As expressed by many here, the decision to move to Virgin should be thoroughly thought through. It would appear from the latest management Pravda that this year will be as bad, if not worse than last year.
On the flip side I do believe that the upper echelons have learnt the lessons of knee jerk reactions and premature lay offs. I do believe that lessons have been learned from the past and that short term savings lead to medium term problems as far as the pilots are concerned.
Initial recruitment is still ongoing with courses running at the moment and until the end of the year with new joiners arriving from EZY, QR, TCX, RYR, GSS, BMI Baby and others Add to that, command courses are continuing with those getting their command at the 12 year point approx. Looking back at posts from 7 years ago helps to put things into perspective as those currently doing their command were year 5 F/O's wondering whether VS would survive and whether they would wait 20 plus years for the left seat.
Perhaps it is better to look forward to the potential future rather than the present. I would personally rather operate a nice 2 night Capetown trip for my retirement flight rather than a double Glasgow starting at 6am at a chilly LGW. True, the days of 7 night Capetowns and 5 night Antigua's are long gone but things aren't that bad. We stay in 4/5 star city centre hotels with typically $150 per day allowances tax free and average 12-14 days off per month with a 750 hour contract. Oppurtunities exist most months for day off payments/overtime for those that way inclined, and the Company is finally moving into the 21st century by allowing part time/flexible working. After 5 years service leave reaches 40 days per year and the staff travel benefits are probably second to none.
There have been posts predicting the demise of Virgin for as long as Pprune has existed but after 28 years it is still here. That said, the airline is going to have to radically adapt to the current to last another 28 years which I believe they will do. Our much maligned boss has finally announced his "retirement" and there exists a belief he will be replaced by a seasoned CEO with a proven track record.
I must correct a previous post concerning attrition. I was wrong and 4 pilots have left in the past 18 months to BA and not 1 as i suggested. That said to lose those chaps along with another 3 to EK in the past year out of 820 pilots suggests that things aren't that bad.
To those that have recently joined I look forward to flying with you soon and sharing a beer and curry in Delhi or red wine with a nice steak in Joburg soon.
All the best