Originally Posted by
SliabhLuachra
I have to say respectfully disagree with some of that. (Caveat: I do not work for them).
- Roster is 5/3 not 5/2/5/3
- I haven't heard the same CRM issues you mention from many friends I have at the airline apart from the occasional oddball captain which you will get everywhere.
- Tax is high in Ireland but the marginal rate is lower than Spain, France, Denmark, Austria, Netherlands, Portugal and some others because of the recent reductions over the past few years and increases in the standard rate cut-off. Of course you don't quite get the bang for your buck you do in some of those countries in my list...
- Pension is one of the best in the industry.
- Pay-wise I think it's a lot better after the union intervened last year and the 18% increases for current and 30% increase for new joiners happened.
- Agreed that there are more people than normal (including Irish nationals) who have left in the past few years, anecdotally.
It would be good to hear from some people who are actually in the know on the day-to-day in Aer Lingus though and whether it's gotten better than what it was and what the general sentiment is.
I am sure you heard the infamous audio that did the rounds of the captain gleefully denying a jumpseat to an FO colleague, and recording it? That's the tip of the iceberg in regards the CRM situation in that place. Also, how many Youtube videos are there of Aer Lingus pilots embarrassing themselves in the US, where their superiority complex clearly comes through? SFO .. JFK too, more than once.
A cadet now FO won't have anything to compare to as they won't know any better (the cadetship is notoriously nepotistic too so there is that element as well). An FO with experience of other "norms" is going to be the one to spot the abnormalities and differences. When FOs are leaving Aer Lingus and rejoining Ryanair, something is clearly up. "Treading on eggshells" is what more than one person has said about operating there. There is a much steeper authority gradient. Also, you fall out with one captain, enter the reports and HR/union .. and you will find out you have fallen out with all the captains. It is not by chance that you have specific family names in the airline represented by multiple current and past pilots .. not when thousands apply for the cadetship yet handfuls are taken. When the head of pilot HR stands up at the beginning of a recruitment day and specifically says "we audit our process to make sure it's corruption free", it's a bit odd - no? Ryanair, Emirates, BA, Virgin et al don't feel the need to have to say this?
Wasn't there a document released last year that stated all walkarounds are to be performed by the FO unless the captain dictates otherwise? And that it was the FO's duty to remove the rubbish bag from the flight deck post duty? And that the FO needed to consult the captain before getting up after shutdown? Where I fly, this nonsense is unheard of. We are equals, the captain has ultimate say on matters and there is no doubt, but the FO isn't a lapdog expected to request the PIC's permission to eat their sandwich. It's about flying, not politics.
They took on a bunch of European pilots in the last few yrs who seem to have mostly left. The Irish leaving is the eyeopener, this was unheard of. They do love the cadets, partly because it pays for the training of their own family/close friends/union interests, the company get to pay them a low wage for x years, the cadets don't know any better so will accept nonsense treatment as per above, and they are also less likely to leave due not knowing what other places are like/by the time they are free of the bond they may as well stay for command. Direct entries on the other hand will cause "issues" and more likely to leave sooner.
Yes, a great pension, probably the best around, but I'd like to enjoy my life before I get to pension age too ..
Edit to add: I see you are not a pilot and have been trying for their cadetship. If one day you do become a pilot, it will all make more sense and you will really "feel" what I mean. Now it's all about becoming a pilot and none of this means anything, or sounds exaggerated.