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Are there any nice companies out there?

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Are there any nice companies out there?

Old 2nd Mar 2007, 15:56
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Are there any nice companies out there?

Are there any nice companies out there?

I am flying the Airbus in Asia right now, company is ok but I was just looking through many of the posts and it appears to me that there is no such thing as a nice airline for us pilots to work for....surely this can not be true can it?

Pilots are getting out of the gulf states, many flag carriers are tightening the screws....

Someone tell me that they work for a great company and tell me what you do and what the deal is....and of course the company.

Prove to me that happy pilots exist or should I be planning on getting out of this business in order to avoid a depressing future??

Looking for to your replies...
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Old 2nd Mar 2007, 17:00
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All depends on your outlook on life. There are always a hardcore of vociferous whingers in any company. Here's a place for some of them to congregate.

There is no perfect job in any industry.

Personally I'm happy in easyJet. Home every night. Good pay packet, good crews and good aircraft.
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Old 2nd Mar 2007, 17:02
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VIRGIN.

If you are fortunate enough to get in.
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Old 3rd Mar 2007, 08:34
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Cool

Netjets Europe
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Old 3rd Mar 2007, 09:49
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Hi guys, can you tell us why Virgin and Netjets are nice ones ?!
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Old 3rd Mar 2007, 17:11
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Thanks Scottie, at last a breath of fresh air
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Old 3rd Mar 2007, 20:55
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Hi, SCOTTIE,

.........Home every night...........

You are on AIRBUS! Have you not been to: LGW, STN, EMA, MXP, BRS, MAD, SXF?

Cheers

Forgot: LIVERPOOL!
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Old 3rd Mar 2007, 21:29
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Virgin has to be one of the worst!
Agent Oringe keep taking the pills!
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 04:52
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People have short memories. They forget that Virgin laid off 40% of it's flight deck crew overnight about five years ago!
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 06:02
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Hi Dan,

well they shot from the hip and made the decision quicky. For me, the unpaid leave date kept changing, until i finally got the letter saying all was well and the job was safe.

It was a good job, no better or worse than here in the desert, and i enjoyed my time there.

Were you ex military...hercs maybe.

Rgds.
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 07:21
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Dan

You took the words right out of my mouth, people do have very short memories.

MF 37.5
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 14:16
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Hi Khaosi,

"well they shot from the hip and made the decision quicky."

Indeed, they had to. Although it wasn't apparent at the time, they were only a few days from going under it seems. I was one who got the letter, but like you my job was going to be safe as I was on the fleet that took no forced redundancies. I did actually get the letter to say my job was safe, but I had accepted another job and left.

So, I'm not bitter. I'm happy the way things turned out as I'm in a much better position now. However, some of those on the 340 and Classic fleets (several of which I work with now) do not have anything charitable to say about Virgin. I have been accused of being a bit of a Virgin 'knocker' on this site. I'm not really anti Virgin as they gave me a job straight out of the military (you got that bit correct, but not the aircraft type), a valuable type rating and a big redundancy payment. I just like to counter the 'everything with Virgin is brilliant' mentality that prevails on pprune, as no job is perfect - and having experienced Virgin, I can tell anyone that it isn't.

Sounds like we were both on the same fleet - we probably know each other!
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 15:16
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I agree with you entirely, Dan.I was on the same fleet as you,and my projected redundancy date (which changed 9 times in 4 months) largely coincided with the due date of our first child.New baby-no job-no pressure there then!
I went back to the LoCos-quick command -great share options -home every night to see the binlids.Not everyone's cup of tea,but fine for now.

Glad I did the Vigrin thing, but don't think I really miss it....
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 15:41
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Hi Dan,

Remember when we met up in Bahrain? I was with Air 2000 and you were still in the Air Force. Things have certainly changed over the years.

You're now ex-Virgin, enjoying life in the Sandpit and I'm ex Air 2000 and enjoying life in Virgin on the B744. Your posts and experiences are always welcome on here and you are right about not everything is huggy and fluffy perfect at Virgin. However, of the various airlines I have flown for, I must admit that life at Virgin is by far the most enjoyable.

Like anything in life, it is not perfect but as far as pay and conditions are concerned there is nowhere else for me to go. I love the lifestyle. I enjoyed the long haul when I was at Air 2000 on the B767 and I missed it when I was with Astraeus on the B737.

