Virgin recruiting soon...
Join Date: Nov 2005
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Also, curious as to the neg statement about MCO.
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So who are VS aiming at? Will they get the desired widebody 'bus experience with a UK issued ATPL??
One of the prerequisites is a JAA Licence which must be UK issued. If you don't have one, then the electronic application terminates you there and then. Ideally A330/A340 rated....so Monarch and Thomas Cook guys and girls then? However the 330 is a pretty decent fleet to be on at both carriers so i'm told. Possibly guys out in the ME with Emirates, Etihad and Qatar? I would imagine their UK ATPLs would still be intact? However bonds with these lot are usually 3 years plus. Would there be many with this type of 'seniority' who are willing to start again at the bottom with VS? As for Aer Lingus crew? The UK licence requirement excludes their application. However would someone on the 330 fleet at EI be applying to VS anyway? Don't know?
Probably a good thing that A320 experience will be accepted. Any thoughts?
One of the prerequisites is a JAA Licence which must be UK issued. If you don't have one, then the electronic application terminates you there and then. Ideally A330/A340 rated....so Monarch and Thomas Cook guys and girls then? However the 330 is a pretty decent fleet to be on at both carriers so i'm told. Possibly guys out in the ME with Emirates, Etihad and Qatar? I would imagine their UK ATPLs would still be intact? However bonds with these lot are usually 3 years plus. Would there be many with this type of 'seniority' who are willing to start again at the bottom with VS? As for Aer Lingus crew? The UK licence requirement excludes their application. However would someone on the 330 fleet at EI be applying to VS anyway? Don't know?
Probably a good thing that A320 experience will be accepted. Any thoughts?
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I would just say that anyone with an IAA licence i.e. you and I Callsign and most Aer Lingus jockeys would just say that we had one on the application process. I mean I qualified with a UK licence and converted it to an IAA one by just filling out forms and giving the IAA a couple of hundred quid.
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What's the hang up about, CAA UK ATPL licences only, I have the IAA version but can get the CAA version with a few forms, an afternoon down at IAA house and £270 odd quid. Simples.
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Before anyone gets too excited about Virgin being back in the recruiting market, this is just a toe-dipping exercise which may well not actually result in any new recruits. The company is not certain how many of its stood-down pilots are able to come back in the timescale they're now looking at, and they may need to recruit a very few new bods to fill the gaps. I understand (and fervently hope) that any recruiting will not affect the rights of the furloughed few to come back, so it could possibly be that those new people could, initially at least, be on short-term contracts. However, that is just my speculation and not any declared or implied company policy.
It is certainly true that commercially, Virgin has recovered far more strongly and quickly than anyone expected even only a few months ago. The two grounded A340-600s are back on the line, and I understand that the leased out 744 will return in the new year. The 10 A333s look like being additional to the fleet, but we only have firm information about the first two leisure-fit aircraft. We'll have to wait to find out about the rest. The B787 is now expected to begin deliveries in 2014 (I think) and the A380 is still sliding rightwards. There is no official suggestion that the A350 is being considered, but it seems logical to me that it must be in the mix if the B787 slips any further - its variants could conceivably replace all of the current and proposed fleets except the A380!
PPJN carries reasonably accurate information about pay and stuff. Time to command is somewhat of an imponderable, but 12-15 years is probably a fair estimate right now. It could come in to less than 10 for guys currently high on the FO seniority list if all of the A333s are additional to the current fleet. This thread covers a great deal of info about Virgin Atlantic, and what it's like to work there. It's old, but most of it is still valid. I've merged the current and recent VS threads into this one to get more up to date info available in one place. Have a good look at all the varying points of view expressed by current and past VS pilots, and consider carefully how your own expectations would compare with their experiences here. If you are actively considering a move to VS, think carefully about the stresses the longhaul lifestyle brings to your family. Don't expect to find a company magically free of the irritations and injustices of your current place; this is a big(ish) company which grew quickly. There is evidence of that in many ways. Stuff is constantly being addressed, but there are inevitably tensions. Most of all, if you don't like being away from home or living in hotels, or being on your own, don't even think about coming here. That should be obvious, but seems to pass some people by!
