I left fybe in October. It was the best thing on offer to start my career and im very grateful to dear old George for getting me started. It was good while it lasted but I was gaining nothing by staying as I trundeled toward 1000 hours in the rhs of the mighty dash. My opinion of flybe after leaving it behind many months ago is this... if anyone is interested.
I believe the training to be poor to very poor. It was improving after the departure of our antipodian friend, but compared to the airline im with now the training and discipline on the line at flybe was poor. Local ways of doing things, poor roster stability, poor pay, nightstops, poor crew food, low hours, non communication from management, poor balpa reprisentation...
I found that Flybe is full of unprofessional characters, both on the ground and in the air. I hear MRS
JS got fed up with some 200hr guys asking when there course start date was that she hoofed them out the pool. How does she have the right to do that? She wasted money interviewwing them in the first place. Whats skills and training can she bring to pilot recruitment? What exactly does DD do? I arrived at an opc, to be told by my sim trainer that it wasnt a big deal - only a company check. the session started 20 mins late and finished 15 mins early. We had a 25 min brief, the examiner was mainly talking about PC's to the skipper i was with. i revalidated my CATII into LGW without plates, cos we didnt have any. I STILL, yes STILL get sent Notacs. im hoping for a xmas bonus and a card. (got the card last year anyway)
I walked onto the flight deck of a Q400 in SOU. The flightdeck had a combined age of 42 years between them, and under 3000 hours TT between them - responsible for 82 beating hearts! They were opperating SOU-GCI, 120 sectors a month...the same route. That same skipper on another occasion told me to put 1200kgs down for a fuel check at ortac. It's always the same he said. Except for the day you have a fuel leak - but anyway. I flew with a skipper to bergamo. our combined total time was 3,500 hours - over the alps in winter, at night at FL250. Neither of us had flown in that sort of terrain before and the company brief was pretty inadequate. The thinking at flybe is I have 2000 hours where is my command?
I am so pleased I left when I did, becasue had I stayed longer I am sure I would have found the transition to a "proper" airline much much harder, perhaps impossible. I hope luck stays with the airline because their consideration toward safety and training really troubles me.
Good luck er82, the grass is greener.
Ps just a few thoughts, cant be bothered to back them up or respond to allegations of anti-flybeism and i know it is reasonably inarticulate. Take it or leave it. G'night.