20 buyers now circling Virgin Australia
Servo, is there a group for Virgin pilots in your area? If not, start one and make sure you meet with others in the same position for tea and bikkies at least twice a week. Things get easier once you can talk this stuff out.
Stay in touch.
Stay in touch.
Servo, is there a group for Virgin pilots in your area? If not, start one and make sure you meet with others in the same position for tea and bikkies at least twice a week. Things get easier once you can talk this stuff out.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Sydney,Australia
Age: 62
Posts: 27
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
VA BrazJet drivers are OK...
... if you missed out on the big plastic maggot when you first got in with Uncle Dickies swinging dick band And got a gig on the E170/190, how providence has fallen upon you... you are a stand up to get in with Alliance (DEC) and at least have a window seat through these lean times...your 73 (only) mates will unfortunately miss out on Alliance and there won’t be any VA around after Bain Cap Co shutdown the operation by 15-22 Dec’20 and strip the carcass of their considered fiscal remains... “...we worked so hard at keeping Virgin in Australian skies However it is with regret that we must advise Virgin Australia is to cease operations...” ,and various other insincere platitudes... I would really like to be proven wrong, but these vultures read from the same playbook time, after time, after time...
To those pilots who are facing job losses, let me tell you an important home truth: You are not a pilot, you are a person.
You may be a father, a mother, a son or a daughter. You are a mate,a brother or sister. You are someone's world, regardless of how many epaulettes you may have on your shoulders. Those roles do not change with your job.
COVID-19 has served up a s*** sandwich to this industry, and unfortunately many people will have to eat it. Nobody saw this coming, and if you are facing redundancy, that is not your fault. Sure, VA wasn't in the greatest shape going into the crisis, but nobody would have predicted that this event would affect nearly every airline in the world, and for the length that people are saying that it will.
Yes, flying work will be competitive for a while, and far and few between, but that doesn't mean it is the end of the line. Humans can be incredibly resilient. A redundancy payout may give you the funds to do some other vocational training and pursue something else in the short-term. Even without that, you have more skills than just 'pilot' - you have been trained to assess threats, manage errors and risks, and have a deep emphasis on safety. You understand physics, weather systems, engineering, human factors...all skills that can be leveraged in other fields. It may take some time to understand that, but don't lose hope.
I'm not going to blow smoke up your a**e and tell you it will all be rainbows and butterflies. It will be tough, and there will be some dark days ahead. If that darkness starts to get on top of you, speak out. You are not alone. If you feel you can't speak to friends and family, contact Lifeline, Beyond Blue or another counselling service. Heck, if you feel you can't talk to someone about it, you can reach out to me, the anonymous bloke on the internet.
At some point, things will turn. COVID-19 will become a distant memory, people will want and need to travel, and the industry will get back on its feet. It will take some time, and that just means hanging in there for a while.
Sorry for the thread drift, but just felt that needed to be said.
You may be a father, a mother, a son or a daughter. You are a mate,a brother or sister. You are someone's world, regardless of how many epaulettes you may have on your shoulders. Those roles do not change with your job.
COVID-19 has served up a s*** sandwich to this industry, and unfortunately many people will have to eat it. Nobody saw this coming, and if you are facing redundancy, that is not your fault. Sure, VA wasn't in the greatest shape going into the crisis, but nobody would have predicted that this event would affect nearly every airline in the world, and for the length that people are saying that it will.
Yes, flying work will be competitive for a while, and far and few between, but that doesn't mean it is the end of the line. Humans can be incredibly resilient. A redundancy payout may give you the funds to do some other vocational training and pursue something else in the short-term. Even without that, you have more skills than just 'pilot' - you have been trained to assess threats, manage errors and risks, and have a deep emphasis on safety. You understand physics, weather systems, engineering, human factors...all skills that can be leveraged in other fields. It may take some time to understand that, but don't lose hope.
I'm not going to blow smoke up your a**e and tell you it will all be rainbows and butterflies. It will be tough, and there will be some dark days ahead. If that darkness starts to get on top of you, speak out. You are not alone. If you feel you can't speak to friends and family, contact Lifeline, Beyond Blue or another counselling service. Heck, if you feel you can't talk to someone about it, you can reach out to me, the anonymous bloke on the internet.
At some point, things will turn. COVID-19 will become a distant memory, people will want and need to travel, and the industry will get back on its feet. It will take some time, and that just means hanging in there for a while.
