Corporate vs. regional pros &cons

[CoffeeIcePapers]

There are plenty of contract jobs in the DFW area for King Air pilots that pay $500 a day. Keep in mind this is stuff you can pick up on your days off from your steady gig. Not too bad.

It depends on where you live and what kind of lifestyle you want to live. Really, there is not "long term" in aviation. Pick the best job you can when it is available.

 

[newty]

Well, so far this thread is a mirror image of the back and forth that has been going through my head. I appriciate all of your comments thus far, they have all helped me see many of the pros and cons which is what I was hoping for. It has also given me something to help convey all of my thoughts to the wife. Thanks again and please keep the thoughts coming

Now, I think I've answered your question, so I have a question for you: What are your career goals? Where do you want to be at 25? 35? 45? 55? Family? House? Kids? College?

The more questions you can ask and answer about where you want your life to go, the easier it is to decide what kind of aviation career arc you will want to follow. So, then, what is it?

On this note all I can say is I really don't know anymore. The only reason I got into aviation was to be a bush pilot in Alaska. I did that and it did not work out as I had hoped. So I have been wandering aimlessly trying to find a new goal. All of my aviation friends fly at skywest and it doesn't seem like a bad gig at all(eventually). I'm the kind of guy who prefers flying alone but I can get along with ANYONE. I get paid to get along with some serious pains in the ass as a river guide for 8 days at a time so I can handle a 4 day with even the biggest Dooch. I'm 33 married and two kids, broke as everyone else in aviation, the biggest draw for me at skywest is security, but it sounds like I may be dreaming, although they seem to be one of the most stable airlines out there. I gotta go to kids xmas program now but please keep up the input.

 

[KLB]

I remember from another thread that the job is in Pampa. Pampa is a small airport, but it is full of corporate activity from all of the oil flowing around there. I've seen everything up two a G-V fly into there, which I think was owned by Chevron, that came in to pick up one guy. I've talked to many corporate and fractional guys there including a few NetJet crews. All of this while spending 20 minutes after I land and the 45 minutes I spent there before I departed.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Add my vote to the Kingair side.

Kids with gobs of RJ time are a dime a dozen. The Kingair time on your resume actually helps you to STAND OUT from the crowd. Whether you fly corporate, fractional, or airline as your end-game, it won't hurt you one bit.

 

[Alchemy]

Show me the money. Take the king air job. This is coming from someone who is fairly happy at a regional.

 

[CapnJim]

Oops!

My apologies for stepping on the toes of the Kingair folks on here. Let me pull my foot out of my mouth...

Ahh, that's better. I should have stated that the Kingair would not be my personal preference, for the direction I want my personal career to take. It's perfectly fie for many other career directions.

But to the folks who tried to bag on the regionals-- sorry, that apology dosen't extend to you. You sound exactly as ignorant and half-informed as ever.

 

[ZapBrannigan]

Even if we spent the better part of the last decade working for a variety of regionals and, therefore, know a bit about what we're talking about?

 

[zmiller4]

Don't forget there is more out there than Skywest. If you go somewhere like Chautaqua or Mesaba or Bigsky you can upgrade really quickly maybe even 6 months. Now that would be something to consider IMP

For what it's worth, the most junior Brasilia CA award at Skywest went to a March 2007 hire. If you've got decent time when you get here, the upgrade can be pretty short (CRJ CA in ORD is half as long as Mesa right now).

 

[CK]

Oops!


But to the folks who tried to bag on the regionals-- sorry, that apology dosen't extend to you. You sound exactly as ignorant and half-informed as ever.

Who in this thread that is "bagging" on the regionals. Most people are just posting facts about their jobs. Your post is the only one even close having any uninformed/ignorant bashing in it.

Alex.

 

[Snuggle]

Turbine PIC is Turbine PIC. I'd go with the king air, that's a real nice bird. You're really not that special flying around in a 50 seater regional ''jet'' getting that ''turbojet'' or "turbofan" time. In a interview you would probably be a lot more interesting coming in with pt6 time.

 

[mnixon]

Who in this thread that is "bagging" on the regionals. Most people are just posting facts about their jobs. Your post is the only one even close having any uninformed/ignorant bashing in it.

Alex.

pwnd! I vote for the King Air also. More diverse flying, and no ratty F/A to put up with.

 

[CapnJim]

Oh lordy. That says it all.

 

[CapnJim]

Who in this thread that is "bagging" on the regionals. Most people are just posting facts about their jobs. Your post is the only one even close having any uninformed/ignorant bashing in it.

Alex.

You know, it's pretty sad when you edit a guy's post to fit your point, and then still get it wrong. Doesn't exactly make you look like the kind of guy to take career advice from.

Nice try though.

 

[CK]

You know, it's pretty sad when you edit a guy's post to fit your point, and then still get it wrong. Doesn't exactly make you look like the kind of guy to take career advice from.

Nice try though.

What are you talking about? I did not edit your post. If you are talking about cutting out the middle that was a mistake, I meant to cut out the opps also and only quote the regional bashing part. What did I get wrong and why am I not a good person to take advice from?

