Originally Posted by
Red69
I understand that it’s a pilots choice to take up this employment. However as a pilot, commuting isn’t a big deal. Look at the USA - you can live anywhere and the company will assist you with commuting with flights and hotels. You can jump seat on ANY airline. That’s part of being a pilot. It’s just another aspect the career that Australian aviation has reinvented for the worst.
USA is a little different. Airlines have about a half a dozen bases for the entire country but far more cities/states to live in, whereas Australian airlines have a base in most cities/states. Commuting and 4 day trips are the norm, and there are privileges regarding jumpseating and staff travel to make this happen.
Originally Posted by
Captn Rex Havack
But you sound a little too "entitled" to me reference commuting. We once offered a Melbourne
guy a Sydney based job. We said no, we only have 23 pilots - we cannot write a cooshy roster for you with strings of days off and ignore everyone else. Its not fair to them and just won't
work. He then asked would we then provide paid accommodation for him. Wasn't you was it?
position
In that case yes, it is a little entitled when you are offered a job or promotion in a different base and you expect the company to give you special privileges in order to make your commute easy. That’s not the way the system works.
However in the OP’s case I have sympathy as this was an
enforced change of base in order to keep employment without the pilot deciding that for themselves. In any other job a pilot would simply resign from that company and go work at one with a base in that city, however with airlines we would lose all seniority and need to start a career again from scratch so that’s not really fair.
In that case I can see a case for a company assisting with a commute friendly roster. There may have to be a trade off however, perhaps a reduction in pay to make it happen. Once upon a time it was assumed that airlines were like the military, the pilot was the breadwinner and if the company said to move base they would just uproot the stay at home wife and family and go where they were told. Now it’s different, partners of pilots can themselves have well established professional careers in a certain city and not be able to move, so it’s high time airlines recognised this fact.
Of course the primary goal should be to prevent disruption to family life in case of forced base changes, they shouldn’t assist with commuting for those who are seeking a faster promotion in a different base.