ken holmes
16th Oct 2000, 23:54
If you fancy working for DHL/EAT read this first and beware what you are told at the interview about money and conditions. Demand to see a contract and read it very carefully. Other parcel companies offer seven days on and seven days off and around 20% more pay.
Due to trouble from the Belgian Cockpit Association Union, the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority, the realisation from EAT that nobody will work for them under the present wage structure and the fact that EAT are not allowed to employ anybody else from Airline Appointments because of the above organisations, all new entrants will have to sign the new Ex-Pat contract. For First Officers it is a slightly better deal but for Captains it is very much worse. For Captains under the Airline Appointments scheme this now means you will have to pay Belgian tax. For those Captains coming off the Airline Appointments contract onto the new Belgian contract (should you want to) you will see a forty percent (40%) reduction in salary. You will now earn about £3500 per month take home including per diems. For this you will work eight days on and have six days off. First Officers currently earn about £1300 per month take home plus about £300 expenses. Anybody joining now, or anybody transferring from the 727/A300 to the 757 will have to sign a new Ex-Pat contract if you are not on one already. This will allow First Officers going onto the 757 to earn about £1700 per month take home plus £300 expenses. Remember you are based in Brussels and will have to get an appartment and travel over at your own expense from your home country. You can get away with not having your own transport if you get an apartment close (10 minutes) to the airport as EAT/DHL will pick you up in a bus.
On the B757 you will do flights of either four sectors over four nights, usually going to the same airports every night. The day before and the day after the four sector nights, will involve a positioning flight to and from Brussels. Or you will go to Africa (Lagos and finally staying in Accra), which involves four nights away but just about all day flights. On the B727/A300, you will be away about 75% of your working days. You will work anything up to four sectors, mostly at night and fly anywhere in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In practice two or four of the days (depending on length of working roster) will be rostered as reserve (two hours callout). You might be offered either eight days on and six days off or sixteen days on and twelve off (EAT seem to prefer you to work sixteen on and twelve off). Whatever system you take you will have to be ready for work at 00:01GMT on the start of your working day and you can expect to finish work at 23:59 GMT on the last of your working days. The company uses GMT on the rosters and ignores local time. You often find yourself working into your first day off if you use local time. This means that travelling to and from your home to Brussels has to be done in your off time. Therefore in reality, you work eight or sixteen on and have four or ten days off. You will fly about forty hours a month but this does not include all the hours waiting around for some flights, so your duty hours can be considerably more. It is a very unglamorous job but there is no stress involved at all due to the lack of passengers and cabin crew. However, it is like a business jet job. Your roster can change totally at a moments notice according to DHL's wishes and you can end up anywhere. You must always carry some clothes with you for the hotels. Basically EAT/DHL own you within the working days. All simulator and refresher courses will only be rostered on your days off, so you will lose some time of your own.
Due to trouble from the Belgian Cockpit Association Union, the Belgian Civil Aviation Authority, the realisation from EAT that nobody will work for them under the present wage structure and the fact that EAT are not allowed to employ anybody else from Airline Appointments because of the above organisations, all new entrants will have to sign the new Ex-Pat contract. For First Officers it is a slightly better deal but for Captains it is very much worse. For Captains under the Airline Appointments scheme this now means you will have to pay Belgian tax. For those Captains coming off the Airline Appointments contract onto the new Belgian contract (should you want to) you will see a forty percent (40%) reduction in salary. You will now earn about £3500 per month take home including per diems. For this you will work eight days on and have six days off. First Officers currently earn about £1300 per month take home plus about £300 expenses. Anybody joining now, or anybody transferring from the 727/A300 to the 757 will have to sign a new Ex-Pat contract if you are not on one already. This will allow First Officers going onto the 757 to earn about £1700 per month take home plus £300 expenses. Remember you are based in Brussels and will have to get an appartment and travel over at your own expense from your home country. You can get away with not having your own transport if you get an apartment close (10 minutes) to the airport as EAT/DHL will pick you up in a bus.
On the B757 you will do flights of either four sectors over four nights, usually going to the same airports every night. The day before and the day after the four sector nights, will involve a positioning flight to and from Brussels. Or you will go to Africa (Lagos and finally staying in Accra), which involves four nights away but just about all day flights. On the B727/A300, you will be away about 75% of your working days. You will work anything up to four sectors, mostly at night and fly anywhere in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. In practice two or four of the days (depending on length of working roster) will be rostered as reserve (two hours callout). You might be offered either eight days on and six days off or sixteen days on and twelve off (EAT seem to prefer you to work sixteen on and twelve off). Whatever system you take you will have to be ready for work at 00:01GMT on the start of your working day and you can expect to finish work at 23:59 GMT on the last of your working days. The company uses GMT on the rosters and ignores local time. You often find yourself working into your first day off if you use local time. This means that travelling to and from your home to Brussels has to be done in your off time. Therefore in reality, you work eight or sixteen on and have four or ten days off. You will fly about forty hours a month but this does not include all the hours waiting around for some flights, so your duty hours can be considerably more. It is a very unglamorous job but there is no stress involved at all due to the lack of passengers and cabin crew. However, it is like a business jet job. Your roster can change totally at a moments notice according to DHL's wishes and you can end up anywhere. You must always carry some clothes with you for the hotels. Basically EAT/DHL own you within the working days. All simulator and refresher courses will only be rostered on your days off, so you will lose some time of your own.