PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - I have an interview with monarch any help out there
Old 11th Dec 2004, 01:32
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Bealzebub
 
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This is a difficult question to answer. It shouldn't be but it is.

Firstly the interview will be just that an interview where they get an opportunity to appraise you as a person and you get to ask questions. Unless things have changed in the brave new world, there are no pyscho babble tests or other nonsense.

The company is part low cost scheduled and mainly I.T charter. The workload can be (and usually is ) very busy particularly on the Fly by wire fleets and especially so in the summer. Good training departments ( in the main) and you will probably enjoy flying with the people that operate on the line.

Now comes what would have been the good part, the terms and conditions............... Well, it would have been the good part untill this year. Those terms and conditions are not those that will be offered to you. In line with what is now becoming industry practice, the terms and conditions for new joiners are significantly below those enjoyed by existing pilots. This will bring the salaries and other conditions more into line with the likes of Easyjet and Ryanair etc. I am not entirely sure what the full extent of these new conditions are, and perhaps somebody else can give you a better appraisal. Clearly there are plenty of pilots out there who are willing to accept these new "market forces" and as it seems you reap what you sow, these are the new terms that the employers feel they can adopt.

I don't work to these terms and am therefore not qualified to advise you one way or the other. It is a matter for you to decide for yourself. However as I said at the beginning, you will do lots of flying, it can be hard work. You would enjoy working with the crews on line.

Sorry I can only give a mixed answer to your question. Historicaly the company has enjoyed a very high degree of pilot loyalty. No doubt the terms and conditions on offer contributed to this situation. It is hard to see where this pans out in the future, but the company has to exist in a world where salaries and terms and conditions for new joiners are sliding below previous levels.

I am reminded of those desparate people you see in the US who stand at intersections with signs around their necks saying "Will work for food". It seems that new wannabees coming into this industry adopt the same principle, and now the carriers are taking them up on their offer. Not a good time to be coming into this industry if you seriously intend to make a stable and comfortable career from it. There again some might argue, was it ever ?

Good luck.
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