British Airways DEP Selection - THE lowdown Part 1

[HPbleed]

And £300 for food?! We spend about £200-220 and eat very nicely. Do you enjoy your waitrose aberdeen angus steaks?

But thanks for the breakdown, very useful.

[Luckyheader]

Week 10th - 14th

Has anyone from this weeks assessments heard anything yet?

[BlackandBrown]

Yes, I was there on the 11th and heard back the next day via e mail - unsuccessful. It was no big surprise for me for a number of reasons.

So I have been told, if you haven't heard back by the end of the week it may be because you were borderline and require further discussion and comparison between other borderliners.

[veetwo]

Went on the 11th and got an email the next day inviting me for the sim. A month or so to wait, but something tells me i'll need every minute of that to prep.

Good luck to everyone else who is still waiting to hear!

[Luckyheader]

Congrats to those who have heard back positively, and I'm sure something elsewhere that is positive will happen to those who received a no.

Still waiting to hear from this week, guess no news is good news eh!

Good luck to everyone.

[757_Driver]

I wouldn't stress about it - I think they have their meetings a couple of times a week.
I did mine in december - a couple of friends did theirs mon and tues and both got an email on the weds. I did mine weds and nobody from our day got an email till the following monday, so I wouldn't read anything into it.

I've got my sim coming up, and yes, the month or so wait is definately worth it to do as much prep, revision etc as you can. I am having considerable success in practicing with MS flight sim 2004 with the pmdg 747-400 add on - it has a working FMC and good cockpit screen displays. Very useful for getting the scan going and working out how the FMC tunes the navaids.

[Skid Mark!]

Chief Brody, quotes

"There's always bloody vet bills for our brown and white **** machine and so on it goes..."

Love it, made me laugh.

Good info on wages and base, thanks for that.

Skiddy

[P-T]

11th Assessment

Black and Brown, Veetwo, were you in the morning or the afternoon?

P-T

[RoyBoy20]

Hello guys,

I know it sounds like an obvious question but how long is time to command at BA right now? From what I had last understood it was approx. 12yrs on SH and 17yrs on LH. I gues not much expansion taking place so I presume these figures are stagnant...

Also I have my day 1 selection in a few weeks, can anybody recommend a hotel nearby... I know of the Jury's Inn but are there any others which may be closer of more convieniant?

Thanks in advance

[Dr Esteban]

You don't get much closer than the Jury's Inn. You can easily walk in approx. 5-10 minutes so you don't have to rely on public transport or taxi.

[Baron buzz]

On the day of the simulator assessment, is there any additional testing, or is it "just" the sim check!?

All the best,
BB

[Wirbelsturm]

Time to command is a variable feast. Obviously dependent on various factors including, but not exclusivly, the retirement age, fleet expansion, Gatwick expansion, Heathrow third runway and what happens with the tie up between BA, Iberia and American. Currently expect the wait to be in the region of 10-12 years SH and up to 17 Years LH. Don't forget though that the current FO pay scale slides a long way up especially on the LH side so, financially, the wait isn't too strenuous.

AFAIK the 'sim' involves only the sim check but expect to be 'quizzed' at least a little on your decision making thought processes.

Good luck

[RoyBoy20]

Thanks for the info guys!

[Twinstar2007]

Guys

Taking a flight back after day 1, I will check out of hotel in morning and wonder if Cranebank like the Alteon Centre in LGW have a facility where you can store small luggage, as I am not sure a hotel would keep it in there store room once you have checked out .

Thanks

[Twinstar2007]

Thanks to the Two Guys who PM'd.

Just for everyone info, there is a facility to store small luggages.

[happy flighting]

I can confirm, the sim assessment is just that. You arrive and are met by HR in the Rivers and they quickly go through your details for reference and security pass.

Then it is onto the main event and you are taken over to the Sim centre.

Once the sim is finished, it is a quick self-debrief and out to face the rain.

Can anyone else who has done the sim assessment recently advise how long it took to hear anything back? Have been pacing around like an expectant father and it's only been a few days!

[73addict]

happy flighting, time frames seem to vary depending on which day your sim was. I did mine on a Thursday morning and had the call the following morning so less than 24hrs. A colleague of mine was waiting over a week. Think it may depend on when they have their meetings and where they are regards to starting a new course slot or filling an existing one.
All the best to you and hope you get in.

[Jordiejet]

Has anyone got the interview coming up? Day 1? Or have they finished recruitment.

Any ideas what aircraft type they are still looking to fill spaces on??

[Flap 80]

Goodluck to all undergoing the selection process. I
fly as C32L at LHR
Just my thoughts...if offered a position ...take it without hesitation and if any doubts exist project where you may be in 5?..10? years with current employer if indeed they are trading. The v detailed Yr 1 F/O pay scales are accurate but plenty of overtime currently available for both seats.
Probably unnecessary to pay for a B744 practice sim ride...plenty of basic info on panel layout on smart cockpit .com. Concentrate on teamwork with your sim partner...avoid point scoring..a bad decision in the Sim can be a plus point if teamwork identifies the poor decision and mitigates the outcome.Ensure briefings are succinct and relevent...identify significant gotchas...eg tailwind on base leg to intercept LLZ...anticipate unfamiliarity with inertia of B744 by avoiding rushed approaches within constraints of speeds required to be flown on sim detail.The initial target of DEPs is almost certainly too low with at least 33 senior long haul Captains bidding for Part time work in 2011 with the knock on effects this will have throughout the seniority list. More routes on the LHR Bus...many Bus F/Os moving to LH all point towards additional DEPs needed. ATB

[NigelOnDraft]

I know it sounds like an obvious question but how long is time to command at BA right now?

Wirbelsturm has given some info above.

All I would say is:

• Latest list showed most junior new LH commands will be at ~18yrs+
• Same list had, essentially, no new SH commands. Junior Airbus skippers have been in about 10yrs+.
• The current stagnation started in Oct 2006 when retirement age went from 55 to 65.
• There have been few (intended) retirements since then, and most predict few will go prior 65.
• A pessimist would therefore say add another 6 years to these times until retirements start again in 2016...
• Unless of course the "CRA" it totally abolished in the meantime and pilots can fly beyond 65 in the LHS
• I got a SH LHR command after 6.5 yrs in 2003. Others even less - all luck of timing. You can see what Oct 06 did

How one wishes to interpret the above up to you, but I would not join BA based on any good news in that area. It (currently) has lots else to offer however

NoD