Omar: Don't pick up your phone when you are off duty if you can't identify the number or see it's an Irish one. That's what practically any Brookfielder in my base does.
Had a conversation with a colleague yesterday which was interesting to me. He's originally from Brazil where he flew with Varig for 8 years as a FO. After they went bankrupt he came to Europe and joined Ryanair. Got the command within a year from joining.
What he told me was that he didn't get at all what Ryanair SFO's are complaining about. At the current rate any decent FO gets a shot at command after 3 years of service. In practice an FO could become a commander aged 25. By comparison, in the US you can be 40 years old and still be flying turboprops RHS. Another thing he pointed at was people complaing about basing. He claims that while working for Varig he was based a 4 hour flight away from home on a roster with no solid pattern.
Of course Varig had multiple benefits that Ryanair lacks but his general attitude was that the Ryanair package, whilst absolutely not a long term solution, is not that bad of a deal.
While I'm personally not the biggest fan of Ryanair, unlike some amongst you may think, I always try to look at the entire picture and treat everything on its' merits.
I believe he made a decent argument in saying that a lot has to do with perception and more importantly personal experience.
It's a pity PPruNe has no frontpage of some sort. I think this whole discussing calls for an objective comparison of Airline T&C's based on facts. A table with comparable values would help a great deal.
Now, some FO T&C figures up for discussion:
Brussels Airlines - Self-sponsored 737 Classic rating followed by a 9 month contract. Salary taxed progressively under Belgian legislation. Top shelf is 50%. No guarantees black on white for an extension of contract after those 9 months.
TUI Jetairfly - Self-sponsored 737 NG rating. 6 month contract. After probation period of 6 months board of directors may deny permanent contract. Sometimes company sponsors the type rating with a 3 year training bond of €3000 before tax. Take-home pay just under €2000. No fixed roster, only "Blanc" days which are in theory all standby days.
Thomas Cook - Company sponsored Airbus A320. 2 summer seasons contract. No Guarantee to any flight hours outside summer season. Basic pay €1500. No guarantees to any extension of contract after 2 years.
That's a quick run-down of contracts that I've seen personally.
edit: As always I'm up for a pleasant discussion. Posts with personal insults I will ignore with a smile
