Airline flying to biz jet flying - the transition
Join Date: Jan 2009
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Londonmet - just a word of caution, dependant on the sort of operator you go with, in the biz-jet world you could be doing everything yourself, flight planning, permits, weather checks, hotels, cars, etc. and end up putting fuel on your own credit card when the operator's fuel card doesn't work. Providing a seamless experiance for the 'VIP' paying passengers at both ends of the trip and keeping them happy in the cabin with catering etc. can be exhausting and stressful. You are much less a pilot and much more a conciege/chauffer/customer service rep for the operator you work for. When anything goes wrong, it's always your fault - you can't hide in the flight deck and pretend it's nothing to do with you.
You can go to some amazing places though!
You can go to some amazing places though!
Join Date: Jul 2009
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Totally agree with Winniebago on this one. Be careful of where you work. The company I work for has me doing everything and I mean everything. I wash the aircraft, clean the interior, do all the ops and then fly it. I'm paid very little for my efforts, less than £2000 a month. I am type rated on the Lear and the Excel.
ECON cruise, LR cruise...
Join Date: Apr 2002
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londonmet,
IN your situation, I'd stay with the airline job untill you find a job on super-midsize or above. Ie, if the Citation we're talking about is an X, then it sounds reasonable. If it's a CJ or a II/B, then probably not worth the move.
It's a sad fact, but the smaller the aircraft, the smaller the profit margins, and the greater the temptation to apply pressure to the crew to make a profit - or break-even... Along the same lines, running a couple of CJs will probably not be enough to fund an Ops department, so you're on your own.
In the same vein, flight standards will vary, and management will quickly seize on your airline background and make that a point of critizism. Fact is, sticking with your airline standards might be what saves your a$$ one day - more than half the cowboys out there have no idea about SMS, PerfEng, CRM or their own Parts A through D. So you'll have to be very strict with yourself and run a very tight ship - and without any back-up or even appreciaton of what you're doing.
Add that to being DEC and you can see where this is heading. Sit tight and wait for the upturn - the good jobs will come back, and they're worth waiting for. If you've been with an operator of doubious repute, the move to the good job could become a lot harder than if you'd stayed with an airline.
Don't listen to people who say airline crew cannot make the transition, it just requires another frame of mind and a lot more hard work. Both groups (corp and 'line) have summat to teach one another - the corporates about thinking out-of-the-box and getting the job done, the airline guys about flight standards, SOPs and getting the job done while staying within the books and without hanging your proverbial out to dry
IN your situation, I'd stay with the airline job untill you find a job on super-midsize or above. Ie, if the Citation we're talking about is an X, then it sounds reasonable. If it's a CJ or a II/B, then probably not worth the move.
It's a sad fact, but the smaller the aircraft, the smaller the profit margins, and the greater the temptation to apply pressure to the crew to make a profit - or break-even... Along the same lines, running a couple of CJs will probably not be enough to fund an Ops department, so you're on your own.
In the same vein, flight standards will vary, and management will quickly seize on your airline background and make that a point of critizism. Fact is, sticking with your airline standards might be what saves your a$$ one day - more than half the cowboys out there have no idea about SMS, PerfEng, CRM or their own Parts A through D. So you'll have to be very strict with yourself and run a very tight ship - and without any back-up or even appreciaton of what you're doing.
Add that to being DEC and you can see where this is heading. Sit tight and wait for the upturn - the good jobs will come back, and they're worth waiting for. If you've been with an operator of doubious repute, the move to the good job could become a lot harder than if you'd stayed with an airline.
Don't listen to people who say airline crew cannot make the transition, it just requires another frame of mind and a lot more hard work. Both groups (corp and 'line) have summat to teach one another - the corporates about thinking out-of-the-box and getting the job done, the airline guys about flight standards, SOPs and getting the job done while staying within the books and without hanging your proverbial out to dry
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Totally agree with Winniebago on this one. Be careful of where you work. The company I work for has me doing everything and I mean everything. I wash the aircraft, clean the interior, do all the ops and then fly it. I'm paid very little for my efforts, less than £2000 a month. I am type rated on the Lear and the Excel.
Join Date: Jul 2009
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His dudeness,
Fly around 400 hours/year both on the Lear 45 and Citation Excel. Captain and I clear less than £2000 a month with no perks. 4000 hours total time.
Fly around 400 hours/year both on the Lear 45 and Citation Excel. Captain and I clear less than £2000 a month with no perks. 4000 hours total time.
Join Date: Mar 2004
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Boundary, I don´t want to rub any salt into your wounds, but I´d try to get outta there asap. Easy to say, hard to do in the current climate.
I have my fingers crossed for you.
(for those who might wanna think I have this opinion because of the hard work: no. I just think being a captain with obviously good overall knowledge and a solid experience is worth more, considerably more. And I´m quite sure that the cleaning will not be shown on his flightduty times. Been there, done that.)
I have my fingers crossed for you.
(for those who might wanna think I have this opinion because of the hard work: no. I just think being a captain with obviously good overall knowledge and a solid experience is worth more, considerably more. And I´m quite sure that the cleaning will not be shown on his flightduty times. Been there, done that.)
