Aer Lingus FO
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Aer Lingus FO
Hi Guys,
I'm weighing up the pros and cons of a move to Aer Lingus, but there's a lack of info about them anywhere on here other than for the recruitment process. Can a current FO or anyone with a decent idea of the place elaborate on life as an FO flying the green shamrock around?
Notably,
What's the work/life balance like and the mood in the company?
What can an normal year 1 FO expect to take home net?
What's the current state of affairs regarding progression (rank and fleet)?
Any help or other interesting info would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
I'm weighing up the pros and cons of a move to Aer Lingus, but there's a lack of info about them anywhere on here other than for the recruitment process. Can a current FO or anyone with a decent idea of the place elaborate on life as an FO flying the green shamrock around?
Notably,
What's the work/life balance like and the mood in the company?
What can an normal year 1 FO expect to take home net?
What's the current state of affairs regarding progression (rank and fleet)?
Any help or other interesting info would be appreciated.
Thanks in advance
PPJN salary info is fairly accurate, 5/3 fixed pattern roster on the A320 with 1 month every 8 months random roster, A330 full time random roster, minimum 2 days off after east coast trip, 3 days off after a west coast trip, all 24 hour turnarounds in the states.
Rapid expansion at the moment, A330 right seat down to about 2.5-3 years experience, A320 command looking like its currently down to about 8-10 years. Once growth settles down, typical time to A330 right seat was about 7-9 years and time to command 12-15 years, as would have been typical with a long established legacy carrier. High pension contribution from company, highly unionised which has protected most working conditions throughout the years such. Pension, license, medical, uniform, parking, dry cleaning, transport, accomodation for sims/on trips, crew food etc etc all included. Duty limitations stricter than FTL but still expect to work long days with minimum rest during the 5 days on.
Lots of expansion over the next 4-5 years with growth in A330 fleet and 12 A321NeoLRs comming which will shorten time to long haul and time to command.
Understaffed in a lot of seats resulting in a lot of firefighting over the summer months, with a lot of last minute changes to rosters the friday before the week starts, protected by union working conditions but still can be disruptive, resulted in low moral among the troops over the summer. Pay review in progress as we speak, hoping for a report to be published in the next month or two. No indication as to what the report will say, however general staff got a payrise of 8.7% over 2.5 years if that's a benchmark to go by.
Rapid expansion at the moment, A330 right seat down to about 2.5-3 years experience, A320 command looking like its currently down to about 8-10 years. Once growth settles down, typical time to A330 right seat was about 7-9 years and time to command 12-15 years, as would have been typical with a long established legacy carrier. High pension contribution from company, highly unionised which has protected most working conditions throughout the years such. Pension, license, medical, uniform, parking, dry cleaning, transport, accomodation for sims/on trips, crew food etc etc all included. Duty limitations stricter than FTL but still expect to work long days with minimum rest during the 5 days on.
Lots of expansion over the next 4-5 years with growth in A330 fleet and 12 A321NeoLRs comming which will shorten time to long haul and time to command.
Understaffed in a lot of seats resulting in a lot of firefighting over the summer months, with a lot of last minute changes to rosters the friday before the week starts, protected by union working conditions but still can be disruptive, resulted in low moral among the troops over the summer. Pay review in progress as we speak, hoping for a report to be published in the next month or two. No indication as to what the report will say, however general staff got a payrise of 8.7% over 2.5 years if that's a benchmark to go by.
Last edited by EI_DVM; 10th Nov 2017 at 12:01.
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Cheers, I couldn't have asked for a better response. Sounds like a better gig than my current one. One last thing, on the 320, do you come home most nights or are there quite a few stops downroute?
Not anymore since the return to the west coast 3 years back, flights operate daily, with about 26 hours on the ground downroute, then back to Dublin for 3 days off (not including the day of arrival). Occasionally in winter there may be opportunities for 2 night stops downroute if frequency drops off in January/February but the trend has been moving towards maintaining frequencies even through the winter.
