Jetconnect vs Jetstar First Officer
 

Has anyone been to either Jetconnect or Jetstar for interviews in the recent months? How much do T&C differ if you get hired as FO, and how do they handle type rating cost etc. if joining non-type rated?

Not sure about jetconnect, but do you mean Jetstar Australia on the EBA. Most FOs anywhere between 140 and 180k depending on what overtime/Overnight allowances/Day Off payments they are getting.

I don't know much about the Jetstar conditions, however I completed a Jetconnect interview and was shocked at what I heard. Give them 17k upfront then go and put yourself up in Melbourne while you do the TR. Fly Auckland do a few weeks of ground training and then start your line flying about 6-8 weeks after commencement. ALL WHILE NOT GETTING PAID. I couldn't believe my ears when they told me that. Although you get the 17k back when your CTL, the fact of the matter was no pay for up to 11 weeks (rough guide depending on how quick they get you through the system). Then they bond you for 2 years. How can anyone afford to do that? I did not want to condone that type of treatment so I said thanks but no thanks.

My personal opinion is you should at least offer a training wage to feed yourself. Not much to ask. Again, I'm not sure what Jetstar do, so I can't offer my experience.

Thanks for your replies! So to summarize your feedback about Jetconnect:

- They ask to contribute to TR with option to refund if CTL
- No pay during sim/line training
- No accommodation/meal allowance while in MEL for training
- Bond for 2 years after CTL

Anyone here done all that, and working for Jetconnect :ooh:

So why have some failed the training ? Is it inadequate ? For goodness sake the rest of the world out side NZ and Australia have pilots flying these same aircraft with no experience fresh out of school. Surely with some training most pilots with a background in commercial aviation can do it ?

I have heard from a few mates there that they are / will be getting desperately short of crew yet won't take anyone with less than Dash 8 sized experience (glass cockpit version). This may have links from 19 seat drivers failures in the past...

Supposedly there aren't that many in the CV pile as historically majority came from Air Nelson / Mt Cook but now they all gone to fly Air NZ jets offering a much much better deal.

Even advertising on Seek. Must be starting to get thin.

But what are they playing at ?

They are very similar contracts, probably the J* one just edges out the Jetconnect.

J Connect $97k + retention = $108 k
J* $105k

5 weeks annual leave for both.
50% flight hours for paxing with J*, nothing for Jet Connect.
Overtime for both paid over 65 hours, J* $132 / hr and Jetconnect $124 / hr.

At this stage the type rating is a time bond with Jetstar NZ, be aware though that the J* NZ contract is under negotiation with the company wanting to re-introduce salary sacrifice.

Day off payments for J* FO $600 per day, Jet Connect is $250 per day.

It's really just a guess as to which is the better job, in the future Jetstar and / or Jetconnect may secure long haul flying or access to the parent company, or they may remain the poor cousins in that respect, you just don't know. Jetconnect involves lots of night stops, there are not many at all with Jetstar.

There is a lot riding on this upcoming contract negotiation for Jetconnect. Have heard that plenty in both Captain and FO ranks will be leaving in droves if pay and lifestyle conditions aren't dramatically addressed.

If this does occur, hopefully the Tasman flying program will be absorbed into its rightful place, within Qantas mainline.

Don't disagree viv - but hard to compete with NZ/VA/JQ when they have AKL/CHC based crew - all working in NZ $ and contracts when QF would be paying AUD contracts, with heaps of overnights in AKL/CHC every night, or paying AUD contracts with NZ bases. With the time zone difference tasman flying has to be based ex NZ, doesn't work ex AUS.

Wow, this guy really has no idea what he's talking about when he talks about JQ:
Base pay: wrong
Annual leave: wrong
Overtime trigger: wrong
Day off payments: wrong
Overnights: wrong.

Base pay is a lot higher. Unless you're a 787 SO

Annual leave is 6 weeks.

Overtime trigger is 75 hours

Day off payment is absolute minimum $600. Do a 4 sector day or something longer than Syd-Ool-Syd and you'll be well over $1000.

Overnights: last month more than 15 overnights. This month around 11.

I believe he's referring to JQ NZ...not JQ Australia.

ie. a NZ-based comparison with Jit Connict (oranges with oranges).

PG

PS. As an aside...Aussie EBA's are listed on the Fair Work website. The latest JQ Australia EBA is here: https://www.fwc.gov.au/documents/doc...a/AE413585.pdf

Hey Ultergra, this is a thread about Jetstar NZ v Jetconnect, back in your hole mate.

Is it? All is says as a title is Jetconnect vs Jetstar. Not Jetstar NZ.

school holidays must have started early in SA mate?

Look at the interviewer's hands.
 

Imagine both of them clutched together and then rammed up your jacksie. Go for the one that hurts least, but they're both gonna hurt.

Ned.

