BaronPete
Jaw Harp Troubadour
You're right -- it is fairly detailed. But how it all adds up was something that surprised me after getting here. For starters, the pay scales are a little dated on APC, so increase year 1 base by about 4-5k depending on schedule type. This base increases twice per year - 1) upon reaching your date of hire, you move to the next service year pay band and 2) again at the end of the year (December) when the negotiated graduated annual increase kicks in (currently in place through 2025). So, for example, I was hired in the month of October, so I get a raise in October for service year and December for contract.
FDP (Flight Duty Pay) can be semi-difficult to budget for, as the amount of flying you do in a tour can vary with some factors. Demand is crazy right now, so if you get a plane that doesn't break and neither of you fatigue, you can rack some FDP $ up. I'm using $40k as a budget for my FDP and I'm on pace for that so far this year. You can then throw another 10-15k of soft pay on top of those numbers for all the various types of OT and standby pay you'll receive. I don't consider per diem as income (and you shouldn't either) but rarely should you ever be spending your per diem on food. You are allotted two catering meals a day with quite a bit to chose from. So, take base salary of the schedule that would interest you, add 35-40k for FDP, and 10-15k for other soft pay and you'll get into the ballpark of what you'd earn. I'm on the CC72 and picking up a few extended days here and there, so I'm roughly on pace for 130k or so year 1. I have friends who are doing the 7 on 7 off schedule and they'll likely be around 110. The Challenger and Latitude airframes seem to be the real powerhouse FDP machines. They're have a high cycle per break ratio and the owners love them. Particularly unique to the Latitude is it has decently long legs, but isn't particularly fast, which equates to more flight duty pay.
As for the whole majors vs 91/91K/135 thing.. As I said in an earlier post, it really isn't a compelling argument to make if you're solely looking at hours worked for money received. You'll work less for more money over a career at a major. Fact.
I'm mid-late 30s and this is a second career for me. I always envisioned myself as an airline pilot, but the country had just fallen off the Covid cliff when I wanted to join the regional ranks. So, I ended up here and am very happy so far. It just feels more appropriate to get somewhere where I can build seniority. It's entirely possible I could go to the regionals and be one of those people who never get called.
Ultimately, I never want to commute and there's a value my wife and I have placed on being able to live exactly where we want. She does something that requires state by state licensure, so bouncing around a bunch of bases as I transition from junior regional FO to junior regional CA to senior regional CA to junior FO at a major to junior CA just seems harder for us as a married team. Everyone's mileage, circumstances and motivations are different, though.
I chose NJ over Flex, Airshare, WheelsUp, XO, etc., but I'm not very tribal about these things. I *do* value the transparency of knowing how/when/why things happen at NJ with the union negotiated contract as it relates to my pay and career progression. It's also nice being able to tell an owner/scheduler/dispatcher "No" (respectfully) without fear of losing my job.
Please ask any other questions you have or DM me. Happy to help anyone who is interested. It seems like it's a great time to come aboard.
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), that liked different drinks, snacks, gum/breath mints. During one of my first flights, I passed a note pad and a pen back and asked them to write down their preferences. Don't wait for them to ask you to get certain items on the plane, make it a mission to seek out the information. After I had their preferences, I made sure what they wanted was on the plane when they were on board; and YES, I did the shopping. They noticed and continued to notice as we traveled together. I am confident that things like this are why I received the bonuses and raises that I did.. The shopping is the easy part and doesn’t really take that much out of my month. Think of the shopping no different than the cursory tasks at any other job you’ve ever had.