Best Career Airline

[captwannabe]

I'm looking for people's opinions about with which airline is the best place to spend a considerable length of your career. I'm not interested in just salaries (although in today's world money is important). I want to hear people's views on the lifestyles with different airlines, the morale of the staff, relationship between pilots and management, promotion prospects, the ambition of the company (and don't be a smartar*se talking about FR).

[AIRWAY]

Hello,

For what i read here Virgin Atlantic seems a good airline to work for, hardly any complaints in these forums regarding VS. Must be a good sign i guess.

[pilotatlast]

No question BA.

[captwannabe]

Apart from Virgin and BA, what about flyglobespan, Thomsonfly, First Choice, Hapag-Lloyd, Air France, Qantas, Cathay?

[757manipulator]

Despite previous threads.....Monarch isnt bad either

[Slamitin]

757,

You've got to be kidding!!! 2 or 3 years ago maybe, certainly not now.

[Poontang Luva]

Qantas is crap unless you wanna spend many years (5+) as a S.O. and the pays relatively !!!!e as well.

[Big Kahuna Burger]

Having worked for 2 tertiary airline, the VS and BA. Forget BA. Biggest mistake of my life. . But thats my fi_ick up,not yours
The level of BS as opposed to get on and do it attitude makes it a NO brainer.

[Draven]

TAP Portugal.

Good Wages, nice young fleet, all old (A310fleet) a/c being replaced with "new" A330's. Good network of routes, very good moral within the company.

[rduarte]

Originally Posted by Draven

TAP Portugal.
Good Wages, nice young fleet, all old (A310fleet) a/c being replaced with "new" A330's. Good network of routes, very good moral within the company.

You need to be a Cpt ' son !!!!!

[christoa300]

I THINK WHAT YOU thinking of is the most omportant issue working enviroment ant self respect is more important than making money.
I work for a major company in the Gulf region and altough I make good money U canot adapt my self in this envoroment and have srious thought of geting back

Originally Posted by captwannabe

I'm looking for people's opinions about with which airline is the best place to spend a considerable length of your career. I'm not interested in just salaries (although in today's world money is important). I want to hear people's views on the lifestyles with different airlines, the morale of the staff, relationship between pilots and management, promotion prospects, the ambition of the company (and don't be a smartar*se talking about FR).

[bafanguy]

Originally Posted by captwannabe

I'm looking for people's opinions about with which airline is the best place to spend a considerable length of your career. ).

This question is almost impossible to answer due to the shifting fortunes of the airline industry, no matter where you live/work.

In general terms, however, the best place to spend one's career is with a company that will keep you employed and paid for an entire career...and even thereafter.

It may seem like an obvious statement, but each person's criteria will be different and even change over time as his/her life changes. Long haul/shorthaul, narrowbody/widebody, upgrade times, etc. don't really matter as you are still a person trying to earn a living. And that means steady income, some benefits, and a modicum of decent treatment from the employer.

This set of criteria will also change over time but a reasonably consistent bottom line to each of them is the best one can hope for.

There are no guarantees, particularly long term. Having spent almost 31 years at a now bankrupt US carrier that was, until quite recently, considered THE place to be, I can tell you making your career choice is just playing "pin the tail on the donkey".

Save your money, live below your means, and realize that everything you counted on previously is like trying to nail Jello to the wall. Maybe you'll hit the inevitable airline cycle just right and get to spend 30+ years with one outfit, but these days, I wouldn't bet on that.

Good luck to you.

[Draven]

You need to be a Cpt ' son !!!!!

True that happens, but then again I know people that got in and they are not son's of captains, they are are infact some co-pilots from Portugalia and Air Luxor but then you could argue the fact that they have experience which is also true, but I also know people you got in with the bare minimums, no type rating and they are not son's of captains either.