Originally Posted by 2bcrew
I think I'm gonna apply for Monarch - any ideas on what routes you get to do? Which base has vacancies.. Anyone know what the interview is like? Sending off my application soon.. fingers crossed!
Any info would be a great help,
Thanks,
Matt
Hey Matt,
I'm an ex-Monarch boy too, so thought I'd throw my tuppence worth in as well.
Gatwick07 has given a fantastic answer and all his points are accurate so I wont bother repeating them all, but just wanted to say a little more about the company so you can take as informed a decision as poss.
When you start at Monarch - like almost all other charter airlines - you will be put onto a Temporary contract that normally lasts until 31st Oct. At the end of this Temp season they may lay you off, offer you a further temp contract or take you on permanently. The number of people they keep on depends entirely on operational demand. There is no way of predicting! During your temporary season with them you will have to ask your senior crew to complete appraisals on you, these appraisals are completed and returned to your base trainers, who will meet with you every now and them to discuss them. It is in you best interests to get as many appraisals as you can, and obviously make sure you keep your nose clean and work hard so that they are good appraisals. These, along with lateness and sickness records, are the basis on which the decision will be made to keep you on (if there are jobs available) or let you go at the end of your contract.
One draw back I found with Monarch is the divide between the Temporary Juniors (as they are called) and the perm crew. Obviously all the perm crew have also been through that temp season (some of them a long long time ago! hehe) and a small number of them will happily let you work your socks off on a flight knowing that you are having an appraisal done and need to impress the seniors!
However, get through that temp season, work HARD, keep your nose clean and head down, and as soon as you are permenant you'll notice a world of difference and will be able to enjoy a fantastic job, with an airline that is quite famous in the industry for paying it's staff very well (thanks to the very union strong crew). The variety of routes (especially those ad-hoc flights mentioned earlier) is excellent. Another major benefit with Monarch is that the company seems remarkably stable, even just after Sept 11th when other companies were drastically cutting crew and the on-board service, Monarch remained strong.
You also asked for some info on the interview, so here's what I remember (it may have changed). Allow pretty much the whole day for the interview, unlike your interview with Virgin, where the number of people is whittled down during the day, with Mon you will be take part in everything.
The day includes a presentation on the company, a group exercise, a general knowledge and a maths test then a 2 to 1 interview. Try to remain calm, happy and yourself throught the entire day. You'll find lots of info on pprune about what to expect in interviews, so have a look around to prepare yourself (all airlines a quite similar) the tests weren't too hard so don't fret about those - try to learn a little bit of Airline Gen Knowledge, for example what does ABP stand for? (Able Bodied Person) Plus some basic geography.
I really enjoyed my time with Mon, I also left due to the slow promotion prospects.
As we are now a little way into the summer season charter airlines will soon slow down on their recruiting, so maybe apply to some others now too, eggs and baskets and all that! MyTravel, TUI, First Choice...? Or why not join me at BA?!
Wishing you the best of luck Matt - get in touch if you want any more info and let me know how it goes!
Markie