Good luck to those who apply.
It is certainly true that commercially, Virgin has recovered far more strongly and quickly than anyone expected even only a few months ago. The two grounded A340-600s are back on the line, and I understand that the leased out 744 will return in the new year. The 10 A333s look like being additional to the fleet, but we only have firm information about the first two leisure-fit aircraft. We'll have to wait to find out about the rest. The B787 is now expected to begin deliveries in 2014 (I think) and the A380 is still sliding rightwards. There is no official suggestion that the A350 is being considered, but it seems logical to me that it must be in the mix if the B787 slips any further - its variants could conceivably replace all of the current and proposed fleets except the A380!
PPJN carries reasonably accurate information about pay and stuff. Time to command is somewhat of an imponderable, but 12-15 years is probably a fair estimate right now. It could come in to less than 10 for guys currently high on the FO seniority list if all of the A333s are additional to the current fleet. This thread covers a great deal of info about Virgin Atlantic, and what it's like to work there. It's old, but most of it is still valid. I've merged the current and recent VS threads into this one to get more up to date info available in one place. Have a good look at all the varying points of view expressed by current and past VS pilots, and consider carefully how your own expectations would compare with their experiences here. If you are actively considering a move to VS, think carefully about the stresses the longhaul lifestyle brings to your family. Don't expect to find a company magically free of the irritations and injustices of your current place; this is a big(ish) company which grew quickly. There is evidence of that in many ways. Stuff is constantly being addressed, but there are inevitably tensions. Most of all, if you don't like being away from home or living in hotels, or being on your own, don't even think about coming here. That should be obvious, but seems to pass some people by!
Good luck to those who apply.
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Does anybody know about the recruitment process ??
Interview - what's the format, does it involve tech stuff ?
exams/tests - are there any ? tech/IQ/maths/english etc ?
sim ride ??
many thanks
Interview - what's the format, does it involve tech stuff ?
exams/tests - are there any ? tech/IQ/maths/english etc ?
sim ride ??
many thanks
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You must apply online, via the Virgin Atlantic website. The pre-screening is directly from the online application. If that hurdle is successfully passed, you may be invited to interview. In the last recruiting round, there were exams - technical and other - and the interview could cover any topic relevant to the job. I seem to remember that the sim ride was dropped for a while and then reinstated, but a study of the Master Thread linked to in my last post will probably cover that.
In other words, it's a pretty standard airline recruiting procedure.
In other words, it's a pretty standard airline recruiting procedure.
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If you are actively considering a move to VS, think carefully about the stresses the longhaul lifestyle brings to your family.
One question though, the ad states:
Essential to hold current European type rating for A340/A330 or A320
Thx for the info Scroggs would love to fly with you someday...
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Hello Scroggs (or other flight crews working for VA),
Just a subsdiary question, broadly speaking, how do happen most of the stopovers, is it like when you arrive at the hotel, "ok guys, enjoy your night, see you tomorrow, pick up at ----";
or "ok guys, see you in a couple of hours, enjoy your nap, what about checking out this new place ? "
I mean do you get to chill out with the rest of the crew (of course it will depend on who's with who) (I mean pilots AND cabin crew, i.e. the whole team) or is it getting (as in one major airline I know a bit) scarcer and scarcer ?
thanks
Just a subsdiary question, broadly speaking, how do happen most of the stopovers, is it like when you arrive at the hotel, "ok guys, enjoy your night, see you tomorrow, pick up at ----";
or "ok guys, see you in a couple of hours, enjoy your nap, what about checking out this new place ? "
I mean do you get to chill out with the rest of the crew (of course it will depend on who's with who) (I mean pilots AND cabin crew, i.e. the whole team) or is it getting (as in one major airline I know a bit) scarcer and scarcer ?
thanks
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@ 727
It depends on the destination, on east coast US trips it can be a hit or miss to be honest. Very occasionally you may get up to 6-8 cabin crew and the 2 flight crew meeting at the bar for a couple of drinks. However on most one night trips you'll find 2 flight crew and say 2 or 3 cabin crew at the bar one hour after check-in for a few beers. One exception to the east coast seems to be MCO, Orlando seems to bring most folk down to the bar! Think its something to do with the bar happy hour that runs from 15.00 - 21.00...
