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Old 30th Oct 2018, 15:23
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flightpattern
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
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Virgin or BA

The last debate on this was some time ago. With new T&Cs/rosters/pensions/pilots I was wondering if people could offer their experience in the two airlines to compare.

I'm in the fortunate position of having offers from both BA & Virgin, and whilst it's one of the best positions you can be in, the gravity of the decision is dawning on me.

BA Pros
* Probably the most stable company to work for
* Variety of fleets, both SH & LH options
* Relatively good pay & conditions
* Lots of leave

BA Cons
* Worked incredibly hard with time at the bottom of seniority very unsociable (particularly with new bid system?). Roster looks pretty awful..
* Impersonal/corporate (could be advantage or disadvantage depending on personality)

Virgin Pros
* Seems like a fun, friendly & relaxed place to work
* Capped at 750 hrs per year
* Delta/Air France KLM owning 49% & 31% respectively so stronger than ever, and supposedly like the brand
* Better work life balance from what I've seen, with rotating seniority a personal plus so I can enjoy the next decade of my life

Virgin Cons
* Not as stable - 28 million loss when every other airline is making money, equity minus £25 million...
* Ambiguity as to Delta/Air France KLM want to do with the airline (Alaska collapsed Virgin America albeit a different business model), after all it is loss making
* Committing to LH for the rest of your life

Any thoughts from people in the two airlines would be really interesting.
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