AB
Yes the roster is that bad! Like any statistic the numbers can be deceiving with respect to what you ask...hours flown and days off per month. Both vary and sometimes widely. You can fly anywhere from 65 to 90+ hours and have 9 to 11 days off per month...anecdotal by the way. On the surface that doesn't seem too bad. But, you must look at the contextual elements associated with the numbers...this is where it hurts. Days off per month...there is a mindset in this company that pilot rosters should serve as a "leash for a dog" so to speak. Since day one, it appears management/scheduling engaged in limiting the freedom and personal time you would expect from a reputable company by manipulating the flying rosters. For example, with 25-30 pilots and 1 and 2 airplanes, if you were not flying you were on stand-by (and the stand-by time are utterly ridiculous by the way). Come on, pilots sitting on the ground for months building an operation chomping at the bits to fly new airplanes. Who is going to call in sick...why the need to roster everyone for stand-by. Mind you, most were never called to fill in, but you have to ask yourself why would they do it...see previous discussions regarding the office hours worked vs pilot hours scheduled of the pencil pushers vs. operators. Even now the casual observer can see manual input to the schedule...if perhaps you have a little too much time off...you will find that "extra day off" replaced with a stand-by, reserve day or some other crap these guys have at their disposal. Let's discuss the critical part...your real days off and recovery time. Many times you will find yourself working until 2300 hours before your day off strings. In turn, you might show early in the morning after your day off string. Technically you have two days off or even one sometimes (three days off in a row is fleeting)...but do you really. You ask if you are home with your family. Well, technically you are but a lot of that time is in the next room tossing and turning trying to sleep at very odd hours. This is a 24/7 airline and as a result your body clock is so messed up, quality time with your family is limited...worse than long haul in my opinion...yep been there and done that too. On the other hand, the company has purchased PBS in an "attempt" to fix some of the ills. There are some technical issues with the application hence the need for test runs. Funny we have not heard about nor seen the results of the testing. I have a theory that we haven't seen the results because the results are not good. In my opinion, the crux of the problem is the airline is simply undermanned and we are in the middle of a viscous cycle. The hiring department is in full swing while we are loosing people as a result of what you have read in previous posts.
Now the hours. Again, on the surface 65-90 hours...you can do standing on your head. But these are difficult hours and are associated with extreme time changes. It is nothing to do 2/3 deep all nighters followed by early early shows after "2" or even "1" days off. The icing on the cake...all nighters to Russia and Kiev during the winter makes Kabul look like a "desired city". As a side bar, the commercial department is chomping at the bits to go to Mogadishu. Me personally, that is where I draw the line and I will not go there. Hell, we would probably be going to Syria if the local fed had not put a stopper on it. In a past life 80-95 hours a month was very doable...not the case here.
With all of that said...there are some good things about the place...unfortunately very few. The most important is guys and gals you fly with both in the front and back. The money used to be attractive...but that is somewhat in decline due to drastic increases in rents and day to day living.
Hope that helps my friend. For me, I met my goal. This gig was never meant to be long term. I find it a hard pill to swallow for anyone to make this a long term career move. But there are some that will stay here...in fact there are some great Brazilian guys that will probably stay...you need to get their inputs as well.