Growing Evidence That The Upturn Is Upon Us
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Sir Richard Branson has rubbed salt in British Airways’ wounds by declaring BA practically worthless, and urging the government to resist any attempts to bail it out.
Branson’s comments will incense BA management, which this week will hold vital talks with cabin crew and ground staff over pay cuts, lay-offs and changes to working conditions aimed at saving £100m a year.
Branson’s comments will incense BA management, which this week will hold vital talks with cabin crew and ground staff over pay cuts, lay-offs and changes to working conditions aimed at saving £100m a year.
Perhaps the bearded one should get his own house in order first? The 'creative' accounting of Virgin with its 10 month 'profit' was a classic Sir Dickie move. Oddly enough the Singapore Airlines figures didn't quite show the same profit or valuation? Wonder why? Also VA seem to be in the midst of a rather drastic flight crew and cabin crew cull themselves which, proportional to the size of the company, is somewhat more drastic even that BA's proposed cuts. All classic bearded woolly pulley wearing ones spin.
The best was the 'we were considering buying BA when the share price dropped below 100', that stands with the 'give Concorde to us, we'll fly it if BA won't!' and that was after Airbus had pulled their engineering support for it! There was no way it was ever going to fly again without an engineering sponsor and Branson knew it. Public weren't to know that though and bought it hook, line and sinker. Branson is deeply in the poo and his creditors have recently given him a stay of execution. He needs to pull a rabbit out of a hat and it seems he is trying his best here.
Interesting few months ahead I feel.
How about determination. Drive. Energy. Willpower. Persistence. Fearlessness. Self-confidence. Resolve.
I am someone who believes in hope and faith and what is meant to be is meant to be and that any situation can be turned around as long as we all believe.
For all the nice sentiment and blind optimism there, believe me you would be feeling very different if you'd just finished your training and ended up on the cadet pilot scrapheap like those laid off last winter. Well done for getting on the course, respect to your decision to go ahead with it, but proceed with caution and listen to what people are saying on here. It's a great course, the instructors are excellent, you'll have a top time while you're training. But too many people who have seen the nice fancy PR videos and presentations have a sharp reality check when they come out at the other end and are forced to wait with eye-watering debts which are racking up interest, and a year's wait for a 6-month contract.
Enjoy the course, but go in with your eyes open and just think about it.
And join BALPA. Particularly as it's free to student pilots.
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Miserable?
My lifes a dream mate.
Its real life for Wannabes thats depressing.
WWW
My lifes a dream mate.
Its real life for Wannabes thats depressing.
WWW
Thing is you keep being a prophesier of doom and yet your living 'the dream' as you so modestly put it, having done exactly what all the wannabe's have set out to do...become an airline pilot. Is it a case of nerr nerrr na ner nur I've got it and your all going to burger world?
It’s not your advice that’s the problem it’s your attitude.
hole...
PPRuNe Handmaiden
I can remember when WWW was an instructor hoping for his big break.
Like or loath his message, it is a very good counter point to the happy glossy brochures you'll get from the "big boys" trying to convince you to part with a lot of money.
Like or loath his message, it is a very good counter point to the happy glossy brochures you'll get from the "big boys" trying to convince you to part with a lot of money.
Scourge of Bad Airline Management!
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S'funny how many attack the messenger when they don't like the message...
Still agree with WWW. I'm executive management with an airline, and I would LOVE him to be wrong, since that would mean my life would be easier.
But he's not. Sorry.
TA
Still agree with WWW. I'm executive management with an airline, and I would LOVE him to be wrong, since that would mean my life would be easier.
But he's not. Sorry.
TA
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Yeah but we aren't talking about ambitions, we are talking about ones ability to fund training and risk manage the whole process.
Very well put!
WWW, I can't put it as eloquently. I think you're an
hole...
WWW, I can't put it as eloquently. I think you're an
hole...
The current situation is dire but we live in hope that one day it will get better
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Well said to the last three posters. I believe what WWW is demonstrating when he says he has a kid and a pool on the way and a secure captaincy position with a good airline is that he has absolutely no axe to grind.
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WWW
The last remarks that you made have to be the most negative that I have seen from you, truly a new high (or is it low) in doom & gloom.
Quote
How about determination. Drive. Energy. Willpower. Persistence. Fearlessness. Self-confidence. Resolve.
How about never giving up on anything that you can't go a day without thinking about?
WWW Quote
Total waste of time to an industry that doesn't care.
These are atributes that will stand you in good sted, (may be not in the land that has been duped by the orange propaganda mill) but you can still find places that let the pilots fly the aircraft without the autothrottle engaged and expect you to do visual approches rather than drive around miles of sky because of FDM fear.
