Air Baltic information

[Luray]

Originally Posted by Intrance

Free A220 rating at least?

I got a free writing pen and nice welcome postcard with a220 picture that says "future begins now")

[Intrance]

Originally Posted by Luray

I got a free writing pen and nice welcome postcard with a220 picture that says "future begins now")

Aww, too bad. I've worked with companies that were disorganized to the point where contracts that included bonding agreement were only asked to be signed after the typerating had already been completed, leaving the door wide open for people to walk away with a free rating. So I was kinda rooting for you .

In all seriousness though, sorry for such an experience. Racism is quite alive in certain groups of people in the Baltics.

[Aso]

Is Air Baltic still flying the 737 and taking on 737 FO / captains?

[q400_driver]

Originally Posted by Intrance

Racism is quite alive in certain groups of people in the Baltics.

would you not think that if this was in any shape or form racism related, he wouldn't get past the HR? Plenty of ethnicities and backgrounds represented in the company. People who get booted from the company course tend to be (and I'm not suggesting that this is the case) either with poor attitude, skipping courses, being late without notifying anyone - or - people who show up under influence.

Originally Posted by Aso

Is Air Baltic still flying the 737 and taking on 737 FO / captains?

4 are to remain till the end of next year. Hiring situation is very dynamic as the fleet now is so small, so today they're not hiring, tomorrow they might, if a spot opens up. Temp positions only

[Luray]

Originally Posted by q400_driver

would you not think that if this was in any shape or form racism related, he wouldn't get past the HR? Plenty of ethnicities and backgrounds represented in the company. People who get booted from the company course tend to be (and I'm not suggesting that this is the case) either with poor attitude, skipping courses, being late without notifying anyone - or - people who show up under influence.

I have to provide for my family and can't afford to be late or drunk or have a poor attitude. I am glad you had a good experience with BT, but it doesn't mean i was as lucky as you are.

[q400_driver]

Originally Posted by Luray

I have to provide for my family and can't afford to be late or drunk or have a poor attitude. I am glad you had a good experience with BT, but it doesn't mean i was as lucky as you are.

like I said, I'm not suggesting you had a bad attitude, it's just something that sometimes happens. Another thing to look at, did you met the requirements in the first place and were the evidence of this presented to the company in a clear way? Some of the requirements for A220 FO position include EU citizenship (I understand you don't have it from your other posts?), 300 hours on an FMS/EFIS equipped aircraft above 5.7 tonnes (again, I understand you have a ATR72 and B300 rating but limited hours on them?).. Of course it's not nice from the company to accept you in the first place and only then to reject you because you didn't match the requirements, but part of the responsibility lies down to you as well to make sure that your citizenship and experience on the specified type is clearly visible on your resume and that you apply to a position only if you match the criteria.

[Luray]

Originally Posted by q400_driver

like I said, I'm not suggesting you had a bad attitude, it's just something that sometimes happens. Another thing to look at, did you met the requirements in the first place and were the evidence of this presented to the company in a clear way? Some of the requirements for A220 FO position include EU citizenship (I understand you don't have it from your other posts?), 300 hours on an FMS/EFIS equipped aircraft above 5.7 tonnes (again, I understand you have a ATR72 and B300 rating but limited hours on them?).. Of course it's not nice from the company to accept you in the first place and only then to reject you because you didn't match the requirements, but part of the responsibility lies down to you as well to make sure that your citizenship and experience on the specified type is clearly visible on your resume and that you apply to a position only if you match the criteria.

I have enough experience, in fact double of what was needed and all was proven by official reference letter from my previous airline. And my citizenship was first thing they asked during the interview, not to mention i am a legal resident with the right to work in EU. BTW, they also told me that my citizenship will be exception as i showed a very good results during my assessment.

This conversation is going off topic and since i don't want to discourage anyone from applying lets not escalate it.

[Aso]

Where is/are the A220 sims based? I know they have a 737 Classic sim but also an A220?

[Luray]

Originally Posted by Aso

Where is/are the A220 sims based? I know they have a 737 Classic sim but also an A220?

They are using the sim in Frankfurt at Lufthansa training. A few weeks ago they also assembled their own A220 FFS in Riga but it will take time to get all the paperwork and certification.

[bugs bunny]

Hello,
Has anyone recently completed the online IQ assessment?
Is there a good website where to practice?
Thanks

[FarewellFire]

Originally Posted by Aso

Is Air Baltic still flying the 737 and taking on 737 FO / captains?

Captains? No. They are keeping a few line trainers on board and the rest are being moved to the A220.
FO´s? Almost everyone is being moved to the A220 or Dash. Wouldn´t be surprised if they keep accepting P2F though.

[TheKing]

Hi there,

Anyone done the Tech interview and SIM for the DEC on the Q400? Any info would be highly appreciated.

[Luca93IT]

Hi guys,
I'll do psychologic, technical interview and sim check next month for Q400 FO and I'd like to know some feedback about those days.
I'd like also to know some more information about roster, salary, environment, life in Latvia etc.
Could anyone help me please?

Thanks in advance.

