I recently joined the company at the beginning of the year from FR and if there's anybody out there thinking about making the jump then I can highly recommend it! From the off, the company are trying to cut costs (who isn't?) and it remains to be seen what path they try to take. My decision was largely a lifestyle choice - I was offered command shortly before I handed my notice in but there's no way i'm moving to Romania on crap pay without any idea of when I could get home.
The flying here is great - there's nothing like flying to ALC and back and being back home by midday. I could fly with the best crew on the planet at FR but the flying was soul destroying - 4 and 6 sector days, max duty with min rest in between.
The training has been excellent. It's a VERY short OCC - 4 days GS, 4 days sim, 3 days LT - and the procs are very different to FR. We only have about a third of the callouts that FR do so the hard bit's forgetting the stuff from before!
Basing is very transparent and based on seniority. I was based far away from home initially but already have a base move confirmed 2 months after joining. You can input your bid from day one and the bid is run a couple times a year or as required.
There's the opportunity to fly in Canada and to fly different fleets and we've now got the opportunity to bid for mix fleet 737 & 787 flying (remember you'll be type frozen for the first 12 months but this can be waived for operational requirements).
Even with the 7k type deduction in year 1, I've already taken a pay rise compared to my pay as a TRI with FR. The training cost isn't great, it is what it is and I now see it as a 7k pay rise in year 2. The perks are excellent in comparison (I was a contractor with FR) and I can finally sleep well at night knowing i'm not on a
tax-dodging contract, i'll get paid if I call in sick, hotels and transported are booked and paid for if I get sent away and I have a pension!
Just my opinion and experience so far, just though it may help if others are thinking of making the move. Good luck with the assessments!