ATC perks

[AP]

Can someone tell me what perks ATC get? I mean apart from salary what other perks are there? Do they get free air travel? Car? etc??

[AlanM]

We get a great 5 bed detached home on the Thames, luxury yacht, 4 free round the world tickets for Club class (can be cashed in for 1x Global Express flight) etc.

If that was a genuine question, then the answer is Bugger all squared!

(OK we get "staff" travel but that isn't great really. My mate works in corporate hospitality and he gets the same perks)

[Skase Jnr]

If you don't lean towards sadomasochism and love the abuse from,

pilots,
employer,
government,
government lobbyists,
family from shift work pressure

then the list includes,
free airport parking at the workplace 365dpy.
full stop.

The number of coin toss decisions that could have been altered based on an economic inducement (ID80 etc). Oh to dream.

Skase Jnr
Too good to be true
(Back in OZ on the mantelpiece)

[Radarspod]

Is the overated salary not enough on its own that you need perks? Try being on the engineering side.........

[airborne_artist]

Remember a WRAF ATCO - she never had to buy her own drinks - and she was very generous with her free time...

[Jerricho]

NATS staff got 2 bottles of wine from management once..........that was nice.

[Spitoon]

What? Between the lot of you? Did management share it out fairly?

[tobzalp]

We get free internet where I am. Can't download pr0n though. The monkeys are watching.

[White Hart]

We recently received a 'perk' from Management in the form of a free copy of a book entitled '50 years of ATC at Heathrow' (or something like that). Not sure what the required effect was meant to be - morale booster, perhaps - but all it managed to achieve was to resurrect some long defunct grey matter in many of us, and remind us of how things used to be at EGLL.

Not all of us are truly enamoured with the reminiscences this 'perk' has awakened, but one thing's for sure - things were eminently preferable a few years ago compared to the sorry state of play we currently have to endure - good wages or no good wages.:sad:

As for any other perks - nothing of any value whatsoever, unless you're an ATCO, and even their options are limited. I am truly glad that my missus still works for an airline - real and proper Staff Travel is THE perk to have if you work within aviation.

Stuff your books - try giving us something worth having. It might even boost morale! :E

[Jerricho]

Did management share it out fairly?

All staff are equal, but some are more equal than others......

[atcea.com]

In the U.S., one benefit is that the FAA allows controllers to dress any way they want...

http://atcea.com/images/zau.jpg

In Italy, some controllers don't have this benefit...

http://atcea.com/images/it.jpg
---
ATC Live Chat Now! (http://atcea.com)

[bellend]

atcea.com

haha lmao:D

[TrafficTraffic]

we get the Comedy Channel 24/7 in Limbabwe - all you have to do is Press

CLN SEC12

On the Coord panel

...trust me - you have never laughed so hard...

;)

[dusto]

I heard Air Canada offered free flights to controllers (or highly reduced prices) a number of years ago, but Nav Canada turned it down saying the whole company gets it, or no-one gets it.

[Jerricho]

As much as I hate to say dusto, that doesn't really surprise me

[Scott Voigt]

In the US other than good pay, the only perk that we have is early retirement and I see that as going to be under attack if they can possibly do so.

regards

Scott

[Lon More]

the only perk that we have is early retirement and I see that as going to be under attack if they can possibly do so.
The same almost everywhere I'm afraid Scott. Still someone's going to have to work to keep me in the style I'm accustomed to.

TrafficTraffic we were wodering in Mullen's tonight where you'd gone. Obviously not sold out to management then!!:}

[Exel]

You lot ought to get your asses down to Swanwick...............usually get a week of free tea once a year and i reckon that time may be upon us once again soon........We only get one teabag per watch though !!!

[West Coast]

You can come join me as greeters at Walmart.

[Frunobulax]

In Poland:
-extra 2 weeks of holiday sponsored by the company (not much sponsored though, around 400 EUR);
-discounted tickets for Lot Airlines (return prices are: Europe 30$ + taxes, World 60$ + taxes, domestic 15$ + taxes), although they are stand-by tickets with no reservation. Considering the amount of LCC nowadays it's not a big deal.
CSA gives completely free standby tickets for Poles (and obviously for Czech ATCOs- maybe for the rest of us also?).

Oh, that's it.
Few years ago we got a book on 40th anniversary of the Company, could be the same aim as in Heathrow ;)

[Jerricho]

We only get one teabag per watch though

We've got two "teabags" here in Winnipeg.......... :E :E

[Widger]

Oh please,

What about susidised restaurants
Sports facilities
Internet Access
GTS
Membership of a very powerful Union

Not to mention the Pay!

