One last question:time to command?
As discussed elsewhere, for anyone joining today expect a short-haul command in seventeen to twenty years at LHR, a little less at LGW. It's all to do with seniority (dead man's shoes). You will need a seniority of
approximately (before anyone starts flaming me with exact numbers
) of around 2100 for a LGW short-haul command, 1800 for a LHR short-haul command and getting on for 1200 for a long-haul command. You will join with a seniority number of about 3050 and retirements have reduced to
approximately 70 per year.
On that basis:
LGW Shorthaul command = 13-14 years
LHR Shorthaul command = 17-18 years
Longhaul command (744, 777) = 26-27 years
Generally speaking, the 757/767 is slightly less than pure Longhaul, although this year it was about the same as the 777.
Having said that, this doesn't take into account increasing the retirement age from 55 to (probably) 60, so there's potentially a couple of years to add to the above totals, and any expansion (which won't happen in a hurry), which will shorten the times by a certain amount. Keep in mind they are approximations.
What this means is that if you are over 30 and want a long haul command, you'll have to look elsewhere.