Ballpark time to command? In my case, joined in 1998, LHR command in 2008 (Shorthaul).
For future Nigels, as with current ones, time to command is up there with "how long is a piece of string". Everything is done on seniority (DoJ) so when you have the seniority and you bid for the seat, you will get it subject to passing a command course. Traditionally, rough ballpark seniority numbers based upon 3000 or so pilots are as follows: for the avoidance of doubt and for the DEAF, ROUGH BALLPARK FIGURES:
Shorthaul co-pilot: direct entry
Longhaul co-pilot: 2500 ish or direct entry
Shorthaul command (LGW): 2100 ish
Shorthaul command (LHR): 1900 ish
Longhaul command: 1000 ish
These numbers vary signficantly from year to year depending on retirements, vacancies, movements between fleets, etc. This bid year, the most junior shorthaul command was 1200 ish!!
How long it takes for anyone to get to a particular seniority level depends entirely and only upon the rate of retirements. Currently, very few are leaving as the retirement age has increased recently.
I write, not to put anyone off but to give everyone a sense of perspective. BA is a good place to work on the whole. There is a lot of politics and you either learn to deal with it or learn to ignore it (both techniques work well). Rosters are stable, the company is likely to stay in business for the long term and there is plenty of variety in terms of types, trips, longhaul and shorthaul and the pay is competitive. Seniority governs most of your life so if you're at the back of a recruitment bulge, life isn't fantastic but it will improve the day the next person joins behind you. Whatever your view of "seniority", that's the way it is and it has worked well since before most of the people on the list were born.
We're likely to be recruiting either late 2010 or early 2011 by the way. Not sure whether it's for longhaul or shorthaul though, which will dictate previous experience requirements.
Last edited by Human Factor; 30th Jul 2010 at 08:50.