These airlines dont have the lesbian PMT bitch from hell running pilot recruting, pilots do that! and these are always the best places to work.
To drive the final nail into WWW's look back at black history I will list my progress over the years.
1991 first airline job, in the engineers seat
1995 Move to a window seat (did a bit of P2 or E1 as required)
1998 Move to left window seat
1999 Move airlines- company fails (late 1999)
2000 Get new job on biger faster jet
2003 Comand on above jet
2008 Move to the French all electric jet (what a pile of sh** that is to fly!)
2008 (late) company fails
2009 Move company with jet that has pilot conected to flying controls with steel cables (aircraft also flys faster ,higher, longer from shorter runways & with bigger payload than French all electric jet!)
Without some of the red print above I would not be flying (not managing) a jet airliner, things in the business are going to be tough but these qualitys matter in the companys who expect pilots who can fly aircraft rather than managers for autopilots.
Quote
How about determination. Drive. Energy. Willpower. Persistence. Fearlessness. Self-confidence. Resolve.
How about never giving up on anything that you can't go a day without thinking about?
WWW Quote
Total waste of time to an industry that doesn't care.
These are atributes that will stand you in good sted, (may be not in the land that has been duped by the orange propaganda mill) but you can still find places that let the pilots fly the aircraft without the autothrottle engaged and expect you to do visual approches rather than drive around miles of sky because of FDM fear.
These airlines dont have the lesbian PMT bitch from hell running pilot recruting, pilots do that! and these are always the best places to work.
To drive the final nail into WWW's look back at black history I will list my progress over the years.
1991 first airline job, in the engineers seat
1995 Move to a window seat (did a bit of P2 or E1 as required)
1998 Move to left window seat
1999 Move airlines- company fails (late 1999)
2000 Get new job on biger faster jet
2003 Comand on above jet
2008 Move to the French all electric jet (what a pile of sh** that is to fly!)
2008 (late) company fails
2009 Move company with jet that has pilot conected to flying controls with steel cables (aircraft also flys faster ,higher, longer from shorter runways & with bigger payload than French all electric jet!)
Without some of the red print above I would not be flying (not managing) a jet airliner, things in the business are going to be tough but these qualitys matter in the companys who expect pilots who can fly aircraft rather than managers for autopilots.
Those remarks are well considered though.
The industry rapidly is stopping caring. New FO's are simply a profit centre for the airline accountants who have worked out that people will do the job for free for six months and then can be tossed back to the dole queue without a hitch.
Do you have a license?
Do you have a medical?
Do you have £20,000 to give us?
Do you want to sign this temporary contract?
Your drive and energy is a nostalgic notion of how things used to be back in the good old days.
Sad. But true.
WWW
ps I fly Autopilot off, Autothrust off every day of work (if no fog) and I believe its encouraged A and C so I'm not sure what you're on about..
The industry rapidly is stopping caring. New FO's are simply a profit centre for the airline accountants who have worked out that people will do the job for free for six months and then can be tossed back to the dole queue without a hitch.
Do you have a license?
Do you have a medical?
Do you have £20,000 to give us?
Do you want to sign this temporary contract?
Your drive and energy is a nostalgic notion of how things used to be back in the good old days.
Sad. But true.
WWW
ps I fly Autopilot off, Autothrust off every day of work (if no fog) and I believe its encouraged A and C so I'm not sure what you're on about..
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Be careful in here shortly not much room for humour. Everyone knows there is a recession and there will be one again in ten years or so. I can’t really see where WWW and his cronies are coming from though? I’ve read lots of posts and it appears to me they just like reading their own gibberish. I’m yet to meet a poor wannabe who's parents have been evicted from their home
Anyway most wannabe's are well over the age of 21 and intelligent and mature enough to understand the risks involved in flight training. On my course the average age was approx 28years most had been to university and had decent careers or ran their own business etc. Some just had loadsa money...
This place is filled with idiots all standing on a soap box trying to outdo each other with predictions of an economic thermonuclear explosion...get over it, it aint gonna happen.
Things are 'bad' right now whether your a burger flipper or a big cheese big ego redundant pilot but there aint many starving fatpl holders yeah some are working as baggage handlers or cabin crew scraping by boo whoo whoo. There are people who are far worse off even when the economy is booming!
I'm not going to quote Hitler but here’s one from Arnie
"Asta La Vista Weasley"
Anyway most wannabe's are well over the age of 21 and intelligent and mature enough to understand the risks involved in flight training. On my course the average age was approx 28years most had been to university and had decent careers or ran their own business etc. Some just had loadsa money...
This place is filled with idiots all standing on a soap box trying to outdo each other with predictions of an economic thermonuclear explosion...get over it, it aint gonna happen.
