Cityjet lifestyle France

[Nighty]

Hi out there,

could anybody tell me how it is working for cityjet, Base CDG? I live near Paris but have a job which requires me to be away from home a lot, so I consider sending an application as DEC. I looked already at all the threads but still have no exact picture how every day life would look like. How many legs will I fly a day, how many days and block hours a month, what will be the approximate net salary in France are the ost pressing questions. In ppjn they say that cityjet is going to operate Avro RJ, is there any truth in this?
I appreciate any insider knowledge and hope for some advice!

thanks

[Nighty]

Maybe even somebody not based in France has some information?

[PENNINE BOY]

****yy Jet

Bullying Bastards stay away!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just look at the court cases against them in Paris!!!!!!!!!!!!
Be warned, yes RJs are coming but hey stay away,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[Longhitter]

Pennine Boy:

With that attitude you're not going to make a lot of friends in the business...


To the others:

Info on PPJN is representative. Expect to work on an irish workcontract paying tax overthere. Most european citizens have the right to pay tax in their home country if they so desire, work out for yourself what is more advantageous. CJ management is largely ex-military and use a no-bullsh*t way of doing business, but nothing in the way of bullying. That's probably why the 'mountain man' doesn't like the company, although I doubt if he has correct information / ever was in business with CJ.

Like in every company: if you don't like working there for any reason you should look for something else and don't blame the company for your own misery. If you are in any way smart you will have gathered info on the terms and conditions / lifestyle before joining and since you are in control of your own life you shouldn't nag afterwards.

The financial situation of CJ is sound, fleet will expand to +/- 23 RJ's over the next year or so, best stafftravel deal in the business.

'Nuff said...

[Nighty]

Thanks guys,

that already gives me a much more divers picture! As I understand, Paris based Crew will have to operate out of CDG and ORY. Since I live much closer to CDG, I like to know how often I have to go to ORY? Any ideas how the social scurity system in Ireland works regarding medical and pension?
Altogether doesnt sound to bad, considering there are almost no options working in Paris...

[Waspy]

Lifestyle in CJ

Nighty, I'll join them in september. Meanwhile, I already have alot of info concerning Nightstops, sector pay, salary, etc. Feel free to ask.
Certainly the best deal within Paris area apart from AF or other heavy metal like Cathay...

[ACPP]

Hey everyone,

some more questions about flying for Cityjet, base CDG.

The "normal" roster apparently consists of 5 on - 2 off - 6 on - 3 off - 6 on - 3 off. Is this correct, or are variations on this more rule than exeption? If so, what does this "varied" roster look like?

Any indicative prices of housing near CDG (or suburban Northern Paris)?

How much duty time does a normal working day consist of? How many flying/block hours/sectors does this represent? On average, how many night stops are done in the 25 day cycle?

And finally, how is the atmosphere between the CDG based Cityjet people?

If anyone could clear this up a bit for me, I would be most grateful,

Thanks in advance!

[Waspy]

Rosters

Hey all,

the above mentionned roster pattern is correct. However, there maybe some changes in the future due to the company growth rate and the EasyJet effect (5-4 trial in Uk). All I can say ( I haven't started yet) is that the time away from base is smaller than in my current company. Not too many stopovers (3-6 per month) due to the limited amount of dedicated stopover airports. During interview, all these questions can be asked freely without negative feelings. I had a very positive impression from chief pilot and HR.
Average price of accomodation in Paris area is 600-1000€/month for a 3-4 room appartment/house (north of Paris- Senlis area- within 30' of CDG).
Feeling in the cockpits/crewroom: I know 3 pilots there who are perfectly happy. The rest is personal and how You get along with people in general. Irish management style: work hard with a smile but the results are there. BTW: more flight time but less time away from home compared to present contract. The company is profitable and will remain for the coming years (100% AF property). Support by AF is very positive. Basically, the only thing CityJet has to care about is (Safe)Ops. Passengers are AF...
Due to company expansion, possibility to run a nice career in the next 5-10 years at CityJet.

[Riker]

Originally Posted by Waspy

Hey all,
the above mentionned roster pattern is correct. However, there maybe some changes in the future due to the company growth rate and the EasyJet effect (5-4 trial in Uk). All I can say ( I haven't started yet) is that the time away from base is smaller than in my current company. Not too many stopovers (3-6 per month) due to the limited amount of dedicated stopover airports. During interview, all these questions can be asked freely without negative feelings. I had a very positive impression from chief pilot and HR.
Average price of accomodation in Paris area is 600-1000€/month for a 3-4 room appartment/house (north of Paris- Senlis area- within 30' of CDG).
Feeling in the cockpits/crewroom: I know 3 pilots there who are perfectly happy. The rest is personal and how You get along with people in general. Irish management style: work hard with a smile but the results are there. BTW: more flight time but less time away from home compared to present contract. The company is profitable and will remain for the coming years (100% AF property). Support by AF is very positive. Basically, the only thing CityJet has to care about is (Safe)Ops. Passengers are AF...
Due to company expansion, possibility to run a nice career in the next 5-10 years at CityJet.

Sounds interesting. What are some examples of night stops for the DUB and Paris bases? Does Cityjet fly EFIS-equipped 146s at the moment? How many sectors per day on average?

