Freight DogsFinally a forum for those midnight prowler types who utilise the unglamorous parts of airports that many of us never get to see. Freight Dogs is for pilots and crew who operate mostly without SLF.
Thanks for the input guys, I'll be discrete about it on the interview. I might want to move in a later stage, but now I just prefer a bit of stability( If I make it through ofcourse :-). This approach seems a bit odd to me, talked to some other operators and they didn't have any problem with commuters. One of them was even proud of the fact that their pilots were living all over the place. One would think that for a long haul operator this wouldn't be an issue. Can anyone explain what the thought behind this policy is?
Can anyone explain what the thought behind this policy is?
Flying_saucepan, thatīs a very good question indeed.
Amongst others, itīs because of the following aspects:
- After Cargolux was launched in the early 70s, crewmembers were mainly Icelandic citizens. Some of them continued living in Icelandic, some didnīt. After Cargoluxīservice to Reykjavik ceased, practically all of them had to move to LUX.And that has considerably shaped the company policy in that respect and will probably continue to shape it for years to come.
- With (more) people living close by, thereīs a less explicit need to establish a standy system for crews. Believe it or not, Cargolux hasnīt got a proper standby system in place. With quite some "expats" having moved close by, itīs kinda easy to get hold of somebody being prepared to accept a short-noticed ten-day-trip. To escape the horrible Luxemburgish climate that is...
-Unfortunately for the commuters amongst us, thereīs a certain history of people who got stuck in traffic or didnīt manage to catch their plane- with the obvious result on failing to report for duty on time.
The latter, on the other hand, is a contingency that virtually every long haul carrier is faced with-- as a fairly proactive reaction, many of them e.g. Virgin and the likes have negotiated better agreements with other carriers. Apart from the financial aspect, CV refuses to do so "as we donīt have to give anything in return"...
I think itīs a fairly smart idea for you not to move to LUX yet. Again: Just be sensitive in the interview and do your own thing after having got hired.
By the way, did we sort out how long the time to upgrade would be with the current known conditions?
Hard to say, depends on the age at which people retire, people leaving for various other reasons, eternal F/O's and fleet expansion. Without fleet expansion, retirement at 65, 2 more senior extra leaving per year and 5 eternal F/O's it would be close to 2030. Same numbers but expansion of 1 a/c per year up to 25 a/c it would be 2024. 1 a/c per year up to 30 a/c it would be 2020.
First advice: Take a hotel and be there the night before, so you arrive well rested for the day.
On the day itself: First thing you have to do, is go to the doctor for a medical check-up.
After that you go to IBF itself on a different location. The atmosphere is quite relaxed I have to say. When I went, I was there alone. You sit in a room with 4 or 5 computers. The guy from IBF will explain you how to use the computer and then off you go!
There are many different tests, like multitasking, concentration, recognizing shapes etc... Also personality tests have to be done.
All in all, I did not find the tests that difficult, and there is not really a specific preparation you can do. If you play a computer game from time to time, you should be fine. Only thing is that it takes a long time to complete all the tests, and you need to keep your concentration up at all times, so what I did was only eat little portions in between the tests and the break at noon to avoid that lazy feeling after dinner (I only ate bananas that day;-)
Once all the tests are completed you go for a chat with the psychologist, takes about 30mins, he will ask you how you think you did the tests, wants to know your motivation for joining Cargolux etc..., and that's it for the day.
I got a call from Cargolux 1,5 week later telling me I passed the tests, and I got invited for an interview in the next coming weeks.
If there is a Cargolux pilot who wants to share a few of his rosters with me, please feel free to PM me.
hi, could anybody give me an idea how realistic it is to live in France as I know there are a few froggies flying for CV, and also question about tax, what's the deal there? please pm me if possible. thanks.
What kind of medical cover does the company provide you (and your family) with? (full care including dental care etc). School? Any freebies ie. company phone/internet etc.
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