I jumped off the 121 wagon 8 years ago. Had twins on the way, with a 4 yr old at home. Wanted to be around more. The airline filed for bankruptcy protection on April 1st, and I pulled the rip cord. Wasn’t hanging around for that mess.
Previously had a good schedule, check airman, decent pay, lots of Ref’s when/if I wanted to move up, but it wasn’t worth it at the time.
Ended up in one of those unicorn 91 gigs. Low utilization, 3 pilots, relatively stable schedule. Home for all the holidays, ~ 100hours per year of flying. Usually we can keep status in one of the hotel chains, the owner pays us roughly what we’d be making if we were at a major, or, equivalent for what we could be flying, in my case, ~ what an 8 year CA would be making at a major+ factor for running the department. Full benefits, 401k match, annual bonus, ski trips, golf trips. We’ve been shopping planes, so Sox tickets, F1 tickets etc all tossed in.
As much fun as it is, I still feel the draw of the 121 world, where it feels super stable.
Then 2020 happens. Some people love 121, some don’t. Some are pilots who want to branch out in case flying doesn’t work out. If you’re happy, and making enough to live- then I wouldn’t sweat the choice. If you’re not happy, then make a move.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk