BA Direct Entry Pilot.
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Unless you want to be a very junior blindline holder for the next five ish years, that may turn out to be a good thing if you want at least some control over your roster!
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When I went to uni, I was examined on things I'd been taught over the last three years not months, and no I didn't do any past papers - they were not available. University was about being taught a subject - not just passing an exam.
My point was that there is no need to do previous practice for the tests because they are designed to detect your ability to learn and adapt. If you are rubbish when you start off, it's really not a problem. The areas where you do need to be good are your team skills, and I made this point too. I was actually attempting to be helpful, and get you targetting the important areas that you can't just learn and adapt to on the day, but that seems too have flown overhead.
My point was that there is no need to do previous practice for the tests because they are designed to detect your ability to learn and adapt. If you are rubbish when you start off, it's really not a problem. The areas where you do need to be good are your team skills, and I made this point too. I was actually attempting to be helpful, and get you targetting the important areas that you can't just learn and adapt to on the day, but that seems too have flown overhead.
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Nice idea about showing learning and its a valid point but it relates to the sim part of the interview process. You best hit the mark in all the papers and aptitude tests otherwise you won't get the chance to show you can learn. That's my experience of it from the past years
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As someone who has been in BA for 4 years I would be mighty upset next year if I lost out to a long haul slot to a DEP.
Might be a bit of a wait I'm afraid.
Maybe Wirbs, and I'm sure that's how the bean counters will always view it.
OTOH if large numbers of our short haul colleagues coming out of basic/initial freeze, or for that matter those currently stuck on the 76, are denied a move by a significant continuation of DEPs to the 747/777/787, simply for economic reasons, I think the BALPA reps could be in for an interesting time.......
OTOH if large numbers of our short haul colleagues coming out of basic/initial freeze, or for that matter those currently stuck on the 76, are denied a move by a significant continuation of DEPs to the 747/777/787, simply for economic reasons, I think the BALPA reps could be in for an interesting time.......
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No BA SH pilots allowed to move to a LH slot in favour of DEP? That would be enough for us on SH to seriously consider all options available to show our feelings. We would see our career progression stall, salary suppressed and life work balance seriously effected.....Again!
LH is not for everyone but I would be very angry if the option was taken away. If we are to become career short haul then give us the 5 on 4 off rosters over the 6 on 2 off we have now and put us on parity with LH pay.
LH is not for everyone but I would be very angry if the option was taken away. If we are to become career short haul then give us the 5 on 4 off rosters over the 6 on 2 off we have now and put us on parity with LH pay.
Last edited by bex88; 19th Apr 2015 at 19:57. Reason: Typo
No BA SH pilots allowed to move to a LH slot in favour of DEP?
I'm not sure such a move would be actually banned unless BA reverts to being BEA and BOAC....at which point I rather suspect BALPA in short haul at BA would be finished.
I think the move of the training facilities from Cranebank to west base this year allowed the company to credibly claim a lack of training capacity, and trigger significant recruiting direct to some of the Long Haul Fleets. It will be very tough for BA to use the same excuse again in the foreseeable future. That said given the nature of the beast and the costs flat/cost cutting mantra I wouldn't be surprised if BA suggested it again to our negotiators.....Hedging my bets I'd guess that whilst we'll continue to see DEPs there will be probably be far fewer onto Long Haul for a while.
Looking on the bright side, when you do move, which you surely will, you'll always be above the current DEPs on your status list.
Last edited by wiggy; 20th Apr 2015 at 07:23. Reason: Hedging my bets..
Join Date: Aug 2002
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Bex, sadly the company will argue we should consider ourselves lucky we ever have the option to change fleets through choice. BALPA will be fearful of short haul being split off from BA altogether, removing forever the ability to move to long haul. They will therefore convince everyone not to rock the boat, and maybe even to take some kind of pay reduction in order to fund the continued ability to transfer when training can cope.
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The information and feedback on the DEP threads are very accurate. The approach I took was to take the time to read the threads, open a word document and copy/paste all relevant information into one place. The new computer test is the only part of Day one that can not be practised.
Last edited by Widebdy; 6th May 2015 at 11:54.
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BALPA were well and truly beaten by the company during Openskies, back when they had both a strong pilot mandate and rock solid legal advice. Despite the union's protestations that they are impotent because the pilots are not united, this is in my opinion just spin to keep people paying their subscriptions. My first fifteen years have seen BALPA negotiate 'clever' deals that turn out to be worse than what the company were asking for in the first place. I expect the next fifteen to be no different. In my opinion, we'd achieve exactly the same result if the company simply asked for some volunteers to form a pilot negotiaton/communicaton body, and gave them credit for their non-flying duties.
Please consider your expectations managed.
Please consider your expectations managed.
GS
There's a risk of continuing the drift but nevertheless I think this is worth briefly persuing on this recruitment thread since I've seen optimistic claims elsewhere about why people should join BA because of BALPA's strong influence on the company.
TBH at a strategic level (often at company council and certainly above) these days I think BALPA in all it's forms is struggling to counter the lobbying power/spend of the industry. OTOH a local level I've always found most of the individual reps in BA to be very very good at helping sorting out difficulties, even if it means ruffling a few feathers with those in the office.
Re Openskies
As I heard it that was the nub of BALPAs problem. they thought they had - it turned out they didn't, but we never found out all the gory details.
There's a risk of continuing the drift but nevertheless I think this is worth briefly persuing on this recruitment thread since I've seen optimistic claims elsewhere about why people should join BA because of BALPA's strong influence on the company.
TBH at a strategic level (often at company council and certainly above) these days I think BALPA in all it's forms is struggling to counter the lobbying power/spend of the industry. OTOH a local level I've always found most of the individual reps in BA to be very very good at helping sorting out difficulties, even if it means ruffling a few feathers with those in the office.
Re Openskies
they had...... rock solid legal advice.
Last edited by wiggy; 20th Apr 2015 at 10:35.
Mach 3
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Looking from the outside in, I think I somewhat agree with wiggy.
EASA FTL's got onto the statute book because of the significant airline lobby. Airline managements across Europe are exploiting the legislative landscape to their advantage knowing it will be years before even a concerted Union lobby will "catch up" so to speak.
There certainly doesn't look like there needs to be a prohibition on swapping fleets in BA, especially when the economics of the swap make sense, but that "luxury" seems to me, just that, a "luxury".
One hopes that regardless of any dashed personal expectations (I always thought Senior SH BA pilots could pretty much generate a LH lifestyle via bidding anyway - although being a LH pilot myself, I honestly don't really understand the lure of the LH lifestyle!), BA pilots stick together, as they're a far more potent force within the industry when they stand united.
EASA FTL's got onto the statute book because of the significant airline lobby. Airline managements across Europe are exploiting the legislative landscape to their advantage knowing it will be years before even a concerted Union lobby will "catch up" so to speak.
There certainly doesn't look like there needs to be a prohibition on swapping fleets in BA, especially when the economics of the swap make sense, but that "luxury" seems to me, just that, a "luxury".
One hopes that regardless of any dashed personal expectations (I always thought Senior SH BA pilots could pretty much generate a LH lifestyle via bidding anyway - although being a LH pilot myself, I honestly don't really understand the lure of the LH lifestyle!), BA pilots stick together, as they're a far more potent force within the industry when they stand united.