jock

With reference to Scroggs' point 6, any new joiners on the A340 will now expect to do all their simulators in Burgess Hill rather than Toulouse. Any conversion training will be 'in-house'.

mysector

Thank you Scroggs.

You are a very impressive resource!

MS

GMIMA

just doin a few calcs, what actually (very roughly) are the fo allowances? what do you get in terms of night stop allowances, duty pay etc

was looking on the ppjn for info what is per "diem" is that per flying hour??

would love to spread my wings to virgin!

many thanks

The Big Easy

Another question for scroggs.

VS have just announced another daily Hong Kong service, will this require extra aircraft and crews?

TBE.

4engines4longhaul

Without wishing to spoil anyone's day, there where will be no recruitment this year for either 2nd HKG or any "extra" aircraft that are not coming anymore.

Sick

A mate at Virgin was v pessimistic - predicted if anything, a decrease in numbers (I assumed of pilots but possibly elsewhere)

scroggs

GMIMA All the information you require is contained in this thread. All you have to do is read it.

The second Hong Kong service will apparently use aircraft and crews redeployed from other services. It starts operating with the winter schedule in October, and will go daily from December; at that point a couple of summer-only services cease and I suspect that there may be some rationalisation of weaker routes to free up the required A346s. There will be no recruiting needed, sadly!

Sick I would imagine that there is a lot of pessimism around in just about any airline right now, and Virgin is not immune from that. No-one knows how the world's economy is going to pan out over the next year or two, but it's certain that the vast majority of airlines will survive the crisis, albeit a bit bruised. Virgin Atlantic is part of a group with a $20 billion turnover, deep pockets and long-term plans. It also belongs (49%) to arguably the world's most profitable and secure airline - SQ. While things will undoubtedly get tougher, Virgin is better placed to ride the storm than many. We all hope that capacity (and personnel) reductions won't be needed; the redeployment of aircraft to HKG from other routes, as yet unspecified, may be a clue as to how Virgin intend to tackle things.

beauport potato man

Two of my mates from EZY have been offered jobs in the last couple of weeks..... both on the Airbus.

ItsAjob

Can anyone tell me if there are still a lot of ex RAF guys flying for Virgin?

brit bus driver

There are a lot of ex RAF guys flying for lots of airlines....and your point is?

ItsAjob

Calm down brit bus driver, it was only a question!
Are you ex RAF?

Dan Air 87

What is the news on VS getting their hands on A330's to cover the delay in the 787 deliveries? Also, how serious are VS in getting the A380's? I have heard nothing more from VS about this for ages!

scroggs

Hmmm. Your reply to brit bus driver suggests you're not exactly enamoured of your ex-military peers. In which case, you'd probably not enjoy Virgin as I believe around 30% or so of all VS pilots are such. The proportion has been dropping as the British military has contracted and therefore its output has reduced, and as word about how good a job it is has spread further afield and attracted applications from far and wide.

The mix of backgrounds means that one's company on the flight deck is always interesting and good value.

stansdead

RAF, Navy , Army, Police Helicopter, Ex Charter, Ex Scheduled, Half of Thomas Cook, BMI and My Travel....... all creeds, colours and races are in VS.

That's the way it should be too. A healthy mix methinks.

4engines4longhaul

And ex Easy, Monarch, Cathay, Singapore, Air Mautitius, Titan, Ryanair, and previously Novair, Air Europe, Dan-Air, Laker..........etc.

scroggs

Virgin are discussing with Boeing the coverage required for the B787 delays. As Boeing are the world's largest lessor of Airbus aircraft, the A330, 340 and B777 will all be on the cards.

As BA have ordered the same mix of aircraft, and Virgin are unlikely to discover a mine of new slots at LHR, the logic and justification for the A380 still stands. In my opinion, the aircraft will arrive as planned, and some or all of the options will be exercised - probably as the -900 variant.

Breaking news: the ex-Etihad A340-300, expected next March, has now been cancelled. No surprises there! Unfortunately, that means even fewer new jobs over the next six months or so.

Dan Air 87

So if VS were to get their hands on interim equipment until the B787 arrives (such as A330/B777) how long would it take to train the ground staff, flight deck staff and cabin crew to operate them? Would it be more cost effective to try and get additional B747-400 or A340's instead so that there would not be another new type on the books?

Also, what is the A380-900 variant? Is this the even larger version that SRB mentioned some time back?

stansdead

Dan Air 87,

It takes about 6 months to get a pilot on the line from the interview. About 3 months for Cabin Crew, and I have no idea about ground crew.

Not sure what interim aircraft will be better, but it's all academic really. There will be NOTHING happening in VS for 2 years until the economic situation improves. At least that is what we are told.

Count von Altibar

Saw Steve Ridgeway on CNBC business channel and he didn't talk about expansion and recruitment it seemed to be along the lines of survival with respect to high fuel costs and continual worsening of the economic outlook. He did say Virgin had hedged some fuel though over the next year or so. I think we're in for rough times in the UK airline industry.

The Big Easy

Off the thread slightly. Pilots that leave Virgin are as rare as rocking horse sh@t. I understand that there has been about half a dozen recently from the 744 fleet. Any reason for this?

TBE