West coast stopovers tend to be more sociable as its normally a 48 hour layover, more crew tend to make an effort and in destinations like LAX where there are 4 crews at any one time this can lead to some fun and games
Caribbean, again for some reason there is usually a really good turnout at the bar. Not unusual to see a full crew come down an hour or two after check-in.
Far east is another sociable zone, Narita and Hong Kong in particular being rather 'notorious' for having a good time.
African destinations are similar to the east coast US trips in terms of numbers of cabin crew and flight crew who meet up for a meal or beer.
I must point out I'm not Flight Crew for VS, merely an international tea-bag squeezer (Cabin Crew) However I hope this answers your questions.
It depends on the destination, on east coast US trips it can be a hit or miss to be honest. Very occasionally you may get up to 6-8 cabin crew and the 2 flight crew meeting at the bar for a couple of drinks. However on most one night trips you'll find 2 flight crew and say 2 or 3 cabin crew at the bar one hour after check-in for a few beers. One exception to the east coast seems to be MCO, Orlando seems to bring most folk down to the bar! Think its something to do with the bar happy hour that runs from 15.00 - 21.00...
West coast stopovers tend to be more sociable as its normally a 48 hour layover, more crew tend to make an effort and in destinations like LAX where there are 4 crews at any one time this can lead to some fun and games
Caribbean, again for some reason there is usually a really good turnout at the bar. Not unusual to see a full crew come down an hour or two after check-in.
Far east is another sociable zone, Narita and Hong Kong in particular being rather 'notorious' for having a good time.
African destinations are similar to the east coast US trips in terms of numbers of cabin crew and flight crew who meet up for a meal or beer.
I must point out I'm not Flight Crew for VS, merely an international tea-bag squeezer (Cabin Crew) However I hope this answers your questions.
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Tea Bag Squeezer? Is that some kind of euphemism?!
Just wondering what routes these new 330s are expected to do... I've heard to expect a lot of MCOs... will they mainly be on the East Coast routes? Or is it all still very much TBC?
Thanks.
Just wondering what routes these new 330s are expected to do... I've heard to expect a lot of MCOs... will they mainly be on the East Coast routes? Or is it all still very much TBC?
Thanks.
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From 2 April 2011, the A333 will be deployed on one daily MAN-Orlando service. The second A333 'line' starts at the beginning of May 2011 and will see the aircraft operate 6 x LGW-Orlando services per week. Later in 2011, we plan to start operating A333 at LHR. Final deployment details are still to be confirmed, but candidate routes for the aircraft include Chicago, East Coast US gateways, Accra, Nairobi, Dubai and Delhi.
As communicated previously, all A333 flying on Leisure routes will be performed by aircraft in a 2-class layout, configured with 45W/265Y seats, for a total seat count of 313.
Here's where the fun starts - apparently the Upper Class Suite which is arranged in a herringbone format across the cabin will not fit in its current form and layout as on the other A340's as the cabin is too narrow to achieve this. Galley FM is that the first 2 will be used on leisure (with no Upper) and the others have been delayed whilst a solution is sought!
As communicated previously, all A333 flying on Leisure routes will be performed by aircraft in a 2-class layout, configured with 45W/265Y seats, for a total seat count of 313.
Here's where the fun starts - apparently the Upper Class Suite which is arranged in a herringbone format across the cabin will not fit in its current form and layout as on the other A340's as the cabin is too narrow to achieve this. Galley FM is that the first 2 will be used on leisure (with no Upper) and the others have been delayed whilst a solution is sought!
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Here's where the fun starts - apparently the Upper Class Suite which is arranged in a herringbone format across the cabin will not fit in its current form and layout as on the other A340's as the cabin is too narrow to achieve this
Join Date: Jun 2003
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Interviews
They say that the applications will close on October the 27th, so I'm guessing noone will hear about an interview until after then. I'll be interested to be proved wrong though.