Typical Trips for a BA A320 FO
Thread Starter
Joined: Jun 2002
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From: UK
Typical Trips for a BA A320 FO
Could anyone in the know give me an idea of the typical sort of duty you do? Are they generally 4 or 3 sector days, tours or mainly day trips? I start in a few months, also as asked on another thread, do they supply accommodation during the training phase?
Thanks in anticipation...
Thanks in anticipation...
Joined: Nov 2004
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From: Europe
Are the trips throughout the continent or do they tend to follow certain patterns (i.e., intra-UK or LHR-AMS-LHR-CDG-LHR, etc.)? As a new A320 FO, can you still fly some pretty interesting trips and have some nice layovers (e.g., Istanbul, Athens, Rome, etc.)?
Joined: May 2000
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From: Camp X-Ray
The Airbus doesn't nightstop in ATH and as it's a high credit day trip it'll probably be snapped up by the senior guys at stage 1 and won't fall through to your roster. IST might well crop up from time to time as well the occasional FCO (I'm sure you know thats Rome!) though they are most likely to be earlies. That said I always found earlies to be far better for sightseeing and touristy things anyway! I would predict in your first year you'll probably see all the nightstop destinations, albeit on earlies at the weekend, but you'll probably spend a bit more time in Germany and Scandinavia than you will Spain and Italy. Except Milan, you're welcome to that.
In terms of trip patterns, they're either very short min credit there and backs, long high credit day trips or 2,3 or 4 day trips which are generally 3 sectors on the first and last days and 2 or 4 sectors on the middle days. Single sector days are rostering freaks so are extremely rare. Early tours are very tiring as a long run of 0430-0500 pick ups drain you. Many nighstops are now almost down to minimum rest (Milan again!), but not all. Pretty much any destination can appear in a long tour, with the caveat that they are trying to construct fixed-link tours for the flights that operate out of terminal four (VIE,CDG,AMS,BRH,GVA,LYS) to save some of the vast amount of time we waste going between aircraft. T4 is an utter ball ache and you will not be on time at any point in your tour due to constantly having to wait to cross 27R. Apart from that its fine.
In terms of trip patterns, they're either very short min credit there and backs, long high credit day trips or 2,3 or 4 day trips which are generally 3 sectors on the first and last days and 2 or 4 sectors on the middle days. Single sector days are rostering freaks so are extremely rare. Early tours are very tiring as a long run of 0430-0500 pick ups drain you. Many nighstops are now almost down to minimum rest (Milan again!), but not all. Pretty much any destination can appear in a long tour, with the caveat that they are trying to construct fixed-link tours for the flights that operate out of terminal four (VIE,CDG,AMS,BRH,GVA,LYS) to save some of the vast amount of time we waste going between aircraft. T4 is an utter ball ache and you will not be on time at any point in your tour due to constantly having to wait to cross 27R. Apart from that its fine.
Joined: May 2000
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From: Camp X-Ray
You can work up to 7 days should the company choose you to but its unusual. I've often worked 6 days in a row then had a few days off, but it could be 2,3,4 or 5. There isn't really a set pattern. It is quite possible to be rostered a single day off in the middle of blocks of work but that can't do it to you all month so you will get a run of a few days off somewhere. Can't really be anymore specific than that, you'll have to ask someone who's around the bottom of the seniority list what they are gettnig.
PPRuNe Co-Pilot
Joined: Jul 2003
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From: The Sky
Night Stops, a friend of mine ( from BA ) once had a night stop at LIS, is that common? I should have asked him at the time, but after reading this thread the subject poped over.
Interesting posts Hand Solo.
Regards
Interesting posts Hand Solo.
Regards
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 148
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From: Heathrow
The 75/76 is nightstopping LIS at the moment, but we also have standover days down there so not sure if the bus isn't down there at some point.
Alot of the european nightstops frequently swop from month to month between fleets, however during the summer months it certainly seems that the larger capacity of the 76 sees us picking up most of the FCO, MAD,IST,NCE etc
but agree with Hand solo, youre welcome to Milan!
Alot of the european nightstops frequently swop from month to month between fleets, however during the summer months it certainly seems that the larger capacity of the 76 sees us picking up most of the FCO, MAD,IST,NCE etc
but agree with Hand solo, youre welcome to Milan!