At the end of the day though, the question that started this thread can't be answered so simply as you have demonstrated. The fact that so few pilots actually leave Virgin is one factor that could explain why it is considered a good company to work for. The main one however is the lifestyle and the way we protect it through our strong Balpa representation.

For anyone else reading this thread and getting confused by some of the contradicting statements in the previous posts, you should really consider the fact that in reality, the grass is usually brown on both sides of the fence. What makes the difference though is the lifestyle, terms and conditions. How much time you get to spend doing the things you enjoy with your family. How fatigued you may be when you do get that time. How much you can afford to spend doing it.

Long haul isn't for everybody. At least at Virgin we do have an industrial agreement that limits us to 750 flight hours a year which, when reading about the hours that long haul pilots in some airlines work, is not something to be sniffed at. We also have a good benefits package and get to fly well equipped heavy metal.

Like anywhere else though, there are always things that we can complain about. That is why PPRuNe has become so popular. As we are not 9-5 office workers with the usual network of co-workers we get to gossip and compare our jobs and lifestyles on here.

Virgin is not the perfect company. There isn't one as far as I'm concerned but it is the best one I have ever flown for and, as far as I'm concerned, there is less brown grass on this side of the fence when compared to other airlines. That applies not only to my own personal experience but also the general perception I get from other pilots working for other airlines, including the main players in the Sandpit.

Maybe we'll get to meet up again downroute one of these days. Unfortunately the B744 doesn't do the Sandpit. Do you get to JFK, EWR, MIA, SFO or LAX?
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 17:16
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define nice....what exactly are you after?
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 18:42
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Thomsonfly is a good company. Having worked for a couple of other companies as well, I think it's well worth a try (unless you're looking for DEC positions).

Roster stability. Decent salary. The right to say NO to a roster change in excess of 2 hrs. Staff travel incl interline. Everything paid for. Overtime pays well.


Good luck!!!!

z3
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 18:57
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Good vibes

What a joy to here some GOOD and POSITIVE comments, lets face it, the grass always SEEMS greener coz we ain't there. Thanks for the POSITIVE side folks.
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 19:04
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Snoop

I've always regarded British Airways highly; Good route network, Long haul and short-haul and a variety of aeroplanes to fly. Not something you get with Virgin or other airlines....

You can't win any where else, Short Haul is boring when your young (Party life!!), long haul is crap later in life when you have a family at home..... So my advice find a job that can offer you the choice i.e. BA and even the likes of Charters (Monarch A320/330 Thomas Cook A320/A330)..

Now what's bmi like.....
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Old 4th Mar 2007, 22:11
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Thanks guys and gals

Interesting comments from you all. What I am looking for is roster stability, nice salary and benefits and time to have a social life, basically, what we all want, but I accept the perfect airline does not exist as they vanished a decade or two ago. However, the amont of companies that seem to be taking the P out of pilots appears to be very high....I am from turbo-prop background and now just have a few hundred hours on the 320, the company I am with now is not what I was hoping for despite the location and if/when I move I want to make the right move - hence my original thread.
Virgin seems to be a big topic of conversation and to me the grass is certainly less brown there....too bad there are so many barriers to entry....BMI sounds nice too...anyone agree?
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Old 5th Mar 2007, 03:20
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Hi Danny,

Not in the sandpit - about another 3000 miles east of Dubai! And as for meeting up for another beer or two, the closest I get to any of the VS 744 destiantions is Tokyo!

I meet up with mates in Virgin on their visits to my new home and things do seem better. Better pay, better rostering and it now looks like BALPA representation is having an effect. (In the dark days after 9/11 they just let the VCC get on with it with predicatble results). But the legendary party days of Virgin have gone forever.

The company was pretty naive prior to 9/11 - my contract looked like it had been penned by a 15 year old - and there was no redundancy policy. When the chips were down and redundancies were first announced in fleet, the workforce took a blow that will not be forgotten - even the irrepressable Scroggs had a few choice things to say about the company on the VOICE. And when negotiations progressed and redundancies were eventually decided on in seniority, a lot of people had already gone never to return and the company engineered keeping those on the 744 regardless of seniority.

For many in Virgin at that time, this won't be forgotten. For me, (even though being on the 744 and not actually being made forcibly redundant) it soured my opinion of the company. Also, the 744 lifestyle of 5 or 6 East Coast USA trips a month, the Gatwick reports, abuse of the Florida 2 variation and the apparently very long time to command meant I could no longer enjoy working for the only company I aspired to on leaving the military.

It's much better now, but not perfect!
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