Which EU airlines hire 55year old FO?

[PH-Chucky]

Dear colleagues,

A friend of mine has had some bad luck and experienced bankruptcy twice with former respectable EU airlines and finally moved to the Middle-East to work for one of the three big airlines over there. However is struggling with his balance between work and family who live in Europe.

Therefore he is looking for possibilities to find a European airline job that matches his experience and has a payscale which doesn’t pay pennies. However he never had opportunity to become Commander and is in doubt if any respectable companies in Europe would hire someone with his profile....

- 55 year old
- 14.000 hours
- Longhaul FO experience on B747 and B777

Looking for:
- EU based airline
- Good commuting
- Respectable job making use of his former experience
- Acceptable salary (no P2F or other low salarie scheme)

Has anybody any suggestions which airljnes in Europe would be interested in his profile? (Cargolux, CargoLogicAir?) Who has first-hand experience/knowledge of airlines hiring former ME-guys who were looking for similar move to Europe?

Thanks for any information or advise that would help to find better balance between work-family.

[Banana Joe]

Air Atlanta? But maybe that won't fully fulfil the last point.

[alby2000]

Hello PH-Chucky
our company has recently taken on board quite a few first officers with very similar profiles to the one you described above and we are very happy to have them with their valuable experience. They came mainly from Wamos, Air Atlanta and a couple from Cargolux Italia looking for a more stable rotation pattern and income. We are all on a 20/10 rotation and with commuting to/from base always paid by the company anywhere in Europe. We are an ACMI operator so accommodation, transportation, laundry and breakfast are always paid by the company. The package is in line with other companies but the new colleagues seem to appreciate the stability of the work pattern. We are expecting one more 747-400F by the end of the year and we will be shortly open the recruitment for direct entry captains and FOs. I'm not the one making the decision here but if you think this may be of interest for your friend, feel free to PM me and I will try to help.
Safe flights!
Alby

[student88]

Male or female?

[Council Van]

Male or female?
Dont see why that should matter but it says he.

Any way how about DHL/UK with a Leipzig base, the network enables you to jump seat in from numerous European cities and you can try to get on the 9/5 roster if it is still available which is a case of commute to Leipzig on the evening of day one, first flight early hours of day 2, last flight into Leipzig evening of day 8 and commute home early hours of day 9. More info available in freight dogs forum.

[theboeingpilot]

Hi Alby 2000,

Which company is this? Myself and a few others I know would be interested in that kind of package.

Thanks

[Meester proach]

Sounds like air Atlanta Icelandic

[SaulGoodman]

I think Alby is referring to Air Cargo Global. I would not bet my career on it. ACG went bust before.
Why not try DHL(EAT or UK), West Atlantic, ASL or with your experience even Cargolux. All more or less commutable and these companies are more likely to exist until your friends retirement. And I know for a fact they do hire senior citizens ;).

[Denti]

Might not be his idea of working, however, the LCCs as far as i know do not really care about the age of an applicant. Just that he is able to pass the selection and pay for the type rating...

[CargoOne]

55 years old with 14k hours FO with no command experience would definitely raise an eyebrow at HR departments. He will need to make a very well worded cover letter to explain how did it happened to get a chance.

[Bus Driver Man]

Cargolux is not commutable anymore on the new contract, unless from the neighbouring countries. Only 9 days off per 28 days when you start instead of 11. And only 35 days of leave instead of 42. Its only after a few years that you have the the full off days and leave days. Salary is also 3 steps lower than it used to be. Upgrade is more than 10 years, so not before he retires, if that's what he's looking for.

Low cost in Europe?
EasyJet or Ryanair? He might be able to upgrade after a short while. Stable 5/4/5/3 or 5/4 roster and a good network to commute. Not sure, but I think that EasyJet offers a bond for experienced FO's instead of having to pay for the type rating.
WizzAir offers Rapid Command for experienced FO's. Type rating, upgrade training and line training all in the left seat from day 1. No need to pay for the rating, only a bond. 5/4 (actually 1 rest and 3 off) or 14/7 rosters are available. The salary might not be as high as EasyJet or Ryanair, except at Wizz Air UK, based in LTN. And the commuting options are limited in Western Europe. Lots of commuting options in Central and Eastern Europe though.

[PH-Chucky]

Cargolux just got rid of their B-scale T&C’s according to my knowledge. Thus significant improvement to commute!

[alby2000]

Hello guys and gals

Company is ACT Airlines. We are an ACMI operator based in Turkey with airplanes flying mainly for Saudia and Turkish Airlines under wet lease agreements.

To everyone that expressed their interest via PM, there is some good information here on PPJN (https://www.pilotjobsnetwork.com/jobs/ACT_AIRLINES) and also here on PCC (https://www.pilotcareercentre.com/Air-Carrier-PCC-Profile/2426/ACT-Airlines)

At this precise moment we are not recruiting but I would expect they will advertise the new openings towards the end of September in preparation for a new addition to the fleet.

For Turkish citizens and Turkish licence holders they take non type rated with a training bond. For non-Turkish citizens I’m afraid it’s only with a type rating on the 747-400 on an EASA licence. This is valid for both Captains and First Officers.

For any specific questions feel free to reach out here on the thread or directly via PM.

Safe flights :ok:

Alby

[Sidestick_n_Rudder]

Try LOT Polish Airlines. They would hire him on the 787

[Uplinker]

West Atlantic. East Midlands based. Boeing 737 ULD freighters. Newly converted -800’s arriving. Fleet has about 21x -300, -400 and -800s, with another 6x -800s to come IIRC.

7 on 7 off roster. Great company.

Good chance of progression to the LHS for an F/O with good experience like the OP.

No passengers to be late or get drunk !

[iggy]

55 years old with 14k hours FO with no command experience would definitely raise an eyebrow at HR departments. He will need to make a very well worded cover letter to explain how did it happened to get a chance.

This is exactly what I have heard from all of the PTF cadets that have taken the upgrade (through more PTF) with barely 3 years of commercial aviation experience, some even less than that.

Any HR Department that demands explanations in written of why after 14k hours one is not a Captain should also rise an eyebrow in the candidate regarding how that airline is being run.

[dboy]

Well i guess it can be a bit more complicated. The guy may have had bad luck a few times. Company bankrupt, starting again at the bottom list in new company, then being sacked again because if economical crisis etc. It is not just a black or white story. There is a portion of luck needed as well to get the upgrade. Or because he is just not interested in that.

Grts

[CargoOne]

This is exactly what I have heard from all of the PTF cadets that have taken the upgrade (through more PTF) with barely 3 years of commercial aviation experience, some even less than that.

Any HR Department that demands explanations in written of why after 14k hours one is not a Captain should also rise an eyebrow in the candidate regarding how that airline is being run.

While I am fully aware there could be circumstances or a string of bad luck, but the first impression will be “deemed not suitable for upgrade” - and in 9 cases out of 10 it will be rightly so.

[Meester proach]

What about all the FOs in virgin , BA waiting for long haul commands ?

if you’ve been flying a long time sometimes mergers etc knock you back

[SaulGoodman]

Airline 1: Sabena
Airline 2: Martinair

if this, or something similar, is the case then it is not hard to become a 55 year old 14000 hour FO.