Directly from a flexicrew pilot:
What advantages (if any) will a relatively epxerienced FO have against a low-hour cadet?
Nothing,after 1500hrs pay rate is £67 and standby £243(these figures are not gross in reality as they include a management fee and employees national insurance which get deducted before you get your gross pay)
net pay
Varies significantly and its not guaranteed. Hours have reduced so much in the last year(650-750 per year) and standbys have been replaced with days off and you cannot swap days off for duties.You only get paid if you fly,if you are delayed down route and as a result you loose the next days flying due to rest limitations then you lost your pay,if you are sick you don't get paid. Hourly rates are gross and include a management fee (3%) and also the employers national insurance (13.8% something that easyjet should be paying).So if your pay is £4000(my best month in the last 12 months) you then get deducted 3% for management fee, then 13.8% for employers national insurance, which only leaves you with about £3400 which is now your gross income which is subject to tax(20-40%) and employees national insurance(12%) so net pay will be about £2700. i would take that net figure as a number to work out if you are happy to live with.Rember though you have to pay for medical,uniform,allow for holiday pay,sick pay,lol etc
selection process
can include hr,sim ride,technical,group exercises
basing
UK where ever they say,you cannot go on any transfer list whilst flexi,only if there is a direct swap of a flexi for a flexi and that is subject to approval
rostering
You will be random roster.This means no protections,some months will have MANY days off which make net pay very low,sometimes you will get REST day which do not qualify for pay but if easyjet need you they can suddenly change it.No real guaranteed leave system and if you get any leave its unpaid,basically parc will email with available dates of leave after all permanent pilots take what they want,you then have to reply to parc with your preference from the given dates,parc will advice easyjet,if approved you will be notified by parc.there are no wrap around days so you can be rostered to fly until the last day before your leave and work on the first day when you get back
Is it true that I may be stand down for low season?
You could be stood down anytime in reality.Or they can only give you 2 flights in a quiet month(it has happened to a lot).They can fisically stand you down within a month ie they can give you the 3 months notice but at the same time roster your next 3 months with no flights.That is why there is no job security.
What allowances are offered and what do i have to cover my self?
Nightstop is £20 gross and that is only when you fly away of base,not when in hotel for training.Positioning is paid at standby rate only when you position only in a day,if you position and they fly in the same day there is no positioning pay and you always have to claim positioning payment through Parc(good luck with the emails,there is no direct communication between easyjet.you tell parc you qualify for positioning and parc tell easyjet).You pay for uniform
Pension, loss of licence, medical?
Nothing
Any other info you deem appropriate one should know before applying
Expect at least 2 years before you can apply for a permanent(permanent is not guaranteed,you can only apply for one after 2 years)
expect no job security
expect a lot of frustration(no guaranteed leave,no sick pay,no day off payment,lots of emails to parc to get what you want)
command is anyone's guess, you have to be permanent for 6 months before you can start so at at the best case 2.5 years(if you are given permanent straight away after 2 years as flexi) before you can start command process
flexicrew in easyjet is like being in ryaniar.i do believe ryanair have a base in your country so just get in touch with the FOs flying for ryanair and get a taste of what it is to get paid by the hour and have no job security
expect a very mature airline operation,nice aircraft and very good captains.