Considering leaving BA
LTN is also expanding slowly. There's a few ex MON guys at LTN so although you may have to go to LGW at first it might not take as long as you think to get out of there. Some regional bases do though take many years to get to ie man,ncl, especially.
The 5354 personally I like. At its fairer in terms of getting the odd weekend off. I'm been in LHS couple of years and my days off coming up mean I got the whole new year weekend off something I probably wouldn't have had at BA.
Of course the one advantage of EZY over BA (this probably won't be important if your family are settled here) is the ability to be located throughout Europe.
LGW have moved to a single crew room and I believe the car park they use now is a bit closer ( sure some LGW guys will correct me) which will make daily life a little easier.
Obviously it's not all good. Last summer was roster change galore and some very creative rostering but don't believe we were the only ones. Also your friends and family will think your not as good a pilot because you moved "down" to EZY.
Good luck with your decision.
The 5354 personally I like. At its fairer in terms of getting the odd weekend off. I'm been in LHS couple of years and my days off coming up mean I got the whole new year weekend off something I probably wouldn't have had at BA.
Of course the one advantage of EZY over BA (this probably won't be important if your family are settled here) is the ability to be located throughout Europe.
LGW have moved to a single crew room and I believe the car park they use now is a bit closer ( sure some LGW guys will correct me) which will make daily life a little easier.
Obviously it's not all good. Last summer was roster change galore and some very creative rostering but don't believe we were the only ones. Also your friends and family will think your not as good a pilot because you moved "down" to EZY.
Good luck with your decision.
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Of course the one advantage of EZY over BA (this probably won't be important if your family are settled here) is the ability to be located throughout Europe.
I've a mate, an A320 BA captain, who lives in the French Alps and commutes from GVA: another B747 F/O who used to commute via GVA and now does it via FAO. Both had periods of 80% and enjoyed a huge improvement in life style at little loss of net income.
BA will offer options in type & life style in the future. LoCo's will be just the same, day in day out for decades.
I've a mate, an A320 BA captain, who lives in the French Alps and commutes from GVA: another B747 F/O who used to commute via GVA and now does it via FAO. Both had periods of 80% and enjoyed a huge improvement in life style at little loss of net income.
BA will offer options in type & life style in the future. LoCo's will be just the same, day in day out for decades.
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Of course the one advantage of EZY over BA (this probably won't be important if your family are settled here) is the ability to be located throughout Europe.
We have pilots (and cabin crew?) living in New Zealand, Oz, the US, Brazil, Canada, Capetown, the Far East, and pretty well most places in between!
If 'quality of life' is what drives you, there isn't anywhere you can't live, whilst flying for BA.
RAT 5. Fair point but you'll be commuting. Certainly not everyone's cup of tea but you could locate yourself in say Milan/Lyon live 30mins drive away and be with your family ( if they were also keen on living abroad).
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APT isn't available now, but RTR certainly is. BA also has previous history of granting immediate access to RTR in certain circumstances.
Why not bid to LH RHS? Lifestyle would be a bit bettter given all the recruitment below you since the takeover of BMI.
Why not bid to LH RHS? Lifestyle would be a bit bettter given all the recruitment below you since the takeover of BMI.
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I merely posed the question, "which airline offers more lifestyle choices"?
So far, no answers
So far, no answers
Last edited by Pork chop express; 29th Dec 2016 at 14:29. Reason: typo
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I'm a juniorish BA skipper on the A320, have worked at easyJet, wouldn't leave to go back there for all the tea in China.....EVER! Would rather stick my hand in a blender!
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Alternatively; you could leave - get a job in China flying the A330 out of CDG, earning £15k net per month after tax, with 15 days off per month, then retire after two contracts?
I'm one of the few who have left BA, and am doing exactly that.
You can PM me if you want.
BA is just a job. Quite frankly, it was the least fun I ever had in an airline, in 20 years of flying. Passive aggressive, rude and unfriendly crew, an above average percentile of entitled priggish flight crew, and relentless grinding downward pressure on terms and conditions.
Yes....staff travel is ok.....the 42 days leave is good.....but thats about it.
At the end of the day; we're all guns for hire now. The likes of Norwegian and the new IAG low cost long haul outfit being set up in BCN are the future. You might as well bugger off to China with a Euro base, save £6/7k per month; then hang up your wings at 50, and go and do something less damaging to your physical and mental health.
