clunk1001 - absolutely delighted for you. So let me understand this correctly - you can't stand people who boast about what they earn, but you are desperate to tell us all that you earn more than me and pay less tax. Given that is the sort of thing you can't stand, are you a self-harmer?
dick byrne - the only relevance to me being a TRE is that it affects the financial calculations I quoted. We live in our little PPRuNe world where countless people post drivel and misinformation about different companies. Statements are made here, and indeed many other places, that are simply rubbish about easyJet terms and conditions. Boys in their bedrooms type away a lot of codswallop and to an extent we are all influenced by it. I am careful to quote accurate figures and the best way of doing that is to quote the ones that pertain to me and the UK contract under which I operate. You will note I do not quote the German, French or Italian ones (they are all better than the UK ones) because I am not involved enough with their contract arrangements to avoid inaccuracies about detail. The key point I have made is that the Ts & Cs described are available to all and not just a few - something you do not seem to have grasped or understood in any way. I have also said that some will leave us (only one I know of actually has) to join Norwegian. Frankly I hope loads do, as it puts upward pressure on our own terms and conditions. Inevitably, some of our excellent Scandinavian pilots will do so when the Airbus comes in, as they want to be based nearer home - I do not blame them and will wish them every success. I do, however, stand by the view that Ryanair's treatment of its pilots is a different league to everyone else's. Like all internet forums, it is never really easy to judge the individual you are speaking to, and would ask you not to judge me without meeting me in the flesh. (It is of course entirely possible that I am a complete liar, do not work for easyJet, do not know what a TRE is and live in a fantasy world - you will just have to believe what you want.) I do not pretend to have it all worked out, but I do know that the key difference between our companies is the presence of unions to protect the pilot workforce. I am very encouraged by the brave attempts of Ryanair pilots to sort out the contracting mess and wish them every success. The reality is that Ryanair need to have an exodus of pilots in order to change the way things are and in that sense the arrival of Norwegian is great news for both those that stay and those that go. We are all in the same game of ensuring the best possible terms and conditions in a hard-nosed world. Good luck to those brave enough to fight the battle at Ryanair.
Aluminimum Shuffler - if you have worked for both companies then you do indeed have a good grasp of the situation. I would have to temper that with the fact that if you have not worked at easyJet in the last 3 years, the world you left is very different today. The other area you seem to have no idea about is the UK tax situation. If you think high rate tax begins at £150k you are completely wrong. All UK tax payers get a 'Personal Allowance' which makes the first £9440 earned tax free. The Personal Allowance reduces where your income is above £100,000 - by £1 for every £2 of income above the £100,000 limit. What that means is that between £100k and £118k you pay 62% to the government - i.e. you only see 38% of what you earn. So it is not by direct income tax (the 45% you are referring to above £150k) but the result is far worse. It is frankly outrageous and affects every captain in our company - most of whose earnings are in that bracket. Therefore, there is a massive imperative to reduce your earnings below the £100k limit. I hope that makes sense.
Regarding safety, easyJet has many faults but they are onto safety in a big way. I have worked for five airlines and easyJet is up there with the best in terms of safety (my previous one was excellent too). There is much talk about the famous cadets - BA, Lufthansa, Air France and KLM all take cadets and seem to have avoided disaster with them. I have always favoured a broader recruitment policy at easyJet, and believe in not just cadets but taking more experienced pilots too. The issue I would have is the percentage split between cadets and experienced pilots at the recruitment stage, but I do not see us as being drastically different in that department from the legacy carriers. Perhaps others may correct me. Anyway, apologies if I have unwittingly hijacked this thread to correct some rubbish written - I will stand back and let others with an appetite for believing everything written on PPRuNe as fact feast themselves on a diet of misinformation. The truth can be just so boring.