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Spot on from EI_DVM. The 330 seems to be becoming extremely junior for FOs, with what seems like an increasing number from both seats choosing to stay on the 320. The 321s will make things very interesting indeed, if it all goes well then it could make the fleet very attractive with a mixture of Europe/North America on a 5/3 roster. Then again it might not...
As an aside I'm sure there are still some 2 night trips to Orlando and Miami, must be a nice break during our winters!
As an aside I'm sure there are still some 2 night trips to Orlando and Miami, must be a nice break during our winters!
Well EI only hires into the right seat A320, all 330 and command places are filled internally by seniority, so it really depends on if you want to go straight to long haul (Virgin) or wait around for 3 years flying the A320 to get back to the right seat 330, and possibly longer if the expansion cools down. Also depends where you want to be based, if you want to live in LON/MAN, Virgin is the better gig in town, if you want to live in DUB and move your family there, or commute from regional UK, EI could be the better gig. Really depends on the lifestyle you want and where you want your career to go. Jumpseating in Uniform on mainline Aer Lingus is free once listed on the crew manifest, with unlimited ID90's available to purchase for Regional flights operated by Stobart after 6 months service.
Also, keep in mind that although the Aer Lingus salary looks very attractive, income taxes in the Republic of Ireland are quite high, with a marginal rate of just over 50%. And expect to spend bout €800 per month renting in Dublin where there's currently an on going housing and rental shortage after years of reduced construction activity following the economic crash, and expect much higher car insurance premiums here as well, all needs to be factored into your decision.
Also, keep in mind that although the Aer Lingus salary looks very attractive, income taxes in the Republic of Ireland are quite high, with a marginal rate of just over 50%. And expect to spend bout €800 per month renting in Dublin where there's currently an on going housing and rental shortage after years of reduced construction activity following the economic crash, and expect much higher car insurance premiums here as well, all needs to be factored into your decision.
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SFO daily most of year. LAX daily during summer schedule only. One night west coast results in 4 days off, not 3, not including day of arrival. 2 night west coast duties result in 3 days off. Miami and Orlando are not daily at anytime throughout the year, thus 2 & 3 nights trips only.
All other current East Coast duties generally 1 night trips (odd exemptions), and Washington sharing duties S18 between 330/757 therefore 2/3 nights trips.
All other new 330 destinations won't start daily and therefore more long-stop duties will be appearing on the roster shortly.
All other current East Coast duties generally 1 night trips (odd exemptions), and Washington sharing duties S18 between 330/757 therefore 2/3 nights trips.
All other new 330 destinations won't start daily and therefore more long-stop duties will be appearing on the roster shortly.
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Saw this on the Aer Lingus recruitments site:
A pilot on the European network may fly 4 or 5 flights a day, 5 days a week.
5 flights 5 days a week? Seems a lot!
Can anyone explain the typical roster on the a320?
A pilot on the European network may fly 4 or 5 flights a day, 5 days a week.
5 flights 5 days a week? Seems a lot!
Can anyone explain the typical roster on the a320?
Does anyone have any information on the interview / sim assessment for Aer Lingus? Particularly what is a “panel exercise”?
Also, is commuting from mainland UK a realistic option for Dublin base? Property prices are quite high in DUB and family reasons mean a move would not be straightforward, at least not in the short term.
PM is fine. Thanks very much.
Also, is commuting from mainland UK a realistic option for Dublin base? Property prices are quite high in DUB and family reasons mean a move would not be straightforward, at least not in the short term.
PM is fine. Thanks very much.
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I don't have any confirmed info about the assessment I'm afraid but maybe this will help:
https://www.totaljobs.com/careers-ad...anel-interview
I believe you can commute in uniform free of charge and you can bid for overnights during your 5 on (4 nights) so could be possible. Good luck!
https://www.totaljobs.com/careers-ad...anel-interview
I believe you can commute in uniform free of charge and you can bid for overnights during your 5 on (4 nights) so could be possible. Good luck!
Perhaps just a panel interview then - the email confirmation called it an “exercise” which had me a bit puzzled. Thanks for the info re: commuting. If I can commute then things might be easier in the initial period.
