Where do I start? Let's try this for openers, written by
Wonder Boy just over a year ago:
I am a First Officer in Ryanair and here is exactly how I am being payed in the first 12 months:
Type rating (4-6 WEEKS):
No pay
You then wait 2-4 weeks for base training without pay. After base training you are on the training contract basic rate for 6 months. This is an annual rate of 8700 pounds. However, you do not start getting payed this until after line training. Line training takes 2-3 months so you are therefore only payed on this rate for 3-4 months. Sounds complicated? It is purposely so.Not only that, but the company reduces this initial rate by 1000 pounds every year or so without notice. Next year you might therefore expect the rate to be 7700 pounds.
So, from the start of type rating until conclusion of line training you will only have earned about 750 pounds (half sector pay after safety pilot release and no basic salary yet).
About 3.5 months now remain until you finish your training contract. On the annual rate of 8700 (remember this will reduce eventually) you will earn 2530 basic in this time. Also, you will earn 2800 sector pay.
To sum up so far:
Day 1 to completion of line check ( 4 months) = 750 pounds
Line check to end of training contract (3.5 months) = 5330 pounds
Total after 7.5 months with the company = 6080 pounds.
It will now have been 6 months since base check. You will now go on the basic second officer terms. This amounts to a basic annual rate of 14000 pounds and half sector pay for a further 6 months.
In these 6 months you will therefore earn 7000 pounds basic and about 4800 pounds sector pay. This basic rate is also being reduced annually without notice.
Ok, here are the final figures (before tax) for the first 12 months after the base check:
Basic pay: 9530 pounds
Sector pay: 8350 pounds
Total: 17880 Pounds.
And then there's this,
Ryanair - A Guide For Prospective Pilots, Part 1,
Part 2 and
Part 3.
If reading those doesn't help you understand why I said 'Another lamb to the slaughter', then perhaps you are beyond help!
Part of the problem is the increasingly-prevalent expectation of getting into a jet flight deck with no experience other than the fATPL training. While it can be done, it is just one way of beginning of what I hope will be a very long career for you. Unfortunately, as was pointed out at the Pprune Seminar yesterday, more than a few of those who have gone straight into companies like Ryanair have become disillusioned with the entire aviation industry, and been 'burned out' by the workload - so much so that people are leaving to take up alternative careers after only 5 or 6 years flying. They just can't take any more.
As for the logic of accepting extremely low (or no) pay for your initial period of 'employment', see
my take on the subject.
Whether you can appreciate it or not, you
do have a choice. What choice you make will affect you for the rest of your working life. Incidentally, I have never flown with an ex-Ryanair pilot in Virgin. I am not aware of there being any in the company; there are several ex-easyJet however. I don't know why this is, though I have some suspicions.
Scroggs