Is the grass with the Airlines less brown than that of the North Sea Heli operators
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Is the grass with the Airlines less brown than that of the North Sea Heli operators
Hi all,
Could any of you guys out there shed some light on working life with the airlines, Roster patterns pay scales etc, also differences with domestic and long haul. (someone once said you have to work your way through the domestic route prior to getting onto a long haul gig, is this still the case).
Would a prospective employer welcome an ex North Sea Heli Pilot with a freshly converted ATPL(A).
Also, does anyone know the requirment to convert and approximate cost, (I currently hold a PPLa with a lame 135 hours).
Thanx for your time in responding.
..............................................
Could any of you guys out there shed some light on working life with the airlines, Roster patterns pay scales etc, also differences with domestic and long haul. (someone once said you have to work your way through the domestic route prior to getting onto a long haul gig, is this still the case).
Would a prospective employer welcome an ex North Sea Heli Pilot with a freshly converted ATPL(A).
Also, does anyone know the requirment to convert and approximate cost, (I currently hold a PPLa with a lame 135 hours).
Thanx for your time in responding.
..............................................
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I don't if this is of any help, but easyJet have on their recruitment pages a conversion table from Heli/Prop etc. hour to Jet hours: Pilot Careers - Careers in the Air - easyJet Careers
(tried to copy it in but it wouldn't let me)
FF
(tried to copy it in but it wouldn't let me)
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Is it poorly timed that current North Sea Helicopter pilots are still flying, that they talk about their work, that they too look for jobs and compare terms and conditions? Why can't an ex North Sea Heli pilot look for a change of career direction at this time? What's your point?
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Mozzy,
Did my conversion from the S61(N) a fair few years ago when there was the first glimmer of an ATPL(H) to (A) conversion course. I believe it is still in place. Have a chat with Alex Whittingham in Bristol Ground School. He can fill in all the relevant details as he is the most clued up.
As to the situation with airlines, you don't qualify for ZFT so you would have to go to a Short haul outfit first for base training and line experience. Once you have accrued enough hours to unfreeze your ATPL then you should be in the ZFT (Zero flight time) bracket that makes you attractive to long haul ops (don't like to base train on LH aircraft). Also you can act as cruise SFO in the LHS with a full ATPL.
Pay: Far, far better! Just leave it at that. (obviously depends on who you go to
)
Roster: No more immersion suits. Fly ,land shutdown, walk away. (again depends on the airline). Depending on the airline, seniority and personal preference you can adjust rosters to suit yourself.
Good luck.
Did my conversion from the S61(N) a fair few years ago when there was the first glimmer of an ATPL(H) to (A) conversion course. I believe it is still in place. Have a chat with Alex Whittingham in Bristol Ground School. He can fill in all the relevant details as he is the most clued up.
As to the situation with airlines, you don't qualify for ZFT so you would have to go to a Short haul outfit first for base training and line experience. Once you have accrued enough hours to unfreeze your ATPL then you should be in the ZFT (Zero flight time) bracket that makes you attractive to long haul ops (don't like to base train on LH aircraft). Also you can act as cruise SFO in the LHS with a full ATPL.
Pay: Far, far better! Just leave it at that. (obviously depends on who you go to
)Roster: No more immersion suits. Fly ,land shutdown, walk away. (again depends on the airline). Depending on the airline, seniority and personal preference you can adjust rosters to suit yourself.
Good luck.
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Thanks for the info fella's.
I did wonder after seeing the response from DZ, but felt it wasn't an unreasonable post......
I'm currently still flying for an Offsore Operator but looking at different options as there seems to be a definate downturn in the market and don't want to leave it to late for the pilot market to be flooded with ex North Sea Pilots.
I'll give Alex @ BGS a call and go from there.
Thanks again!
I did wonder after seeing the response from DZ, but felt it wasn't an unreasonable post......
I'm currently still flying for an Offsore Operator but looking at different options as there seems to be a definate downturn in the market and don't want to leave it to late for the pilot market to be flooded with ex North Sea Pilots.
I'll give Alex @ BGS a call and go from there.
Thanks again!
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You're about 24 months too late I'm afraid.
There is no recruitment in any airline for the 'experience' you have. Today, the only recruitment is really cadets with low hours who are funding airline coffers as a source of revenue. Mostly in UK airlines, cadets are given preference over those with considerable experience for F/O positions. A significant change when compared with recessions in the past.
Ryanair - take only those willing to fund a 'Ryanair' type rating - no experienced F/Os
Easy Jet - as above, but only via CTC, and summer only contracts
Other UK charters taking CTC cadets for summer contracts
All of those schemes are blatant revenue generating schemes, paying very low salaries, and requiring significant up-front payments.
It is a desperate time for those with experience who have found themselves out of work.
It is not exactly a wise career move, and you are somewhat protected, since Heli operators clearly still value experience.
There is no recruitment in any airline for the 'experience' you have. Today, the only recruitment is really cadets with low hours who are funding airline coffers as a source of revenue. Mostly in UK airlines, cadets are given preference over those with considerable experience for F/O positions. A significant change when compared with recessions in the past.
Ryanair - take only those willing to fund a 'Ryanair' type rating - no experienced F/Os
Easy Jet - as above, but only via CTC, and summer only contracts
Other UK charters taking CTC cadets for summer contracts
All of those schemes are blatant revenue generating schemes, paying very low salaries, and requiring significant up-front payments.
It is a desperate time for those with experience who have found themselves out of work.
It is not exactly a wise career move, and you are somewhat protected, since Heli operators clearly still value experience.
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Mozzy,
Things are on a big downturn at the moment, as you have no doubt noticed!
Give it a year or two and things should be on the up. Given that all hold pools for major airlines are full at the moment and the occupants swimming for at least 18 months, now would be a good time to get the licences in order and start sending CV's out.
As you are an experienced helo operator (Co or Capt?) then you would probably take a position behind those made redundant recently and before the ab-initio's as you are a marketable quantity having working in the commercial aviation world before.
Then, sit on your CV, attend interviews on your days off and wait for a place. As long as you can still fly the bears around then you have nothing to loose.
Good luck.
p.s. When I moved from RHS helo to RHS airliner for an 'legacy' carrier, I didn't take a pay cut. That's how different the worlds can be when it comes to pay.
Things are on a big downturn at the moment, as you have no doubt noticed!
Give it a year or two and things should be on the up. Given that all hold pools for major airlines are full at the moment and the occupants swimming for at least 18 months, now would be a good time to get the licences in order and start sending CV's out.
As you are an experienced helo operator (Co or Capt?) then you would probably take a position behind those made redundant recently and before the ab-initio's as you are a marketable quantity having working in the commercial aviation world before.
Then, sit on your CV, attend interviews on your days off and wait for a place. As long as you can still fly the bears around then you have nothing to loose.
Good luck.
p.s. When I moved from RHS helo to RHS airliner for an 'legacy' carrier, I didn't take a pay cut. That's how different the worlds can be when it comes to pay.