Personally, I've always fancied the Avro and thought it would be a fun bird to fly... Will the upcoming RJs be Avros or CRJ/ERJs?

Cheers

[Waspy]

Typical rosters

MON
CDG_ZRH_CDG_GOT==> NS
TUE
GOT_CDG_ZRH_CDG :end
WED
Standby
THU
CDG_PSA_CDG
FRI
OFF
SAT
OFF
SUN
Standby
MON
Standby
TUE
CDG_ZRH_CDG_GOT==> NS
WED
GOT_CDG_PSA_CDG :end
PS: enough?...
Standbys can be Early or late (HSE/HSL) from 03.00z to 14.00 or 10.00 to 19.00z. Time to report is still unknown (30 to 60') as I haven't done it yet. My guess is that you'd better find a home not too far from CDG/ORY or DUB depanding on your assignment.
A/C types are currently BAe 146 CLASSIC (no EFIS) but next A/C will be gradually replaced by AVRO's (RVSM and EFIS, autoland,...etc). See Flight international article of this week.
I currently fly both types and they're very fun A/C to fly. They're big Cessnas. Landing Xwind is a pleasure as well as on short fields (FLR, LCY, etc)

[ace85driver]

Waspy,

How long were some of those days that you had trips on? What time did you start and end? What does a typical schedule look like out of CDG?

[Waspy]

Schedules

Example:
CDG-ZRH-CDG-GOT NS
Start 0630z got at 14.00z
GOT-CDG-ZRH-CDG
Start at 05.40 end at 13.40z

Standbys: typicaly: 04.00 till 15.00z or 08.00 till 20.00z


Hope it helps.

[ACPP]

Waspy,


thank you for the info, much appreciated indeed !!

Regards and good flight,


ACPP

[ace85driver]

Waspy,

It looks like all of your trips were a two-day trip or less. Is that correct ? Autothrottles on the BAE146? GNSX? What's the transition like going from the RJ85 to the 146?

[Waspy]

NS trips

Indeed, NS are mostly two day trips. However, there are also days with double flights and a triangle (e.g: cdg-dub-cdg-dub NS- dub-lcy-dub-lcy-dub NS-idem NS- dub-cdg-bhx-cdg-bhx NS- bhx-cdg =>OFF days A hard week indeed, but it keeps you busy till the WE...
TRansition from BAe 146 to RJ 85-100 is wonderful. The opposite can be troublesome for some pilots: 146 has no A/T- NO EFIS (CityJet ones) and limited GNS.
RJ 85-100 has GNS-X/GPS-IRS's-Autoland-CATIII-RVSM. A much nicer system, a little more complex to operate, though.

[Waspy]

Tom

WXJedi, are you Tom from BRU?

[JonaLX]

Hi.

I'd like to have some infos about the staff travel policy with CityJet.

Do you get GP tickets with AF? (what's the priority? same as AF crews?)
Do you get firm booked ticket once a year?
Do you get business GP tickets?

Thanks for the info.

JonaLX.

[Captain Greaser]

Longhitter. What bleedin' planet are you on???

[b'jaysus]

Reality Check

Okay gang,

I hate to rain on your parade if any of ya actually think that The great City Jet sounds like somewhere you'd like to live!! First and foremost, WX guys are rapidly leaving, gladly going to Ryanair instead of staying, because the lifestyle/roster/pay there is much better!!

Four skippers resigned in the last two weeks. Every pilot I've talked to that has been there for more than 6 months wants out!!

If you're in Paris, less over nights but possibly loads of standbys (espeacially for F/O's) But that depends on how well you get on with crewing - some F/O's doing 7 on 2 off, others doing 3 on 2 off. No matter what you've heard from HR/Chief pilot etc there is absolutely no pattern to the roster. I don't know anyone there who can honestly say they're able to plan their life - hence why they are leaving - or trying too.

The staff travel is the same as Air France so looks really good, the only problem is you can't organise annual leave to be able to avail of it!! But then they'll turn around and apply annual leave to you when you don't want it because you haven't used your allowance.

They are apparantly taking on over 10 american pilots fairly soon, don't know how they can since the JAR and FAA thing is slightly differnent. Can't substantiate this but hear that the French pilots arn't too happy that these yanks will be working with a special Irish work permit, but be operating out of Paris most of the time! The Irish lads don't seem to care too much since they're all trying to leave!!

The whole CDG/Orly thing looks like a joke. You're expected to be dual based if in Paris, and could be quite easily called for either air port with 45 minutes to report!! If you express a preference you can almost gurantee you'll get the reverse!!

That's pretty much a summary of what I found out - stopped me submitting an application once I actually talked to some of the guys there. Talking to HR etc sounded really promising but the gang that do the day to day work seem fed up. The staff travel is the only promising thing, the training is apparantly really good, but once you're out on line things fall apart in terms of rostering etc. The pay depends on what mood their in to decide what contract you'll be on!! Great gang to enjoy a drink with though, but I got the impression they were drowning their sorrows!

Uk seems the place to stay, lots of opportunities with a variety of airlines. All I have to say, happy landings

B

ps don't expect any replies from me - i'm just sharing the info I've been given.

[Captain Greaser]

B'jaysus!!!!Ur on the right bleedin' planet!!!!!