Would you leave CAL for NJA?

[lookin4better]

1) We have the financial backing of Berk Hath (Warren Buffett) here. They print their own money...

2) Our CEO MADE this business. He loves it. I far more enjoy having him at the helm than some trust fund reject that made Cs and Ds at the Wharton School of Business.

3) We will not park airplanes as the price of oil climbs. Our Owners will fly regardless.

These are HUGE points!

 

[asayankee]

When is the decision on the TA supposed to be announced?

 

[VVJM265]

Don't come to NetJets...

I haven't posted much on here lately but have been meaning to say this for a while. Don't come here...

- If you aren't willing to load the bags in the jet;
- If you aren't willing to spend a few minutes briefing the pax with a smile on your face and going the extra step to make sure they are comfortable (like helping the old lady get her seatbelt fastened, making sure they have they have a blanket, etc);
- If you aren't willing to clean up the cabin after the pax leave after each flight; it only takes about 10 min on a BAD day (that was a family w/ two kids who trashed the plane);
- If you aren't willing to make sure the plane is stocked and cleaned before every flight or before you turn it over to the next crew;
- If you aren't willing to do the Jepps updates every other week or whatever the cycle is;
- If your ego is dependent on the size of your aircraft;
- If you don't want every day to be different;
- If you don't want to fly into uncontrolled airfields;
etc, etc, etc.

The point is that at NetJets you will be a customer service rep, who happens to also fly the airplane. If you are willing to make that little extra effort and want some real job security and some of the best flying out there, then by all means come here.

You will meet some great people, like Flylow22. Every week is different and you never know where they will send you; for example the week 22 & I flew together we sat at the FBO somewhere in TX day 1 while we watched his collection of DVDs on the 70" TV; next day flew empty to Sedona, picked up 4 golfers and took them to Modesto, then empty to LAS and met up with his AirTran buddies for beer; LAS-SJC-TUS-SFO the next day; day 4 was SFO-SMO and then my poor PIC got sick so they put us up in the Sheraton 4 blocks from the beach in Santa Monica. Man that sucked. And so the week went... One week I was able to see my parents, brother, sister and daughter all within two days. Another week, I had dinner with my cousins I hadn't seen in 2 yrs. Last week flew empty to Cabo to pick up 3 pax and take them to Brown Field in San Diego.

The new TA hasn't passed yet, but it looks good and is expected to pass. It will make NetJets a very attractive career option, one of the best, IMO. If anyone is planning on leaving the majors to come here, please do your homework. There are some things that are different from the 121 world like I described above. This is my first civilan flying job and I plan on staying here till the end of my flying days. I truly hope hope that anyone who comes here is as happy as I am.

Now back to the big screen TV while the puzzle palace tries to figure out where to send us today.

Best of luck to the original poster in your decision...
VVJM265
:beer:

 

[VVJM265]

Don't come to NetJets...

duplicate

 

[johnsonrod]

I haven't posted much on here lately but have been meaning to say this for a while. Don't come here...

- If you aren't willing to load the bags in the jet;
- If you aren't willing to spend a few minutes briefing the pax with a smile on your face and going the extra step to make sure they are comfortable (like helping the old lady get her seatbelt fastened, making sure they have they have a blanket, etc);
- If you aren't willing to clean up the cabin after the pax leave after each flight; it only takes about 10 min on a BAD day (that was a family w/ two kids who trashed the plane);
- If you aren't willing to make sure the plane is stocked and cleaned before every flight or before you turn it over to the next crew;
- If you aren't willing to do the Jepps updates every other week or whatever the cycle is;
- If your ego is dependent on the size of your aircraft;
- If you don't want every day to be different;
- If you don't want to fly into uncontrolled airfields;
etc, etc, etc.

The point is that at NetJets you will be a customer service rep, who happens to also fly the airplane. If you are willing to make that little extra effort and want some real job security and some of the best flying out there, then by all means come here.

You will meet some great people, like Flylow22. Every week is different and you never know where they will send you; for example the week 22 & I flew together we sat at the FBO somewhere in TX day 1 while we watched his collection of DVDs on the 70" TV; next day flew empty to Sedona, picked up 4 golfers and took them to Modesto, then empty to LAS and met up with his AirTran buddies for beer; LAS-SJC-TUS-SFO the next day; day 4 was SFO-SMO and then my poor PIC got sick so they put us up in the Sheraton 4 blocks from the beach in Santa Monica. Man that sucked. And so the week went... One week I was able to see my parents, brother, sister and daughter all within two days. Another week, I had dinner with my cousins I hadn't seen in 2 yrs. Last week flew empty to Cabo to pick up 3 pax and take them to Brown Field in San Diego.