Thanks!
Good luck!
PPJN salary info is fairly accurate, 5/3 fixed pattern roster on the A320 with 1 month every 8 months random roster, A330 full time random roster, minimum 2 days off after east coast trip, 3 days off after a west coast trip, all 24 hour turnarounds in the states.
Rapid expansion at the moment, A330 right seat down to about 2.5-3 years experience, A320 command looking like its currently down to about 8-10 years. Once growth settles down, typical time to A330 right seat was about 7-9 years and time to command 12-15 years, as would have been typical with a long established legacy carrier. High pension contribution from company, highly unionised which has protected most working conditions throughout the years such. Pension, license, medical, uniform, parking, dry cleaning, transport, accomodation for sims/on trips, crew food etc etc all included. Duty limitations stricter than FTL but still expect to work long days with minimum rest during the 5 days on.
Lots of expansion over the next 4-5 years with growth in A330 fleet and 12 A321NeoLRs comming which will shorten time to long haul and time to command.
Understaffed in a lot of seats resulting in a lot of firefighting over the summer months, with a lot of last minute changes to rosters the friday before the week starts, protected by union working conditions but still can be disruptive, resulted in low moral among the troops over the summer. Pay review in progress as we speak, hoping for a report to be published in the next month or two. No indication as to what the report will say, however general staff got a payrise of 8.7% over 2.5 years if that's a benchmark to go by.
Rapid expansion at the moment, A330 right seat down to about 2.5-3 years experience, A320 command looking like its currently down to about 8-10 years. Once growth settles down, typical time to A330 right seat was about 7-9 years and time to command 12-15 years, as would have been typical with a long established legacy carrier. High pension contribution from company, highly unionised which has protected most working conditions throughout the years such. Pension, license, medical, uniform, parking, dry cleaning, transport, accomodation for sims/on trips, crew food etc etc all included. Duty limitations stricter than FTL but still expect to work long days with minimum rest during the 5 days on.
Lots of expansion over the next 4-5 years with growth in A330 fleet and 12 A321NeoLRs comming which will shorten time to long haul and time to command.
Understaffed in a lot of seats resulting in a lot of firefighting over the summer months, with a lot of last minute changes to rosters the friday before the week starts, protected by union working conditions but still can be disruptive, resulted in low moral among the troops over the summer. Pay review in progress as we speak, hoping for a report to be published in the next month or two. No indication as to what the report will say, however general staff got a payrise of 8.7% over 2.5 years if that's a benchmark to go by.
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@Jonesyinthesky
You strike me as someone who is either a) Bitter for some reason, or b) Are not actually aware of how the seniority system works in Aer Lingus.
The time to command is directly linked to your seniority number. How you got that seniority number has no correlation to how you entered the company. You take your ticket and you wait until it comes up. As has been stated above, the time to command is currently quite a bit shorter than most legacy airlines. This is due the ongoing expansion on the longhaul network and will continue to do so whilst the 321NeoLRs arrive in the coming years. Also, there is no attitude towards what you have termed "outsiders".
Oh, I'm definitely not sure "you're better off at Wow"
You strike me as someone who is either a) Bitter for some reason, or b) Are not actually aware of how the seniority system works in Aer Lingus.
The time to command is directly linked to your seniority number. How you got that seniority number has no correlation to how you entered the company. You take your ticket and you wait until it comes up. As has been stated above, the time to command is currently quite a bit shorter than most legacy airlines. This is due the ongoing expansion on the longhaul network and will continue to do so whilst the 321NeoLRs arrive in the coming years. Also, there is no attitude towards what you have termed "outsiders".
Oh, I'm definitely not sure "you're better off at Wow"
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I am not sure Virgin have a particularly short command time, also their record on hiring direct entry captains is fairly poor as well (not that I see the importance of that). You seem to be struggling with the concept of a seniority system, when you join you will indeed be behind everyone for command or fleet change irrespective of nationality, that’s the price you pay for joining a legacy airline!