Best and worse airlines in Europe to work for.
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Best and worse airlines in Europe to work for.
Interesting read:
https://www.eurocockpit.be/news/euro...ce-social-junk
https://www.eurocockpit.be/news/euro...ce-social-junk
Interesting reading. Although I am not in the EU anymore, lots of those names brought back memories, and I have friends in quite a few of those places. Was curious about Smart-lynx, because I fly the A320, and read about their training accident. E265/working day is top Captains pay.... You would need to work 31 days per month to make as much as a 5 year Wizz Captain living in Germany.
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Just for the record, for those that have already given up on the idea of "career" airlines, SmartLynx and Avion suits some people just fine. They are friendly places to work with simple, no-nonsense SOPs. During the summer, you get 2 day sectors doing ACMI work for the more loved airlines (and you get fed and watered unlike Sleaze Air). IIRC, during high season, that €265 is days on contract so 22 x 30 ? In the winter, you earn €265 on days you fly and half on non duty days.
Last edited by CW247; 17th Mar 2022 at 10:23.
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The samples are really low for some airlines. BA for example has 88 reviews. Level has 2!! Not sure I would read much into this survey at all. Makes you wonder if the management pilots filled in the answers for some.
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probably they have done in some occasions. Nevertheless most bigger airlines have enough reviews for it to actually show a decent picture. Lets all participate next year is all I can say for it.
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Just for the record, for those that have already given up on the idea of "career" airlines, SmartLynx and Avion suits some people just fine. They are friendly places to work with simple, no-nonsense SOPs. During the summer, you get 2 day sectors doing ACMI work for the more loved airlines (and you get fed and watered unlike Sleaze Air). IIRC, during high season, that €265 is days on contract minus days off, so 22 x 265 ? In the winter, you only earn on days you fly.
Assuming you live in any sort of a decent country subtract 30% tax minimum = 4081 euros net
Now subtract pension, health insurance etc
Absolutely crap money for an FO never mind a Captain, oh and that is only in the summer you get pennies in the winter if you don't fly. And you think this is good?
Pilots are their own worse enemies.
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Edit: Whitemonk, it's actually 265 x 30 (days on contract) + 15 per BH, so a good month with 80 hours will gross you €9,150. You get to organise your own taxes. I reckon this is on par with a year 1-2 Captain at most legacy carriers but minus all the benefits of course
I don't think it's good Whitemonk, but you're comparing apples and pears. The Eastern European ACMI jobs cater for a certain type of individual. Well, they're meant to but reality is all sorts will apply because they can't find a job at a "career" airline. ACMI jobs are fine for people who don't mind relaxing in the winter or have other sources of income. The business is only there for the ACMI in the summer, so why on earth should they employ people on a perm salary all year around? That's not good business sense is it? Horses for courses and all.
The days of 6k net per month for a Captain in Europe working for a non-legacy operator without sacrificing one's health on a daily basis ended a long time ago. You could be a FR or Wizz pilot and take home another 20-25k per year (before tax) but at the expense of what? For many people, it's simply not worth it. And that 265 figure will go up, come2022, 2023 
I don't think it's good Whitemonk, but you're comparing apples and pears. The Eastern European ACMI jobs cater for a certain type of individual. Well, they're meant to but reality is all sorts will apply because they can't find a job at a "career" airline. ACMI jobs are fine for people who don't mind relaxing in the winter or have other sources of income. The business is only there for the ACMI in the summer, so why on earth should they employ people on a perm salary all year around? That's not good business sense is it? Horses for courses and all.
The days of 6k net per month for a Captain in Europe working for a non-legacy operator without sacrificing one's health on a daily basis ended a long time ago. You could be a FR or Wizz pilot and take home another 20-25k per year (before tax) but at the expense of what? For many people, it's simply not worth it. And that 265 figure will go up, come
Last edited by CW247; 17th Mar 2022 at 10:26.
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I don't think it's good Whitemonk, but you're comparing apples and pears. The Eastern European ACMI jobs cater for a certain type of individual. Well, they're meant to but reality is all sorts will apply because they can't find a job at a "career" airline. ACMI jobs are fine for people who don't mind relaxing in the winter or have other sources of income. The business is only there for the ACMI in the summer, so why on earth should they employ people on a perm salary all year around? That's not good business sense is it? Horses for courses and all.
The days of 6k net per month for a Captain in Europe working for a non-legacy operator without sacrificing one's health on a daily basis ended a long time ago. You could be a FR or Wizz pilot and take home another 20-25k per year (before tax) but at the expense of what? For many people, it's simply not worth it. And that 265 figure will go up, come2022, 2023
The days of 6k net per month for a Captain in Europe working for a non-legacy operator without sacrificing one's health on a daily basis ended a long time ago. You could be a FR or Wizz pilot and take home another 20-25k per year (before tax) but at the expense of what? For many people, it's simply not worth it. And that 265 figure will go up, come
How are you supposed to plan to pay your mortgage etc if you don't know what you will be earning 6 months of the year? And 265 euros a day is crap, HGV drivers are getting £300 a day at the moment and can be fully qualified in less than 6 months. If Captains didn't accept such poor paying jobs then the pay would have to go up dramatically
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WM, I think your numbers are not calculated well. I.e. some elements may still be missing. 30% income tax does not really apply from the first dirham. Etc.
But there is an eerie moment: LH offspring EW EU offering 3500 EUR after tax for CE base.
Getting 5.5 - 7.5 for a summer job of 5 months will appeal to some. SmartLynx paying only as little as necessary is an established business practice across the entire industry. Just before the pandemic the 737 running rate was 12.5 EUR/m for a 6 months ACMI assignment on a self employed contract.
But there is an eerie moment: LH offspring EW EU offering 3500 EUR after tax for CE base.
Getting 5.5 - 7.5 for a summer job of 5 months will appeal to some. SmartLynx paying only as little as necessary is an established business practice across the entire industry. Just before the pandemic the 737 running rate was 12.5 EUR/m for a 6 months ACMI assignment on a self employed contract.
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I belive there is not really much difference between one airline and the other. Yes if you are. A Captain in Lufthansa you will be looking at a salary 3 to 4 times higher than lets say Air Baltic, Wizzair, Vuelinh ...but in general salaries along Europe are poor compare to their counterparts in the Americas and Asia.
So working as a pilot in Europe nowdays I is not paid accordingly and many times is actually awfully bad paid.
So working as a pilot in Europe nowdays I is not paid accordingly and many times is actually awfully bad paid.
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I belive there is not really much difference between one airline and the other. Yes if you are. A Captain in Lufthansa you will be looking at a salary 3 to 4 times higher than lets say Air Baltic, Wizzair, Vuelinh ...but in general salaries along Europe are poor compare to their counterparts in the Americas and Asia.
So working as a pilot in Europe nowdays I is not paid accordingly and many times is actually awfully bad paid.
So working as a pilot in Europe nowdays I is not paid accordingly and many times is actually awfully bad paid.
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Canada is part of North America, and salaries there are equally sh** as in Europe. The US is the leader of the pack, and they are far ahead of others in terms of the quality of their contracts.
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Nice to see Aer Lingus near the top with some room for improvement as my home airline.
Agree with the sentiment of others RE general conditions in Europe. Really hope we see some progress towards the likes of what is going on in the States, but because of the oversupply of pilots here and differences in geography etc, I doubt that
Agree with the sentiment of others RE general conditions in Europe. Really hope we see some progress towards the likes of what is going on in the States, but because of the oversupply of pilots here and differences in geography etc, I doubt that
