Serious Flyer:
I don’t want to make is sound like a rose garden. Yes the numbers are right but as I said the work is hard. There are no layovers (except CMB) and while you are home every day or night you also fly every day or night. 100 block hours is hard time and while the trips are high time you will work at ABY.
As for the guys leaving – well there are second thoughts in the patch now. Notice the topic “Air Arabia - New Pay Rates.” These are new and the company is quite knowledgeable about the other jobs in the market. They simply had to become competitive and still keep the low cost model. They also knew about the difference in flying difficulties and without a night differential – well they had to do something and they did.
Everyone has to realize that this is different flying from what you probably did before. You are not going to sit at the bar and have a few drinks before you fly again tomorrow. If you do it, it will be at your home. You are not going to chase a few pretty skirts overnight and do the “gear up ring off” bit. ABY is as close to an 8 to 5 job as you can probably get in the airline business.
Some guys want that and I don’t blame them – bin there done that. They want the comradery of an overnight - dido. They want to see the sights of a strange, new town – gotta see it. But that will not happen at ABY. You will not fly an A-380 or Triple 7 here. You will not eat sushi in Tokyo or Pasta in Milan – ain’t goin’ to happen, never did never will! But if you are into your family and want to make some money – well it is competitive.
As for EK & EY – they are a different beast. They are staunch and non-flexible. If that is your cup of tea it is fine – what they give you is what you get, little change. But if you want to deal with whatever you may ever need, then flexibility is what you want. Wife having a baby, no sweat! Need time off for the kid’s football game, done! Dad need to go to hospital in Italy – you got the time off; just make it up sometime else in your schedule.
Sure that may mean you will have to cover for someone else and we all know who abuses it (so does management.) We take care of it fairly well, but still you may get stuck with something you do like because of that fact.
All I can say is the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence; unfortunately it is also thicker. In the last couple years only 2 people left here for EK. Both had family working there and found a better deal as a result (dual housing allowance etc.) EY on the other hand has seen a great exodus. Mainly F/Os who saw the pay differential, work environment and equipment a great disparity – and it WAS.
There are those folks that want to fly a wide body (an airplane is an airplane – show me the money.) There are those folks who want to run the streets – when I was younger and could; I did, so I know their desires. There are those that feel upgrade training will be different – I don’t believe it will anywhere in this part of the world. But whatever their personal desires, well they are personal and I have been lucky to hear many of the complaints first hand. Some of them I agree with and some not, but it does not matter what I fell for they are making the decision. Now is a great time in the industry and a guy/gal can choose like they could not for decades? I have not seen anything like this since the mid 70s but then again that was only a few years after LUV started. Those “poor” guys as still flying 73s
The numbers I quoted are as stated. The 55K or 68K include allowance and flying in my example. A 2,000+ Captain will definitely make 55+ K for 100 on the new scale, no matter what he flies – heck you make 40,500 for sitting on your butt for the month. That will only happen at ABY in two situations. 1) You are on leave and 2) you are 900 hours and out of time; the rest you will fly.
Hey guys ABY is not for everyone! One thing that is certain (at least now) you will not be invited into the Chief Pilot’s Office for “tea and biscuits” after a flight because you argued about a fuel load in Bombay like you would at EK. You won’t have to deal with the Gestapo at departure like you will at EY. You go, you fly and you leave – it is that simple. You have a problem, you’ll get a solution and the D.O. is a great guy who has the power to listen – he does.
Sure you screw up; you’ll get your hand slapped. You screw up twice; you’ll get it slapped real hard. Do it again you’ll find yourself in the sim doing a check ride – you deserve it. Be an arrogant idiot – we all know them – well you’ll find few guys at your farewell party.
It is not brain surgery. Go to work, fly your plane, do it safe, do it on time as best you can, don’t jerk off the other employees, don’t break anything, don’t hurt anyone and make money for the company – they will leave you alone and you will make a descent wage.
Hope this helps,
Burners and Out