I have been an FO with BA for 2 years and am considering Virgin when recruitment resumes. A lot of info on this thread, but I miss a few critical bits of info:
1. FO take home salary: How much is it once on the line on a typical month if you contribute normally to your pension (6%) (As a guide, BA is between £3200 and £4000, depending on trips and leave). I'd be very greatful if a new FO would have time to answer this. It's a vital point because my immediate problem will be to pay my mortgage.
2. Training/Management: How is the atmosphere during initial training and with the trainers: Are they friendly or choppy ? Same for management: Is there a no blame culture or will you feel threatened if you make a mistake. (BA is very, very good with both and I would miss the feeling of security this brings)
3. CRM: How much rope do you get as a copilot ? Do Captains tend to leave you to manage most aspects of your sector or will they want you to do exactly what they want even when you're perfectly fine, thereby not letting you expand and enjoy ? Is the vast proportion of air force backgrounds driving the company towards good CRM or single seater CRM ? (BA is average on that and where a large proportion of guys have fantastic CRM, those who don't make you feel miserable for a few days.
The monitored approach makes the matter worse and the company's reluctance to address CRM means things won't change. Plus the RHS is yours for 15y min, so I won't miss this if I leave)