cgwhitemonk11
Life as a Flybe DH8 FO?
Dash 8
The Dash 8 is a beast of a turbo prop to operate, it is waiting to bite you at any given opportunity, that's why the SOPs are quite stringent but the latest fleet GM is allowing us to think and operate with the SOPs as a guide which is always good. It is fun to fly, it's obviously full EFIS and it's difficult to land well. You'll be challenged to the max in the winter when flying in all kinds of weather, and sitting in the weather in the cruise. The crosswind capability is fantastic and it's very rewarding when you do it well. Make sure your knowledge on all things winter (icing etc) is up together because you'll need it (hint interview hint)
Flybe
Good company to work for. Definitely under the new management there's a feeling that they know what they are doing, unlike the previous incumbent. Flight crew are generally left alone and the culture has definitely changed. Same with any company really, don't take the p**s and you'll be alright.
As a new starter they will look after you. You get paid from day 1, they pay your type rating, there's a pension, uniform, crew food (but you might want to bring your own), car parking etc. Basically everything is provided for you and they'll look after you.
Middle management are approachable, (& senior management for that matter) regardless of what people think of them they generally do get onto any issues you may have and generally sort it. Communication has greatly improved under the new management; there are areas where they don't convey much information but that's to be expected of a public company.
We're more secure than we've ever been now. The airline has never really stood on it's own two feet and made money purely on selling tickets because the cost base was so high. We've always lived off the back of the BA connect merger (+£100m), the Olympic contract, offloading of Dash 8s & options, the floatation, the Brussels contract etc etc, but all that was under the previous management. We have a very different beast now and the airline has proven that over the last year we are standing on our own two feet and making money. We are in a great position now and we certainly do not need to make quick money by making employees redundant etc. We've got cash behind us and we have management who know how to spend it (& make it)
Career
Time to command varies dependent on varying factors as coffin corner alluded to in a previous post. We have far fewer bases now but we are on the expansion train. The problem has been that nobody has really left Flybe in a long, long time, it's only been in the last 12-18 months where we've seen any real movement. Alot of pilots went to the desert early last year and alot of our colleagues have been made redundant. This is the previous management's fault, all of it, but on a positive note now we are expanding and will continue to look at every opportunity to expand. This means progression to command will come down but with so little movement since 2008 there's alot of first officers with alot of hours. A low percentage don't have the hours yet for a command but with any seniority based airline (let's not discuss policy F here) you will join at the bottom and wait your turn. Dependent on which base I'd say about 3-4 years plus for a DH8 command but one thing that will happen in the future is a retirement bubble. We have countless captains who are aged about 59/60 and in 5-6 years time we'll have alot of retirements all within a year.
One issue, and feeling on the line is that the retirement of the E195 has hampered any career progression if you want to fly a jet within Flybe. There's rumours abound about the arrival of Airbuses, some high up pilots say it's happening, some say it won't. There's also talk of ATRs as well. The bottom line is we just don't know and everything should be treated as rumour and conjecture until something solid is announced but again one thing is certain and that is the company are in a good place right now.
On The Line
Flying the line is hard work. By the very nature of the type of business we do it is very, very repetitive. This can lead to complacency and a lack of discipline so you have to be on your guard. The route network is good and you'll visit some interesting places but the best thing about Flybe and the line are it's people. You will work with some great people, pilots and cabin crew. Being a large company there'll always be people you won't gell with or click with, that's a fact of life, but on the whole there's a great bunch working here.
Quality Of Life
I'd be lying if I said our quality of life is brilliant, it isn't. There's alot of ongoing issues like finishing your week on a late, and starting back on an early, but this was addressed to a point in the last round of negotiations.
If you have children then expect to be disappointed if they want you to attend a school play, or go on a school day out, or sports day etc. You get 4 Trump days to book per year and you can request 4 days off per month but the issue is you cannot book these inside 2½ months, so for example, The earliest I can request a day off now is the 1st September, this is the case right up to the July Roster release date of the 12th July. Personally I don't know what I'm doing next week, let alone in September but there we are.
Some bases do alot of nightstopping (EXT MAN BHX), so if you want to be at home every night you might be disappointed. Night stops are generally good, relaxing and the people you nightstop with makes for a pleasant trip away.
We are all being worked very hard at the moment, this is largely down to a lack of crew but also because the management want our utilisation to go upwards; you can't blame them. It's hard work as it stands and we're all tired, just take your leave days to recover like I am.
Summary
Flybe is a good place to work, it's an honest company that is as safe as it's ever been. You'll work hard but you'll have fun along the way. The people are fantastic and there is some career progression but how quick will depend on alot of aspects, attrition being one of them. It's a great place to start your career and if you can cope with the Dash 8 then you can cope with almost anything.
cgwhitemonk11 I hope that has answered some of your thoughts. This is only a quick overview really but it gives you a flavour of what it is like. As for a previous post of yours about an EXT base I would say you will be extremely lucky to get it. There's a little bit of expansion happening at EXT at the moment but if you don't get in you could wait years for a place. Exeter generally goes on shut down for years because nobody moves from there, not very quickly anyway.