Originally Posted by
Busdriver01
Thanks for the insight. I suppose I thought that, being in a fortunate position at a short haul carrier already, if I were to move to the bottom of the pile at a new airline (Not complaining about that (yet..!) everyone puts their time in and that’s the system) It’d be easier to take in the short term if I were at least flying long haul and not to the same destinations I already operate, from the same base, etc etc
Sounds like in the long term (and for me that’ll be a very long time, hopefully) it’d still be better to take the first spot.
Cheers again
That’s exactly the thought process that I went through in 1997. Luckily for me, only DEP 744 was on offer, so I eagerly took it.
Sometimes I wonder whether I would have joined if only SH had been offered? Probably not, which may have been a mistake.
I think, given your situation, that you have sussed it out quite well. LH looks to be expanding in the short/medium term and there will always be a requirement for a greater proportion of LH FOs than on SH, due to three/four crew flights. So, as you say, take the first spot. Even if it’s SH, you could well be on a LH fleet within five years. Your decision may depend on whether you can afford the pay-cut until you catch up with what you’re earning now. That in turn may depend on how keen you are to take a SH command. In any case, barring any future “events” such as 9/11, SARS, Wall St crash, etc. you should be much better off in terms of life-style and earnings in the long run.
I gave up a charter 737 TC job for BA 744 FO and yes; it was financially very tough for a few years. More time off at home and staff travel benefits helped to convince the family that it was worth it. To be honest, once I was in I never had any regrets. Floating around the world and being paid to sleep in a bunk, or lie on a beach, seemed far more desirable than LGW-TFS-LGW. Opportunities for training or management roles are also open to all, no matter how junior. I was a 747 TRI/TRE within three years of joining.
As I’ve said before, this was all 22 years ago, so please take with a pinch of salt.
Bon courage! (as they say over here).