An Off-day is for sure an off-day in Cargolux.

But, you might (very rarely) come home a day or two late from a trip. Almost never happens. If it happens it depends which off-days you come home on. On your 6-day block you have to agree to come home late (or they have to commercial you home), and if so you will get 2 for 1 day. On your 3-day block they don't need your agreement and the days are compensated 1 for 1.

If they are really short of pilots (due to sickness or delays) they sometimes call people on off-days or vacation to ask if they are willing to fly. Again, 2 for 1. Some people do some don't. That's why they always call the same people...

You might end up having blank-days (not off and no duty). Here they can call you out, but latest the day before as far as I understand.


But to make it short, on your off-days you are off, like in any other airline. Did 738-Midranger understand it defferently?

Thanks so far.

I was just asking for it because this topic is completetly different in the company where I´m working at the moment. Here an "off" means nothing.

Now it also becomes clear for me why the company is trying to find people who stay close around the field.


It was stated that some pilots found new jobs and are about to leave in the future. What are the reasons? Is the majority unsatisfied with cargolux?

Stierado,
I worked one year in LUX whilst having a flat in Germany, a place called Trierweiler. That is a 25-30 minute drive to the airport. If you´d reside downtown Trier and Traffic is bad (7-9 am and pm) i could take 60 minutes from Trier to LUX. Problem is get through the city to the motorway, which usually is not a problem. (had 2 jams there in a year) There is a lot of commuting from France, Belgium and Germany into Luxembourg every day.
Luxembourg is very expensive in housing and living is also at a cost, however I liked the place. And its beautiful in summer!

Wasn´t employed by Cargolux, but met a few guys flying there, really good guys.

If you have some cash to spare please do consider to buy a place in LUX.
Anywhere is good. If you have access to around 350.000 you can get yourself a very decent 2 bedroom apartment. Prices continue to climb in LUX, and this is an easier way to make money than to actually work for it.
Just a personal opinion, though. Some people would prefer to rent or buy a house in Germany instead for the same price you would own the smaller apartment here. I did the latter and never regretted it.

Thank you guys,:ok:

Stierado

Hi Guys,

I`d like to ask my last question again. One of you wrote that some pilots have new jobs and are about to leave in the future.

Is the majority unsatisfied with Cargolux? How is the atmosphere over there?

To keep it short:

- Yes some are leaving. :D
- Atmosphere not good. :mad:

@ hurz
so where are they going...?

It's correct the leaving numbers are low at the moment. But what is high is the amount of people looking for another job. Quite a few have passed AF selection, but they have startingdates one or two years ahead. But I'm sure in 2008 more people will leave than in 2007.

My impression meeting people on the line is that they are tired, worked very hard, it's more minimum rest, delays, no comm from management, no future vision etc. But I might be wrong :hmm:

Hello Bigiron,

please do not offer me cheese or wine. Just stay with facts and try to leave emotions out of this forum.

Thank you,

HURZ

After following this thread for some time now, I thought that I would just add my 5 cents worth......

I have been living in Luxembourg for some time now and find that it has everything that I need and a little more if I want to pay for it. Summer nights in the city can be quite entertaining and free, Winter is winter and if I'm in a cultural frame of mind there is plenty to do as well.The restaurants are many varied and normally very good. Some great bands come to the city as well so we don't have to go far to see bands like MUSE. So when people say that it is a boring city I find that quite hard to support.

The job, I like it a lot. I struggle with jet-lag but find the rosters quite fair, hard at times but in line with what I signed up to do all those years ago. When I show my rosters to friends working at Charter airlines in the UK or with lads flying with BIG AIRWAYS they think that my job is to die for. The salary is fine though my wife like many others could do with a little more and the pension could do with a little more attention.

My message to the chaps who want to leave - go if you think that is best and I'm sure nobody is going force you to stay but I think that you will find that the grass is no greener and if you are a lot younger than me (i.e. in your twenty's) you may be able to get a better pension - and good luck!!!

greener grass
 

Well said luxfreight, the grass only looks greener on the other side of the fence. When I left CV 17 years ago, I was convinced everything would be much better at KLM. Today I have to admit, some things are better (pension), some are worse (scheduling). All in all, its just different. If you have a job with CV, hang on to it and enjoy the good things. To me, CV is equivalent to KLM or any other European major airline.

selection
 

hi guys,


I got an invitation to attend the selection at sarlouis. Can anyone tell me what will happen there.



cheers


G109

its
 

... for me as an observer clear, that the cv that existed about 10 years ago isnt the same like today, too many complaints from pilots flying there, each of us has to make his own way, but cv with its present culture wouldnt be a job for me, neither I would recommendate it.

