Easyjet flexicrew

[amark16]

Hi guys,
I'm currently working for a national carrier in Southern Europe, having its own (many) problems and considering a move elsewhere for a more secure future. I have 2000 hours on the A320.
Being a stranger to contracts like Parc flexipilot for Easyjet, I need advice from people who know more. I saw the ad posted on Parc's webiste on March 14th.

What can I expect such as:
- What advantages (if any) will a relatively epxerienced FO have against a low-hour cadet?
- net pay
- selection process
- basing
- rostering
- Is it true that I may be stand down for low season?
- What allowances are offered and what do i have to cover my self?
- Pension, loss of licence, medical?
- Any other info you deem appropriate one should know before applying

Many thanks to all

[amark16]

Just to help the comments flowing, please see below the email I sent to Parc and the answers i got next to them.
What is between the lines?

1. How many applicants and how many positions do you expect to be filled? Easyjet have advised they require 250 FlexiCrew for 2014.
3. Being a stranger to contract work e.g. flexi-pilot, what are the main differences I can expect
compared to employment by an airline? This will not be a fixed salary, salary will be based on working hours, although this is a opening to becoming a permanent employee of easyJet, which will then open up to Direct Entry Captain.
4. As I mentioned, due to my family moving with me, a relative stability is desirable. From your
experience, how does the basing system of Easyjet work and what is meant by based or non-based? Normally the bases are quite steady, however, easyJet if required may need crew to change base within UK but 3 month notice will be given.
Can I expect to stay at a base for a relatively long period eg longer thana year or could I be moved within
a few months? There is no exact time frame for staying at base, depends on the requirement of easyJet

Thanks

[greywind]

I'm not as knowledgeable about the Parc area of the scheme more CTC but to answer what I can.

- What advantages (if any) will a relatively epxerienced FO have against a low-hour cadet?
You will be more likely to be on a higher pay rate but that's about it.
- net pay Not sure on Parc and varies massively due to your flying.
- selection process Again not sure about Parc.
- basing Most likely Gatwick
- rostering Random / Flexible rostering
- Is it true that I may be stand down for low season? Yes
- What allowances are offered and what do i have to cover my self? You get £20 night stop on CTC flexi, that's about it
- Pension, loss of licence, medical? Nope pay for it yourself
- Any other info you deem appropriate one should know before applying There are plenty of posts on here both in this forum and the wannabees forum that I advise you have a look through.

[Alexander de Meerkat]

amark16 - I am not flexicrew but do work for easyJet. If you are working for another southern European carrier, particularly in Cyprus at the current time, and you have a chance to come to easyJet you should grab the opportunity with both hands. There are literally hundreds of pilots (if not thousands) who would give their right arm to work there and the only way to a permanent contract is through the flexicrew scheme - there is no other. The first two years will be a pain in the neck, but it will frankly still be better than who you are working for now, unless it is a national carrier of a large country.

Be warned, the sim ride has a high failure rate, so make sure you can do raw data ILSs, EFATOs etc to a good standard. What amazes me is the number of pilots who turn up to such a key event with virtually no preparation.

EasyJet is not perfect, but it is way better than Ryanair. It is about as financially secure as any airline around. You will fly brand new Airbus's in a very safety-conscious environment with some great people. My strong advice is to go for it.

[amark16]

Many thanks Alexander,
Its good to hear some good words from the inside a midst the negativity surrounding the flexi crew scheme.

My main concern is the salary. I'm married with two kids (4 and 1) and the family will be moving with me. Given that my wife will be unemployed, at least for the first months, I need to know that I can support my family with this salary. Especially, given that I may be sitting around with no income for some winter months. Furthermore I have to consider housing, healthcare, kids schools etc. It sounds like it may be hard.

How much better does it get when I get a permanent contract?

You guessed it right, I live and work in Cyprus and the big dilemma for me is this:
- The Easyjet job with the difficult first two years but a stable and quality life in the UK or,
- Etihad or Emirates, where money becomes no issue anymore, but the idea of living in a fake city in the middle of the dessert is not appealing at all to me.

