PilotGeek:
From what I have read and heard from guys with buddies at NetJets, NetJ sounds like it is probably a really good choice, not just based upon comparative pay at airlinepilotpay.com or whatever.
1) They appear to work long duty periods, but cause less damage to your
immune system compared to trans-oceanic and/or all-night flying, plus there seems to be a very good commute/deadheading policy.
2) Fractional jet companies are grabbing flying from the passenger airlines.
3) NetJets, the best fractional, has ordered lots of aircraft and appear to have a much more secure future than many US passenger airlines (or some cargo airlines?). The pilot seem to work many very long days with Part 135 ops, but so do so many Part 121 flightcrews. But we don't "put the plane to bed" other than the 'securing checklist'.
4) Isolating the 'heavy-metal'/large aircraft 'ego factor' helps one make a better long-term decision. If one feels lousy when Starting (!) a long duty period, where is the oft-touted heavy 'glamour 'factor', not just when delaying for two days waiting for greasy freight containers to arrive, when these could be your extra 1 or 2 days off at home?
Some Kallita guys did not begin their EWR-AMS flights until AFTER midnight-
no thank you.
And speaking of...my wife and I went downstairs (last May) in a hotel at AMS in order to find a sandwich (the euro/dollar conversion was far too expensive there for the last night on vacation), and the very first comments I overheard as we strolled into the bar were from a Kallita pilot about mainline narrowbody versus RJ flying. His words instantly grabbed my full attention! He was furloughed at my company years ago and was deciding whether to return when recalled.
Last edited by Ignition Override; 29th Sep 2007 at 05:22.