Would you recommend Jet2

[The Potter]

Are there any experienced & type rated 737 FOs out there who are employed on a Channex contract but predominantly flying for Jet2 out of LBA or MAN? I am thinking of applying to them but I hear that I would be far better off by taking an agency contract as those pilots are earning significantly more than the Channex people. Also, what is there expected time to command in terms of months/years & flying hours. :ok:

[buttline]

Don't know anything about the contract pilots except that they're only expecting them to last to the end of this summer. Who knows whether they will or not?

From the perm side it's not a bad place I guess. What can I say? It's an unglamorous low cost airline with no frills for you or the pax! Nice people, good friendly mgmt pilots and crewing. Time to command about 3000hrs. Strong demand for Cpts right now. Most F/O's taken on lately have been ab-initio so you'd probably have a good chance of command upgrade if you have the hours.

F/Os take home about 2600pm and Cpts about 3500 so it's not the best payer. However, only about 650-700 flying hrs a year, not too many 4 sector days. 90hrs month peak summer, 50hrs month in darkest winter but it's growing and changing so who knows what next year will bring?

You get tea, coffee, water, uniforms, medicals. licences on the company but bring your own food now. No medical or loss of licence cover for F/Os. Staff travel policy is pretty lame and you now have to take the train or your own car to get between LBA and MAN if they need you at the other base for a spell.

Frequent roster changes but they try to be flexible and helpful if you need something so I guess that swings both ways.

The fleets getting a little tired so the MEL will become your new best friend.

If you get a choice, I'd go for LBA over MAN. 2 mins from car to crew room and LBA's doing well financially whereas MAN is just starting up so possibly less secure / more chaotic.

[VORLOC]

Hi guys/girls

Interesting to read all this stuff about JET2...
Can anybody who works for them tell me how it really is like out there (to work for them)
Can anybody who has done the interview and tests give me some specific details about what to expect?How is the interview like,what kind of quest do they ask?

Cheers !!:ok:

[The Potter]

Thanks for the very concise information Buttline that was a good overview & is appreciated. What is this about positiong by train though? The salary also seems extremely poor so you would have thought that they could have included loss of licence & medical cover for their FOs. I have been looking around since the New Year & have a couple of offers, what you have just descibed is the worst package out there so I think I'll give Jet2 a miss. :cool:

[Banzai Eagle]

Potter
CAA have (or are) about to penalise those Airlines that get crews to hire car / self position pre FDP. This however only applies if your the driver...Train why not!, bet you have to pay for the ticket and reclaim as well

[buttline]

Let me be clear and fair here. Positioning by train is only between LBA and MAN. Between other bases, it's hire car, self drive, taxi, fly etc. Originally train was the only choice but eventually it was realised that having cabin crew (sometimes alone) or pilots in uniform on a train with drunken yobos was asking for it so self position in own car was subsequently also permitted. (Yes you do buy your own ticket and claim it or go into work the previous day and get petty cash).

Shouldn't be a frequent thing once MAN is fully crewed up and less support is needed from LBA but it is indicative of how top management in the company is seeking to reduce even the smallest costs with scant regard to their employees comfort and even safety. "We have to compete with Ryan Air" I guess is every airline CEO's justification for all cuts.

However, to reiterate, Jet2 is blessed with a lot of nice friendly people in the air and on the ground. It's basically a good airline if you like the North and don't mind being paid less than others for doing 700 hrs a year instead of 900. (Training Captains do 900 though - guess they must really like the North!) :p

[silverhawk]

MAN every time!

2 runways, decent length, into wind and best of all, the best looking flight deck -- obviously.