Career paths
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Joined: May 2005
Posts: 14
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From: paris
Career paths
Hello everyone,
The airline I work for (major European one) no longer allows long haul FOs to upgrade directly as long haul captains.
The standard career path is now short/medium haul FO, long haul FO, short/medium Captain, long haul Captain.
For some of our FOs, it’s a big issue and legal actions are underway. Some of my fellow colleagues object that no other major airline (European or non-European) has implemented such a rule. I would very much appreciate if you could prove them wrong, should your airline work the same way. Please state the name of this airline as I want to be as accurate as possible.
Thanks for helping me on this one
The airline I work for (major European one) no longer allows long haul FOs to upgrade directly as long haul captains.
The standard career path is now short/medium haul FO, long haul FO, short/medium Captain, long haul Captain.
For some of our FOs, it’s a big issue and legal actions are underway. Some of my fellow colleagues object that no other major airline (European or non-European) has implemented such a rule. I would very much appreciate if you could prove them wrong, should your airline work the same way. Please state the name of this airline as I want to be as accurate as possible.
Thanks for helping me on this one
Joined: Jul 2017
Posts: 66
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From: London
In SAS you can stay as LH FO, and wait with upgrade until your seniority is high enough for the LH Captains list. That is why you often see FOs in their late 50´s wearing SAS uniform with 3 solid stripes. FO top salary is around 10.000 €, so no need to hurry into the left seat, and do 800 hrs/year in SH (around 600 sectors). In LH it is more like 65-80 sectors/year, which is much more attractive to most experienced pilots.
I don't see any reason why SAS would change this in the future, since it works for all. Sorry to hear about your situation.
I don't see any reason why SAS would change this in the future, since it works for all. Sorry to hear about your situation.
Last edited by Easyheat; 23rd February 2019 at 18:06. Reason: Add
Joined: Jan 2018
Posts: 863
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From: Amantido
At my airline, which is not a major, there is a seniority list to be considered for command upgrade. On short-haul – besides a minimum amount of hours – there is a requirement of at least 5 years in the company and on long-haul – besides even more hours – the minimum is at least 8 years in the company. In case of need, the time in the company is not a hard requirement as long as you have the minimum hours.
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 32
Likes: 4
From: AMS
KLM has the same rule, implemented a few years ago:
FO SH - FO LH - CPT SH - CPT LH
The guys who were already FO LH at the time could still go FO LH- CPT LH.
all in conjuncture with the union, no legal cases as far as I know.
FO SH - FO LH - CPT SH - CPT LH
The guys who were already FO LH at the time could still go FO LH- CPT LH.
all in conjuncture with the union, no legal cases as far as I know.
Joined: Apr 2016
Posts: 80
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From: Frankfurt
Lufthansa has had the same rule for ages.
FO SH - FO LH - CPT SH - CPT LH
Exception: you could go FO long - CPT Cargo (long) - CPT long
FO money is very good. So keep waiting 15-20 years on long range til Captain upgrade is what most do. Usually 3-4 roundtrips a month.
FO SH - FO LH - CPT SH - CPT LH
Exception: you could go FO long - CPT Cargo (long) - CPT long
FO money is very good. So keep waiting 15-20 years on long range til Captain upgrade is what most do. Usually 3-4 roundtrips a month.
Joined: Feb 2001
Posts: 6,729
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From: The Winchester
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 1,040
Likes: 35
From: Home
Many BA SH F/Os have gone to Command in LH, what’s the problem? I believe that an F/O is on Command Course on the A380 at the moment.
Joined: Aug 2019
Posts: 4
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From: London
Is it possible in KLM to go from FO SH to CPT SH without doing LH in between? Or is it a requirement?
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 279
Likes: 3
From: 43N
Major US carrier here.
Strictly seniority based. Many of our wide body FO’s have flown narrow body Captain, but a few haven’t. A few WB FO’s “hop the garbage sack” and go directly from wide body FO to wide body Captain never being a NB Captain. Whatever your seniority can hold, you can bid.
From my perspective as a training Captain, I believe having experience as narrow body Captain prior to becoming a wide body Captain is a definite plus, but I would fight any attempt to legislate it contractually.
Strictly seniority based. Many of our wide body FO’s have flown narrow body Captain, but a few haven’t. A few WB FO’s “hop the garbage sack” and go directly from wide body FO to wide body Captain never being a NB Captain. Whatever your seniority can hold, you can bid.
From my perspective as a training Captain, I believe having experience as narrow body Captain prior to becoming a wide body Captain is a definite plus, but I would fight any attempt to legislate it contractually.
