nitrowired: The upgrade requirement as laid down in FZ’s Operations Manual are, in summary:
- A valid UAE GCAA ATPL (A);
- A current GCAA Class 1 medical;
- At least 4,000 hours total time;
- At least 1,000 hours B737 time including a minimum of 500 hours in flydubai aircraft OR (if not previously rated on the B737) 1000 hours minimum on flydubai B737-800;
- Two successful OPC/LPC check rides with flydubai (and no ‘partial passes’);
- Minimum 12 months in flydubai since successful initial Line Check;
- Recommended for command by the Chief Pilot and the Manager, Crew Check and Training.
And last, and certainly not least, is '
seniority' !
flydubai is seniority based airline and one needs to consider that there are an awful lot of F/O’s (
numbering in the hundreds) in front of you on the 'seniority list', all of whom also want their Command and (
by the time that their chance for an upgrade comes up) nearly all of them will readily meet and / or exceed the requirements listed above. Accordingly, the likelihood of being able to jump up the queue is minimal, wherein it is ones 'seniority number', more so than any other requirement, that will decide the likely date for ones chance to upgrade.
The throughput of F/O's upgrading is mostly based upon the intake of new aircraft into the fleet, and / or any intake of DEC's, and / or the trickle of Captains whom leave. As something of a rule-of-thumb (
and assuming no DEC's), each new aircraft into the fleet requires 5 to 6 F/O's to successfully upgrade, in order to crew it in the LHS, and (
correspondingly) that a matching number of new F/O's are recruited to fill the space that those upgrading leave in RHS.
So, if you joined today there are probably +200 F/O's (
and growing) in front of you on the seniority list; and I'll leave you to do the math to determine how long it might take to soak them all up into the LHS before your number comes up for a chance at it?!
Additionally, I would put it to you that (
imho), unless more aircraft are ordered, there are already more than enough F/O's within flydubai to fill all the remaining LHS positions of the aircraft yet to be delivered from that original order placed with Boeing at the Farnborough airshow in 2008. That said, just how many more aircraft flydubai is likely to order (
if any?!) is still an unknown, and therein this forthcoming Dubai airshow is certainly going to be one to watch !
I should also perhaps add that not only is the above bulleted list the basic set of requirements, but there is also a
very rigorous Command upgrade interview which assesses: Procedure Knowledge, Systems Knowledge, CRM Skills, SOP Knowledge, Operation Manuals (
Rules and Regulations), flydubai Culture, and Special Operations.
If you get through the interview (
and many don't!) there are then 12 assessment sectors (
10 of which must be passed) consisting of the assessment of: Leadership and Managerial Skill, Decision Making, Situation Awareness, Team Building Skill and Team Work, Motivation, Time Management, Flight Deck Management, Safety Culture, SOP Compliance, Positive Attitude, Flying Skill, System and Procedural Knowledge, Initiative and Innovation, Communication Skills, Commercial Pressure Management, Uniform Standards Appearance, SOP Compliance, Positive Attitude, Flying Skill, System and Procedural Knowledge, Initiative and Innovation, Communication Skills, Commercial Pressure Management, Uniform Standards Appearance.
Successfully complete that phase and you then go to Command Ground School, which is then followed by 5 sessions in the simulator, the last of which includes your LPC/OPC in the left seat.
Successfully completing that (
and some don't!) you then get 12 sectors of training in the LHS of the real aircraft, plus 2 more sectors for the Line Check.
And then you’re a Captain !
Given the challenges of some parts of flydubai’s route structure, the standard required for upgrading to Captain is necessarily high and the upgrade process is rigorous... and I’m sure that those in flydubai whom have been through it will attest to as much !