go for the fractional. I have friends at Exec-jet (netjets) and Flexjet and they enjoy their lifestyles. My friend at Execjet likes the 7 on 7 off, and says his 7 on go by fairly fast.

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[ductleak]

NJA vs. FLEX

Thanks for the replies from all of you. I have done my research on FLEX and it all sounds great. I am also in the interview pool at NJA and I think that if I shoot over to FLEX, I am locked in for a while (2 years).

From what everyone has told me, the upgrades are very slow at FLEXJET right now. I have some time to think about it all. About a week! That is right, one week. !@#$ Kind of scares the crap out of me to be honest with you. I have a chance to go to NJA too...

The schedules at Flex seem to be a little different than those at Options and NJA. From what I gather, you could be gone for as long as 8 days and then have only 3 days off... Anyone??

Well, again, thanks for the info...