The new TA hasn't passed yet, but it looks good and is expected to pass. It will make NetJets a very attractive career option, one of the best, IMO. If anyone is planning on leaving the majors to come here, please do your homework. There are some things that are different from the 121 world like I described above. This is my first civilan flying job and I plan on staying here till the end of my flying days. I truly hope hope that anyone who comes here is as happy as I am.

Now back to the big screen TV while the puzzle palace tries to figure out where to send us today.

Best of luck to the original poster in your decision...
VVJM265
:beer:

Great post. And it dispells the theory that all fractional pilots are super busy during their tours. Clearly your fleet type can make a big difference. If you fly the Citation X or XL/XLS you may be very busy. If you fly the Encore/Ultra or Beechjet you may not fly much at all but you are still paid well. Fleet type matters.

Fractional flying may not be for everyone - flexibility is a requirement. But NJA's new TA will certainly attract a lot of attention if it passes soon... Apply now before the onslaught of applications begins.

 

[NJA Capt]

Planes do get parked in the corporate and frac. world, and then the folks head back to the cheaper seat airlines. When times get hard, both business jets and airliners get parked and or sold!

In the 10 years I have been here, there have been two market downturns, the dot-com crash and 9/11. No furloughs, no layoffs and no planes sold. Customers, pilots and planes have kept coming. I am not saying we are immune, but so far it hasn't affected the frac world the same as full-corporate departments or airlines.

Regardless of airline opinions, there is a large contingent of "A-list" pax who will NEVER ride on an airliner. That list is much larger than you think.

 

[Guitar Guy]

When is the decision on the TA supposed to be announced?

The vote count is November 20 - a week from this coming Tuesday.

 

[LJDRVR]

Stick with CAL. More money over the course of your career, and more options for lifestyle. I'm in the same boat as you are seniority-wise and yes, they work us like dogs. But things are getting better all the time, Section six starts in April, we're on track to make a Billion dollars this year and have three Billion in the bank.

Netjets is a great company, but for my personal tastes, I like my airline standardization, and having control over my schedule and life. I know where I'm going next and I'll never have to sit around and FBO waiting on people again.

Read On You Six's post. Excellent advice there.

 

[FLYLOW22]

Planes do get parked in the corporate and frac. world, and then the folks head back to the cheaper seat airlines. When times get hard, both business jets and airliners get parked and or sold!

Actually, we have a waiting list for Owners. This company is limited by infrastructure (runways, airspace, ramps) more than economics that come and go with the economy. It's quite amazing how much money flows through this place and the cycle of business in no way resembles the 121 world. In fact, following 9/11 our business skyrocketed.

Planes DO get parked in the corp world but I'd be willing to look at your evidence that the fractional business shares the same weaknesses.

Usually, when a Fortune 500 company feels the crunch of economy, the 1st thing to go is the flight department. The first stop that company makes is with the Frax to see if they can buy a few shares to save money.

 

[CAL EWR B737]

I've been on with Continental Airlines since Nov of 2006 so I'm just about off probation. I'm getting sick of commuting and the whole 7 on/7 off sounds pretty appealing. That along with good pay, good equipment, and all the other great things I've heard of NJA.

So, would you leave a legacy carrier for NJA if it meant better QOL? Granted, there are a lot of things I love about CAL but commuting isn't one of them and I have 37 years left in this business provided I don't die between now and then.

Comments?

Good luck whatever decision you make honestly! Just my two cents I have left Continental twice in my 21 years. Thankfully both times on Company Offered Leave of Absences where I kept my seniority, no longevity loss or any penalties except service credit to our now frozen A fund.

Like you I got hired very young at CAL, (I was hired at 21 on 4-13-87) and I will retire number one. Both times when I left I took the COLA because it was being offered but I would have quit both times without the COLA . Both times I regretted my decision as I found out the grass wasn't any greener on the other side.


One question you need to get a good answer on. What is the Long Term Disability pay at Net Jets? You are young with a long career, a high percentage of pilots medical out, some temporarily and some permanently. If I lost my medical at today I make $75K tax free until 60. Our LTD is one of the worst so I hope it will get better in Contract 08. Obviously you wouldn't make that today on LTD but if you upgraded to CA (even reserve) in a few years and lost your medical you would get almost as much.

Either way good luck and make the decision based on the best factual information you can obtain. The hard part is nothing is constant in this business so even a decision based on sound information today doesn't mean the information will be the same in the years ahead.

Fraternally,

Jayson Baron
CAL EWR B756CA