Be careful what you wish for.
A friend of mine left a good job at a well known UK Airbus operator to join this outfit so that he could get home to Ireland. He is already regretting his decision and is making enquiries to get his old job back.
The training department does not exist......it is a checking department. He did not enjoy the training at all, the trainers spend more time shouting and slapping wrists than actually training. He was used to proper Airbus SOP's, this outfit seem to fly the Airbus with a mixture of Airbus and Boeing SOP's, a legacy from their old Boeing days. He mentioned once to a trainer that the SOP's were archaic, it didn't go down well and was told he could leave anytime he wanted. He didn't mention it again!
There is a huge amount of arrogance in the place, they truly believe they invented aviation and are at the cutting edge. He says that his old operator was far better and much more professional. When captains ask him where he came from, he usually gets " Ah well, you're in a proper airline now". The standardisation of SOP's is poor with different captains making up different SOP's. In the sim and on the line he is rarely asked his opinion by captains and feels CRM is poor compared to his previous operator.
Man and boy....He feels that the cockpit gradient it very steep, even with his previous airbus experience. Most Captains are Ok but he has come accross more than his fair share of guys that make him do 4 walkarounds on a 4 sector day as they feel it is beneath them. If you were not an AL cadet you are a second class citizen. He was told by one captain that all new pilots into the company should be cadets and that he did not agree with direct entry pilots from other operators.
He is finding it difficult to make ends meet. With Irish tax, the cost of rent in Dublin and the low starting salary he is really struggling financially. He tries to swap on to overnights just so he can make extra money on overnight expenses to put petrol in his car. He knew the low starting salary going in but didn't realise how expensive Dublin rents have gotten and how high Irish taxes are.
It might be a good gig for your first airline job and to get an airbus rating. Once you have the airbus rating you can move on after the bond is paid off.
Good luck to all applying but don't leave a good job to join this outfit.