All about Virgin please!

[theunknown]

Looking to join Virgin as crew and have a few questions for those in the know.

Firstly can you request nightstops, ie min' or max' that sort of thing? If not what is the average trip length, I guess what i'm getting at is are the lots of nightstops avail!

How do the flights out of Gatwick work...are they rostered to LHR crew or is there a seperate base, can you request them? Is it true that these trips can last up to a week??

What is the pay like for a junior, in my current crew positon I take home approx £1200 a month (after tax and including allowances)...can I expect more/less??

What can I expect, are they a good company?

Thanks for the information!

[MinimumRest]

V. good friend of mine has worked for VS for about a year. You are based at both LHR and LGW and are expected to be able to get to either for standbys.

It is ONLY nightstops, so you don't have to request min or max - you have no choice! She averages 4 - 6 bullets a month, and that's all she gets, bullets! You're only Boeing fleeted at first, if you stay long enough to get on the Airbus the trips are further away, ie, Far East, so you would be away for longer then. She says it's damn hard work for the money, which I think she reckons is about 1700 a month before tax etc, but that's only if she's a hermit on trips (ie, doesn't eat out - the good old Delsey Diner!) Plus she often turns up for her rostered trip of, say, Barbados, only to be told in the crew room she's off to Boston - great in your bikini in the middle of winter!

She loved it at first but the novelty has now worn off, she says all crew there are looking to leave. I'm sure this is an exageration, but something to bear in mind. What suits one doesn't suit another, so give it a go, only you know if it's right for you - good luck!

P.S. Your wages aren't bad - who do you fly for?

[This message has been edited by MinimumRest (edited 29 March 2001).]

[Beryl Board]

The information regarding night stops is not accurate. There are bullets however there are quite a few trips where the crew are away for at least two nights. e.g LAX and SFO. The crew are initially trained on boeing a/c 200 and 400 and then after approx 6 months they are trained on A340. That then allows them to go to NRT, HKG, JNB etc.
The money is not fantastic however it isn't the worst in the industry either. I have heard that a lot of people are unhappy and looking elsewhere however that appears to be the norm in aviation. On the other hand I know that a lot of people who do leave request to return.
If you haven't flown before I would recommend it for at least a year. It's a great opportunity, with excellent staff travel concessions, however I wouldn't bank on saving any money.
Good Luck!

[Gulf Babe]

When you refer to bullet, do you mean a day trip as in returning to base the same day or something else? It is the first time I have seen this word with regarding crew trips.

[Beryl Board]

I've always regarded a bullet as a night stop. i.e LHR-JFK-LHR.

[SPICEBOY]

Bullets mean going somewhere that you don't have any time to enjoy yourself ie. LHR-BEY-LHR or DXB-HKG-DXB.Minimum rest can be a real killer at times!!!!

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Once more onto the beach dear friends!