[Zedez]

I am currently Parc flexi-crew for easyJet, and have been for two years, joining as a cadet.

-The only advantage you have is you will get paid more per hour vs a cadet. Over 1500 hours pay is approx £67 per hour vs cadet £50.
-Net pay really depends on how many hours you fly, average seems to be approx 700 hours per year.
-I'm not sure as to what an experienced pilot's selection involves, as a cadet we had a computer based skills test and interview with ezy training capt.
-Basing seems to be a bit of a lottery, you can be based anywhere depending on ezy requirements, however gatwick is usually where most end up as is biggest base. You can swap base with another similar experienced cadet if offered once you start.
-Rostering is on a flexible roster. You could have 1 day off or 7. You won't work more then 5 days in a row usually.
-Sadly yes, last winter some f/o's were stood down for 3 months, but as far as I am aware it was cadets only. Could be wrong tho!
-easyJet will not cover any expense. Medical, loss of license and pension all left up to you. No sick pay, all leave unpaid also.
-you are paid for standbys(at a lower rate) and positioning and night stops.

Hope this helps.

[Tiennetti]

What can I expect such as:
- What advantages (if any) will a relatively epxerienced FO have against a low-hour cadet?
No seniority list, so if you are experienced you can access command process and/or base application when YOU want and not exactly when is your turn. Ovviously your hourly rate will be higher compared to a "cadet"

- net pay
As you are a "self employed", you pay taxes based on what you earn (directly related as how much you work, as you are paid by the hour: 0 hours, 0€... 90h, roughly 7000€) minus the SS contributions. This depends on the amount of expenses you can declare to lower your taxabñe amount) Over the past 11 months i have a gross of 55000Pounds over a net of roughly 43000Pounds.
This varies a little depending on the base, but expect the summer to be 85h, and around 45 in winter (with 200h assured over the 4 winter months)


- selection process
Group excercises, Tech Quiz, Interview, Sim Check

- basing
What exactly? Flexicrew are now based only in UK (all over). Generally stable, your contract implies that they can change your base on a notice of 3 months

- rostering
Variable.... Expect a roughly 5-3/4 during the summer with 2 longs or 4 short sectors day, while in winter can be anything (again depends a little on the base you are) but expect around 15 to 20 days off a month in winter

- Is it true that I may be stand down for low season?
I believe it happened for the first time this year, and to 40 cadets

- What allowances are offered and what do i have to cover my self?

Nothing offered, all by you (starting from uniform)

- Pension, loss of licence, medical?
Nothing

- Any other info you deem appropriate one should know before applying
Time to a permanent contract is not guaranteed, is now around 18 to 24 months or even longer...

[EcamSurprise]

Hi,

Sorry to hear of your worries, it must be a difficult situation to be in.

I was a Parc contractor and am now on a perm contract in Euroland.

- You won't have many advantages other than a higher level of pay / third stripe and perhaps Captains being a bit more relaxed with you.
It will mean that ONCE you are a permanent you will be in a position to start the command process (after 6 months of being perm) as you would already have the hours where some of your lower hour colleagues may still be building hours.

- I was with Parc while the hours were still good. On average my monthly income after the tax (done through your own company) was £4500. I understand it is different now due to lower hours.

- No idea for the selection process but listen to ADM above.. he is in the know.

- Basing wise is mainly UK now however there are some FOs on very reduced contracts in Berlin SXF on a 1.5 year basis. This is subject to a court case and may change but don't expect a choice.. and I didn't always get 3 months notice either.

- Rostering on random was actually pretty good in my bases. I probably did a block of 5 days maybe 4 times in 1.5 years as Flexi... the rest were blocks of 2 /3 /4 with 2 to 4 days off in between.
On a pure flight point of view, I actually find 5/4/5/3 sometimes more fatiguing.

- There were 20 odd CTC cadets stood down for the winter, but they were told about this when they started so they could plan. Those choosing to come back have already been in line training.