Sorry for the thread drift, but just felt that needed to be said.
short flights long nights
Excellent work, EBT.
... if you missed out on the big plastic maggot when you first got in with Uncle Dickies swinging dick band And got a gig on the E170/190, how providence has fallen upon you... you are a stand up to get in with Alliance (DEC) and at least have a window seat through these lean times...your 73 (only) mates will unfortunately miss out on Alliance and there won’t be any VA around after Bain Cap Co shutdown the operation by 15-22 Dec’20 and strip the carcass of their considered fiscal remains... “...we worked so hard at keeping Virgin in Australian skies However it is with regret that we must advise Virgin Australia is to cease operations...” ,and various other insincere platitudes... I would really like to be proven wrong, but these vultures read from the same playbook time, after time, after time...
Makes the decision harder. Do you chance it by taking voluntary redundancy now (737 pilot) and walk away, maybe forever. Or stay on and get nothing when they pull the pin completely.
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Most locked down city in the world
Posts: 546
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Mum use to say to me, in life one door opens one door closes and reopens again. It's full of ups and downs. Well well well before "life is like a box of chocolates ...." statement.
In my time I have seen 89 strike, recession, mergers which can be stressful in their own way, Sept 11, Ansett, GFC, now Covid.
I'm optimistic we are right on the bottom of the U, when this blasted covid goes, the U climb will start again.
When we do hit the bottom of the U everything just seems hopeless and forlorn. Don't forget it's only tempo.
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Sydney,Australia
Age: 62
Posts: 27
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
What ever you do , Servo, don’t let your licence lapse. Try to keep your MECIR and Class 1 Medical current even if for a year or so it seems forlorn. You know as well as any other pilot, when the work starts again, and it will, you’ll need all your ducks in a row YESTERDAY. Good Luck 👍🍻
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: BAO
Posts: 0
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
And, for what it is (/or not) worth well onboard- as 'another' anonymous bloke on the Interweb, reckon we have all been busted-up by this Gig at one point or another......???
(Which- is separate to the machinations of 'this Event'- and 'appropriate' Corporate Governance/& communication inside the process.....).
Be Well/and rgds all
S28- BE
Last edited by Section28- BE; 7th Aug 2020 at 11:21.
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: Australia
Posts: 50
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Gentlemen
its alway darkest before the dawn.
Hang in there.
Think of the money being spent on research.
May I suggest not paying attention to local media, Australian media seems to be more gloomy than the rest of the world.
plan for the worst but hope for the best.
its alway darkest before the dawn.
Hang in there.
Think of the money being spent on research.
May I suggest not paying attention to local media, Australian media seems to be more gloomy than the rest of the world.
plan for the worst but hope for the best.
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 2
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Broomy was a character, had the priv of flying with the old codger a few times -)
RIP Tigers, once VA set the trap you where doomed! -(
It reads somewhat like... We’re not equipped to do this!
And this is just the beginning of sorting out the ownership and leasing liabilities of aircraft and engines.
And this is just the beginning of sorting out the ownership and leasing liabilities of aircraft and engines.
........and that is why I suggested staff don't wait around for the phone to ring. Try and find alternative employment and if VB wants you back its a bonus. I know its hard, maybe even impossible, but you wont know if you don't have a go.
I have no idea where this Virgin mess will end.
I have no idea where this Virgin mess will end.
........and that is why I suggested staff don't wait around for the phone to ring. Try and find alternative employment and if VB wants you back its a bonus. I know its hard, maybe even impossible, but you wont know if you don't have a go.
I have no idea where this Virgin mess will end.
I have no idea where this Virgin mess will end.
Last edited by On eyre; 10th Aug 2020 at 07:49.
........and that is why I suggested staff don't wait around for the phone to ring. Try and find alternative employment and if VB wants you back its a bonus. I know its hard, maybe even impossible, but you wont know if you don't have a go.
I have no idea where this Virgin mess will end.
I have no idea where this Virgin mess will end.
When the lawyers have bled it for every penny, after the administrator maximises their profits and runs off into the sunset, the previous management watching from the sidelines still trying to count their bonuses, leaving the employees of all Airlines on significantly reduced conditions, proudly telling everyone how great a job we did, whilst refloatIng the airline maximising profit to gullible investors praying this investment might save their retire plans.