Quick poll of the cars:

2 x Z4s
Volvo V70R
Mitsubishi evo VIII
TVR Chimera
Subaru Impreza
and plenty of other high spec stuff.

Appreciate that matters might not be the same at places like Lulsgate etc...but come on guys and girls. Stop making it out to be hardship.

[Spitoon]

Widger, you're either in management now or you're well on the way!

[Jerricho]

Come on Widge..........

How many of them cars are ever seen in the car park on a Sunday morning at 6:00? ;)

[BEXIL160]

Widge,

Is pay "a perk"?

There are managers around the world who think so, granted, but personally I think I earn my pay, everyday I put a headset on.

rgds BEX

[dusto]

Agreed, salary is not a perk....it's earned.

As for the cars, unless those Z4's are company paid, they're not a perk. And if they are, can you get me one?

Internet access, you get that in almost any company you would work for. The sports facilities are a perk though.

Pension plan I would classify as a perk. My last 3 places of employment had no plan at all before coming into ATC.

[Widger]

Oooh....hang on..........oh no ...had a nibble there!!

[niknak]

For 2 and a half glorious years, we got free Sky satellite TV, unlimited access to all channels.
The airport company signed up to a deal to show Sky news in the terminal buildings, and following some rather clever engineering by certain individuals, we got full access to everything that Mr Murdoch provided.
Sadly, a random computer search by Sky's electronic brain proved to be significantly more efficient than the combined might of their human ones, and we were disconnected forthwith.

On the plus side, we do still get free chilled water....

[Skase Jnr]

perk

n : an incidental benefit awarded for certain types of employment (especially if it is regarded as a right); "a limousine is one of the fringe benefits of the job"

Therefore we get at work, over and above the award

pay TV
internet
parking
free chilled water

We don't get,
tea coffee biscuits
cheap ID flights like any other remotely aviation related worker does (why does an international freight forwarder need ID. Shouldn't they just be put in the cargo hold to see what it is like!)

I don't however think a perk has any value if it is something I have and pay for at home i.e.
free chilled water
pay TV
internet
and the employer pays FBT on the parking.

Therefore we get no perks of any real benefit. That was the question. Not the total remuneration package. ID flights can therefore only be considered a perk if you were going to go on that holiday regardless, and the net savings are used elsewhere.

Skase Jnr
Too good to be true

[eastern wiseguy]

Pay tv ...nope

Parking...hardly a perk

and the employer pays FBT on the parking..WTF???:confused: :confused:

[Skase Jnr]

Australian Taxation Office

Reportable fringe benefits (TAX)

Car parking fringe benefits
A car parking fringe benefit may arise if an employer provides car parking to an employee and:

there is a commercial car parking station within a one-kilometre radius of where the car is parked, or
that commercial car parking station charges a fee for all day parking that is more than the car parking threshold.

Therefor the employer pays an amount of 48.5c tax on your behalf of the deemed value of parking at work. As we work next to the terminal the daily parking charges are $15 therefore $7 tax is paid to the tax office on a fee that actually is never incured. This is then averaged out over the year for days worked etc.

Great how they can make money out of thin air.

[767Pilot]

If you look at how much time some of the ATC staff spend on here, and the prolific number of posts they can make, it seems to me like ATC must have a huge amount of time off.
Sounds like a good perk to me.
They do a fantastic job tho, and us pilots would have a much harder job without them.

[ILS 119.5]

Time off is worthwhile to study and get a better job.

[tubthumper]

Up here, we all enjoy the pleasure, nay the privelige, of working as part of a highly-dedicated, motivated, and committed team of professionals. Every day is a perk in itself.










Nurse, is it time for my medicine yet? I feel a headache coming on....

[MrApproach]

Let's put it out there on the table! Most ATCOs' would like to think that they are part of the airline/aviation industry. The perk that everyone envies is the travel discounts that come with being part of the industry. If you work for a freight forwarder or a travel agent the airlines value your contribution to their wealth and reward you with cheap seats and upgrades. Quite right. (Please don't bore me with tales of how difficult it is to get on flights with a discounted ticket, been there, done that.)

Trouble is that airlines don't think that ATCOs are part of the airline industry. We are in fact a particular form of troublesome public servant whose only use is as someone to blame on the trip report or over the PA when the promised arrival time doesn't eventuate. (Needless to say when the flight is early that is entirely due to the efficiency of the airline, freight forwarders, travel agents, etc)

I can't see how that can ever be rectified until ATCOs make it quite obvious that airline A got priority because controller B had a very nice ID95 trip to Ibeza thanks very much. Other offers are welcome! Graft and corruption? Nonsense, that's what makes the commercial world go around. Very few of us work for a government anymore.

