Originally Posted by
Captain Joe Smith
Can someone please paint a realistic picture on the company
Joe. My advice would be wait and see if management really do improve T&C's. Truth is these changes (which others have correctly described as being in part what was in our contracts in the first place and were removed without consultation) have only come about under threat of a union.
If the promised changes do not materialise then I doubt that you, coming from a 'proper' airline background, will like it much. It's just too gash at times.
Times to command on a larger aircraft WILL be longer than a year or so. Just ask the guys who agreed to stay on non-apu fleets for 18 months and are still there over two years later. While management are presenting a new public face many in Lisbon seem unable to break the habits of a lifetime. The oft heard "But we don't do deals" is still thrown back at crew who agreed to help out and in return are left dangling. The fleet growth
is slowing so you can expect to tread water for a bit.
It is well worth sitting yourself down at the computer with a cup of tea and using the 'search' function in here. It will be immediately obvious who sits on which side of the fence. What may not be quite so obvious is how some have shifted their stance as the honeymoon period has worn off, others since the announcement of the new pay arrangements. Somewhat misleadingly one of those people still punts the pro-company line here but appears to have had the scales fall from his eyes in another more private forum. Not cricket.
Numbers leaving? The official line is 50 so far in 2006, ask any pilot who knows a few people and he/she will say it is higher than that. The NJE spokesperson quoted above said that 8% was an unacceptable loss. Funnily enough no more than a few weeks ago the company line, repeated by some appearing in this thread, was that it was more or less normal.
Do your homework, wait a bit, make your choice.
As Hawkerpilot has said some of us are already one foot out the door. Here, have my seat
