NetJets Experience
Posted by LifeMycologist897@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 32 comments
Can any pilots here speak to the NetJets pilot experience and how you like the company? I heard you guys are worked like crazy with the 7 on/7 off and was curious how bad burnout is.
Also, is it possible for a normally civilian like myself to save money to fly with them? Or does NetJets and FlexJet know their busy ain’t for poor folks?
Safe-Square-3577@reddit
Set schedule is nice. It’s great having a week off after your trip. Long duty days on the road can be tough and usually by day 5-6 I’m ready to go home. I love flying and the airports we go to so I don’t mind being gone for 7-8 days. Pay is good, but could be better. Made 196k first year which is really good, but we don’t top out as high as the legacy’s. A topped out Captain on 8/6 schedule will make 290k base salary plus whatever they get in flight pay. If you fly a lot you could make 80k in flight pay, so topped out Captain 370k with no extended days. I have met some Captains making 500k plus, but they were working like dogs. Extended day after extended at after extended day. It’s hard to complain making that much money, but the company is profiting so much and I do believe could pay the senior captains more. Company is very stable and it feels like we shouldn’t have to worry about furlough, although it could happen. Free health care, 67% 401k match, free dental, free vision, short and long term disability, etc. Also 1/3 of our flight pay goes into our 401k. So if you make 80k in flight pay, 27k of that will go to your 401k automatically. Less take home, but more invested. I have 60-70k going into my 401k in total.
Adventurous-Ad8219@reddit
I think the big way that NetJets falls short of airline life is the schedule/incentive structure is so different from the airlines. At NetJets, you get reassigned all the time and only get paid more for extra block hours beyond a certain threshold (and from what I hear, they fly them hard over there)
At the airlines, your seniority dictates your schedule and there are way more soft time ways to get paid. So a clever widebody first officer, for example, can buddy bid instructors knowing they will get the trip dropped with pay, and when that doesn't work out, he can hold a good trip to Hawaii or Japan.
With NetJets, the only thing you really have is your days on/off. You could think you're going to Hawaii in January and end up flying between Des Moines and Fargo all week, flying 35 hours. At a Delta type airline, you can go through way less effort with more time off - if you stick it out.
Bottom line, you can make $300k as a NetJets captain or $300k as a widebody FO but you'll do double the work at NetJets
MyPilotInterview@reddit
Other upside of NetJets is home basing. When you live in Montana or Iowa, while your work more, you’re QOL will always be pretty good versus having a commute where there is 1-2 flights a day out of your local airport.
Warrior_witha_Garden@reddit
200k to live where I want. Or 300k to get a couple divorces lol. Yeah you can be a wide body captain. But a half of a half isn’t much after the exes are paid off.
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
The problem with NetJets is that your schedule will be the same your whole career. You hear of top seniority 121 pilots flying 1 time every couple months, and they work their schedule in such a way that they make more not working than they do wuem they are working. You'll never get that at NJ.
bch2021_@reddit
But does that mean that early career schedule at NJ is usually easier than junior schedule at 121?
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
At NJ you can know your schedule from the very beginning. You choose out of a set of different rotations that give you a predetermined number of days on followed by a set number of days off. To me that would beat a junior 121 schedule of sitting reserve but thats no reason to choose 91k over the long game 121 carer.
bch2021_@reddit
I'm just saying it stands to reason that some people must find the overall package more desirable, can't be as simple as "121>>>NJ" or people wouldn't stick it out there
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
I think I'm quite similar to a lot of people and there is a certain threshold where going back to start at the bottom of a seniority list and crew base might be the deciding factor. If you're early in your career I think the decision which path to take is much easier. Today if you gave me a legacy class date I'd have a real hard time deciding if I would go. I don't even work at a place as reliable as NJ but I don't want to live in Chicago or New York and be on reserve.
Honest_Radio8983@reddit
I have a friend that was with NetJets before moving up to UPS. He always complained about NetJets' aircraft maintenance standards.
