QLink Eastern - Few Questions

[PaulDamian]

If anyone can help me with some specific info about QLink Eastern ...

1. How many pilots do they have on line?
2. Whats the turnover like? (how long do they tend to last?)
3. Should I bother applying with less than 2500 hours?
4. Am I advantaged by paying for my endorsement from Ansett Training?
5. Is it hard to get a job based in Melb?
6. What are the rosters like? (i.e. days off per fortnight?)

Cheers, P

[Gen. Anaesthetic]

1/ About 200 in Eastern, last time I looked, probably a tad less, say 190.

2/ It varies. I'm somewhere in the middle of the seniority list, a captain, and my number has moved up 6 spots in the last year I think. During the height of the boom I went from the bottom of the pile to around 125 in a matter of about 6 months. In the long term, senior pilots will tell you that the average for a command is around 4-5 years. Particularly now that the ICUS programme appears to be getting off the ground there will be numerous FOs who will have the requirements in the next year or two, so movement to command might take some time if you are coming now. At present there are probably 10 people looking to head elsewhere, but none more than that as far as I know. In terms of answering any question about time to command it's very difficult to answer, as there are a lot of variables. We still have options for more aircraft, and we seem to be announcing new routes fairly regularly these days.

3/ Can't say I know the answer to that as I don't work in that area, but I would just say you should throw your hat in the ring whatever you've got. From the guys coming through it would seem that you are in the ballpark. It also depends on the quality of your time.

4/ I wouldn't think so. It really depends on your personal situation. If you are happy to hang around Eastern for a few years then let them pay for it and you just see out the bond. If you would rather have the flexibility to move on early then it's definitely worth considering, however as far as I know Ansett aren't au fait with our procedures or standards. So you might find it a bit of a shock to try and come in here with the bare rating. The other side to that is you might get more sim time with Ansett than you get with Eastern. My personal feeling is that the Eastern system tends to rush people through and students are not as comfortable as they should be when they come out the other end.

In terms of general employability I suppose there might be some advantage in walking in with the endorsement already there but I can't imagine they would put a large emphasis on it. Really they want to see you have the skills and the ability to achieve all the requirements in the check and training programme. This takes someone with some flying skills and a good learning ability. Younger guys tend to do better.

5/ Yes. Simple answer. Melbourne is probably the slowest moving base. Recently there were some guys who moved down there after a year in the company. It is very unlikely you will get a basing straight away in Melbourne. Again though, there are variables that could change this.

6/ Days off are without fail, 8 per 28 days. It is supposed to be a minimum of 8 days, but they never give more than that. Reserve days tend to be in the range of 4-8 days and being at the bottom of the list you will get called out probably 60 % of the time, at least. FO's are working pretty hard at the moment. If you're on the Q400 then it's a bit different (same days off though), but it's probably unlikely that you would start off there (although not impossible). We're about to start EBA negotiations so this may change at some stage in the future.

Hope that helps. PM me if you would like more info...

[rmcdonal]

Filling in some blanks.

2. Pilots at the top end of the company tend to have been in 10-20+ years, FOs sit at about 0-3years Max at the moment.

3. Yup, taking all sorts, about 10 a month.

4. Nope, $10k +2 year 10K bond, or $20k Bond over 3 years.

[Di_Vosh]

G'day Paul

1. Around 170 (We have more on the list, but that includes various mgt pilots who don't really fly, as well as people who are currently training)

2. When I joined 2 years ago, turnover was around 40%. GFC stopped all that, but now there is a trickle going to VB/J*/TT, which may turn into a flood later this year.

3. YES!

4. NO! If you've already got a Dash endo, then no problem. Otherwise, do it with Qlink and get bonded.

5. Yes. Melb is the only base with a queue (only 3 bases in EAA). If you joined tomorrow as an FO, there are at least 10 people ahead of you. Get used to living in Sydney if you want to be based in Melbourne

6. Roster workload really depend on what fleet (300 or 400), base and status (i.e. Capt or FO).
Rosters are four weeks (not fortnightly) and we have minimum 8 days off per roster (sadly, min days off normally equals max days off :mad::mad::mad:).

Hope that helps

DIVOSH!