RYR Vs long haul

[noID]

Hi guys, I would like to have some suggetions from you.

My situation is this one: experienced first officer, age around 40, actually flying wide body but still within the 3 years required from RYR to join as FO.
I work in a major Company, with of course "some" issues, waiting for a possible uograde that for the moment is far at least a couple of years( back on 73).....
Since the moment the 3 years from my last 73 flight is approaching, i m evaluating if to apply to RYR for a fast upgrade.

At the moment salary is not bad and id90+zed which i know i ll loose in case I choose RYR.

If I am lucky I could get the base I ask cz it s quite big and I am aware that it could change once I become Cpt (assuming I become Cpt)

what would you choose if you were me? RYR for a fast upgrade loosing some benefits and maybe earning a little bit less for 1 year or try to keep the seat on the wide body perhaps looking for a position in EK?

Thx for any suggestions!

[McNugget]

Without slinging any mud, I would say that giving up what I presume to be a chunk of seniority in a major airline, on a far better contract (again, assumption on my part) to get a 737 command two years earlier (if I've understood you correctly) at RYR would be gutsy, at best.

Throw in all the other 'intricacies' of RYR regarding bases etc., and that may pad out my point.

If you don't mind me asking, which major carrier are you working for?

Good luck!

[Luibar]

I faced more or less the same situation some years ago, although I wasn't flying for a major. I decided to stay. Got my upgrade on the narrow body fleet and returned to wide body as a Captain. Never regret my decision. At the end of the day this is a personal decision that only you can make.
Good luck.

[noID]

Thx for both replies.... My senoirity is quite high at the moment but the issue is that it will take at least couple of years, being optimistic....salary is not bad but i m paid on local currency which is not very stable, plus even if it is an higher salary then RYR i have to provided for my own accomodation and all the extra costs...so at the end of the month the salary would not be so different.
I am struggling cz this is the last chance i have to jump in RYR otherwise i know i will be stuck or here or forced to go to EK, i don t see other opportunities on B777 closer than those..
@McNugget, as foreigner there are not so many companies in "Europe" you can be hired without speaking the language

I know in RYR you can gat between 3600 and 5600 ( this what my friend gets in Rome base). I have been told that as FO is quite easy to get the base u choose if not small, in my case I would choose Rome (2 bases so doublle chance)... So I would live at home cutting many costs.... And I was told you can get the upgrade in less than 1 year coming with experience, just 1 winter season and i think 800 hours in the company...
After the upgrade of course there is no guarantee i can get same base, but it s also true the salary will be higher so I may choose som base where the cost of life is not too high..if i m not wrong an avarage cpt salary is between 6200/6500 eur...
What really disturbs me is loosing the benefit of tkts and for me, who is married with a foreign woman means more expenses bcz i ll hae to pay a regular tkt when travelling to my wife country...
Other thing I like in RYR is that if you get direct employment they pay fr the pension in my country...where I am at the moment I can still use the years to arrive to the pension but I dunno who they calculate it...

On top of this my age...If i were 30, no problem at all to stay here 3/4 years more to see what happens...but being 40 I need to do the right choice and I know that in my company things are uncertain, not really reliable and if I go to ek it will take at least 5/6 years more (without considering all the posts u can find about ek)... Mmm i should throw a dice

[McNugget]

I'm no wiser as to your employer based on what you said, not that it matters; I was just curious as to what major airline would have guys close to command leave for RYR, or most other carriers for that matter.

Only you can decide what's best for you, but I would say this -

Leaving a decent job with decent seniority and everything that comes with it, and jumping ship (to one airline with a less than stellar reputation) based on not wanting to miss out on a time window, is a perilous idea. There are plenty of airlines which will consider your present experience. Add in the fact that RYR has so many intricacies and unknowns, and I really can't see why you're considering it, but that's just me.