- You pay for a lot yourself, but you will get some extras.
£20 / night. £200 ish / standby, £200 / training day , £200 / positioning flight (but not the first one of the month)
You will be provided with all hotac / positioning when working / training somewhere out of base and car parking is also provided.
Other items that you need (like a medical) can be claimed through your company as an expense, helping reduce your tax.


- No pension, LOL or Medical when flexi. You can set these up yourself though as many did. If you join BALPA they offer a good prices LOL policy for members.

- They are recently changed contracts and you will now need to do 24 months flexi before being eligible for a permanent contract... however, the company has also strongly hinted that there will be direct entry recruitment as a FO for summer 2014.....

[amark16]

Thanks for all the info.
Please tell me if the following calculation is realistic for a salary.

67 per block hour rate x 650 hours per year = 43550
plus standbys, nightstops etc

How will this figure look after tax?

I need a base figure to work with so I can work out a budget.

How much does a permanent FO make and how long to the left seat
once permanent?

thanks

[amark16]

Anyone with flexicrew experience especially with family, please PM me so that you can email me details like salary, accommodation, kids schools in the UK etc

[Jumbito]

Im Flexi with Parc in the highest pay rate. In 2012 I made 56000€ net so hope that helps.

Regards and good luck

[McMax]

Jumbito, could you tell us how many hours you have flown and what base?
Thanks!

[AvroRider]

Hello there,

I did my interview process in January 2013 and had the good news in February. But we were told that we are now in some holding pool as their needs was less than expected. (Maybe the fact that the fleet expansion was also on hold...).

Anyway, the process was really relaxed and the people in the recruitment department are very friendly and helpful. They really put you at ease from the beginning.

PM me with your e-mail address as I did a PDF of 7 pages who explains the process from A to Z. But I didn't specifically explain the exact examples we had during the interview as it will not help you at all. So you don't go there with specific examples in your mind. You have to be open to everything.

Personally, the first part is the part i don't like. You have to "sell" yourself in a certain way. And the part I loved was the sim ride. There is no bull****, no fake, and I think as an assessor you see DIRECTLY what kind of guy you have next to you.

[The Flying Cokeman]

ECAMSURPRISE,


Regarding LOL I think BALPA is too expensive and not very good. APPN covers you for considerably more for just about half the price of BALPA.



For those asking regarding time to command if joining now: It all depends on your experience but right now my guess would be 5-7 yrs as no more expansion is expected. 2014 will have a big numbers of upgrades- figures out so far, somewhere between 100-200 then it is all going to stop apart from retirements and people leaving the company.

[Alexander de Meerkat]

The other guys on here with flexicrew experience will be able to give you facts and figures about salaries and conditions. Time to command is very difficult to predict. My honest assessment is that you could wait a long time. I do not think your experience will be a particular advantage as there are many pilots with a similar experience level at easyJet. There are so many variations, but the days of commands in two years are effectively over. I concur with Te Flying Cokeman on this. My best guess, and it can only be that, is that you will have to wait a minimum of 5 years but it could be 8.

[Alexander de Meerkat]

The truth is that it is incredibly hard to predict. I speak as one who has been wrong on numerous occasions over this issue - I keep thinking the music has stopped and then more and more people get promoted. We are never going to be a real 'career airline' in the sense that a national carrier is and therefore there will always be people leaving at the far end without retiring. The big unknown is whether or not we expand much beyond our current size - Stelios wants us to shrink but the Board wants a cautious 5-6% growth a year. My own view is that Stelios will bale out little by little and his already lessening voice will become more and more irrelevant, but again that is a guess. The other unknowns are the recruitment plans of BA - if they open their doors again, and I believe they will, then numerous pilots (Captains and FOs) will be gone. We could easily lose 300 in a year for that alone. The other interesting factor is the sandpit - will more and more people leave to go there, particularly if they go for London bases? Finally, if companies like Iberia/IAG implode, will we decide to have a rapid expansion to take up the empty places, rather than let Ryanair get in there first. Past experience is that we never miss an opportunity to come second, but maybe that will change. Again, these are all the unknowns and we can all have our opinions, but the bottom line is that no one really has a definitive answer. Given that, I think 15 years to command is very unlikely but 8 years is not.

