BA Direct Entry Pilot.

[TitanCadetScheme]

Before I pull the Trigger.

[Thegreenmachine]

Originally Posted by A320LGW

fair enough, just wondered to what extent they may have reflected back as to what i had at the precise moment i filed the application because i'm required to sign off that i have the 100 sectors right this moment, will send it so!

Some terrible advice by others here. Be careful signing the application declaration saying you have xxx hours/sectors when you do not.

[MostAnnoying]

Hi all, barging in here with a few questions.
Have applied for the FO A320 position. Applied on 21/12 and got my invitation this morning.

First round, what can I expect? They sent me some "practice" things, is that honestly what can be expected on the tests? And how eager are they to recruit folks with just 500 hours? I've got 2k hours myself but on the B737.

What is the time frame between First Round and Second Round of assessment?

And also, any BA 320 pilots here who mind sharing their experience within BA. Coming from Ryanair, i'm used to a fair share of being pushed around.

Thanks in advance and Merry Christmas.

[Phantom4]

A320!GW
RTFQ
Spend at least five days on the initial application and run it past friends as to its authenticity
HR do not like people winging it.

[Juan Tugoh]

Originally Posted by The Blu Riband

PRIAM - an explanation of the name

The previous software system was named CASSANDRA. In Greek mythology she was able to foresee the future (but no-one ever believed her) so was an aptly named program for BA's fleet bidding and moves. PRIAM was her father and is the successor.

Nearly right. PRIAM was the program that determined the postings and promotions requirement. The CASSANDRA run was the program output.

PRIAM was the king of Troy whose daughter, CASSANDRA, was a priestess gifted with the ability to foresee the future but was cursed, by the gods, such that no one would ever believe her prophecy.

The system that replaced PRIAM is CRYSTAL, but due to laziness and usage, PRIAM has become the accepted usage for all PnP processes, both bid and output.

[Mrglass]

Any calls for Q2 start dates?

If so - what was your hold pool entry date and your new class date (approx).

Thanks

[FRYVA]

Hello folks,

Starting soon A320 LHR and looking forward to it.

Couple of quick questions, if I may...

-Am assuming I will start on the newly ratified £63,xxx DEP scale (as per PPJN) not the £58,xxx I signed electronically a month or so back?
-Any top tips for getting the “best” commutable rosters? (I am looking purely to minimise total commuting time and expenses on my own $ and have no issues with working long days/all weekends/deep nights/loads of sectors etc)
-Have read the thread fully but did we find a conclusive answer to exactly how junior SH LHS is running at the moment?
-Likelihood of getting LH inside initial engagement freeze? And does a rating on a BA LH type “help” or is it purely seniority?
-Any idea how long until one could realistically expect to achieve 50% working pattern?
-Any other top tips?

Many thanks!

[bex88]

FRYVA: first off congratulations and welcome

LH inside of your engagement freeze is very very rare for SH to LH.
Commuting roster: It’s going to be tough to have any control for a good year or more. It all depends how many join under you. My advice would be to bid for 2-5 day tours as H++. You should be able to easily get 2 day 6 tours but you may need to do some trading or swapping with other pilots.

Pay, you will be on the same as everyone so the new rate effective 1st Jan.

Aspirational part time is currently not available. Right to request is generally 2 years, put your request in ASAP and see what happens. You can always decline it.

Commands, someone will correct me as I did not pay much attention to the bids but I thing LHR commands were around 7-8 years. Gatwick a little less. The general trend is returning towards 10-12 years for SH, 20...ish for LH.

Advice. Find a local LHR hang out. You will need it for reserve if more than 2 hours away and for the odd night stop at LHR. Crew will help you out on that one with all the tricks.

Buy us yourself a reusable cup because Pret give you 50p off with each coffee

[Thegreenmachine]

FRYVA
If you’re happy to do 4 sector days and nights/ very earlies then you will find swapping your roster with others relatively easy.

I’m only a year in and although I can’t choose where I go or usually when, I can mould a rough working pattern which suits family life. Expect reserve 4 times a year though which is absolutely awful for commuting, awful in general if you ask me but that’s another story.

LGW commands look about 3-4yrs seniority, as bex says, LHR fair bit more 6+yrs.

Cant add much else. Welcome aboard.

[RexBanner]

The reserve thing is important to note, especially as a commuter. As a new joiner you start on the bare minimum reserve points, not on the fleet average reserve points like you do when moving fleets. So, although you were led to believe one reserve period per year during the hard sell on the interview day, when joining the company you do an inordinate amount of reserve. As the green machine has said, at least four a year and worst case is every other month.

[Falling_Penguin]

For reserve, how do commuters manage it? Is it necessary to obtain short term accommodation for an entire month in the city?

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by Falling_Penguin

For reserve, how do commuters manage it? Is it necessary to obtain short term accommodation for an entire month in the city?

That’s a realistic assumption, though it’s “only” for three weeks not a month, since the (usually) first 7 days of 28 day reserve block are fixed days off.

You might be able to swing some reserve from home if you are blessed with late evening transport links to LHR, since on a standard reserve day you are only contactable in the evening from 1700-2000 U.K. time for work beginning (potentially early) the next day..however the reality is that on most days you don’t get assigned a trip you will be assigned Home standby ( long chunks of the day on 2 hours notice) and in shorthaul there is also standby at the airport.

[Falling_Penguin]

Thanks Wiggy. It seems a shorthaul contract would require relocating to the South of England within car-commuting distance. I am struggling to see how it would be possible to be SH and commute from farther away, especially with the airport standby requirement in there.