(who travels by ship and train now I've retired.) early

You're a bunch of wallys. Seriously.

Take whatever achieves your career goals.

My advice is to take who gives you a start date first. If you're lucky enough to get a start date at both, flip a coin.

I would have thought it a pretty easy decision in that Jetstar NZ pays more than Jetconnect and you get more days off per month. You work less and get paid more.
What else is there?

...and by the sounds of things if you want to get in to Air NZ on the airbus its the best route to take!

If you want quick jet time, Jetconnect. If you want any sort of lifestyle and money then stay well away from Jetconnect. Oh and pigs will fly before JC gets B787's and longhaul flying.

Seems to be pretty competitive for any of these positions. As others have pointed out, take whoever gives you the first start. A bird in the hand...

If you're lucky enough to be offered both at the same time, consider the lifestyle you want and bases. If the negotiations with JC work out the word is it may be comparable to Jetstar.

Lifestyle and bases; who can shed some light into this topic? JC has pilots in AKL and WLG, and are they able to commute to work with their standard roster? Guess the same doesn't apply for J* as they do lots of domestic flying too where the flight schedule is most likely unable to accommodate for commuters from within the regions?

Not bad money for first officers. Especially when China Air Boeing 777 local captains are on around $80,000 USD.

JUdd

Compare apples with apples next time.

Cost of living at the different countries will affect salaries paid. Don't muddy the waters with silly comments like yours!

JC rosters makes commuting more or less impossible.

Do you mean they only took on one or two out of those interviewed or only 1 or 2 accepted job offers ?

I heard there were a few last year offered jobs but turned them down...

Anyone know what is up at JC? Their recruitment portal no longer mentions paying anything for the type rating and that it will be organised for you.

Any changes in the contract?

Looks like it is a knee jerk response by management in an attempt to stay on top of a looming monumental shortage of FO's.

I've seen a few complaints about the JC rosters/conditions. My original thought was that with their schedule of only 8 738's only doing TT flights that it would be a simple case of the rosters rotating through the possible morning NZ-OZ-NZ flights and then the afternoon/evening NZ-OZ-NZ with a couple of overnights in WLG, CHC, SYD ending in the dreaded AKL-MEL-AKL redeye. However I guess its not that simple in that if you operate into CHC, WLG at midnight, you aren't flying out again first thing next morning (well I hope you aren't). Then throw in problems of a small potential pool of standby.

I suspect to get nicer rosters they need to get a bit more critical mass and somehow merge the 8 JC and similar sized JQ TT/NZ fleets together (and pick a common type 738 or 320 in doing so) so you have at least 3 aircraft overnighting in both WLG and CHC so that a crew based can be sustained in WLG,CHC as well as a larger crew base in AKL.

Id suspect more redeyes will be on the cards!! Anyone have any info on the proposed changes expected on the JC T&Cs for pilots?

Do many guys commute across the Tasman that work at Qantas NZ ?
Also I heard that Qantas NZ might be put on the Qantas Australia seniority list as part of the negotiations like Virgin New Zealand did during there last negotiations.
Which would be awesome for any Qantas New Zealand guys wanting to get back to Aussie.

Do you commute from Auckland by car or by plane, and how likely is the 10 days off which was mentioned earlier?

It seems that JC now fully funds the type rating i.e. no payment upfront required by the new hire. That's a positive change I'd say. Any other changes for the better, perhaps extra days off etc? Would be great to see the conditions in par with J* NZ.

CEAs
 

Would anyone have a copy of both CEAs and be willing to pm them to me? Thanks in advance

One of them requires a CASA license with an encyclopedic knowledge of bureaucratic minutiae and the torturous line training program devised by the Australian grinding machine and the other, lets you fly on the simple and elegant New Zealand regulatory system once you've completed the ground school and sim in Melbourne

Love it! As someone who's worked on both sides on the 'dutch' it is easy to see how dysfunctional, overly complicated and backwards most of the Australian aviation sector is (CASA, ASA, airspace design, C&T culture, GA etc etc etc).

I just don't get it...maybe because the country is flat, has great weather and the size of Europe, we thought we had to complicate things to have something to do...

So no to the CEAs?

I can send you a copy of the Jetstar NZ CEA when I get home a bit later on, should have it to you tonight.

Can't help with CEA's, but just read today that Emirates is ditching the SYD-AKL sector in favour of more frequency with QF A330's.

Unless some aircraft are in for a rego change, that'll see mainline taking more Tasman flying (back) off Jetconnect.

If this proves just the beginning of Emirates withdrawing from the Tasman.... interesting times ahead.

Emirates axes Auckland-Sydney superjumbo flight

EK have been reducing flying sectors globally for a while now. If you believe prune it is because of crewing issues. I don't know if that is correct or not.

And we know that they are hurting financially.

Are they flying dxb-akl non stop anyhow?