[amark16]

How often on average does your base change and how does the moving around affect people with families? Are flexicrew more easily given a base change than perm pilots?

[EcamSurprise]

Flexis can be moved within 3 months notice.

Permanents, unless due to closure, downsizing or requesting a transfer stay put on the whole and life is stable.

Perm SFO in France, gross pay is 80k basic, plus sectors which are probably 12 - 15k a year.


Won't give you my flexicrew figures because the hours have changed now and people are flying less on all accounts.


I'd say command is 5 - 8 years away but there will be a huge bubble of guys in October who can request to go on the command list / process as they've all been given European contracts / UK contracts recently and will have to wait only 6 months.


Hope that helps.

[average-punter]

Whilst up in Luton recently I got chatting to a new group of Flexi FOs. The issue of bases arose. All of the guys and girls in the group said that they received an email from Parc offering a choice of 4 bases: LGW, LPL, BFS or GLA. Within half an hour of receiving an email one of the pilots replied saying with LGW, Parc came back saying LGW was now unavailable, so he replied with LPL. Parc replied back saying LPL is now unavailable, you can choose between BFS or GLA. It's possible that people replied before him and snapped up all the places at LGW. However, the group were very doubtful if they ever existed in the first place as everyone is based at either GLA or BFS.

[amark16]

I don't live in the UK so please bear with me as i didn't follow developments till now. I understand that BALPA and the pilot community in general is planning to take action to improve the working conditions of flexicrew. Do you see enough momentum being build up, so that the next wave and even current flexicrew see improved terms and contracts? Forgive me if i'm being naive, i'm guessing this is a major issue right now in the UK

[Agaricus bisporus]

Significant improvements to flexicrew involve the Co spending money - little enough money given the multi £00M profits made but money that would otherwise go straight into the troughs of the greedy pigs that run the outfit.

Ergo ain't gonna happen.

[wiggy]

I understand that BALPA and the pilot community in general is planning to take action to improve the working conditions of flexicrew

Don't get your hopes up.

There is at last some sentiment being expressed by some at the top of BALPA that "something must be done" but UK Industrial Law is very restrictive with regard to direct action. You've got to hope for improvement through negotiation/appealing to the company's better nature (unlikely for all the reasons stated by Agaricus), or a lack of applicants forcing the company to improve the package.

What do you reckon?

[stable_checked]

Directly from a flexicrew pilot:

What advantages (if any) will a relatively epxerienced FO have against a low-hour cadet?

Nothing,after 1500hrs pay rate is £67 and standby £243(these figures are not gross in reality as they include a management fee and employees national insurance which get deducted before you get your gross pay)

net pay

Varies significantly and its not guaranteed. Hours have reduced so much in the last year(650-750 per year) and standbys have been replaced with days off and you cannot swap days off for duties.You only get paid if you fly,if you are delayed down route and as a result you loose the next days flying due to rest limitations then you lost your pay,if you are sick you don't get paid. Hourly rates are gross and include a management fee (3%) and also the employers national insurance (13.8% something that easyjet should be paying).So if your pay is £4000(my best month in the last 12 months) you then get deducted 3% for management fee, then 13.8% for employers national insurance, which only leaves you with about £3400 which is now your gross income which is subject to tax(20-40%) and employees national insurance(12%) so net pay will be about £2700. i would take that net figure as a number to work out if you are happy to live with.Rember though you have to pay for medical,uniform,allow for holiday pay,sick pay,lol etc

selection process

can include hr,sim ride,technical,group exercises

basing

UK where ever they say,you cannot go on any transfer list whilst flexi,only if there is a direct swap of a flexi for a flexi and that is subject to approval

rostering

You will be random roster.This means no protections,some months will have MANY days off which make net pay very low,sometimes you will get REST day which do not qualify for pay but if easyjet need you they can suddenly change it.No real guaranteed leave system and if you get any leave its unpaid,basically parc will email with available dates of leave after all permanent pilots take what they want,you then have to reply to parc with your preference from the given dates,parc will advice easyjet,if approved you will be notified by parc.there are no wrap around days so you can be rostered to fly until the last day before your leave and work on the first day when you get back

Is it true that I may be stand down for low season?

