VS is best airline I've worked for and there have been several - here are the things that sets it apart:-
750hrs per year is 100pc full time. You can ask for 85/75/67/50pc part time on first come first served basis. Only block time (including 100pc of bunk time) counts towards this but there isn't much positioning these days although there has been in the past.
A trip with less than 10h flight time will have 24hr min down route and 2 days off after the trip not including landing day - these will generally be 2 man trips. Some of these trips can be 5 days in Caribbean with an island shuttle on one of the days. They only get 2 off afterwards though as per the flight time rule.
A trip with > 10h flight time will have 48h min down route and 3 days off after the trip not including landing day. So if you land off a HKG at 6am and your next flight takes off for JNB at 2200 you have landing day off, then 3 off then most of the departure day as normal rostered days off.
So if you were say 75pc part time you would get 8 part time days off a month in a row in a fixed rolling 22/8 pattern. So after any long trip you'd get 3 days off, not including landing day plus 8 days part time = minimum of 11 days off in a row every month. If you add a few days leave into that you can easily be off half a month for 6 months of the year. Of course you still get the 2 or 3 days off after trips that you do in the 2 weeks you're working.
Rosters are super stable, your rostered days off cannot be changed without your agreement. I've only had one change to a trip in many years and that was on report due to an a/c going tech and my days off were not affected - only the destination.
Destinations are pretty much all primary business / leisure destinations you're happy to go to - Caribbean, Vegas, Cancun, HKG, Shanghai, NYC, Boston
Colleagues and crew are all friendly and sociable and get along. Most Captains did 7 to 12 years RHS and have good CRM and are nice blokes / gals. If you are leaving a command behind though, bring your command skills but don't bring the ego. There are some seriously accomplished aviators in both seats in VS so you're unlikely to be Ace of the Base and just being a good bloke / gal and doing your job and being a laugh to be around is the way to go.
Staff travel is maybe the best there is. You can put all your close family on and 1 friend. You can bring any 2 randoms on a trip with you (sub-load of course)
Pension is 15% from company, 6% from you
Medical and Dental insurance (with contribution) / Uniforms / All CAA licence costs covered
If you live commuting distance from LGW and like the beach, go Airbus
If you live further out and like the Far East go 787. Whatever you get, you'll be able to bid for the fleet you want and it'll come round in seniority order.
I hear time to command might be as low as 9 years for new joiners due the retirement demographic, it's currently at around year 12. That seems long but it's not compared to BA, AF etc. And you have to remember it's because hardly no-one ever leaves - see above. The time to command is the only real drawback but, after a few years of increments, your total package is about the same as most short-haul command jobs anyway - and even some widebody jobs (NAS). If you divide that number by hours spent behind the wheel, the hourly rate is probably a good deal better.
My advice would be to think carefully about the path in front of you which is hard to do when you're younger. Ask yourself where you want to be when you're 55-60 and chart your path backwards from there. Quick command can be seductive but the thrill of that may wear off at some point on a week of 5am starts.
Whether or not we can hold onto these terms in the face of threats from Wow / NAS / EK etc who knows but the new Management Team have trimmed a lot of the fat and things seem well placed for the future. Good luck to all - hope this helps.
Last edited by PlankBoy; 26th Sep 2016 at 17:48.
Reason: Corrections and additions