Things are 'bad' right now whether your a burger flipper or a big cheese big ego redundant pilot but there aint many starving fatpl holders yeah some are working as baggage handlers or cabin crew scraping by boo whoo whoo. There are people who are far worse off even when the economy is booming!
I'm not going to quote Hitler but here’s one from Arnie
"Asta La Vista Weasley"
No offense taken - this is only PPRuNe after all..
WWW
WWW
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www
I think that just about sums it up...
We've heard all the "I'm all rIght Jack" statements from www, time and time and time again, but, "the rest of you are in the ****..'cos I told you ...and... I'm always right you plonkers" is a 'bit' of a bad attitude!!
As it happens,..I agree with some, if not a lot, of what the small Welshman says, but attitude is just a 'bit' of a problem, which brings out the worst in the rest of us.
It's not WHAT you say sometimes, but the way that you say it, that gains you respect.
My lifes a dream mate.
We've heard all the "I'm all rIght Jack" statements from www, time and time and time again, but, "the rest of you are in the ****..'cos I told you ...and... I'm always right you plonkers" is a 'bit' of a bad attitude!!
As it happens,..I agree with some, if not a lot, of what the small Welshman says, but attitude is just a 'bit' of a problem, which brings out the worst in the rest of us.
It's not WHAT you say sometimes, but the way that you say it, that gains you respect.
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Well WWW the things I hear and what you say are somewhat at odds, I have first hand accounts of FO's being told to keep all the automatics in untill 300 ft because the Captains fear the FDR poilce.
However this is not what this thread is about, you are taking the very black and pesimistic view of things in aviation indistry.
At the start of my career an old and very wise Flight Engineer said to me "things are never as good or as bad as they seem at the time". I see the industry as having a tough time with a lot of people not getting jobs, the worst placed are those who have spent a lot of money at the pilot factorys.
Those doing the modular thing are much better placed.
Some of us have bucked the trend, some of us see a future in this industry, some of are motivated to help those trying to get ahead with practical help and some of us seem to be full of gloom & doom.
A little balance is what I seek your motives I am not sure of but if everyone followed your advice and did not train when the upturn comes the pilot shortage would push up wages and the whole cycle would start once more.
I cant help wondering if this is just like your house speculation, but I have to say I admire you if you fly the way you say you do, a lot on your company would not have the balls to do so!
However this is not what this thread is about, you are taking the very black and pesimistic view of things in aviation indistry.
At the start of my career an old and very wise Flight Engineer said to me "things are never as good or as bad as they seem at the time". I see the industry as having a tough time with a lot of people not getting jobs, the worst placed are those who have spent a lot of money at the pilot factorys.
Those doing the modular thing are much better placed.
Some of us have bucked the trend, some of us see a future in this industry, some of are motivated to help those trying to get ahead with practical help and some of us seem to be full of gloom & doom.
A little balance is what I seek your motives I am not sure of but if everyone followed your advice and did not train when the upturn comes the pilot shortage would push up wages and the whole cycle would start once more.
I cant help wondering if this is just like your house speculation, but I have to say I admire you if you fly the way you say you do, a lot on your company would not have the balls to do so!
I find it hard to view as ballsy flying the Bus in the exact same way you fly the Boeing but hey. Personally I love FDM as it kills cowboys.
You want to paint a brighter picture then me - great. Fill your boots. The debate is the thing of unique value here. Individuals opinions matter less than reading the argument ebb and flow.
Cheers
WWW
You want to paint a brighter picture then me - great. Fill your boots. The debate is the thing of unique value here. Individuals opinions matter less than reading the argument ebb and flow.
Cheers
WWW
Well I can't help what tone something is read in. Its a limitation of the medium.
Quite a few people asserted many times that I must be a pessimistic miserable man with a negative attitude to life. That I must live under a cloud.
I merely tried to suggest that this isn't the case and that I'm a very happy man with plenty to be cheerful about.
At the end of the day its not a popularity contest here.
Cheers
WWW
Quite a few people asserted many times that I must be a pessimistic miserable man with a negative attitude to life. That I must live under a cloud.
I merely tried to suggest that this isn't the case and that I'm a very happy man with plenty to be cheerful about.
At the end of the day its not a popularity contest here.
Cheers
WWW
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WWW
It is not the way you fly the aircraft that is in your words "ballsy" it is the fact that you say that you fly visual aproaches with the automatics out, a lot of people don't do this for fear of the FDM police.
On the whole I agree with you about FDM killing the "cowboys", that is one of the advantages but some company's use it to beat the pilots, not as a flight safety trend tool. The result is the if not used correctly FDM results in the de-skilling of the flight crew as they are reluctent to take out the automatics and keep in practice. I have no fear of letting a new FO do a totaly manual visual approach as I wont find an email asking me to explain my actions when I get home if he gets a few knots astray of bug just so long as corrective action is being taken.