[tobzalp]

When we in Oz had a stop work meeting, some travel agent at IATA decided that we were a drain on aviation as a whole and withdrew all our entitlements. I like it when things like that happen. So short sighted. I got my moneys worth.

[Lon More]

Some airlines do appreciate us, remember Danair?

Not long after their demise, a Speedbird came on our freq, "Chug a lug ....", answer "Roger, .....(standard routing)" "Oh, I thought chug a lug was the password for a direct routing" "Sorry sir, that password is free ticket."

[Spodman]

Used to be able to lift strips for bookmarks. Don't use strips anymore.

[Widger]

I can't see how that can ever be rectified until ATCOs make it quite obvious that airline A got priority because controller B had a very nice ID95 trip to Ibeza thanks very much.

What about said airline (shareholder) getting a nice dividend because of the hard work of said controllers?

[055166k]

It depends what you call a perk! Short answer is "no".
Controllers are treated like some weird lifeform that nobody quite knows what to do with.....sure we are reasonably paid, but that's about it.
I've been controlling for 30 years and have never been on a jumbo, or flown long haul, or had any kind of free or discounted ticket anywhere. I controlled concorde for most of its working life and never got above 85 on the waiting list.
The only perk used to be what most intelligent people would consider to be a form of continuation training and awareness....namely fam flights, and liaison visits to relevant ATC units.....these were stopped, and now one has to make a begging case or scratch around for one of the grubby unofficial schemes.....all this being on days-off......however there is no shortage of funds and time-off for management courses.
My daughter is at this moment on the 283 to LA on a full price ticket paid for by me.....and if she doesn't get a blanket, No Big Airline plane will ever get a short cut ever again.
P.S. got a watch after 25 years, and promise not to tell, but still have threadbare canvas bag issued by mistake in 1982.

[shack]

There are some of us that can remember the real perks----like an El Al orange at Xmas!!!

[HEATHROW DIRECTOR]

Ahhh.. rooftop BBQs at Heathrow Tower. Magic days..

I'll see your El Al orange and raise it with a Guinnless Calendar (spelling is correct) - still the funniest thing I have ever seen and I treasure it.

[shack]

I'll double that with a 45rpm record from Aerolintus Argentina of sambas

[SilentHandover]

Does £50 share dividend for NATS staff count as a PERK???

[Ranger 1]

Although I do not work in ATC, they provided us with a nice perk 2 xmas's ago at their own expence, a bottle of wine each :ok: Thanks again from us out here on the field;)

[Avman]

For many years we enjoyed travel perks with loads of airlines, arranged by our Guild and not our employer I should add. Back in those days of expensive full IATA fares an ID90 was a formidable perk. Additionally you would almost automatically be upgraded to Business or First subject to availability. I could write a book about all my cheap and FREE (absolutely free - no taxes) flights. Those days are sadly gone. Today I can still fly DUS-BHX vv with BA on an ID90 space available for EUR 140, or CGN-BHX vv with GermanWings fully booked full fare for EUR 105!!

[Voroff]

I have been issued with my very own personal headset, the plug won't fit my ipod though. :D

[feinwerkbau]

we get a xmas party, tea, coffee, orange squash and a watercooler.......really living the highlife!

[TrafficTraffic]

I have been issued with my very own personal headset, the plug won't fit my ipod though.

I would say just as well - if your headset is anything like mine it would make the Ipod sound crap anyway.....

Lets turn it around a little -


WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE AS A PERK (within reason - if we can!)

[dusto]

Airline tickets.

Don't even mind paying the taxes.

Seems reasonable to me.

[niknak]

To be left alone by management to get on with the job which we are eminantly qualified to do and they are not....:E

[Jerricho]

To be left alone by management to get on with the job which we are eminantly qualified to do and they are not

Yer dreamin Nik. That'll never happen ;)

[Lon More]

The old adage remains correct (at least at EDDY, from latest reports)

Those who can, do.
Those who can't, teach.
Those who can't teach, manage.


Nice to have seen you all again, hope there are not too many headaches tomorrow. Slainte

[separator]

The joys of perks!

I remember a time long ago in a Certain Northern Port in this wide brown land, when it came to pass that a New Tower/ACC was to be constructed and a radar installed to ease the load of the poor but honest TWR/APP controllers who were slugging it out procedurally.

A well known French company won the contract, despite having a reputation for leaving their customers with the soggy end of the baguette, as it were.

The controllers were agog with anticipation as they watched the new edifice rising from the mangroves on the far side of the field. What pleasures it might contain. The joy would be unconfined!

As the great day came close there was talk of the party that was to take place when the New Tower was opened. Much was to be the wassail!! There would be marquees, drink, food, music and dancing. And by the way, there might be a few visitors from Regional Office, just a few mind you.

