Airline pilots gone GA!

[MEG@DK]

Good afternoon,

I am looking for former airline pilots that at some point in the past decided that driving to work then flying A to B back to A, to C back to A and then driving home again wasn't for them and decided to try their luck in GA. Private, fractional, managed or charter doesn't really matter.. I just want to hear what you think now that you have tried both!?

I have spent 10 years in corporate. Been lucky and made captain, training captain and not had too much time out of employment... BUT! I now have a family and the never ending issue of job security, 2 on/2 off or 3 on/3off or 20on/10 off roster patterns, still on call on "days off" and never really sure if I can make family events and birthdays has started to nag a little..

Would I be better off with an airline job? I have met airline pilots that hated what they're doing and others that loved it. Equally the GA life suits some and not others, but I'd like to hear from former airline pilots and your look on moving to GA?

Your thoughts on: Time at home vs time away (Do you have a family?). Is it better to have 14 days off and spend quality time at home or is it better to be home a little on a more regular basis?

Flying for an airline, how monotonous is it? Having done Luton, Moscow, Kiev, Dubai, Maldives, Niamey, Malaga, Cannes, Luton as a normal week, how does that compare to Heathrow - Oslo - Heathrow - Home?

And anything else you can think of?!

Please do not make this a mudslinging fest at some peoples choice or what suits some and doesn't suit others. I am just looking for why some has made the choice and if they are happy or unhappy with it!

All the best

M

[Oceanic815Pilot]

I'm a former airline guy turned corporate...

I spent 15 years airline with decent schedules, mostly 4 on 3 off or 3 on 3 off and able to drive to base. City pairings were varied enough that I didn't have everything memorized but they were all familiar, some more than others.

I had the opportunity to switch to corporate a few years ago. I'm on call all the time unless on leave. I average 9-10 days away a month so I have more time off than before. I enjoy the extra time at home more and the ad hoc nature of the operation. I feel more challenged in some ways than before in the airline world.

Even though I have more time off my wife and kids miss knowing when my days off are going to be.

I stay in nicer hotels now and eat better on the airplane. All in all I'm happier with my corporate job and my wife misses the airline schedule.

Horses for courses.

OP

[INNflight]

I know the airline flying is 'kind of' more boring than bizav. Of course it is. Going through homebase twice a day, doing major airports day in and out, almost everyday stuck as number 4 on the ILS with 3 nm spacing ahead and behind. No wiggle room. Few visual approaches. 40 minutes turn arounds everyday, 150 pax out and another 150 in. One hour turns if you're lucky. :E

Still, I get my schedule on the 15th of every month for the upcoming one, bidding works pretty well and I can request up to 4 days off in a row today to get them confirmed in February for mid-December. That's priceless.

Also a thing to consider, with most airlines you can do part time. 90 percent. 75 percent. You name it. Less pay, more time off. Pretty sure in bizav you can't.

As previously mentioned - horses for courses.
And FYI - I make airline flying seem really boring up there. It's actually still very much fun - better than work! :ok:

[RAFAT]

My goal when I started commercial flying was to join the biz jet sector, and when I judged I had enough experience, plus the right sort of 'get stuck in' attitude, to make the move, I did so. Unfortunately for me that coincided with the start of the financial crisis and my first GA job lasted only 10 weeks before being made redundant. What followed was 6 years of incredible instability, freelance contracts seemed to be the only available options and the situation wasn't helped by NetJets Europe flooding the job market with redundant Citation-rated crew.

I eventually took the hint, pulled the plug on GA and went back to the airlines. Personally I think it's a great shame because I have the right attitude for GA and, when it works, it's a excellent job to be in; but watching my former junior airline colleagues piling on the hours and moving onwards and upwards whilst I scratched around in the dirt for an hour here and there wasn't fun.

The larger biz jets certainly seem to be where the security is, but I know guys on Gulfstreams and Globals that have found themselves redundant when the owner has decided to sell. So as boring as airline ops are to some, I'm sticking with that option for the moment and piling on the hours.

On the home and away question, I don't have a family but I'm based hundreds of miles from home, and with a daft roster that often has single days off here and there and never more than 2 consecutive days off, I get home much much less than when I was in GA.