You could be stood down anytime in reality.Or they can only give you 2 flights in a quiet month(it has happened to a lot).They can fisically stand you down within a month ie they can give you the 3 months notice but at the same time roster your next 3 months with no flights.That is why there is no job security.

What allowances are offered and what do i have to cover my self?

Nightstop is £20 gross and that is only when you fly away of base,not when in hotel for training.Positioning is paid at standby rate only when you position only in a day,if you position and they fly in the same day there is no positioning pay and you always have to claim positioning payment through Parc(good luck with the emails,there is no direct communication between easyjet.you tell parc you qualify for positioning and parc tell easyjet).You pay for uniform

Pension, loss of licence, medical?

Nothing

Any other info you deem appropriate one should know before applying

Expect at least 2 years before you can apply for a permanent(permanent is not guaranteed,you can only apply for one after 2 years)
expect no job security
expect a lot of frustration(no guaranteed leave,no sick pay,no day off payment,lots of emails to parc to get what you want)
command is anyone's guess, you have to be permanent for 6 months before you can start so at at the best case 2.5 years(if you are given permanent straight away after 2 years as flexi) before you can start command process
flexicrew in easyjet is like being in ryaniar.i do believe ryanair have a base in your country so just get in touch with the FOs flying for ryanair and get a taste of what it is to get paid by the hour and have no job security
expect a very mature airline operation,nice aircraft and very good captains.

[LocBlew]

How about a permanent position?

First Officers with easyJet | 1401360554 (http://jobs.flightglobal.com/job/1401360554/first-officers-/)

[Skindogg]

Did you actually click on the link to apply? It brings you to the usual CTC or PARC flexicrew website. Not much use I'm afraid.

[EcamSurprise]

Actually, if you go on the careers section and search Pilots, you might find it.

https://easyjet.taleo.net/careersection/2/moresearch.ftl?lang=en&searchExpanded=true&radius=1&jobfield=8170751484&radiusType=K

[LocBlew]

What do you mean Skindogg? It's right on the website.

Pilot Careers - Careers in the Air - easyJet Careers (http://www.easyjetcareers.com/careers-in-the-air/pilot-careers/)


Edit: Wonder what they mean by this:
"We’ll be offering fixed term contracts, direct employment opportunities and have a new UK contract proposition that leads to permanent employment opportunities."

[turbine100]

Are they finally reducing the numbers of CTC cadets for some reason or another?

[maxed-out]

Interesting though that the chaps from TP backgrounds (non rated civilian)who had to pay 13-15k for their TP ratings ( Eastern, Suckling etc) and paid their dues the old school way have to fork out for another rating with the Orange brigade. :yuk:

And people wonder why GA pilots opt to rather buy jet ratings with hours on type rather than do things the old fashioned "proper way".

[Serenity]

I spoke recently with a current Easyjet f/o who was forced to join as flexi crew.
Money was ok to start with, plenty of hours, But no extras such as pensions, loss of license or sick pay. Now though the number of hours he gets are reducing so therefore does his pay.
He was very worried about the new permanent contracts to be offered as although they would be permanent, the salaries would again be much lower(turbo prop levels). To low to survive on, he said( mortgage, loan etc).
Of course these people would then be used as preference over flexi crews.

He seemed to think that the new contracts would result in a larger exodus than before. All his friends were already looking elsewhere for better contracts (Monarch, Jet2, Middle East).

[amark16]

Have the flexicrew contracts changed recently with the introduction of the NEC? I believe it is now a fixed salary and not an hourly pay rate? Has the waiting period to a perm contract also been reduced? cheers