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
That’s surprising, I thought NetJets would be one of the best in terms of maintenance, I guess they fall short due to the size of their fleets.
ebegrowi@reddit
I’m not a NJ pilot or mechanic, just an FBO employee who works with them a lot. The biggest issue, and this is from NJ pilots themselves is that because most aircraft fly multiple legs daily, they get the crap beaten out of them. I remember one NJ pilot told me they’ll fly the Phenom 300 until the wings are falling off
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
I want to be an FBO worker, I applied to signature but they chose to not move forward.
Neither-Way-4889@reddit
Why do you want to work at an FBO? Its hard work, physical labor being outside in the freezing cold and burning sun for pretty low pay. I would put it towards the bottom of the list of desirable jobs at an airport.
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
I just want to be around planes, plus it might not work out anyway cause I have zero experience.
BLARTYMACMUFFIN@reddit
And I am not an engineer, but I don’t think a Phenom was designed to take 6 landings / cycles a day like the 737 was. I know they are apples to oranges but they are flying similar profiles it seems
Neither-Way-4889@reddit
The aircraft doesn't care how many landings/cycles it does in a day, it just cares how many it does. All that will happen is that the required maintenance checks will happen sooner than if you flew a more spread out schedule.
krautman581945@reddit
It's got its good and bad days. What does suck is when scheduling screws up your schedule or travel doesn't doesn't do their job and book you transportation to another plane or airport, you lose out on money. Oh sorry you were going to fly 5 hours and make 1k, but we forgot to book you a car to get to the plane. Sorry. Theres no pay protection. Free health insurance is nice and the 7 and 7 is nice, but I've debated leaving multiple times. We need pay protection badly. I shouldn't lose pay from no fault of my own. I also feel we should be paid for actual flight time, not their lame scheduling software which on short flights almost always shorts you money. Unless you go over by 18 min of flight time you get nothing extra.
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the insight. What plane do you fly?
krautman581945@reddit
Latitude
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
Oh nice! Does the latitude and longitude have fleet commonality where you guys can jump between the two or no?
krautman581945@reddit
No, different type ratings.
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
Oh ok gotcha
IncredibleVelocity4@reddit
Have a friend that is very happy flying for them, but he’s a Captain flying a Global so he’s pretty much top of the food chain I think.
Commercial_Watch_936@reddit
For most people, when they hear 7 days on 7 days off it sounds amazing, me included. Take a week off work and actually get 3 weeks off.
I have a friend 15 years in, and she likes it, but is also stuck. Decent seniority at NetJets but would have to start over anywhere else. Not worth it. Everything is seniority based. Can’t complain about making $300k+ unless you bring up senior legacy pilots who work the system for flights they don’t even take and make more money.
Never know where you’ll be flying during your week on, but that is expected. Golden handcuffs once you have some years in and decent seniority. But hard to complain at over $300k per year with working half time, the days are long though, not your standard 8hr days. No real risk of being bought out by a competitor also plays a factor, like who knows how the Alaska/Hawaiian merger factors in seniority. Had a family friend who worked for an airline that merged like 20yrs ago, I forget which one, but he got fucked in seniority when the merger happened.
I am not a pilot. But hear the stories and understand most aspects of the question. But yes, she’s stuck now that’s she’s this far along with them, no career change would be worth it, but also that’s ok.
bch2021_@reddit
I've heard some pilots say they love it there too. Seems to be a mixed bag
RangerSad3081@reddit
Just a GA pilot but I flew with them once and it was a great experience
Swimming_Way_7372@reddit
NetJets pilots are GA pilots too.
LifeMycologist897@reddit (OP)
Gotcha, thx.
stevendurh@reddit
Just retired from Delta after 31 years. My last co-pilot on our way back from Kona was a former NetJets guy... very capable guy, but he spoke poorly of them
TaleBusy8811@reddit
Following.
ArctycDev@reddit