Thanks for your kind words allaru, I'm of the opinion that you are either being deliberately provocative, or perhaps you are somewhat emotionally and intellectually challenged when it comes to constructing your bid. Either way your opinion is yours and if thats your experience then perhaps a visit to the CRS guys might help you understand the system a bit better. Anyway my roster will be published in an hour or two...so I shall see.
As for being a company stooge, I think thats gonna get me few beers :ok:

Enjoy the View,

There is no bidding between fleets, except at Company convenience due to surpluses or shortfalls, in which case vacancies are (theoretically!!) distributed on seniority (though a 330/340 - 777 move about 18 months ago was a c0ck up due to it being last minute and urgent).

There is a career progression from 330/340 to 380 as FO, back to 330 for command, then eventually 380 command.

On the 777 your only move is RHS-LHS, though there will supposedly be a chance for 777 pilots to progress to the 380 at some time in the future.

Note that there is no pay differential between fleets, so "Progress" is a relative term.

Just thought I'd share with Allaru my company stooge "crock" roster.

I bid for 88 hrs or less, roster block 87.8 hrs
I bid for a certain UK port, rostered 3 trips to this port
I bid for a specific ULR trip on a specific day such that it guaranteed me Christmas day off at home, result I got that trip.
I got a M/E evening turnaround finishing around midnight after starting at 7pmish (bid as a filler to make up the hours)
I was also rostered an EU flight that I didnt bid for.

So all in all a good roster for me, by my reckoning I got 90% of what I bid for overall, and the trip I specifically bid for, not bad imho for a mid bid roster, and indicative of what I get based on my understanding of the CRS system and how it works with regards to avoids and block hours.

I'll say it again, I get these rosters in my mid, second top and top bid, unlike lots of others who don't take an hour or two and invest the time to do their best to get the roster they desire.....and then moan:hmm:

I should add lastly, I have had a rubbish roster or two, but mostly they have been my fault, sure the system isnt perfect,but for the most part it is consistent

Middle bid group, 45% in senority and all I got was Red-Eyes and midnight turnarounds. Decemeber and October were much better.
Go figure

15 days off on the whale, twice 5 in a row

A330 Days off in a row
 

Hi all,

Just bringing this thread up again... I am on the short-list to join and currently fly the A330 so if I was fortunate enough to get a gig, I would expect to join this fleet.

Can anyone let me know how often or likely it will be to get 5 days off in a row? I plan on travelling back to Australia occasionally (maybe once or twice a month). Does anyone reckon this is possible? Thanks.

Commuting to oz? on the 330 you can't even commute to Sharjah dude

off
 

or even 3 days off in a row..
Just get the word "commuting" out of your mind !

Relax guys. I didn't mention commuting. Just curious if it was possible to get a series of days off in a row. Thanks though.

...and if you did get the days off (which is unlikely) getting on an overbooked flight is even more challenging.

330 pilots are getting a maximum of 8 days off a month, do the maths on that, when you apply FTL's.

WADR.... 13 days off? That's sorta' tragic. Almost seems like no light at the end of the tunnel for you guys. I'd eventually go out of my mind working like that.

Our airlne minimum is 12 days off per month, all rosters start there and go up in days off. I average 18-20 days off, based on a 76-82 hours line. From there I either pick up a turn or two for extra cash or I don't. But every month I usually get a block of 7-10 days off somewhere in total days off. That's WITHOUT vacation time. For March I will work 3 on, 2 off (all day turns) until the 12th then off for 8 days, then a 5-day trip. then the last 4 days of the month off. So for April I'll bid for the first 8 off and viola, I have a 12 day off block, plus the 8 day off block I had in mid-March. Then later in April I'll get a 5-7 day off block somewhere. I build my schedule like that every month. And we're among the worst of all the US carriers in terms of days off/ schedule/ quality of life.

You all need to demand more. Don't you feel you deserve better? After the 90-day honeymoon of flying a shiney new WB jet, this business is all about lifestyle, ie, days off. Not what you fly, where you fly to, or whom you fly with. It's a job to afford me my days off and salary to enjoy my hobbies outside aviation.

We all fly the same hours per year, 700-1000 (depending on who's the whore/ who needs the cash most). How is it US pilots are able to get way more days off with the same net result flight time at the end of the year? I'll tell you, how: through negotiations. We have it in our contracts that our company schedules us as productively as possible while at work. They like it because it means less pilots needed. We like it because it means more days off.

Isn't it high time the pilots of the M.E. carriers wake up and mirror their US counterparts? Like I said, at the end of the year, we all put in the same number of hours in the cockpit, yet US pilots get 30-60% more time off.

Don't you guys get sick of working so much? And 9 days off for the 330? Yuck. Don't get me started there.

I'm sorry to hear all that. Hope you guys are able to eventually improve your QOL.

Or....... Chapter 11 and furlough every 5 years?:p

@Geebz. . . . . oh you poor soul! You really don't have a clue!

This is not the USA, indeed, this is not a democracy. As far as labour rights go, this is a benevolent autocracy at best.

There is no negotiation, there is no organised labour. We are not "guests" here, we are workers.

The reason we are here is because it is still one of the better gigs out there, inspite of the lack of time off and no union representation.

Please, next time you decide to comment on this part of the world, take off your blinkers, and see this place for what it is, and for what it is not. It is no where near as bad as many make it out to be, and it is obviously not as good as you think it should be, but it is the way that it is. And that is adequate for over 3000 pilots here, many of them your countrymen, the majority of whom seem quite happy.

Just remember, this ain't Kansas, but then, none of the roadsigns said it was!

Geeb'z....

You are on the crack pipe buddy.... There are a small percentage of guys in the USA getting those types of schedules. And unless you are flying long haul on a B747 or B777 you are lying through your teeth.

I worked in the USA for 14 years and all 3 of my brothers are working for US carriers. One is at JetBlue, one is at Southwest and the other is at a legacy (B757/B767). They are all lucky to have 12 days off.... maybe 13 or 14 on a good month. But this 12 as a minimum is a load of garbage.

You gotta wake up and be honest with yourself. Not saying EK is the best out there.... but this "USA carriers being the best" stuff is so far from the truth it's not funny.

I won't even touch on the fact that most of my buddies are either furloughed or just getting off of furlough.

"negotiate".....

hahaha....! thanks for that I needed a laugh, I really did... :D

Seriously, coming from somewhere as unionised as the States, you might have a problem adjusting to how things work in this part of the world...

Pilots in the US might get a lot of days off, but how many of those are spent on commutable trips just to live somewhere they can afford a house, rather than their own base city, or sleeping on the floor with 5 others or in bunk beds in 'crash pads' because the wages are so low.... more than get those days off to spend loads of cash or "hobbies outside of aviation", I'd bet....

Some of them make less than the cabin crew!!! :\