Very well run airline!
Not all would agree, of course! Especially those that have been in the company some time or have not worked for anyone else to see that this is, on balance, a good airline.
Basic pay is around industry standard, incremental with time served. Lots of duty pay at around £2.50 per hour - When busy, around £500-£600 per month. £250 Captains and £150 F/Os for days off worked. Pension from 7.5% to 15% dependant on rank and time served - paid into your own scheme or the companys money purchase. 5x earnings loss of licence and life insurance (capped at £250,000 - I think). 5 weeks leave per year with bank holidays in lieu. High level cover PPP medical insurance wich includes travel insurance for use at work or on your personal holiday, staff travel etc (spouse included for a small extra fee).
Bond, if not rated, as part of contract (i.e. not a bank loan or secured etc, more by agreement)!£15000 decreasing over 3 years.
Destinations: CIS - Baku, Azerbaijan; Yerevan, Armenia; Tblisi, Georgia; Bishkek, Krgystan. Middle east - Alleppo and Damascus, Syria; Amman, Jordan; Alexandria, Egypt; Beirut, Lebanon. (with more routes planned in the near future - CIS and Central Africa).
Normally 9 days off in a month. It actually varies from 8 if very busy to around 16 if not. Trips are between one night away to six. Normally just one or 2 sectors (1 of 5 hours and one of 1 hour as a max). There are several duty days off down route - great sunbathing in decent hotels and getting paid for it!! There are bid lines in place so one can get long trips or short trips to help control your lifestyle. crewing are generally helpful if you help them! Being honest - you can find yourself away from home quite a lot when busy. But it has, so far for me, balanced out. So one month I am hardly at home the next I am at home a lot. I used to do short haul and got very tired of the intensity of work. This is much easier on balance and I enjoy a better quality of life. We only fly 4-500 hours per year! Generally lunch time reports and landings at LHR. Some night flying and early starts down route though!
Flying very interesting and challenging. decent crew grub (business meals normally). Destinations are interesting!!!! Seems to be a secure job. BA influence very strong leading to good service on board and fairly good handling down route and at LHR. Good training department with BA SOPs and training audited by BA. I have encountered a good 'training' not 'checking' attitude within the company.
Promotion prospects depend upon experience and ability. Seniority list is used. When hours gained and ok on seniority then you will be assesed. If ok then into a pool for a command. Lots of commands in the offing due to new aircraft arriving early next year. Beware though if you have low hours as we only do 4-500 hours per year (sometimes less for F/Os) - so it can take quite some time to gain enough hours (4000) for command.
I think I have been objective and provided you with the information to decide whether or not to apply. It is not for everyone and I do admit to sometimes being tired of time off down route when busy.
Oh, And the staff and crew are a great bunch! We always behave down-route though! Honest!