Is it fair to assume that being junior on the longhaul fleet would bring similar issues? I have read about junior LH pilots doing 5 trips away a month with 2-3 days between each; back-to-backs eradicated under EASA. `The difference in housing / mortgage fees would be less than the amount required for commuting + hotels at that rate.

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by Falling_Penguin

Thanks Wiggy. It seems a shorthaul contract would require relocating to the South of England within car-commuting distance. I am struggling to see how it would be possible to be SH and commute from farther away, especially with the airport standby requirement in there.

Is it fair to assume that being junior on the longhaul fleet would bring similar issues? I have read about junior LH pilots doing 5 trips away a month with 2-3 days between each; back-to-backs eradicated under EASA. `The difference in housing / mortgage fees would be less than the amount required for commuting + hotels at that rate.

The realities of a short haul commute etc is probably best left to someone who works that "aisle"

Workload on Long Haul is a "hot" discussion issue ATM, for the reasons you describe....lots of low credit, minimum turn trips on some fleets. There are some nasty rosters out there and for completeness I'd say it's not all of it is low hours, 2-3 day trips either, I've flown with a couple of P'2 s this month whose December rosters were fairly well loaded up with Long Range work with minimum turn round taking them (involuntarily) well over the CAP target..

"Back to backs" (in the commonly accepted sense of the term) are still possible under EASA/at BA/under JSS, either by careful selection of the first trip of a pair to avoid anything requiring more than 1 nights rest post the duty (so for example you try and generate a pair of trips which has a TLV or e.g. an African trip as the first element), plus there are a handful of selected trip pairs on some fleets involving the Eastern seaboard where if you get a tagged trip pair the company will provide accomodation, which then to allows a back to back under EASA. That's the theory, the problem is using JSS to actually construct such a bid, and secondly having the seniority to get such a bid awarded....


(Edit to add: Another hot topic is the amount of reserve a new joiner ends up doing....expect to be clobbered frequently in your first year...)

[RexBanner]

Falling Penguin just to give you my example on Short Haul. I commute from Jersey and was at Heathrow for three years. Reserve was a pain but I was fortunate that my landlady in Horley from my days commuting in easyJet (Gatwick) had another spare room which she would rent to me for three weeks provided I gave her enough notice. Then, because of the early reports and the prohibitive cost of paying for a national express coach every time I was called, I rented a car for three weeks, which was usually pretty cheap. I used rentalcars.com which usually directed you to Interrent (the “low cost” offshoot of Europcar) which was pretty cheap.

I think the best price I got was £128 for 21 days of rental (cheaper and less risky than bringing my car over on the boat). The reason it’s so cheap is because they nickel and dime you with extra charges, like an extortionate rate for extra miles above the 90 miles a day they give you. 90 miles was fine for a Gatwick-Heathrow return trip so even if you were called every day (which doesn’t happen) you’ve still got a fair few miles to use the car for other things. In summary, it’s not easy and it’s a bit of a pain but that first year or so of doing reserve a lot will get expensive.

Long Haul I doubt you’d have to rent a car as long as you were staying in striking range of Gatwick or Heathrow as you could just National Express coach it from Gatwick or better if you’re staying around Heathrow just hop on the bus. No early reports and much fewer (I would imagine) last minute two hour call outs, which even then is still achievable from Gatters with the frequency of coaches up to Heathrow every day.

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by RexBanner

Long Haul I doubt you’d have to rent a car as long as you were staying in striking range of Gatwick or Heathrow as you could just National Express coach it from Gatwick or better if you’re staying around Heathrow just hop on the bus. No early reports and much fewer (I would imagine) last minute two hour call outs, which even then is still achievable from Gatters with the frequency of coaches up to Heathrow every day.

Just for info/completeness for Falling Penguin....

Longhaul reports start at about 0630 ..(I think the earliest currently is a 0635 report for a two day TLV).

I've been called out many a time from Standby at the two hour point, and if the **** hits the fan and somebody goes sick after report - it happens, then it's not unusual for ops to ask .." err...we know you are on two hours but how quickly can you get here..."..It may suit you to amble in from your accomodation fairly quickly but the contractural agreement for LHR is two hours warning...

FWIW for LHR based pilots, including everybody on the T7, the Home Standby (HSB) "two hour to car park rule" only applies for an LHR report..if as a LHR based Long Haul pilot you get called from HSB to do a LGW trip you are simply required to get to LGW as soon as possible..

When I'm on reserve I use one of the LHR Bath Road B and Bs - if I get called for LGW I use the coach...I've never rented a car for reserve.

[Falling_Penguin]

Great information - thanks to all.

[RexBanner]

Originally Posted by wiggy

Just for info/completeness for Falling Penguin....

Longhaul reports start at about 0630 ..(I think the earliest currently is a 0635 report for a two day TLV).

Its easy to tell you’re Long Haul and I’m Short Haul, Wiggy because our definitions of an early report are very different!

[wiggy]

Originally Posted by RexBanner

Its easy to tell you’re Long Haul and I’m Short Haul, Wiggy because our definitions of an early report are very different!

That'll teach me for not saying "at base" ...

I see your point and raise you the more than a few really horrible just after midnight/very early AM UTC reports kicking around in Longhaul that don't happen in the full glare of CRC... .....hence all those uniformed individuals getting off the crew buses at the crew car parks at LHR/LGW at zero dark 30 when many of you fine folk are heading into work....

[RexBanner]

Fair point!

(the crux of my point about the earlies was really just to say that there’s no frequency of coaches from Gatwick to Heathrow from dead of night almost until about 06:30 or so for the early Heathrow reports but Falling Penguin need not even stay near Gatwick it’s just what I used to do for ease of getting home).