So what is the link between FDM policy and the Wannabe?
It is not a suprize to me that these tend to be the companys that have large HR departments and cadet programs that are relient on the "pilot factorys" to provide people who are paying to sit in the FO's seat.
The last company I worked for had a tie up with Oxford (who like CTC offer quality training at a high cost) but the type rating cost was paid by the FO in a way that was affordable as the new pilot had no bank charges or tax to pay on the money, this resulted in the type rating being about 30% cheaper in real terms.
I guess that it is all down to the way your company sees the pilot, are you a professional asset to the company or a potental proffit centre?
Off to work now.......................were did I put those boots & spurs?
On the whole I agree with you about FDM killing the "cowboys", that is one of the advantages but some company's use it to beat the pilots, not as a flight safety trend tool. The result is the if not used correctly FDM results in the de-skilling of the flight crew as they are reluctent to take out the automatics and keep in practice. I have no fear of letting a new FO do a totaly manual visual approach as I wont find an email asking me to explain my actions when I get home if he gets a few knots astray of bug just so long as corrective action is being taken.
So what is the link between FDM policy and the Wannabe?
It is not a suprize to me that these tend to be the companys that have large HR departments and cadet programs that are relient on the "pilot factorys" to provide people who are paying to sit in the FO's seat.
The last company I worked for had a tie up with Oxford (who like CTC offer quality training at a high cost) but the type rating cost was paid by the FO in a way that was affordable as the new pilot had no bank charges or tax to pay on the money, this resulted in the type rating being about 30% cheaper in real terms.
I guess that it is all down to the way your company sees the pilot, are you a professional asset to the company or a potental proffit centre?
Off to work now.......................were did I put those boots & spurs?
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Japan Airlines gets $1bn government bailout
I’m yet to meet a poor wannabe who's parents have been evicted from their home
Japan Airlines, the loss-making Asian giant, is to receive a $1 billion government-backed loan to tide it over while management struggles to concoct a “crisis plan” to save the company.
But analysts said that the former state-owned carrier was unlikely to undertake the sort of drastic reform it needs because of pressure from the Government to remain in the role of public service.
Unusually for Japan, the loan will come with the overt condition that JAL visibly improves the way the company is run – to the satisfaction of the Government itself, much like the company operated before privatisation.
That restructuring process is expected to see a significant portion of its existing route network “scrutinised”, though not necessarily cut back, along with other long-overdue changes to management structure.
But analysts said that the former state-owned carrier was unlikely to undertake the sort of drastic reform it needs because of pressure from the Government to remain in the role of public service.
Unusually for Japan, the loan will come with the overt condition that JAL visibly improves the way the company is run – to the satisfaction of the Government itself, much like the company operated before privatisation.
That restructuring process is expected to see a significant portion of its existing route network “scrutinised”, though not necessarily cut back, along with other long-overdue changes to management structure.
will BA go the same way?
Troubled SkyEurope files for creditor protection
Embattled Central European budget carrier SkyEurope Airlines has voluntarily filed for creditor protection by a Slovak court in order to restructure its troubled operations.
The carrier says it will continue "full operation" of flight schedules, preserve jobs and honour both current and future air tickets.
SkyEurope says the decision to file with the Bratislava district court will give the company "time to improve liquidity" and restructure its debts. The airline says these debts have been "a barrier" to external investors.
Chief executive Jason Bitter says the filing is a "good step" for the airline, allowing it to operate without disruption during the reorganisation process.
The carrier says it will continue "full operation" of flight schedules, preserve jobs and honour both current and future air tickets.
SkyEurope says the decision to file with the Bratislava district court will give the company "time to improve liquidity" and restructure its debts. The airline says these debts have been "a barrier" to external investors.
Chief executive Jason Bitter says the filing is a "good step" for the airline, allowing it to operate without disruption during the reorganisation process.
UPDATE 1-Virgin Atlantic orders 10 Airbus A330 jets
* Says deal worth $2.1 billion
* Five aircraft to be delivered in 2011, five in 2012
(Writes through)
HEATHROW, England, June 22 (Reuters) - Privately-owned airline Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] has placed an order for 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft (EAD.PA), the company told Reuters on Monday ahead of an official announcment at London's Heathrow airport.
* Five aircraft to be delivered in 2011, five in 2012
(Writes through)
HEATHROW, England, June 22 (Reuters) - Privately-owned airline Virgin Atlantic [VA.UL] has placed an order for 10 Airbus A330-300 aircraft (EAD.PA), the company told Reuters on Monday ahead of an official announcment at London's Heathrow airport.
