British Airways FO Short Haul Roster?
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British Airways FO Short Haul Roster?
Hi guys and gals.
I'm currently on the BA Future scheme with L3 CTS, will be A320 at either LGW or LHR. Obviously have plenty of info re a 'typical' month (sectors/ hours etc) once I'm out there in the real world (!), but what I can't seem to find is an 'actual' example of a FO schedule for a month. Taking away the obvious nuances (experience/ bidding/ seniority/ etc.), it would be very interesting for any LHR or LGW based short haul flight crew to post a copy or snapshot of their actual typical months roster, even if not current.
Many thanks!
I'm currently on the BA Future scheme with L3 CTS, will be A320 at either LGW or LHR. Obviously have plenty of info re a 'typical' month (sectors/ hours etc) once I'm out there in the real world (!), but what I can't seem to find is an 'actual' example of a FO schedule for a month. Taking away the obvious nuances (experience/ bidding/ seniority/ etc.), it would be very interesting for any LHR or LGW based short haul flight crew to post a copy or snapshot of their actual typical months roster, even if not current.
Many thanks!
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There’s no such thing as a typical roster on BA SH (certainly as regards to LHR) as the roster pattern is completely and utterly random depending on the construct of the line. Also bear in mind that for your first couple of years at the bottom of the list you’ll be doing a LOT of reserve.
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As other posters say above. There is absolutely no point in asking for a BA roster. Where there might be limited value in getting to see typical rosters if ones starts working for an airline, at BA there isn't any value in it what so ever.
Pilots in BA have so much roster control (long/short tours, day trips, weekends at work/off, long sectors, short sectors, typical destinations, avoid destinations, mid-haul, days off in big blocks or evenly spread over the month, etc) that what might be ones ideal roster is another ones nightmare. Therefor rosters are a very personal thing and just because a pilot gets a few mid haul trips, another might have mainly day trips because of her/his preferences. This isn't going to change with JSS.
Pilots in BA have so much roster control (long/short tours, day trips, weekends at work/off, long sectors, short sectors, typical destinations, avoid destinations, mid-haul, days off in big blocks or evenly spread over the month, etc) that what might be ones ideal roster is another ones nightmare. Therefor rosters are a very personal thing and just because a pilot gets a few mid haul trips, another might have mainly day trips because of her/his preferences. This isn't going to change with JSS.
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This isn't going to change with JSS.
Since no full scale roster solution has been produced. I guess your statement is based on assumptions/faith?
There MUST and will be changes under JSS. Who knows what those changes will be? Certainly fabulous if you’re senior. Who will pay the price for that?
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Think you might have misread my statement. What I said is that with JSS getting ones rosters is still not much use for another person since also the roster produced with JSS is purely based on ones personal (bidding) preferences.
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I think ‘purely’ is a strong word. I suspect it will be a bit more like what I’ve been told flying an Airbus is like. The pilot will make an input, and the computer will attempt to take it into account when deciding how to do what it wants to do.
You are right that individual pilots will still have different opinions about what constitutes a good roster, but I suspect far fewer people will achieve their idea of good.
You are right that individual pilots will still have different opinions about what constitutes a good roster, but I suspect far fewer people will achieve their idea of good.
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If those changes consist of no longer having to bid for lines that are an unorganised mess of day trips and tours (which please virtually nobody considering most people are either day trippers or they’re tourers) then JSS gets my vote every day of the week. Although I’ll freely admit I’ll miss the transparency of bidline.
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For anyone ‘senior’ JSS will allow you to work pretty much any roster you wish. For anyone not ‘senior’ there will likely be very little ‘control’ indeed.
But hey. It’s all guesswork! All we can say at the moment is JSS wasn’t fit for introduction over the coming summer of crisis!
But hey. It’s all guesswork! All we can say at the moment is JSS wasn’t fit for introduction over the coming summer of crisis!
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Isn't the saying "you only have to be junior once"?
If you are joining as DEP LH that once might be a "bit" longer but you get the benefit of LH.
Joining as DEP SH that once is generally relatively short and you get the advantage that pretty much everybody on the fleet is in the same reserve banding, but you do work for it.
If you are joining as DEP LH that once might be a "bit" longer but you get the benefit of LH.
Joining as DEP SH that once is generally relatively short and you get the advantage that pretty much everybody on the fleet is in the same reserve banding, but you do work for it.
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you only have to be junior once
This thread makes me laugh - it's so pointless....
99% of it is simply regurgitated info/opinions that have been done a death on the other BA thread. The remaining 1% is the cadet who's lucky enough to be going to BA as their first job, asking about rosters?! As if there's even the tiniest chance they'll not go to BA because of any answer given. Personally I'd just concentrate on passing your training first time and worry about the roster in BA later. It's a legit question I'm sure, as there's nothing wrong with trying to plan your future a bit, but as has been demonstrated above you need a type rating in BA's rostering system to make any sense of it from the outside anyway.