Just my 2c.
I'm one of the few who have left BA, and am doing exactly that.
You can PM me if you want.
BA is just a job. Quite frankly, it was the least fun I ever had in an airline, in 20 years of flying. Passive aggressive, rude and unfriendly crew, an above average percentile of entitled priggish flight crew, and relentless grinding downward pressure on terms and conditions.
Yes....staff travel is ok.....the 42 days leave is good.....but thats about it.
At the end of the day; we're all guns for hire now. The likes of Norwegian and the new IAG low cost long haul outfit being set up in BCN are the future. You might as well bugger off to China with a Euro base, save £6/7k per month; then hang up your wings at 50, and go and do something less damaging to your physical and mental health.
Just my 2c.
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Go through the appplication process and see if they offer you the job; you have no decision to make until that happens.
Take all advice, but go with what will make YOUR life better.
Mr. Gammon Flaps, please shoot me a PM with details.
Take all advice, but go with what will make YOUR life better.
Mr. Gammon Flaps, please shoot me a PM with details.
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I didn't know there were so many unhappy guys at BA. I've just had about 10 private messages from current BA captains that want to leave.
For those that haven't contacted me thus far; I would just say this:
Flying in China is like being a high class hooker. You are getting ****** for loads of money. The job is mostly
. You are subjected to ridiculous rules and countless bizarre checks. And you always operate under the ultimate Sword of Damocles, whereby a kidney stone or bad day in the sim can terminate your career. Be under NO illusion......China is a high stakes game....
Like any mercenary, if you survive, the rewards are there. I hate the job....BUT... am based in Europe, I normally get 12-17 days off per month, and I did not exaggerate - I NET £15k per month......all approved by HMRC. Not including overtime or bonus. This is CEO salary.
We are all saving £5k plus per month. 2 x 4 year contracts and we are all game over. Thats the reality of a China job.
Day to day, its okay. All flights are 4 crew. The first officers are very respectful and competent. BUT....it is a complete shambles. Yes they produce a roster; but sometimes we only get it 48 hours before; and its subject to frequent changes.
BUT....as I say......you get paid CEO salary for a reason.
It is absolutely not for everyone. But what job is. Perhaps if I joined BA in my 20's I would be happy to be there for 40 years. But then again....thats probably not me.
For those that haven't contacted me thus far; I would just say this:
Flying in China is like being a high class hooker. You are getting ****** for loads of money. The job is mostly
. You are subjected to ridiculous rules and countless bizarre checks. And you always operate under the ultimate Sword of Damocles, whereby a kidney stone or bad day in the sim can terminate your career. Be under NO illusion......China is a high stakes game....Like any mercenary, if you survive, the rewards are there. I hate the job....BUT... am based in Europe, I normally get 12-17 days off per month, and I did not exaggerate - I NET £15k per month......all approved by HMRC. Not including overtime or bonus. This is CEO salary.
We are all saving £5k plus per month. 2 x 4 year contracts and we are all game over. Thats the reality of a China job.
Day to day, its okay. All flights are 4 crew. The first officers are very respectful and competent. BUT....it is a complete shambles. Yes they produce a roster; but sometimes we only get it 48 hours before; and its subject to frequent changes.
BUT....as I say......you get paid CEO salary for a reason.
It is absolutely not for everyone. But what job is. Perhaps if I joined BA in my 20's I would be happy to be there for 40 years. But then again....thats probably not me.
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bex88,
Put your family first. They grow up and leave too quickly, you don't want to miss that. You don't want to end up as a sad lonely old git one day who had slavishly stuck to a career to find that his family has all grown up and left and he doesn't know them.
But also be very wary of "the grass is greener". It very, very seldom is.
Stan Wooley's post is well worth paying attention to. And you never know when fate might put you in a position where you really need that family that you might have been neglecting.
If you can, go for part time. The family is more important than the money (and many, many families in the country survive on a lot less than a part time BA captain!)
The most utterly irrelevant comment on this thread must be:
Ditch those sort of 'friends' and re-educate the family!
Put your family first. They grow up and leave too quickly, you don't want to miss that. You don't want to end up as a sad lonely old git one day who had slavishly stuck to a career to find that his family has all grown up and left and he doesn't know them.
