BA Direct Entry Pilot.
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 234
Likes: 0
From: Surrey, England
.....it might be bearable at 25, you can perhaps lie to yourself at 30, but when you are looking at a first command in your late 50's......well....thats totally different....
But on a serious note Mr Gammon Flaps, they say the sea is never always still; who knows! Just maybe.
Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 1,270
Likes: 0
From: Cloud Cookoo Land
And there's the rub. Sitting next to a skipper who in one month has netted say a third of what you net in a year. A command so far away that it may as well be in another lifetime. What stories do you trade as you cross the pond? How he/she took the other half to Barbados for a mini break whilst you took the missus to to the local shopping centre for a spot of lunch at Nandos?
Sure the 744 is a nice beast and BA is still one of the more stable jobs out there but Mr Gammon Flaps paints an entirely different picture.
Sure the 744 is a nice beast and BA is still one of the more stable jobs out there but Mr Gammon Flaps paints an entirely different picture.
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 739
Likes: 6
From: York
Thank you Mr Gammon Flaps. I know the individual concerned, and he closely resembles your description.
For those non believers.... Do I look bovvered?
Incidentally, it was recently 'accidentally' revealed that an A320 captain earned over £55k over the last year in overtime alone! He's not terribly senior.
The money is still here if you are happy to sell your soul to the devil. Personally I choose not to,
For those non believers.... Do I look bovvered?
Incidentally, it was recently 'accidentally' revealed that an A320 captain earned over £55k over the last year in overtime alone! He's not terribly senior.
The money is still here if you are happy to sell your soul to the devil. Personally I choose not to,
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 34
Likes: 0
From: United Kingdom
To put another, more positive spin on things...
I took a 40% pay cut to move to BA. Frankly, I honestly don't miss the money. You can't put a price on quality of life and a decent career.
Anyone who thinks you can't have a good life living on £4k net a month plus, even with kids and living around London, needs a very serious reality check. The starting salary of £4k a month net puts you easily inside the top 10% of UK earners.
I took a 40% pay cut to move to BA. Frankly, I honestly don't miss the money. You can't put a price on quality of life and a decent career.
Anyone who thinks you can't have a good life living on £4k net a month plus, even with kids and living around London, needs a very serious reality check. The starting salary of £4k a month net puts you easily inside the top 10% of UK earners.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,729
Likes: 104
From: The Winchester
Thank you Mr Gammon Flaps. I know the individual concerned, and he closely resembles your description.
For those non believers.... Do I look bovvered?
For those non believers.... Do I look bovvered?
Anyhow, back to the thread
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 1,483
Likes: 0
From: Europe
I guess nobody has a spouse that works and earns good money? My wife works in Finance and makes more than I do... Are all pilots on Pprune married to stay-at-home spouses? Sounds like it. Nowadays a 2nd income is a necessity - especially if you have kids.
Back to the BA Direct Entry Pilot topic....
Back to the BA Direct Entry Pilot topic....
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 1,559
Likes: 55
From: London
'Anyone who thinks you can't have a good life living on £4k net a month plus, even with kids and living around London, needs a very serious reality check. The starting salary of £4k a month net puts you easily inside the top 10% of UK earners.'
AMEN.....
AMEN.....
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 638
Likes: 0
Well said EV.
It couldn't be any simpler: if you can't live on £3.5k-£4k or are worried about time to command, don't bother applying.
People talking about earning £20k/month (even if gross) is not something that should be of concern to a new joiner.
I'm sure BA will get over you.
It couldn't be any simpler: if you can't live on £3.5k-£4k or are worried about time to command, don't bother applying.
People talking about earning £20k/month (even if gross) is not something that should be of concern to a new joiner.
I'm sure BA will get over you.
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 724
Likes: 24
From: UK
And if short haul goes sideways then who knows if you will ever get it
The standard BA career path and freedom to move between SH and LH on one seamless BA contract and set of T&Cs may well cease to exist at some point in the future. IAG is not going to support the benefits our legacy agreements bring anymore, that much is clear. I would hazard a guess the music will stop sometime in 2016, at which point it will be important to be in a seat you don't mind sitting in for a long time.
If you are 35 or above and leave Ezy, or even the Middle East, abandoning a command or an impending left seat promotion then I think you are nuts. If you have 35 years to play with and accept the airline is in a state of massive change then come on in, the water is decidedly lukewarm.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,729
Likes: 104
From: The Winchester
Hey wiggy.
Have you never heard the term 'take home pay'?
I said what I mean, and I mean what I said.
Have you never heard the term 'take home pay'?
I said what I mean, and I mean what I said.
I could play the same "game" with my payslip because of where I live and am taxed, but the only person I would be fooling would be myself. If the original comment had been "his take home is 20K a month, mind you he/she has yet to pay tax in Ireland/France/Upper Volta or wherever" then eyebrows wouldn't have been raised, and the non-believers wouldn't have been quite as vociferous since 20K gross is, whilst unusual, at least credible.
Ultimately I know you (and probably others) think I'm coming over like a right phiart but I'm not looking to argue for the sake of it. I do however think it's important potential joiners don't make a life changing decision because they were unknowingly comparing apples with oranges.
Right, I am now off to console myself by looking at the "take home pay" on my own payslip
whilst ignoring the tax bill that hit the door mat a few weeks back 
....
Last edited by wiggy; 2nd October 2014 at 08:28.
Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 248
Likes: 0
From: The Wood
BMRR I think you're spot on with your predictions. I thought in the past you were slating ezy and extolling the virtues of BA but I was wrong - your previous posts were pretty down to Earth and realistic.
Last edited by WhyByFlier; 2nd October 2014 at 08:27. Reason: I was wrong!
