Scheduled or start up??
 

Hi,have been offered 2 jobs from two airlines,one based in east Europe and the other in South Asia.

One is a schedule well implemented airline,1yr renewable contract,noncommution(FO),expanding network,better money and more experience flyingwise on type.

The other is a startup airline,3yrs contract,commuting,less pay,getting the 2nd and 3rd aircraft within next 2 to 3 months.

Having said that,i have less than 1600TT and 1000h on type.

The money difference is around 20% less in the start up one.

Which one would you go for?

I would go for the first one,

Avoid start-ups like the plague.

Worst case take the one year contract and see what happens with the start-up in the meantime.

quit that Jibba Jabba you fool!

It depends on what you want from your career.
If it was me, I would look into the start up company. A few reason;

• It is something totally different
• Destinations you will never have been to, and possibly never would imagine having gone to
• Cost of living in Asia is about 50% less then Europe, so generally speaking, you would have a better quality of life in Asia.
• People are friendly
• You are entering a company that is very young, meaning you will be very senior in the company if they continue to expand
• You will still be flying and gaining hours

The downsides to the start up are fairly obvious, the main one being that it is possible it will go belly up.
Look into who is running the company, and the structure of the management. do some research into their past employment and organisations they headed to see if they were successful.

I have many friends working in airlines across the world, and many of them in Asia. They love it and a couple have made it clear they will never return to fly in Europe.

Like I say, it is all about what you want from your career and what type of person you are. If you like safe, never want to take a risk then stay in Europe.

Just think on these two statement;
"You never become a millionaire by working for someone else."
"Take a risk and it might pay dividends, play it say and don't make millions."

jaycee004 has a point, if you are a gambling man, with your hours you can't afford to be unless you have an independent private income. Plenty of time for exotic Asia later on when you have much more to fall back on, far better to go as a DE captain than as an FO too, been there done that, (as a DE Capt. and seen the misery of the expat FO).

Its a no brainer!
The money is less with the start up.(there is a reason for that!)
The risks are higher with the start up.(you are not in a position to gamble)
The problems and frustrations will be higher with a start up company. working for any start up operation in any industry is very hard and involves a lot of flexibilty, do not expect what it says on the tin because everything will change on a daily basis.
The staff and personnel will be friendly in both i'm sure.
Extra aircraft? That wont affect you if they already have an aircraft you fly.
Finally the established operator will look better on your cv and with most of these companies there will probably be the chance to get kept on, even if not you will have a years more experience on type, be able to apply to a wider range of airlines and the recruitment market is on the up.
This is only my advice but hope it helps.
PM me if you want as i suspect i know both airlines and could give you a further insight.

Joining a start-up is a gamble. The main advantage is the seniority you will have if it lasts. But as it's a contract, seniority has no advantage.

I guess most of you are right...