Air Atlanta Europe at LGW, info requested
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Join Date: Jul 2002
Location: Scotland, UK
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Air Atlanta Europe at LGW, info requested
Anyone fly for or got any info about Air Atlanta Europe, LGW base. Want to know about working patterns, routes, reputation etc
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: SE England
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Many want to know about Air Atlanta Europe's Ts and Cs.This is all pub talk,but I've heard it so many times I'm pretty sure of my facts.Captains get £62K.Per diems,for flying duties only, set at £2.10 per hour away from base.Free car parking.£300/day for working on a day off.20 days leave per annum plus 8 days for bank holidays.A minimum pension plan..5% max company contribution(I think).3 months notice either way.You pay for Police record check,they pay for your licence/medicals etc.(I only remembered that bit 'cos it seemed so mean!What does a police check cost for Crissake)You need a JAR licence to fly the British registered planes,but any old licence to fly the Icelandic ones.AAE people are all JAR licenced I think.
Problems whinged about:There are no annual increments to the £62K.
The per diems pay from 1 hour before flight departure even if ETOPS requires 1 1/2 hour rprt.Per diems are taxed at the full rate,ie added to income.The £300/day seems a bit of a trick.First you would have to agree which day is a day off as rosters are changed daily(their present rosterer is thought to have handed in his notice because of the disruption,but not sure).Next,£300 is only paid for a full 24 hours.If you get called in for a duty in the evening of your day off,you would only get a fraction of the day rate.There is no overtime. Rosters are totally unstable most of the time. You do hundreds of simulator rides to validate the various licences.There is a constant fight between the Icelandics and the Brits on what the SOPs should be.If you fly a G reg plane you can do a CAT3 autoland,but not on an Icelandic one(or perhaps the other way round..whatever..it's a cockup)
So far rumour has it that only three pilots have signed up to AAE( this might improve as AA Icelandic are introducing a 'new' deal for their contractors soon..and when it is all added up,it is considered a retrograde Ts&Cs step for the lads,forcing some to change contracts).The three joiners are all ex BA old timers who have large pensions(but perhaps second and third wives!)The whole setup of AAE sounds odd.A twenty year old(or so) Icelander owns and controls the day to day running of the airline with AAE people acting as title holders to meet British AOC requirements trying to wrest some sort of power/control too.The Icelanders sound distant(geographically) and uncommunicative(socially)..but great drinkers.Their title holders are mainly German('nuff said).The result appears cool and unfriendly for those on the shop floor.There seems to be little 'back scratching',with the Germans more concerned with their status than anything else.
Most of the flying is for Excel Airways to the Med,Canaries and Egypt during the summer,with ad hoc charters for the military and ski charters during the winter.A 767-300 does cannonball Caribbeans during the winter too.General feeling is that planes are reasonably well looked after,but flt ops are sad,with Excel,AAE and Iceland all reading from different hymn sheets.
The feeling last night was with everyone working close to the 100hr/month mark and getting a bit tired(if darts were a measure..they should all be grounded!)not many had any good words to say.
I admit that parts of the above might be inaccurate and/or biased, as beer does tend to make one emotional(and pissed).AAE might just be wonderful...golden..a key to your future happiness,a sadly missunderstood organisation!...er...yesss.
The darts team has a war cry..which I don't really understand.It goes 'AND I DO PAY MY TAXES!'(answers on a post card please,as I fell too much of a dork to ask what it really means).
They say that if you do work for AAI or AAE you should never mention the war in case you upset the management..but do expect to have the Cod War rammed down your throat at regular intervals..as it is the only significant thing to have happened in Iceland in the last thousand years!
Problems whinged about:There are no annual increments to the £62K.
The per diems pay from 1 hour before flight departure even if ETOPS requires 1 1/2 hour rprt.Per diems are taxed at the full rate,ie added to income.The £300/day seems a bit of a trick.First you would have to agree which day is a day off as rosters are changed daily(their present rosterer is thought to have handed in his notice because of the disruption,but not sure).Next,£300 is only paid for a full 24 hours.If you get called in for a duty in the evening of your day off,you would only get a fraction of the day rate.There is no overtime. Rosters are totally unstable most of the time. You do hundreds of simulator rides to validate the various licences.There is a constant fight between the Icelandics and the Brits on what the SOPs should be.If you fly a G reg plane you can do a CAT3 autoland,but not on an Icelandic one(or perhaps the other way round..whatever..it's a cockup)
So far rumour has it that only three pilots have signed up to AAE( this might improve as AA Icelandic are introducing a 'new' deal for their contractors soon..and when it is all added up,it is considered a retrograde Ts&Cs step for the lads,forcing some to change contracts).The three joiners are all ex BA old timers who have large pensions(but perhaps second and third wives!)The whole setup of AAE sounds odd.A twenty year old(or so) Icelander owns and controls the day to day running of the airline with AAE people acting as title holders to meet British AOC requirements trying to wrest some sort of power/control too.The Icelanders sound distant(geographically) and uncommunicative(socially)..but great drinkers.Their title holders are mainly German('nuff said).The result appears cool and unfriendly for those on the shop floor.There seems to be little 'back scratching',with the Germans more concerned with their status than anything else.
Most of the flying is for Excel Airways to the Med,Canaries and Egypt during the summer,with ad hoc charters for the military and ski charters during the winter.A 767-300 does cannonball Caribbeans during the winter too.General feeling is that planes are reasonably well looked after,but flt ops are sad,with Excel,AAE and Iceland all reading from different hymn sheets.
The feeling last night was with everyone working close to the 100hr/month mark and getting a bit tired(if darts were a measure..they should all be grounded!)not many had any good words to say.
I admit that parts of the above might be inaccurate and/or biased, as beer does tend to make one emotional(and pissed).AAE might just be wonderful...golden..a key to your future happiness,a sadly missunderstood organisation!...er...yesss.
The darts team has a war cry..which I don't really understand.It goes 'AND I DO PAY MY TAXES!'(answers on a post card please,as I fell too much of a dork to ask what it really means).
They say that if you do work for AAI or AAE you should never mention the war in case you upset the management..but do expect to have the Cod War rammed down your throat at regular intervals..as it is the only significant thing to have happened in Iceland in the last thousand years!
