Originally Posted by
buzzc152
Plenty of bad stuff. Ask any NJE pilot what they hate about the job and most will probably say ‘airlining’. It sucks, especially in covid times. Long duty days. Expect to fly anywhere from 300-450 hours a year, which doesn’t sound much but also expect to regularly hit 60 hour weekly duty limit.
If you had your heart set on that planned midday finish in Palma Mallorca and you’ll get upset when they add an extra 2 legs at the last minute finishing in the worst hotel in Luxumbourg at 10pm then think twice. You need to expect and be able to cope with last minute changes, especially over the high season which currently runs from Jan 1st-Dec 31st (nb, the hotels generally are pretty good)
Also be comfortable with operating on a small aircraft like the Phenom. It’s a great aeroplane but it is small. Learn to love that.
Time to command…..almost impossible to predict but I’d guess in the 7 year range for someone joining today.
I’m sure there’s stuff that annoys me but others cope with better. Each to their own. For me, the positives outweigh the negatives by 10-1 at least.
Oh, and contrary to what one generous person has posted above, don’t expect tips to supplement your income. I get between 0 and 1 tips per year and I’m sure I’m not alone in that (we don’t look for or expect tips…our customers are paying premium €£ for our services and we’ll always go the extra mile irrespective of whether or not we think there might be a tip at the end of it).
That's a wealth of information and very much appreciated. The last minute changes really wouldn't affect me as long as it's just on the 6 days on. My general attitude is when I'm working, I'm working. Time to command is still certainly less than my current airline. The 'airlining' I presume means commuting to an aircraft with the airlines? Is this always in economy and is there much of it? A ridiculously specific and probably odd question. Is there a toilet on all aircraft and can crew use it? I've heard horror stories of certain small cargo ops lacking 'facilities'...