99% of it is simply regurgitated info/opinions that have been done a death on the other BA thread. The remaining 1% is the cadet who's lucky enough to be going to BA as their first job, asking about rosters?! As if there's even the tiniest chance they'll not go to BA because of any answer given. Personally I'd just concentrate on passing your training first time and worry about the roster in BA later. It's a legit question I'm sure, as there's nothing wrong with trying to plan your future a bit, but as has been demonstrated above you need a type rating in BA's rostering system to make any sense of it from the outside anyway.
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VJW makes a good point.
You only have to be junior once! 😂 yeah right. Maybe if you have little career ambition other than do as little as possible in the RHS of a LH yet. Most FO’s want to jump to LH and most captains on SH are treading water. Be junior just once they say. Yes but you will wait 15 years or more for command. What’s LHS long haul? 20 years? If everyone was junior once we would be in a real mess.
Rosters for a junior pilot on short haul. Really not that bad. Think of it this way and you will be fine. A couple of reserve periods a year. Work most weekends and mostly 2 day 6 or dirty doubles. Possibly 18 days work a month. It will however improve providing recruitment continues. If it stagnates then it’s a rough ride for a while.
You only have to be junior once! 😂 yeah right. Maybe if you have little career ambition other than do as little as possible in the RHS of a LH yet. Most FO’s want to jump to LH and most captains on SH are treading water. Be junior just once they say. Yes but you will wait 15 years or more for command. What’s LHS long haul? 20 years? If everyone was junior once we would be in a real mess.
Rosters for a junior pilot on short haul. Really not that bad. Think of it this way and you will be fine. A couple of reserve periods a year. Work most weekends and mostly 2 day 6 or dirty doubles. Possibly 18 days work a month. It will however improve providing recruitment continues. If it stagnates then it’s a rough ride for a while.
Last edited by bex88; 12th Apr 2018 at 07:50.
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VJW makes a good point.
You only have to be junior once! 😂 yeah right. Maybe if you have little career ambition other than do as little as possible in the RHS of a LH yet. Most FO’s want to jump to LH and most captains on SH are treading water. Be junior just once they say. Yes but you will wait 15 years or more for command. What’s LHS long haul? 20 years? If everyone was junior once we would be in a real mess.
Rosters for a junior pilot on short haul. Really not that bad. Think of it this way and you will be fine. A couple of reserve periods a year. Work most weekends and mostly 2 day 6 or dirty doubles. Possibly 18 days work a month. It will however improve providing recruitment continues. If it stagnates then it’s a rough ride for a while.
You only have to be junior once! 😂 yeah right. Maybe if you have little career ambition other than do as little as possible in the RHS of a LH yet. Most FO’s want to jump to LH and most captains on SH are treading water. Be junior just once they say. Yes but you will wait 15 years or more for command. What’s LHS long haul? 20 years? If everyone was junior once we would be in a real mess.
Rosters for a junior pilot on short haul. Really not that bad. Think of it this way and you will be fine. A couple of reserve periods a year. Work most weekends and mostly 2 day 6 or dirty doubles. Possibly 18 days work a month. It will however improve providing recruitment continues. If it stagnates then it’s a rough ride for a while.
This thread makes me laugh - it's so pointless....
You were new once, don't forget it. I see from other posts that you're coming to EZY, don't ask any questions now will you...
I remember doing my training and not having a BA job waiting for me at the end. Had that been the case I’m pretty sure the last thing I’d have been wondering was how often are they going to ‘make’ me fly!
Asking questions when any of the answers given here aren’t going to make any difference to a decision the OP needs to make is what I find pointless...
Last edited by VJW; 12th Apr 2018 at 16:17.
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3 Greens. Allow me to expand on that. There is nothing wrong with being in the RHS at all. However those that persist in staying RHS are causing a problem. Look at what’s happening, a whole thread about minimum command hours and ok bids which don’t currently have the hours. LH SFO’s who refuse to move on for anything other than LHS LH and FO’s on SH who don’t want a command just LH because they don’t want to be junior for a decade.
It’s a fault of the system rather than the pilots. Simple solution really. LH aircraft should be “unsuitable for first command”. If you want to get on you do have to be junior more than once.
Anyway like I said there is nothing wrong with being RHS.
Back to the topic: FO rostering.
It’s a fault of the system rather than the pilots. Simple solution really. LH aircraft should be “unsuitable for first command”. If you want to get on you do have to be junior more than once.
Anyway like I said there is nothing wrong with being RHS.
Back to the topic: FO rostering.
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bex88
Couldn’t agree more.
There are a few RHS LH, that have been sat in that seat far too long, and it shows! As you say, possibly more a fault of the system at BA, where LH copilots can be paid more than SH captains for a vastly superior lifestyle!
There’s always howls of protest, when talk of CSDs earning more than copilots rears it’s head. Why no such outcry when co-pilots are paid more than captains?
As I say. That’s the system.
Couldn’t agree more.
There are a few RHS LH, that have been sat in that seat far too long, and it shows! As you say, possibly more a fault of the system at BA, where LH copilots can be paid more than SH captains for a vastly superior lifestyle!
There’s always howls of protest, when talk of CSDs earning more than copilots rears it’s head. Why no such outcry when co-pilots are paid more than captains?
As I say. That’s the system.
Last edited by 4468; 12th Apr 2018 at 18:07.