BA Longhaul Lifestyle

[Dean Cross]

Hi

I was just wondering if any longhaul (especially B747) BA F/Os would be able to let me know what their typical rosters were like and what their average take-home pay is each month.

Thanks,

DC

[CEJM]

Dean Cross,

The search function is your best friend :ok:

Hope that this is what you are looking for!

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=311392

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=323990

[Iver]

Dean,

Can you share your experience level? I am always curious to see what types of experience is preferred to get on the jumbo fleet at BA. Do you have other longhaul experience?

Congrats if you got a 747 slot.

[Dean Cross]

CEJM,

Thanks, I saw those after I posted. Oops. :\


Iver,

I have around 5000 hours, mostly shorthaul jet with some regional t/prop as well.

Cheers Guys.

:ok:

[bermudatriangle]

dean cross...roster is published 6-8 weeks in advance....average 4-5 trips per month.you can bid for blocks of trips,giving more time off..ie for commuting from long distance.dependent on seniority of course.direct entry is usually 757/767 or 777 unless 747/400 rated.days off depend on sector lengths..ie lhr/jfk/lhr....2 days off..lhr/nrt/lhr... 4days off.good luck with any application.but expect airbus at lhr as initial position.

[Donkey Duke]

Which fleet has the best trips for Longhaul---767, 777, 744? What are the favourite trips for each? Anyone care to respond to their favourite layover? Cheers.

[Tandemrotor]

roster is published 6-8 weeks in advance

How come I only received my June roster yesterday? (I believe that's 2 weeks in advance?)

Donkey, hi. Why are you interested?

[Donkey Duke]

Tandemrotor,

I am just a fan and I have always wondered which fleet has the best trips. Sounds like you have great variety over there, and that is a good thing. Variety is the spice of life you know? Cheers.

[supadupafly]

Brian,
I can only speak for longhaul at BA. On short trips most of the time you'll be left to do your own thing as far as the cabin crew go. The other pilot(s) you'll be with will (virtually) always go for a drink at the other end as a minimum. When I first joined BA I found the fact that the crew hide themselves away as one of the hardest things to get used to. Maybe I'm a sensitive little flower but in my previous job we'd usually go out as a group which of course could make for some very amusing evenings. At BA however the majority of cabin crew seem to lock themselves away in their rooms, order room service, watch tv or if they're feeling a bit crazy maybe go shop or lie by the pool.

The majority of longhaul crew are 35+ and have been flying for at least 10 years. As a relatively young guy I'm more often than not the youngest of the crew. Don't get me wrong, most of the cabin crew are really lovely people and I've had plenty of fun nights out, I'm also fairly junior so don't do some of the longer trips which I'm sure would be more fun from a socialising point of view. My only gripe is that there's not more of a spread of ages as I think this would really energise the crew. Also, on the 777, if you need a tonic from 40 year old women going on about child care, HRT, slagging the company etc, you can fly out of Gatwick which is an altogether different experience, far more sociable, vibrant and more like what you'll be used to in any other airline in the UK!

[G--SPOT]

Donkey Dude, the 747 has the best trips, altho I may be biased:E.

The trips are mostly 3 crew with quite a few 4 crew and not too many 2 crew to a wide variety of destinations, east, west and south in pretty equal measure. There aren't any particularly unpopular places.

Also the rest facilities are by far the best with bunks and a toilet in the flight deck:ok:

Socially longhaul (as DC says) is very hit and miss. All depends on your crew and the destination, but sometimes you can have a top time when you least expect it (like on statesides due to time diff), and then have dull one one in Cape Town.

Overall life is pretty good, but we could do with an injection of young crew who haven't seen and done it all before.