so does that mean that the truth is somewhere in between what you and mj say...
In the past somewhere I said the flying was good, machinery nice, destinations varied etc. I've NEVER denied that. What I sought to do is highlight the unpleasantries as a counterbalance to those punting the 'warm and fuzzy' line.
Why? Because those who refuse to acknowledge the negatives are luring people in under false pretences. How would you feel if you made a major career change only to find that once inside the company your contract was pretty much worthless and the terms and conditions you had been promised are subject to alteration on a whim?
No company would be this dishonest? What about a company that until very recently was telling applicants and new hires (at a time when resignations were coming at the rate of about a dozen a month) that only seven pilots had ever resigned in its entire history?
On a sliding scale I'd say in terms of the work itself it's 8 out of 10 but dealings with management are............. somewhere over to the left of centre and in need of work. Signs of improvement but too early to tell.
Edited to say.....
26.2 Support down route is usually good coming from Maintenance, Ops etc although there are still episodes worthy of the Keystone Cops. Being in generous mood I'd attribute this to pressure applied to support staff from above rather than malice.
Catering is not an issue in terms of the company, you'll almost always get fed, although the suppliers in some of the more remote places can be pretty hopeless.
Fuel was NEVER an issue for me. I heard pepole tell of some 'optimistic planning' on longer flights but as far as I know whenever the crew raised valid objections these were addressed.
Roster has been done to death on here and is one of the areas that has been changed without discussion. Contracts issued now stipulate minimum 18 days a month on a 6/4 or 6/5 basis. This was one of the major gripes cited by those who resigned and the company say they are now trying to adhere to 6 on, 5 off. At least during the winter.
New hires usually start on the smaller cabin fleet. So far no direct entry to the G4/G5 although there have been some swift 'accelerations'. No BBJ's in Europe.
Hope this helps.