I'm on a FlexiCrew contract with EasyJet, starting at the beginning of 2010 as one of the first batch of contractors from Parc. Ultimately, it's worked out pretty well - I love my job; work with great people; fly brand new aeroplanes and get paid pretty well for the privilege.
I've flown 650 hours in the last 12 months and grossed ~£50,000. This pay will increase by 20% in a little over a month when I hit 1500 factored hours. It's not hard to be free of debt in under two years if you're careful with money - ie, not taking every month's pay and squandering it.
That's not to say that it's all sunshine and daisies. There's a continued uncertainty over employment prospects and the proposed new entrant contract is laughable - it's basically EasyJet moving FlexiCrew in-house and cutting the agencies out of the picture.
There already exist Second and First Officer new entrant contracts, agreed two years ago, which no FlexiCrew pilot has ever seen. It's a pay-cut for those of us with Parc, many more years on FRV, and no loyalty pay. Leave is another catastrophe with some people averaging one week a year. EasyJet blames Parc; Parc blame EasyJet. It pisses me off on a massive scale.
The lack of rostering protection is another issue. So is the problem of "us and them" in the workforce, which to be fair I've never experienced but isn't unheard of. Just look at this thread. FRV would work if we got a little control over our days off, but it seems too much to ask. I tried to get a single day off with 12 month's notice which took way too much effort to make it worthwhile.
WWW - I agree with you in many respects on your views of FlexiCrew, I really do. None of us expects you to vote for any deal to get better conditions for us (though I suspect the crap deal for FlexiCrew is not going to be the defining factor of the new pay deal) but I have to ask if you're so vehemently opposed to it, why you and BALPA allowed it to happen in the first place?
Last edited by Fursty Ferret; 1st Feb 2012 at 20:06.