[McBruce]

I done the opposite. Left RYR when a CU opportunity was likely. Its all about the lifestyle for me personally. If you have good control and based where you want to be, why mess it up for a company thats wildly discussed for many reasons. I would stay put unless you are in a part of the world you don't wish to be in.

[Jwscud]

I am doing the same as McBruce.

I would STRONGLY recommend not going to Ryanair as a DE FO as the mess that is the command upgrade process was a major push helping me out of the door. Your base could be anywhere, your contract will most likely be awful and you will have no idea when you might return to your base of choice.

As a DEC on a permanent contract returning to a base you live close as some merits. Unless you are in that situation look VERY carefully at things.

[bfr]

noID, this is only what I have been told and there is no guarantee this is correct, but you may want to double check the figures for capt in CIA and FCO, as the info I have is the salary is way below in FCO than in CIA. Maybe you should get more info about that. Of course, that is relevant only if you get one of this base AFTER your upgrade....

[Akrep]

The mayor airline being most probably Turkish, I can say if you stay and by any chance you get offered the upgrade there is a big chance they will want you to move to their narrowbody fleet. And I think that is one hell of a lifestyle killer since you will be flying your socks off.

Just another thing to consider in no way am I telling you to stay or go that is a personal decision you have to make.

[Aluminium shuffler]

Leaving a decent job in a legacy airline just to get a quicker command in a low cost is foolhardy in the extreme. The locos vary significantly in pay, not just from each other, but most from base to base, so you often won't get what you expect, and it'll almost certainly be similar to what you already earn, if not less. Then there are all the other trimmings, like medical, licence, uniform and food, training costs, pensions (those locos that employ you properly often only match contributions, so you have to pay some of the salary in first, those who use contracts will give you nothing)... So, more responsibility, more hours, crappier airports, and all for less money. While I can appreciate that command has its attractions, that is purely an ego thing - look at the working conditions, work rate, location, job security and renumeration; forget about the ego smoothing of type and seat.

[tomuchwork]

Hard question that mainly can be only answered by yourself:

- do you like your current employer, like the working conditions, like the base?
- is it a "long term" commitment thing, just being big is not a career guarantee(e.g. Turkish, Korean,Emirates,QR,...)

- would be the possible new RYR base be close to home or a good alternative?
- are you aware that as a FO you might be forced to some base of their choice(it seems to be like that if you look into the RYR FO thread)? On the other hand, joining as an "upgradable" FO would give you most likely different threatment.

- for my understanding RYR is very short of Capts right now, so an upgrade would happen very fast I assume.
- Capt. pay is not bad, especially considering being at home every day which is, in my eyes, an incredible luxury thing in aviation nowadays. Most so called "legacies" do not offer that anmd for me that is more important then some corrupt(IMHO) seniority list that anyways in most carriers gets bent now and then(and don't tell me it never happened in YOUR airline).
- 5/4 roster is great, nearly nobody offers something as good as this
- 1 month of paid leave because you will be out of hours within 10-11 month

I would go for RYR within a blink of an eye(what I did), but that is really a decission that nobody can help you with.

[macdo]

Unless you are hugely driven to get a command, giving up a position in a large carrier where you have a lot of seniority might be unwise. The RYR lifestyle seems to suit some, but if you jump ship and don't like it, you are trapped as you will then be a Capt. and it is difficult to go elsewhere and retain your command, something which is difficult to give up. Also, seniority means job security in an insecure industry, assuming your current airline operates LIFO.
In the end, lifestyle is the most important factor in a career in aviation, and unless there are urgent reasons for you to leave, I'd sit happily in your seat waiting for your turn to come.

[flyingelf]

Hard work in both airline, being home and a 5/4 is a plus, Rome and probably Fiumicino would be available as Fo and sooner or later after the upgrade, no senioriy, but in the ryr way i would expect as a base after the left seat...
You know better than me what to expect from ypur current company...
Personal choice, not easy, but I consider that positions as DEC non rated would be available for a while in Ryan...