Austrian, if you are not working for Cargolux I actually think your recommendations regarding CV employment are invalid. Sure it is less fantastic as it has been; it still is a good option if you want to fly worldwide, have fun and have a guaranteed base in the middle of Western Europe.
I totally agree with luxfreights post.

sorry
 

ray cosmic and birgi, but now you really confuse me - do the ppruners now need your approvement before writing their opinion in a public forum? Oh my dears - sorry - I didnt know how important you are (or maybe think you are) - take it easy - hold yourself on the yoke and enjoy your cruise :}

it's...
 

... for me as another observer also clear, that CV is by far NOT the only airline that has changed over the years. I do NOT work for CV and therefore I would not dare to recommend or judge the airline or it's working conditions. Just looking at the simple facts it seems attractive to me, you get a base that's unlikely to change in the near future, you fly worldwide, you have reasonable time OFF at home and you get to enjoy a tax and social security system which is very employee friendly.

@austrian
just keep in mind that the people that complain and "whine" here on this forum might actually not represent the majority of pilots and therefore it could be difficult to build your own objective opinion, no matter which airline you look at.

Happy Landings!

observing
 

Hello A71, have you been sucking lemons lately? you sound bitter. Pray do tell and be honest - Which part of the selection process did you fail?:rolleyes:

Unlike most flag carriers, fluency in the national language is not required, indeed 90% of CLX pilots can't speak a word of Luxembourgish (except maybe "moyen") Such a requirement would narrow the field somewhat.

I think we can assume from A 71s posts that the requirement for fluent English would have been an automatic fail point - certainly written and therefore probably spoken too!!!

As a native English speaker I am constantly impressed by my colleagues, of many different nationalities, firm grasp of technical and spoken English which puts my shaky attempts at French and Spanish to shame. Of course we Brits are renowned for our idleness in learning other languages - long live the Empire!

Ahhh A71,
How is life sitting at the FBO in le bourget for 6 hrs waiting for your "guest " to finish his/her meeting, and then you will probably have jump into your CJ7to take him to farnborough and sit at that FBO for a few more hours, at which point you then have to go and find a stale sandwhich from the twirly machine, but opps, you don't get time to eat it because "guest" comes from meeting early and you have to fly him to luxembourg, where you will have to overnight, but on your way in you get to follow a nice new 747-4F and a little streak of jealousy sweep over you, because you can remeber the day that you wanted to join, but couldn't, because it was freight and freight dogs were "bad ass guys" and would prey on young innocent co-pilots who spouted a load of ****e all the time.....
Anyway, I must go now as i'm in Auckland for 5 days and the sun is shining, and i need to get in some sailing today, before we all meet up for a great steak dinner, some excellent Kiwi red wine, and then a few beers before bed, because tomorrow we off to do some sight seeing...oh and did i mention that we have 5 days of this...and we're being paid for it!! But if it's a little boring here during the week, all will be rectified when we get to hong kong for a large saturday night out... But yes your right...life is terrible, cos when i get back i have 3 weeks off...yep clear of all duty...except the kids...and then the next trip is....ahhh, yes... beautiful Brazil, with a couple of days here and a few there... and then to the silicone capital of the world.....before a quick relax in barbados before coming home again.
But yes you are right A71, things are worse then 10 years ago, because now we have guys joining who only do it for the money, and not the lifestyle, and all they want to do is sit in their hotel room, and whine on about how terrible it is because they think that the grass is always greener....they look at their per-diems as salary and hate to spend a cent on actually enjoying themselves!! you might well have met one or two or these staying at the novatel on your layover in luxembourg...and of course that will make you an expert on how unhappy we all are...but to do that you'd have had to have left your room...anyway, must go, have abusy day...enjoy the tuna sarni::rolleyes:

Hurz, your right, life is terrible here...i must leave, maybe i'll just go and look at the NJE forum to see how the green green grass of a massive paycut looks...but then again i'm not too keen on tuna sandwhiches....
ND.