Its no good I have to add to this thread
I don't know why Eastern pilots are always moaning.
You have the charter contract if you want to sign it which pays ... well nothing extra, but you get to spend 20 days away in a row in mediocre hotels (if crewing have remembered to book you one).
Also you get to drive all the latest very small cars when you are tired so you will get the feeling of how safe they are when you crash them. You get to test your stamina with maximum duty hours and sometimes more. You get the option to travel off roster when you have done too many hours.
Some perks other crews don't get include paying for your own train fares, hire car fuel, taxi's and mobile phone and only having to wait 3 months to get the money back. What other companies will refuse to pay you your night out allowances if you have been too busy to fill out the paperwork or just forgot because you are too busy trying to catch up with company paperwork on your occasional day off?
If you are lonely on your day off or rest period crewing are more than happy to ring and talk to you, as is the management and ops. You are never alone at Eastern!
You get to watch cabin crew in tears because they are tired or have just been told they aren't going to get home for their day off tomorrow.
Or gaze in awe as the bloke who owns the company takes his Spitfire for a circuit and burns more money in an hour in fuel than many of his employees earn in a week.
Then of course there are the crew meals, well the lack of them, at least you get to eat passenger left-overs if you are on a charter, something I am sure BA pilots dream about! Yummy!
So cheer up, things could be worse! Well when I say worse I mean better!