Life at Qantas and Jetstar
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Life at Qantas and Jetstar
Hi all,
I'm curious to find out what conditions are like at each of the above companies: ie, what a new hire could realistically expect in terms of rosters, take home pay, progression etc, for a Qantas SO and an Australian based Jetstar FO.
Most of the information I've found on the forum is sufficiently outdated to warrant posing the question again.
Thanks in advance.
I'm curious to find out what conditions are like at each of the above companies: ie, what a new hire could realistically expect in terms of rosters, take home pay, progression etc, for a Qantas SO and an Australian based Jetstar FO.
Most of the information I've found on the forum is sufficiently outdated to warrant posing the question again.
Thanks in advance.
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I was hoping for some more mature responses - perhaps I spoke too soon when I offered thanks in advance.
As someone who values lifestyle over money and does not have shiny jet syndrome, I am trying to evaluate which will better suit my own personal circumstances. The main thing I have not been able to gain a clear picture of is how much time is spent away vs at home in mainline.
As someone who values lifestyle over money and does not have shiny jet syndrome, I am trying to evaluate which will better suit my own personal circumstances. The main thing I have not been able to gain a clear picture of is how much time is spent away vs at home in mainline.
There is another way to fly for the flying kangaroo Guest123. You could apply for Cobham and have the ultimate lifestyle job with all the bells a whistles of flying a jet, but none of the big airline hassles. Win win!
Enjoy the journey.
Enjoy the journey.
There are worse jobs than both of these two - even airline jobs! You'll fly with (mostly) good blokes and blokettes at both and given the training program in place at Qantas could reasonably expect to progress considerably quicker than in the past 10 or 15 years.
As I've mentioned here before, most Qantas pilots are incredibly loyal to the brand but don't have much time for the management; hence some of the, perhaps justifiable comments above.
A friend of mine left corporate flying because he "wanted a roster" despite taking a pay cut. It's a given that you'll probably get the 'less desirable' trips as junior S/O or F/O, but at least you'll know when you're doing them - most of the time!
Take-home pay will vary depending upon your base and fleet but the awards are out there online somewhere and, at Qantas at least, you can expect to work reasonably hard for the next few years at least - assuming world events don't intervene.
As I've mentioned here before, most Qantas pilots are incredibly loyal to the brand but don't have much time for the management; hence some of the, perhaps justifiable comments above.
A friend of mine left corporate flying because he "wanted a roster" despite taking a pay cut. It's a given that you'll probably get the 'less desirable' trips as junior S/O or F/O, but at least you'll know when you're doing them - most of the time!
Take-home pay will vary depending upon your base and fleet but the awards are out there online somewhere and, at Qantas at least, you can expect to work reasonably hard for the next few years at least - assuming world events don't intervene.
From your initial post no one could tell whether you are currently flying, a high school wannabe or a company troll so get rid of the attitude and establish your bonafides if you want to be treated seriously.
If you are serious about getting off contract work then why limit yourself to QF or JQ?
If you are serious about getting off contract work then why limit yourself to QF or JQ?
Hoping for mature responses when you've just joined pprune 5 minutes ago was optimistic.
The information that was stale on here is probably because QF haven't recruited since 2008. Obtaining a job at either company is difficult and the way you've written that question is the reason you got the responses you did. It basically assumes you could get either job in a heartbeat. But I'll bite...
QF - no one that even works for them currently would have any idea of what progression will look like until the dust settles. There's a reason there is 52 pages on the prune about QF recruitment - it's because a LOT of people want to work for them.
JQ - 5-6 days a week, 4 sector days, no overnights, circa 180k if you do work days off etc. (anyone from JQ feel free to jump in here). I jumpseated with a Captain who was heading back to the mothership that said he couldn't have worked with a better bunch of people.
Both EBA's are available on fairwork.
The information that was stale on here is probably because QF haven't recruited since 2008. Obtaining a job at either company is difficult and the way you've written that question is the reason you got the responses you did. It basically assumes you could get either job in a heartbeat. But I'll bite...
QF - no one that even works for them currently would have any idea of what progression will look like until the dust settles. There's a reason there is 52 pages on the prune about QF recruitment - it's because a LOT of people want to work for them.
JQ - 5-6 days a week, 4 sector days, no overnights, circa 180k if you do work days off etc. (anyone from JQ feel free to jump in here). I jumpseated with a Captain who was heading back to the mothership that said he couldn't have worked with a better bunch of people.
Both EBA's are available on fairwork.
Last edited by romeocharlie; 13th Jul 2017 at 07:08. Reason: Unsubstantiated comment removed.
If your a young bloke go to the USA , find a wife and work for United Or Delta , still excellent conditions, faster progression and a nice House for less than $200K, and if your in to cars , as many as your garage can fit!
At Jetstar things are great to be honest, the exceptions to this rule are slow progress to command and rostering although there is certainly plenty of opportunity for the latter to improve with a little good will form the company.
Having said that, if you have a choice, you'd be crazy not to shoot for Qantas because the money is certainly going to be better and in any other respect you'll be at least better off. Additionally, quicker time to command based upon both planned retirements and expansion. Greater fleet options and lifestyle choices too albeit at Jetstar if you want to be home most nights, that's still an option, for now. That might be a little more tricky at QF although perhaps not impossible.
Having said that, if you have a choice, you'd be crazy not to shoot for Qantas because the money is certainly going to be better and in any other respect you'll be at least better off. Additionally, quicker time to command based upon both planned retirements and expansion. Greater fleet options and lifestyle choices too albeit at Jetstar if you want to be home most nights, that's still an option, for now. That might be a little more tricky at QF although perhaps not impossible.
Nunc est bibendum
All new starters are S/Os. That said, one new S/O hadn't even finished his induction week and his name was published against a PER 737 F/O slot. So if you're prepared to move you can expect a 737 F/O slot within a very short period of time- particularly with more 787 slots to be adversied shortly.
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To add a little more insight to life at JQ, my roster lately has been 3-4 days on with 2-3 days off. Roughly a 50/50 split between 2 sector and 4 sector days. The guys that want overnights get them (Bali trips, Singapore trips, and New Zealand overnights) while those that don't want them generally don't get them. The big downside to working a JQ is back of the clock returns. Some of these are becoming overnights, such as Audkland Rarotonga and Melbourne Wellington before that route was dropped but the Perth and Darwin BOC returns are killers and seem unlikely to become overnights in the near future.