The great day dawned bright and clear. The controllers transported their worldly goods to the new edifice i.e. their coffee cups. The first shift started amidst a tad of confusion since the management, in their infinite wisdom, had neglected to ensure that any meaningful familiarization with the new tower might take place. Perhaps they were too busy ordering kegs of beer, bushels of larks’ tongues and dancing girls.

Suddenly there came a loud gnashing of teeth and much wailing, not to mention the wringing of hands. For the boss had realized that he rostered himself to work the evening shift that very day….there would be no partying for him! In vain he begged for a shift swap. His chances were similar to the proverbial snowflakes in Hell.

As the day wore more and more aircraft arrived, bearing assorted penwipers, pointyheads and shinybums from Regional and Central Office. Normally the warmish tropical climate of this Northern Port discouraged visitors from afar, a postcard every second year was the best they could expect, but now they were like the very locusts of the plague.

At one stage there were in excess of forty visitors in the cab of the tower, it was bigger than Ben Hur. Much flesh was pressed, speeches made and credit taken by those who couldn’t identify the Northern Port on a map two times out of three on a good day.

There was talk of things to come. “You ain’t seen nuthin yet” the shinybums were heard to say. “Wait until the ACC is opened” “That will be a party not to be missed”.
And a lonely face peered down from the edifice above, wondering what might have been.

Alas there was a day of reckoning. When the beancounters greased their abacuses….abaci…abacum….when the beancounters did the sums they were aghast at the price of larks’ tongues, beer, girls (dancing) etc. not to mention the final bill from the French gentlemen. “But, M’sieur, it only slightly over quote and just a little bit late, n'est-il pas ?


And it came to pass that when the ACC was commissioned, there was not a sip of beer, not a jatz cracker to be seen and all larks were fully tongued.


sep

[Uncommon Sense]

Separator,

You have dine it again - pure prose.

Your calling in life was missed!

And was the owner of wringing hands of a 'purple botanic' calling?

I think I know the answer!

And my how the times have changed! Why just today we received a slice of chocolate cake (gateaux perhaps?) to celebrate 10 years under one name!!

But surely we must have put the manufacturers of key rings across the land out of business with such stability.

(Ah - perks!! A keyring!!)

And in the grand ivory towers that have risen in that centre of aviation - I speak of course of can'tberra - there was much musing at the demands of the controllers: they want more staff? leave? they won't work more hours for less pay?? But , but , but ... I know!! Thats it!! Give them cake!!

Yes. Let them eat cake.

[blue21]

hi guys,just checked in here...its very funny....perks?... I remember the good old times we got X-mas presents...6-packs of 0,5 bottles russian wodka...calendars from chinese and corean airlines...
today we have perks...???? aaaahhhh....water for free...a vending machine with $ 1,50 sandwiches...but asking for sharp moniiii! and is working 3 days out of 7....stand-by tickets?...yeaahhhh...some comps...but staying behind the cleaning crew....
rgds blue21

[Hippy]

I hope all you LTCC types will stop whining now that I have just read the email annoucing free tea & coffee all next week! (Has management been PPRuNeing?)

p.s. Don't mind if I help myself too, do you?
/tounge-cheek

[eastern wiseguy]

LTCC types will stop whining now that I have just read the email annoucing free tea & coffee


Will those of us at Airports with NO canteen get a little extra in the way of LV's?...dream on EW ....:hmm: :hmm:

[5milesbaby]

In NATS at LTCC and LACC the canteens are no longer subsidised and the Sky TV isn't provided by the company for free, but by the Social Club that we members pay an annual fee for.

The last thing I got from NATS was a pen, anyone know what that was for????

[Arkady]

Would that be the "We finally opened Swanwick" pen? Millions saved by employing too few controllers and ATSAs so fewer pens required!

[G-MANN]

I had a gift from my company once. A minisize Mars Bar at christmas.

Now that really filled a gap!!!!

G-MANN

[Dances with Boffins]

To date:-
2 pens
1 calculator

That is all.

[rej]

I got an instructors tie presented to me when I passed the ATCIC

......... but then they did charge me for it on my Mess Bill !!! :rolleyes:

[Dan Dare]

Got a snazzy holdall and a "New Horizons" mug as gifts during my decade+ with NATS.

Fully expect to be taxed by HMG for the "perk" of parking at work sometime soon :rolleyes:

[RPMcMurphy]

Free parking, free tea etc, free lunch, two weeks off a month, lots of free flights.... but there is a slight catch......:uhoh:

[McLeod]

I work for a major player in the rail indusrty and we get jack s#!t, not even free rail travel to work. I think the days of perks for anyone are largely over are they not?

( I am applying for post as trainee ATCO )