Monarch

[Porto75]

Hi just received a call to say i've been accepted on the LGW course on 24th November 2006. Would be good to hear if anyone has any wise words and to chat to anyone else who's starting then too! X

[Gatwick07]

Easy226 - Personally I'd go for Gatwick base. I spent 3 and a half years there and it's great! You do have the bonus of long haul, it's a busier base and you don't have Monarch HQ looking down on you all the time.

You're probably not quite so busy at LGW compared to LTN but the benefits outweigh that.

[Easy226]

oh right ok - whats it like living on the wage in gatwick and renting a property. That Novemeber course would be great if i got offered a job - November 23rd just after graduation! Do you receive a higher salary being based at Gatwick?

Many Thanks

Dan

[Easy226]

I have been accepted with Monarch - really pleased but have a lot of things to sort out before i start my training! Im starting on the 3rd November there so i am looking for accomodation!

Many Thanks

[crib08]

Originally Posted by Easy226

If i am offered a job with Monarch im a bit stuck in between which base to go for. Luton will enable me commute to and from work which will cost quite a bit in fuel wheras i could commute considerably less if i was based at Gatwick and rent a property. The 3rd November course is not that far around the corner and i obviously need to find somewhere to stay for the duration of the course if i do commit to a Gatwick base- do a lot of people rent down there or a lot of the crew from the London area anyway?


Also how much flying a month will you do with Monarch at Gatwick compared to Luton - is it roughly the same? The allocation of a long haul trip is also a bonus to being based at Gatwick, but dont think this is really worth the move if you only do say one trip in the 6 month contract or is it usually more than that? What salary would you expect to receive at Luton and Gatwick respectively?


Finally, im under the impression that the contract will be for six months which will end early June if you are on the November course? Is the contract more than six months to cover for the summer season?


Look Forward to your replies.

Many Thanks

I can easily answer those questions for you Easy. Whilst on your training a lot of the new ones stay at B&B's untill they passed there trainng so they are not commited to a rent contract if they dont pass the exams. Whilst I was training at monarch I was commuting from Worthing by train which took just under an hour so I used that time to study for my exams which came in very handy.

Alot of crew live near or around gatwick, but, there are some silly ones that live in Wales and other places as far as that. A lot of crew live in and around london that are gatwick based any way. Depending on your fleet the longhaul can be one or two trips a month, even the airbus fleet get one trip a month so you will definatley do more that one trip in your first 6 months. In my first 6 months I went to Tobago 8 times, Goa 5 times, Maldives 3 times and calgary 3 times and bahrain once. Winter season is where the longhaul takes over from the short haul.

You will most likely work more often in lgw, with the long haul and short and the expanding scheduled, you wont really have a quiet roster. The contract may run upto 8-9 months it all depends on how busy monarch are. As Gatwick07 mentioned earlier, if you keep your nose clean and work hard you will get a permanent contract.

Hope this helps you Easy.

kind regards

CRIB08

[silverelise]

SWMBO shared a flat in Brighton with another Monarch flight attendant, and it seemed to be a popular location for crews to rent. They could make Gatwick from there in 30 mins or so - I think Monarch have some rule about how quickly you need to be able to get to the office when on standby so that governs a lot of your choice over location. Horley and Crawley are other obvious places where a lot of crews rent accommodation.

FWIW she was on the 757/300/330 fleet at LGW and quite enjoyed it for the most part. I certainly enjoyed a very pleasent week in Varadero with her an ten other gorgeous women for the price of a standby ticket, can't argue with that

One reason she left was that the ethos for promotion seemed to be on time served rather than ability - I think that's something that changed not long after she left. It certainly seemed like a reasonably good company to work for.

[Gatwick07]

Congratulations Easy226!!!! You should be absolutely fine with the training course - just keep studying!

There is a company called Flycom (the name of the company may have changed now, I'm not sure) - they have an offer called "rooms for courses". You are contracted to a room for around 6 weeks (approx. length of your course) and you usually lodge with a family. You pay around the same (approx. £500) as six weeks rent but if the worst happened and you failed your exams you wouldn't worry about being tied down to a six month house contract for example.

Alternatively check out the accomodation thread on PPRUNE.

I wish you all the best at Monarch, it's a great company to work for, and I'm sure you'll have a great time on trips!

[Easy226]

Thanks a lot for the encouragement - looking forward to starting now. I am not on the 3rd Nov course as this conflicts with my graduation on 23rd Nov. Im on standby for the 24th Novemeber course which is currently full - i hope i can go on this one as i dont know when the next one will be. The other option is Luton on the 7th December.

Many Thanks

[Porto75]

Hi easy22! I am on the November 24th course at LGW. I was given a call today to see if anyone wanted to start on the Nov 3rd. I couldn't take that as I have to work my notice where I am, but it might mean space coming available on the 24th? Don't wanna get your hopes up, but if you get a place, i'll look forward to meeting you!

[Easy226]

Yeah i hope that is the case! Really looking forward to this. Yeah i look forward to meeting you if i get on this course. I dont know how many more people on the Birmingham selection day got through?Anyone?!
Many Thanks