Originally Posted by
WingoWango
Type Rating: You don't have to be a genius to realise that the Q400 is a thin rating as regards to jumping straight onto a heavy or other Boeing/Airbus job. But my one counter to this is this past 12months has proved it can be done as a lot of Q400 guys have moved to Jet2, easyJet, Monarch, FlyDubai, Aer Lingus, Sun Express this list goes on. So as I say it is not the best Type on the market, but you can do so if you want.
Did any of those stay in the left hand seat?
Career Prospects: Whilst this has been stagnant the past few years, I anticipate some fairly fast commands and moves into training etc. The money at Flybe is hard at the start of your time, but its does get a bit better. It is nowhere near as well paid as the likes of easyJet (on a proper contract), Monarch etc but i nearly spat my breakfast out with the Jet2 comparison, which is one of the worst paid Boeing jobs in Europe. But thats another thread.
No different to any other airline then, not really a big carrot when you take in to account everything else. As an example, the worst paid Boeing job in Europe has a £24k uplift for a trainer. As a none trainer you will net a minimum of £1k a month more at Jet2, oh and do about 450 hours a year.
Duty pay: Yes. £1.90 an hour paid for all the time you're away from base. With the rosters having a fair bit of night stopping you earn this for 24hrs when away from base. Not a lot of money I agree but does add up a little bit if you're away.
Yes, you're correct. It's been £1.90 for a decade. As an example at the worst paid Boeing job in Europe it's £2.10/hour, not a lot more but the minimum sector pay is £19. So for example the shortest duty at Jet2, a 4 hour shift with 2 sub 1 hour sectors, will earn you more than a 24 hour, 4 or 6 sector, night stop, duty at Flybe.
Settled base: Bases have been thrown into turmoil the past 12months and this is the final week for those bases sadly. With the greatest respect this can only improve as the airline moves forward. But personally my bases moral is a 100% improved and a great place to work.
I hope it continues to improve but their track record suggests it will do otherwise. 4 or 5 forced base changes in 10 years is not unheard of.
I hope Flybe continues to improve but they still face the same problems (minus the expensive pilots) that they have over the last forever, and yes I know management has changed. It's a long way up from the bottom.
You're right though. I didn't earn 20 grand more than I would have at flybe it was about 22, another pay rise next month will see that rise to over 26k.
Oh, come on! Out of interest have you ever worked for any of the other companies that you mention.