Terms, Salaries and Quality of Life in Corporate Aviation

[Oluf]

Hi All

I would like to get a feel for how the rest of the Crews in the Business Aviation Comunity are viewing the current conditions and their outlook on the future.

The concidering points that I am taking into account are Cost of Education, Experience and Quality of personal time.

It seems to me that there is a growing pressure on crews to accept way to many duty days, poor management of designated time off and a salary that does not really match the cost of Education and time spent away from home.

Isee a lot of 14/14 Rosters or 35/31 Rosters also contracts that demand Pilots to be available for 21+ days per 30 day months. I personally feel this is unbalanced. To Compare: A person working in a 9-5 job typically works 5 days per week and gets 4 1/2 weekends per month off(9days) + vacation.
For Oilworkers on the platforms in the North Sea it is common with 2 weeks on 4 week off. I bring this into it because I feel Crews should be compensated for Nights away from home and are often asked to make their vacations where they are rostered off.

I know this sounds like something that should be posted under terms and endearment but I beg the moderator not to move it as I feel it very much is a issue for Business Aviation. The Airlines have Unions that have negotiated in the past, and created sort of a platform for them to lean on. No such thing in General Aviation. I am absolutely appaled at an industry that forces the cost of TR's onto already highly indebted young pilots and then pay them peanuts under terms that border on slavery.

I have been in the industry for over 20 years, I don't belive it's fair to roster more than 18 days per month. TR's done by company, Bonding is OK, and a decent salary for all levels of experience.

Looking forward to your views.

Be gentle

Oluf:confused:

[south coast]

I think NetJets offers a good package.

6 on, 5 off typically working to a max of 50 days a quater.

A stable monthly roster, sent out by the 15th of the previous month.

An online holiday bidding system.

I dont believe there is any help towards educating children, unless one takes an office position in Lisbon.

Quality of life is good as one can choose you want to reside within Europe with close to 40 odd airport-gateways available.

Salary is slightly above the market average.

Quick commands.

All in all, a good company to work for.

[Flintstone]

What south coast says is true but when you tire of being just a number you need to find a company that treats you as an individual. Like, ooooooooooohh, I don't know. TAG?


Psssst south coast, want a job? ;)

[south coast]

Why would I want to be treated like an individual, surely just following the orders of the whizz-kids in Lisbon is much easier.

One never needs to make a decision, you just do as you're briefed.

[Flintstone]

:O Come over to the dark side sc, you know you want to.



Oluf.

The trouble(?) with the bizjet industry is that it is so varied (although many of us enjoy that). Owner/operators differ considerably and their needs, requirements and everything that flows from that vary accordingly. Then we have the differences from country to country. Salaries are notoriously poor in Germany and Austria, conditions in GA in France are .......not the best, I am prepared to be corrected here but the UK seems to offer us a better deal. That said there are threads running in this forum on at least two UK operators who appear to have shafted their employees so maybe it's not all great.

As for self funded type ratings and the like, let's not go down that route. My blood pressure is fine and I'd like to keep it that way.

[Oluf]

I accept the fact that Netjets is becoming the standard or which a comparrison can be made as it is the biggest operator in Europe. That however does not make their package the right one, as it is a very varied market when it gets down to variable types of operation between operators and countries.

I agree that certain countries have something left to be desired when it comes to terms, whilst others seems to have understood that quality in service requires quality in terms and treatment. Every country will have the odd one out for better or worse.

I have flown Corporate now for most of my aviation career and enjoy the variation. I don't mind the extra challenges that arrise on a day to day basis, as a matter of fact I thrive on them. It's part of what makes the job what it is. I don't however feel that we should have to agree to the amount of uncertainty when it comes down to working days and amount of duty. Our job is not better or worse, harder or easier than Airlines, it's just different in the set up.

There are many operators and AircraftBrokers who are selling the cost of operation at a far to low rate to the owners, giving them a very distorted view of what to expect from their crews.

In General my impression is that the crews I meet on tour are happy to work hard on duty days, but that this attitude fades if Off Days are not kept in order. After all we work to live not the other way around............Right?

O:uhoh:

[init2winit]

After all we work to live not the other way around............Right?
Absolutely.

I work 28on/28off and am very happy. When at work I work hard and when at play I play hard.
What a cliche, sorry :rolleyes: