Originally Posted by
NotSoSmart
Heard from friends that “very junior” FOs from the direct entry pilot - long haul pathway are having bids accepted for SH Commands at LHR and Euroflyer way before the freeze is over.
Are you able to share which long haul fleet they have come from, because I have not yet seen a single person move from long haul P2 to C32L before their 4 year pre-command freeze is up. There are a few people who have moved after that 4 year point, (so one year early from their initial engagement freeze), but this is pretty normal. I would very strongly advise against anyone relying upon, (or even slightly hoping that), joining long haul as a DEP will lead to a short haul command after a year or two. In my opinion that just is not going to happen any time soon. Yes, join short haul as a P2, and you can move right to left the following training year, but that is because the pre-command freeze on type is just one training year rather than the 4 for a ‘change of type’ command. Basically, pre-command freezes tend to always remain in place.
These rumours have surfaced on here from time to time, but analysis of the annual bid results just doesnt provide any evidence of it. Why? Well it’s exactly as you say. It’s robbing Peter to pay Paul and it just doesn’t make commercial sense to do it. They will only do that if they are desperate, and as far as i can see, they are not there yet, because plenty of junior P32L folk want the right to left conversion.
The only possibility of it happening, (that I haven’t closely tracked), is junior people who were made redundant, or put in the CRS from the 747’s retirement during Covid. They obviously all needed new type ratings, and short haul command courses would very much have been on offer for anyone who had the required minimum experience levels.