A word of caution for those of you thinking about heading to Jet2... Especially for First Officers:
This is my opinion and others are welcome to have a different view, so please take it with a pinch of salt if you like... but my experience was that Jet2 is simply not a nice company to work for compared to many other airlines. If you have not worked for a decent airline before then you would not know any different and might think that it is fine - but it really isn't! It is a company that is simply unable and unwilling to listen to its work force, and in pilot terms has totally dismissed it flight crew by distancing itself so much from the pilots union (which is more of a professional trade association - you cannot compare BALPA to the TUG!). BALPA are responsible for some great things, and they do not have to run the firm! All the business has to do is listen to its people. The PLOG is a Jet2 platform for voicing issues, but there are no votes on important matters and it really has no clout. Plus the PLOG members really do not want to upset the apple cart and create a name for them selves with managers! Or what might happen... The company does not come back to the PLOG with any of its proposals or consult with them at all.
This article is embarrassing... but Jet2 is so proud of its landmark case!
Bird & Bird wins landmark case relating to the scope of collective bargaining with trade unions | Jet2.com
Customer service and a low cost base they might have totally right, but they neglect to look after their own employees on a giant scale. There are a lot of unhappy people stuck there in all aspects of the business. Staff turnover is undoubtedly high.
Someone who deals with Jet2 from the outside on a regular basis described them to me as a 'stubborn and dis-organised' company - that pretty much sums them up I am afraid.
Lots of lovely people work at Jet2, as they do at all airlines though, and some of them are there for many reasons - but having worked for a number of airlines myself, including Jet2 they really are light years behind in the way that they engage with their people. Well actually they don't engage. People are simply scared to ask questions. There is no such thing as feedback or continuous improvement here. It does not exist. The training is in general poor (though there is an inherent arrogance by the managers that it is in fact great - you will hear the words 'Mature Training Organisation' being bantered around all the time!). Simulator checks are very much 'Testing with a capital T' instead of learning and improving exercises, which often creates a nervous atmosphere in the simulator - not what you want! Flightdeck CRM is strained with Commanders taking the weight of everything on their shoulders, FOs become good at staying quiet and operating Flap levers... I am exaggerating a bit, but when it comes to a command course you will have had zero opportunity at developing your potential command skills... Unlike any other airline I have worked for. No LOD here.
If you are in the right seat, you are pretty much ignored and do not really matter... Every management position is for Captains only, even First Officers and Senior FOs receive different pension contributions to Captains from the company! But you cannot ask why that is?! You'll be black listed!
Poor rostering practices are not transparent - you can have roster changes that crewing know about, but that have not been communicated to you. What is the point of having a roster? Your roster can change at short notice. Your duty can be extended. You cannot say no, there is no pay to cover such inconveniences. You are not encouraged to offer suggestions to Ops or crewing, or you will be reported and contacted by a manager. If you are on standby in the morning and crewing know that they are going to use you, then they will not put the changes on your roster the night before - instead preferring to call you out at the crack of dawn!!! Apparently this is for EASA regs which is utter nonsense as not one other UK airline has adopted such a procedure. All it does is maintain flexibility for the company up until the last minute. You might always get called at the end of a standby for a simulator duty that the training center always had you down for, but you didn't know until two hours before! It has happened to many people here based in Leeds and Manchester. Two hours notice before a sim!!!
Therefore planning a family life around your roster is very difficult.
This all boils down to the fact that there is no scheduling agreement or care for you by the firm!
Airport standby galore, even when there is absolutely no chance of being called - you'll have to stay in grotty facilities and wait and wait.
There are no perks to add to a mediocre salary, except for free tea and coffee really which is nice... Staff travel is essentially non existent, the Holiday Exchange salary sacrifice scheme sees the company benefit too, and if you were to get a staff ticket it will cost well over £100 rtn for a ticket to Spain (easyJet sells spare capacity off at £5 plus tax! So about £33rtn and they still make a tenner). Private Heathcare they advertise as a benefit - it isn't, it is a corporate discount of around 20% much like a corporate gym membership. Why do you not get Heathcare provided if you are such an important assert to them? Maybe because they do not really care for you if you become ill. This discount was pushed through with a massive fanfair after no consultation with the PLOG. Perhaps pilots would have preferred less of a payrise and Private Healthcare instead? The business has no way of knowing or indeed the inclination to find out what its people want from the pot.
Cabin crew treatment by the firm and CRM across the business is verging on scary and is old fashioned. Annual refresher training is not conducted with cabin crew, and indeed I was never trained on cabin crew / cabin emergency procedures with the cabin crew in my time there. Even at a basic level, some crew have had to buy there own winter coats for which they cannot claim back. There can be a single pilot mentality which sadly impacts flight safety in the commercial world.
They are also very fast to dismiss their people and suspend them. The whole of the pilot industry knows that as word travels so fast!
Flight safety - it is not an open or transparent culture, more of a fear culture. If you submit an ASR, the big big boss gets an email with your details and you are CC'd in. It is not a truly confidential system.
There are a stream of pilots leaving Jet2 to competitors like Thomson, Thomas Cook and naturally course BA. You have to ask why people are so desperate to leave though? Some are even paying bonds back (watch out for the terms of these bonds too, they are very one sided and written absolutely in Jet2s favour!). Perhaps it is not about pay, people want to be looked after, cared for and have respect for the business they work for... This is totally lacking at Jet2 I am afraid to say, and until they listen to their people and invest in them - it will never change!
Pay wise... Half pay during training for some, others on 70% contracts, others on 100% from day one. No allowances during training (even if you do get a travelinn bed!) - come on, it sets a bad tone from day one. The tightness is unbelievable compared to what is actually NORMAL at other airlines, including the regionals.
In fairness what is good?! A local base? Half price sandwiches on board when you get called at the end of an airport standby to go to TFS? And some of the lovely people! I really hope it improves for you and that the company becomes more transparent and less Soviet! Good luck.
If you are applying, then good luck. Just do not leave your current job with your eyes closed!