Stinky wrote: Quote: The pay is pretty close to Jazz but you will take home alot more from your basic pay (due to no Pension, Union dues, etc) The take home might end up as more but I think there's a lot of value in what we have deducted from our pay. Having a pension is nice, health benefits are good if you have a family, union dues I don't mind paying. I think either company is good and about equal when it comes to pros and cons, it really just comes down to a personal choice. One thing I like at Jazz is the opportunity to fly different aircraft types and transfer to different bases if I choose. Career progression might not be as fast but there can be a lot of variety if you opt for it.
Pension, union dues, etc are tax deductible. While your monthly pay check may be smaller, your tax return should be larger.
Looking at a lifetime career job, Porter would need a few things for it to qualify with me. Jazz has a pension, pay progression, different fleet options etc.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't Porter just have one Captain's pay level? I couldn't imagine a 20-30 year career there with a lifetime of no raises. Yes on the good years you'd get a profit share, but in the bad ones you would get nothing.
Pension is a HUGE issue. I'm not sure what the contributions that Jazz puts into the DC plan they have. That HAS to be taken into account. Quite simply, that's money that you're not having to invest in your future. If you were at porter you'd have to invest twice as much, from a smaller captains wage to have the same savings.
Porter may of had 1 year upgrades in the past. The current round of hires may also upgrade in a year. At some point, they've gotten all their planes, and you're the last FO they hire. I wouldn't want to be that guy, looking over at the meteoric rise to the left seat at Jazz, while you're left rotting in the right seat. A mixed fleet can make for some excitement in your career too. The longest I've flown one type for was just under 3 years. By the end of the three years, I was teaching in the sim, checking, line indocing and I was starting to feel like I wanted more. Certainly I could have done the ACP course, but that's all that would have remained. Perhaps others have a longer attention span than I do, but 20-30 years on a single type could prove monotonous.
Jazz also has some of the best benefits in the business. I realize that many on this forum won't understand the true value of something like this yet. Braces for 3 kids are expensive, god forbid your child is truly sick and needs a lifetime of medicine. If that happens you'll appreciate top end benefits. Maybe you'll be a single, healthy guy up until the day you die in your sleep at 98, but most at some point are very glad they have them. The flight benefits can't be compared either. I do realize that porter has some, but they can't be compared with what Jazz has. You can get anywhere in the world, about 6 different ways with Jazz. There are some benefits to being attached to a 75yr old legacy carrier.
Lastly, for those that question the stability of a career at Jazz. Give your heads a shake. Jazz is one of the very few solid gigs in Canada. Have they laid off in the past? Yep. Will they lay off again, that's possible. I'd certainly rather be laid off and hold my seniority number, and my seat, than have my company fold. When your company folds you're starting from scratch again. I'm not saying Porter is going to fold, but there's certainly a much higher risk of them folding than Jazz shutting their doors. Jazz has no equals in Canada, they'd never be allowed to fold. There's so many tier 2 cities that would become totally isolated if that were to happen. It would be political suicide to let that happen.
Anyway, I realize this has been more than a bit long winded. There's so many people that love to bash Jazz on absolutely no solid grounds at all. I have dozens of friends who work there, and each and every one of them love it. I'm not saying porter sucks, but don't take some of the posters here to paint the picture of Jazz for you. |
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