But also be very wary of "the grass is greener". It very, very seldom is.
Stan Wooley's post is well worth paying attention to. And you never know when fate might put you in a position where you really need that family that you might have been neglecting.
If you can, go for part time. The family is more important than the money (and many, many families in the country survive on a lot less than a part time BA captain!)
The most utterly irrelevant comment on this thread must be:
Also your friends and family will think your not as good a pilot because you moved "down" to EZY.
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Hi bex88
Thanks for your help and advice so far on the ba hold pool side of things. For my opinion and as I'm in the hold pool for BA I can say the grass is 100% not greener in rotational type jobs. I currently do 20/20 or 30/30 or 14/14 flying a very lovely jet but spend almost all my time on duty sitting in hotel rooms alone waiting for midnight so I can tick off another day before going home. Sounds lovely to have "half a year off" but if I can get a job where I fly 900 hours a year and get home more than once a month and have some, even a tiny bit of control over my roster then I would sell a limb (class one medical taken into account of of course)
I fly maybe 200 hours a year and I have done this for many years. Some medium haul but mainly long haul and I LOVE the flying but hate everything else that goes along with rotational work. There is very little to enjoy outside of a stable airline in my opinion even though my salary is far more than airline ops as it always seems to be on rotation.
Thanks for your help and advice so far on the ba hold pool side of things. For my opinion and as I'm in the hold pool for BA I can say the grass is 100% not greener in rotational type jobs. I currently do 20/20 or 30/30 or 14/14 flying a very lovely jet but spend almost all my time on duty sitting in hotel rooms alone waiting for midnight so I can tick off another day before going home. Sounds lovely to have "half a year off" but if I can get a job where I fly 900 hours a year and get home more than once a month and have some, even a tiny bit of control over my roster then I would sell a limb (class one medical taken into account of of course)
I fly maybe 200 hours a year and I have done this for many years. Some medium haul but mainly long haul and I LOVE the flying but hate everything else that goes along with rotational work. There is very little to enjoy outside of a stable airline in my opinion even though my salary is far more than airline ops as it always seems to be on rotation.
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The response and contribution to this post has been so constructive. I was concerned I would be shot down in flames for complaining about my position. I know it's a good job but as so many have said the sacrifice is huge. I need to get my **** together and make it work better. RTR part time will be my first route. I need to try and get BA working before I bang out. That's not to say BA is superior, EZY has some attraction and if I were later in my career a commuting contract too, but it is the job I have.
Appreciate the advice
Appreciate the advice
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bex - The bubble won't last forever. There will come a time when even the senior will wish to join the rest and have access to the full range of triplines. However, I can't see that inside at least 5 years or more!
But PTW/Longhaul (or both) are very valid options for yourself. As is LGW (I would say residing with a reasonable distance would be a good idea for that option though...) When I was junior at Gatters, I would still get a weekend or two off a month. If you went 75%, you'd know your weekends off miles in advance which is a massive bonus to your family.
As for 'providing'. Yup money is important, but (for me!) lifestyle trumps it...
But PTW/Longhaul (or both) are very valid options for yourself. As is LGW (I would say residing with a reasonable distance would be a good idea for that option though...) When I was junior at Gatters, I would still get a weekend or two off a month. If you went 75%, you'd know your weekends off miles in advance which is a massive bonus to your family.
As for 'providing'. Yup money is important, but (for me!) lifestyle trumps it...
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EZY does not have stable rosters. Yes 5354 for the guys who have been there for a few years AND in larger bases, but the roster keeps changing. 5 earlies in a row and youre so nackered you will struggle to play with wife (...) and kids
I would think really really hard before sending an application.
Good luck with your choice
I would think really really hard before sending an application.
Good luck with your choice
Last edited by Viking101; 30th Dec 2016 at 00:03.
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BA is not the problem here, the issue is the lifestyle of the modern airline pilot. Having tried pretty much everything to achieve a good life/work balance, Part Time is the only thing that works. Not only do you get your family/social life back, the sense of control that having that extra time off gives is unbeatable.
I'm now permanent part time long haul and have never had more free time and have never been less tired.
I'm now permanent part time long haul and have never had more free time and have never been less tired.
