Originally Posted by
FlyingATCO
..peace of mind with a company too big to fail..
Don't know about that one
In all seriousness, I'll try and answer what I can. It would be great if someone who also did ready entry replied to you, because there are a lot of them now. I'm guessing from your profile Dusseldorf/Condor? If so, you certainly wouldn't be the first German to do this. We have about 30 Aerologic FOs making the switch, also some people formerly from German Airways who commute from DUS (by car, ouch!).
Originally Posted by
FlyingATCO
From what I have heard it takes around 10 years to get back to longhaul at KLM. Is that true? I heard rumors that KLM might introduce MFF with the introduction of the A350. Did you hear about that? Could this be an option to get back to longhaul sooner?
Usually, yes. Depends mostly on the economy, FO 778 went to 12 years, now back down to 7 years. Realistic to expect 10 years based purely on retirements. The A330/350 (A330 leaving anyway) will be the same probably. Historically, A330 was about a year earlier because it did medium and not longhaul (=less and suckier destinations and less leave). For the introduction, there will be Single Fleet Flying of the 330/350 like they did with the 777/787, so you'll be able to fly them combined (based on amount of aircraft/difference courses given to crews).
MFF A350/A321 is something that's being discussed, but it would involve completely rearranging the CLA with regards to seniority pay, WRR (duties and rest, EUR has different system compared to ICA), promotion balance/opportunities with regard to KLC etc. So, in my opinion not very likely, and if it happens we're talking about a timeline beyond 2030.
Originally Posted by
FlyingATCO
But is shorthaul at KLM even commutable? Or are there a lot of single-day-trips?
It depends. On the 737/321 soft Crewbids for say 4-day trips (=max trip length, however max working days =6), works quite well. We have a lot of Belgian colleagues that do this, but their commute is a bit shorter by car. Also people (even Dutch) who commute from Scandinavia because they started their careers at Norwegian and decided to stick around there. And some ex-Aerologic people who commute from wherever in Germany (Berlin for example).
KLC Crewbid scores have always been lower historically, and I can't really speak to that from experience, so there might be an issue getting longer trips vs. a couple of 2-3 day trips in sequence that would necessitate hotels/commuting. What I do know is that KLC does 5-day trips and there's more schedule changes within those days (plugging the gaps everywhere on the EUR network
).
In any case, you said you were going to the A321, right now there might be a bit more shorter trips due to having a smaller fleet. This will stabilize in the future and mature like the 737, I'm sure. You will find that people who commute on EUR-fleet -almost without exception- work parttime. Usually 80%, which will give you 4 days work = 4 days off guaranteed, or 5/5, or 6/5. Single day trips exist but are rare, even if you bid for it you're not going to get those. They mostly go to training, checks, keeping office pilots current etc.
Originally Posted by
FlyingATCO
3. Can anyone give a hint where to learn Dutch very fast and efficiently to native speaker level?....Not speaking the language and not feeling "home" is one of my biggest concerns. I heard the "Dutchies" are very welcoming, friendly and fun to work with. I think to fully integrate into the environment in the cockpit but also when being on a layover etc. you need to speak the language ASAP.
You are very welcome, lot's of non-Dutch flying for KLM, also in the past. Integrating is probably two things: we're a bit flexible in how we operate (egalitarian/common sense), and indeed the language. I wrote something about that here:
Fly for KLM… no Dutch language required.
KLM offers a language course from what I understand, and the people who have joined so far, quite a lot of them are almost fluent already in such a short time. Really amazing, and something we all respect. If you want to do it yourself (expensive
) but the most famous one is:
https://www.reginacoeli.com/. The Queen went there when she came from Argentina. But doing it through KLM should be fine I think.
Originally Posted by
FlyingATCO
4. Another big concern is that I would have to quite my job very soon (3 months notice period) but KLM will only send a contract 2 weeks before training. What if something silly happens in the meantime in terms of war or whatever and I have no job at all because KLM decides to cancel training and my old Company would not take me back either after leaving? Also, in times of all the political craziness around the world - is it a good idea to leave a company with 3,5 years of seniority and about 90 FO's behind me on the list to start again from the end of the list at KLM?
Unfortunately, they can be sucky on this point. Also towards their 'own' cadets from the Flight Academy. Until you've signed, you're not in. This is a risk (in general I guess, reading PPrune), but at the moment they're still short of crew due to all sorts of reasons (parttime exploding, introducing A321 and A350 at the same time, scheduling inefficiencies etc.). If you're starting soon, then it should be fine. If they really had issues, they would've stopped pilot recruitment, which they have not as far as I'm aware. At 32, you have about 28 years left assuming pension at 60 (possible to go to 62 at KLM). You could even make Captain longhaul (currently 22 years). Total 3600 pilots, still recruiting. So compared to smallerish airlines, I'd say you're safer and still have a huge potential career ahead of you here.
Originally Posted by
FlyingATCO
Being 32 years old, this will probably be a decision for a lifetime.
KLM IS a job for life as a pilot (and not only pilots).