Would you leave CAL for NJA?

[XLR8]

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?

 

[FR8DOG777]

lifestyle, lifestyle,lifestyle

Dude my neighbor is a check airman for the 737 at cal and just switched over to the 777. Given the opportunity at netjets I wouldn't think twice. Their pay is above cal fo pay, in the long run your not gonna make as much as cal captains, but I think I could accomplish everything in life I set out to do on a 130,000 a year salary with a lot of time off. If you got a shot at netjets I would take it.

 

[ip241au]

If you want to have your life back, NJA would be an improvement over CAL in the short term. Long term (you have 30+ years) CAL would eventually get you a similar lifestyle (14+ days off per month) and probably make more money in the long run.

You would fly more sophisticated planes at NJA and see more of the planet.

With the new (proposed) contract at NJA you could essentiallly live in base (airline ticket to your jet) and eventually make as much money as a CAL captain. Who knows what the new CAL contract will look like, it could be industry leading.

Maybe 121 flying isn't your cup of tea. Life is too short to keep doing a job you aren't happy with just because everyone believes it's a great.

 

[satpak77]

here here attention in the court

Since when do we violate Kit Darbys teachings that a major airline is the peak of the job ladder

 

[johnsonrod]

Absolutely. If you are tired of commuting and you are tired of 121 flying, fractional flying may be a big improvement (especially if the Netjets TA passes). The fact that CAL doesn't have any pilot bases west of Houston is a big negative to many pilots - it forces commuting. Plus, CAL's newhire salary/benefits is a HUGE turnoff.

If you can handle the 7/7 schedule (and you want that schedule of the 3 total types offered), then a move to Netjets could be in order. High starting salaries/benefits (fully-paid healthcare), 100 domiciles including many on the West Coast, unlimited and varied destinations relative to 121 flying, interesting passengers (celebrities/sports stars and others), new and advanced airplanes and a market leadership position, Netjets wouldn't be a bad choice. And Netjets is not a small operation by any means - I counted over 100 aircraft airborne at one time last week on Flightaware.com including 16 Citation Xs.

Again, this type of flying is very different from 121 flying - it is adhoc VIP flying and you need to be flexible. CAL is a great place from what I hear, but 121 flying is not what it used to be... Constant delays at the hubs, financial pressures due to cost-cutting and increasing LCC competition, routine flying to the same destinations over and over again on some fleets, crappy layovers here and there, constant TSA hassels, etc.

I know a few people at Netjets and they are all very happy there - most are ex-121 on the regional side (not to difficult to improve vs. regional flying). If the new TA passes, Netjets will be a great place to be for newhires - I would strongly consider it.

 

[satpak77]

I counted over 100 aircraft airborne at one time last week on Flightaware.com including 16 Citation Xs.

dude how do you do that on flightaware

 

[CA1900]

dude how do you do that on flightaware

http://flightaware.com/live/fleet/EJA

(Change "EJA" to, say, "COA" if you want to look at another company's flights.)

 

[Spooky 2]

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?

Stick with CAL and see what comes of it. No guarantees in ether side but I think the deal is weighted on the CAL side of the house....long term. Here is a novel idea.....move and get over the issue.

 

[satpak77]

http://flightaware.com/live/fleet/EJA

(Change "EJA" to, say, "COA" if you want to look at another company's flights.)

thanks bro

 

[Danny040]

I had the tastiest breakfast burrito for my crew meal yesterday. The thing was bigger than my head. mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm i'll never leave my dick cheney breakfasts.

crewmealsrock

 

[Patriot328]

What does a 2nd-3rd yr FO at NJA make with the various types of schedules? Being nearly off probation, you have to consider where you are at CAL and what your future holds against starting over at NJA at the very bottom of a seniority list. How long is it to upgrade at each place? Estimated pay over the next 5-10 yrs, whether you upgrade or not...

Not having to commute should be a big factor in deciding where to work. If I were well rooted in a NJA domicile and thought I would never move, I would give some serious consideration to applying there. My personal opinion, anyway...

 

[climbhappy]

i think it comes down to this: if you don't want to move your family, then the commute will do you in sooner or later. you'll want NJA because of the new deal.

 

[Mooneymite]

Who Knows

Tough call. Without a crystal ball, no one can tell you what to do. However, I'd definitely stick with CAL for a couple of reasons. First, I think the 121 world is at the bottom of a cycle. I don't think it'll get any worse. Second, there's a good chance that over your career, CAL pilots will negotiate some big improvements. Thirdly, NJA is about to enter into a deal that could tie them up for another 8.5 years. They could really get hammered by inflation. What you see, is all you'll be getting for about 10 years.

NetJets' QOL is good, but a 121 carrier can offer a lot of things that the NJA guys can NEVER have based on the kind of operation it is. You'll be cleaning planes, toting bags and flying into tiny little airports for the rest of your life. Doesn't matter how senior you get. You're never going to fly high time turn-arounds 12 days/month.

As far as commuting. Move to your base and give yourself the biggest increase in QOL imagineable. Do it while you and your family are young.

 

[jppt2000]

Tough call; true but not accurate

Tough call. Without a crystal ball, no one can tell you what to do. However, I'd definitely stick with CAL for a couple of reasons. First, I think the 121 world is at the bottom of a cycle. I don't think it'll get any worse. Second, there's a good chance that over your career, CAL pilots will negotiate some big improvements. Thirdly, NJA is about to enter into a deal that could tie them up for another 8.5 years. They could really get hammered by inflation. What you see, is all you'll be getting for about 10 years.

NetJets' QOL is good, but a 121 carrier can offer a lot of things that the NJA guys can NEVER have based on the kind of operation it is. You'll be cleaning planes, toting bags and flying into tiny little airports for the rest of your life. Doesn't matter how senior you get. You're never going to fly high time turn-arounds 12 days/month.

As far as commuting. Move to your base and give yourself the biggest increase in QOL imagineable. Do it while you and your family are young.

I guess I would ask myself what kind of flying do I want to do?
A very wise and senior NJA pilot once asked me, "Do you really want to fly the "big" rigs? if so, move on, you'll never be happy. He then put on a Jimmy Buffett CD over the plane's surround sound system as we waited for pax.

With any job there are parts of a job that are a chore.

We are responsible for cleaning planes, occasionallytoting bags, and flying into a variety (circling at night in weather) of airports.

Eight years ago, I left the excellent group of pilots at ASA, for another excellent group of aviators at EJA. Since then, I've been to every state in the union.
BTW they let us fly into those "big airplane" airports too.

Also, we have the ability to "tip" folks at those little airports to help us with those chores.

One last thing, our union. Best group of leaders
I have ever seen. QOL, benefits, future, pay and job security have all been vastly improved and secured because of their hard work.
Every retired ALPA/Airline pilot I have flown with are in awe of what's been accomplished here.

 

[HAZ-MAT]

I've been to every state in the union.

"I've been everywhere" by Johnny Cash...
I've been to 42 of the places mentioned in that song, and its been a little less than two years here. :beer: