Qantaslink Rosters - flight crew
 

What is a typical week or fortnight roster for pilots working Qantaslink bases?

How is the morale amongst the senior captains?

Any forecasts to where Qantaslink is headed?

VB, JQ and their life lifestyle does not interest me. I am looking for a regional carrier that looks after their crew long term.

Interested to hear from the horses mouth. No naysayers please. ;)

Kind Regards.

You are in the wrong game then my friend.

BuildnTime said,

I am looking for a regional carrier that looks after their crew long term.

Show me ANY carrier worldwide that does this, let alone a regional. Sorry to reign on your parade.

Where's the smiley for ROFLMAO when you need it?
I think you might be looking for a while, but please do let us all know when you find one.

all I read is these forums is whinge whinge whinge. Does anyone actually like their job? I work too hard, I don't get paid enough, he got a bigger piece than me... where are the positives??

Look its not all doomsday like the last two posters said. Yeah there are the senior captains who will whinge about the company from the time you sign on til you are running from the dash saying you have a train to catch! Most of them are too old to move on though, and too stubborn to do anything about it.
As for management, yeah they are there to make money, not make sure your coffee is warm when u walk in the door, as was seen in the engagement surveys, support from above is not always what it should be.

Rosters are relatively flexible, home most nights, depends on fleet type and roster bidding (bidding success, thats a whole other story). EBA for the mexicans (south of the border) has just been approved in principle, time will tell how that changes rosters, bidding, etc.
Expect 4-8 single overnights per 28 day roster, duty anywhere from 70 to 145 hours, and Reserve days from a few to 10.

Recruitment has been steady, I think they are attempting to stem the future flow to VB, and lesser extent, Jstar and potentially skywest.

Hope this helps.

Thank you for your comment Global Xpress.

No naysayers please.

BuildnTime,

You say you're not interested in VB/ J* lifestyle - just wondering what your perception of the VB/ J* lifestyle is?

I don't have experience with J*, but I find the lifestyle much, much better at VB compared to Qlink (EAA). By that I mean: you get paid a fair bit more (even on Ejet), you do a good mix of flying (regional and major ports), you can shape your roster to suit your preferences (I prefer 3-4 day trips which I generally get, but a lot of pairings are day trips if you prefer that), layovers are generally long enough to get a proper rest, you have career prospects on larger aircraft (if that interests you), but the real kicker is the extra days off. Min 11/12 days off in 28 plus blank days (rostered before early starts, etc) will regularly see you with 14-15 days "days off". Compare this to 8 off - roster in, roster out for effectively the same type of flying.

Sure, go for Qlink if that's what you want, but make an informed decision before writing off the alternatives.

Yes, only give this chap the good news so that he can make a decision based on all the information (except the bad stuff) :ok:

BuildnTime

Fair enough, but "straight from the horses mouth" means the bad along with the good. If you only want good opinions to help whatever confirmation bias you have towards Qlink then be prepared to be disappointed if you join! :{

1. Rosters - Covered well by Gx

2. Morale amongst senior captains (be prepared for some "naysaying" here :ooh:) is about the same as for the rest of the pilots: Middling to low. No secret that pilot engagement with the company is at an all time low.

Why? IMHO there are two main reasons:

One is that the constant meddling with FCOM procedures. While SOPS shouldn't be set in stone, Qlink changes theirs way too often and for some very weak reasons. Also, many of the changes are either poorly thought out, poorly implemented or both (Q300 intermediate speed cruise leaps to mind).

But the main reason for low morale are the constant attempts by mgt/ops to screw over flight crew of their entitlements (i.e. allowances, pay, etc).

3. Where is Qlink headed? Expansion! The first of 7 new Q400's arrives next month, with options for more. Qlink was one of the more profitable arms of the group last FY, and there is room for growth.

Plenty of rumours of new routes/frequencies/bases/regional jets, etc. Like most rumours, believe them when you see it on your run sheet.

4. Agree with Sue R and Norma.

DIVOSH!

Di Vosh and Grrowler,

Thank you for your posts, very informative.

No I don't own any rose coloured glasses, I'll take the truth.

I do think the ROFLMAO comment was childish.

The world doesn't owe you a thing, so remove chip from shoulder and suck it up. :ok:

Buildntime, so what is your perception of VB or J* lifestyle - not being smart, but a genuine question?

BuildnTime -Who was that aimed at ?

Things aren't that great at Qlink but I was never asked to suck anything. Maybe I was just lucky going through GA:\

Arrived on line today. CB-SY

Just to add to the roster comments, I find you can work as little or as much as you like, if you bid for 10 over-nights it is possible to get all 10. If you bid for lots of reserve days, then you can probably expect to spend a fair bit of time at home by the phone (or within 2 hours of work).
Pilots tend to enjoy complaining, it keeps them happy.

Grrowler,
The nights away, overnight sectors mainly. If I was single it wouldn't be an issue. I like the flexiablity offered by VB as you mentioned.

How is the morale at VB, in general?

[QUOTE][Arrived on line today. CB-SY/QUOTE]

Yeah, however it was broken....

I take it these new aircraft are nextgen?

Is there direct entry to the Q400 or is it seniority?

Any information on Brisbane base? Typical sectors a day? Expected progression time frame from F/O to CAPT?

Sydney, Cairns?

Rmcdonal,

Appreciate your comment, thank you.

Yes.
Depends on Sunstate or Eastern, at the moment they are recruiting straight onto the Q400 in some ports. If Eastern vote up the new EBA then you can expect to be placed on either a 300 or 400 as required by the company.
I cant help you with the roster, however they do seem a little short of Capts. so if you have the required minimum then you could possibly jump a few low time pilots for command. 2-3 years maybe in Sunstate? 3-5 years in Eastern? This number changes regularly and I have seen it at 18months out to 10 years.
At Sydney you tend to fly either 5-3 over-nights or a 4 sector day shift (SY-CB-SY-CB-SY). Overnights sign on around 1000-1300hrs, and sign off at the same the next day. Day shifts tend to start any time from 0545- 1400 and continue till 2200ish.
None of this takes into account contingency flying.

Please note Sunstate (BN-CNS) is different from Eastern (SYD-MEL-MQL), and to move from one to the other requires your resignation.

Rmcdonal,

Thank you again for your comments. I appreciate it.