My only point was that no one is bashing the regionals and no here is even talking about things they do not know about. Now if you are talking about a person outside of this thread that is bashing on the regionals, then I am sorry, I just got the feeling that was meant for me.

Alex.

 

[Dugie8]

To the OP, this is an almost impossible question to answer unless you find someone who has done corp/121 at the exact same companies you are going to work for. Nothing in aviation is equal. I thought I could spend my career at PDT (dodged a bullet on that one) but did it and found out it wasn't for me, thought I would like long haul freight, nope got a about a 4 hour butt, now I am doing a psuedo corp gig, I LOVE IT. Home every day, fly mayge 30 hours a month and work with some great people. That doesn't mean that the same kind of corp gig would fit you.

The point? Get out there and try, if you don't like where you are at, move on, keep moving until you find what you want, but be reasonable.

 

[newty]

The point? Get out there and try, if you don't like where you are at, move on, keep moving until you find what you want, but be reasonable.

Great advice. Thanks again to everyone that shared an opinion. Great thing about JC is that everyone is more than willing to tell you what they think!

 

[little_cricket]

Another vote for the King Air!!!

SkyWest will still be there, if the King Air gig doesn't work out. Yes, you will lose some seniority, but you gain TPIC... So, it shouldn't change the timeframe too much for the next 121 gig if you ended up at SkyWest. My personnel feeling is a great corp. job would be sweeter than most 121 jobs with the exception of few major 121 (maybe even those).

Good luck...

 

[PeanuckleCRJ]

This post actually belonged on this thread, but made it into the other Beech thread. Regardless, my thoughts remain about the same on both of these threads.

I find myself a bit torn on this subject.

There are two different ways to look at it:

1. It's turbine multi PIC, which is the gold that gets you to the majors. It is light turbine PIC, but it burns that wonderful smelling kerosene and checks off that box in the major applications.

2. It's not 121- Getting hired at a major without 121 experience is quite rare. There may be a dime a dozen RJ drivers, but 9 out of 10 in my new hire class at Widgets-R-Us were coming from RJ's (the other was a former Cactus whale driver and 737 captain- her hubby is a captain for us and she had taken a few years off to take care of their sick child). A 121 jet captain is gold for getting hired at a major.


I have flown king airs for corporate in my past doing the same type of flying that you'll be doing. I wouldn't expect to get 95 hours a month like the regional guys do... maybe 300 hours a year. Another issue is places like that many times expect a certain time commitment for the company if you go to training. Also: what are your flying times and will you qualify for the insurance for single pilot king air? My company that I used to fly for required some pretty serious flying time (they were insured for a tremendous amount of money, though)

The perks of it were previously mentioned- the rental car, the expenses paid for vice per diem. Sitting in the FBO and being at the beck and call of the boss weren't particularly up my alley.

I like flying more and the potential for making alot more money. Even with all the cuts, being pampered at a major just can't be beaten. I prefer walking to the gate and seeing my release coming off the printer... basically error checking and seeing if the flightplan, fuel amount, and alternate selection are what i want. The dispatchers here are extremely good and I can see how one could get lazy- it's extremely rare to find an error. The OCD twitch in me from always watching my back at the regional with inexperienced dispatchers keeps me always looking over the release with a fine-toothed comb, haha. (That in itself is a perk of going to a regional- If you bust your butt and really try to the job right, you will develop excellent habits that will make the rest of your career and any transition super easy)


You may find that corporate stuff is for you- we each have our own niches. I proudly have my own, but what I love is not what others might love (which is good!) Keep us posted and the best of luck to you!

 

[deskjockey]

That's a great point that everyone has their own niches. I've always looked at it this way:

At the airlines if you lose your job due to merger, airline going out of business, or whatever then you have to start over at the bottom at another airline if you want to continue in that career.

In corporate you are continually building up your resume to go on to something that works better for you. Bigger isn't always better and the pay at the top does not equal the top pay at airlines, but the lifestyle and QOL has the potential to be much better. Many corporate pilots would give up flying a Gulfstream with a bad schedule to fly a King Air or Citation for a good company until retirement, which of course isn't mandatory at 65...

 

[CapnJim]

What are you talking about? I did not edit your post. If you are talking about cutting out the middle that was a mistake, I meant to cut out the opps also and only quote the regional bashing part. What did I get wrong and why am I not a good person to take advice from?

My only point was that no one is bashing the regionals and no here is even talking about things they do not know about. Now if you are talking about a person outside of this thread that is bashing on the regionals, then I am sorry, I just got the feeling that was meant for me.

Alex.

No way man! The apology part was meant for you, and that's the part you cut! NJA Capt was the guy ignorantly bashing the regionals, but I've given up on him.

As far as we're concerned, I dogged the kingair, you responded and *slightly* dogged me and the regionals, and I read between the lines, saw your point, decided we were even, and apologized. Then you jumped on me again! I was pissed! But I think we're OK now. Misunderstandings have a way of escalating until cooler heads prevail.

In fact, I think this is the part where we let out war-whoops, clap each other on the shoulder, and go drink all the beer. All of it.