[Rocket61]

Hi, also interested in some info about the airline, especially roster on Q400. I heard around 60h/month, how many days off ? Are they often paired/tripled ? Is there any commuting possibility with the Q400 roster at BT ? Thank you

[q400_driver]

Originally Posted by Rocket61

Hi, also interested in some info about the airline, especially roster on Q400. I heard around 60h/month, how many days off ? Are they often paired/tripled ? Is there any commuting possibility with the Q400 roster at BT ? Thank you

Around 60h a month is about right. A little more in summer, little less in winter. Depends a little bit on how you bid as well, I've seen guys scoring 90 hours and some just 30, but in general they are trying to equalize hours between people. Days off - minimum is typically 8, if you're lucky some months you might see 9 to 11. They have to give you a block of 4 days off per month, the rest is scattered across the roster. New captains can get a deal with a fixed 5/4/5/3 pattern with a caveat that you loose captains bonus and bidding. For FO's there is no bonus or fixed roster. Commuting with non-fixed roster is possible only if you live somewhere near by in the Baltics. There is no clear pattern for rosters. You can get an early start at around 6am and finish anywhere between 12pm to 6pm. Late start can begin anywhere between 11am to 5pm and finish at 10pm-11pm. Then you have short night stops starting at 10pm, spending some couple of hours in a hotel in an outstation and returning the next morning at around 6 to 7 am. Then you have layovers in Helsinki, Palanga, Tallinn, St. Petersburg, Turku, rarely Vilnius.. Or you can be sent to Tallinn to do up to 4 nights in TLL and fly from there

Salary wise what is listed on https://www.pilotjobsnetwork.com/jobs/Air_Baltic is roughly about right.

Q400 is not the easiest aircraft to fly, the climate we operate in throws in additional challenges, roster is difficult, salary is on the lower end of the scale. On the other hand, planes are maintained in excellent condition, upgrade opportunities are probably one of the best in EU and personally I think in terms of job security I feel a bit more confident here than I would in most carriers in EU (our load factors are at around 75% and our ticket prices are not the cheapest ones around)

Cost of living in Latvia is probably a fair bit lower than in most places in Western Europe, it is generally safe, people don't riot, don't have any sort of extremists running around etc. On the negative side, winters are dark, cold and long, coming here with family and children can be difficult as international schools are expensive and hard to find.

[Rocket61]

Thank you for those very detailed info. In fact, If not commuting, i was interested in being able to go back to Germany quite often on days off to see my family there, but still having a place to live in Riga. If days off are always single, it can be quite tricky, but if they at least come in pairs, it is far more doable. I suppose there is absolutely no way for a FO to negotiate a fixed roster. What can you bid in the system : flights, days off, everything ?

And do you have any idea on how many FOs they need for the Dash fleet ? It might be quite low... Is there a pool ?

[q400_driver]

Originally Posted by Rocket61

Thank you for those very detailed info. In fact, If not commuting, i was interested in being able to go back to Germany quite often on days off to see my family there, but still having a place to live in Riga. If days off are always single, it can be quite tricky, but if they at least come in pairs, it is far more doable. I suppose there is absolutely no way for a FO to negotiate a fixed roster. What can you bid in the system : flights, days off, everything ?

And do you have any idea on how many FOs they need for the Dash fleet ? It might be quite low... Is there a pool ?

We connect with Germany quite well, there are multiple flights a day going to Munich, Berlin, Diseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg etc, you will also have access to ID (staff) travel that will give you serious discounts on other carriers, such as Lufthansa, so I would say Germany shouldn't be a problem as such. I read that your location is Rome and that could be a bit more problematic. They will pair 2 days off as well whenever they can.

Bidding wise, you can bid on days off, flights, layovers etc. Some people who commute like to bid for a night stop followed by a day off, so they finish a flight at 7am in the morning and go straight to next aircraft that will take them home. Some other people bid for TLL layovers, this way you can get a decent work week with plenty of flights that result in more days off.

Regarding FOs, there is no pool as far as I know. We have about 50 FOs on dash at the moment. We need probably about 60. The very first Pilot Academy group is about to finish and they will all start on the dash in the next few months, there's 12 people there. At the same time lots of guys on the top of the seniority list are very close to moving on to the left seat and the guys in the middle will move to the Airbus. Realistically I expect to see a massive movement in the next half a year or so. If they are recruiting, the vacancy is there. You also have to take into account that if they hire you tomorrow, it will probably take around 2 to 3 months before you even get close to the aircraft - company course and type rating takes time!

[Giak]

Hi I have been invited 8th of December for the assessment in Riga , anyone invited too ? Any suggestions or tips for the assessment on the Q400?
about the online test for those who asked it was quite straight forward with some English idioms some easy math problems and some shapes where you need to choose the different ones.

[Luftganza]

Hello everyone,
I have the assessment on the 8th of December too. Does everybody go through the b737-300 sim? What kind of air-exercise should we expect?

Thank you in advance

[Luray]

Originally Posted by Luftganza

Hello everyone,
I have the assessment on the 8th of December too. Does everybody go through the b737-300 sim? What kind of air-exercise should we expect?

Thank you in advance

Takeoff (be sure to check rvr not to low), follow radial outbound and answer some basic math questions like - give estimate arrival time of outbound 30 miles and return. then maybe few tcas ra and engine failure. On first approach expect go around with special one engine out departure procedure and maybe windshear. Not very hard though few people occasionally crash in windshear)