Best choice for my next step

[Basicsteve]

Originally Posted by macdo

Happy to add TUI to that list and they did look after folk pretty well during covid. In terms of ultimate job security, I don't feel TUI is the equal of BA in job security, but the OP might like the 'vibe' better than BA. Lot of good folk at TUI and the LH is fun, you just have to click with the IT lifestyle. Apologies for thread creep!

A friend just showed me their new updated payscales with their pay rise….. amazing!

[NotSoSmart]

Thanks all for the helpful and insightful responses.
Is the freeze at EF still 6 years? The onboarding packages simply state “after a short freeze” with no defined time. I’ve heard others have managed to make the move to Heathrow already which in that case would make it less than 2 years since Euroflyer began

[Busdriver01]

Originally Posted by NotSoSmart

Thanks all for the helpful and insightful responses.
Is the freeze at EF still 6 years? The onboarding packages simply state “after a short freeze” with no defined time. I’ve heard others have managed to make the move to Heathrow already which in that case would make it less than 2 years since Euroflyer began

Most of the ex-PRP pilots that went down to EF (ie the ones who were made redundant from mainline in covid) were allowed back up to LHR if they wanted before their freeze ended as part of a negotiation by BALPA I believe. I wouldn't bank the same being the case as a new entrant. Freezes usually last the advertised duration, sometimes a year less. You may get lucky with a bid before that, but don't assume it will happen just because it has happened to others!

[Potatos_69]

BAEF is terrible T&C wise, doing 5-6 years there while being good for the MSL position is going to be bad for your financial and mental health, especially if you need to pay SE UK rental/house prices for being down there...

Virgin wouldn't be a terrible place to be in comparison, and it has much faster times to command than BA for LH now (7-10 compared to 18+) that could be a huge advantage if you want to stay there long term. BA in comparison has terrible salaries for those who want fast commands. LHR SH takes Paypoint 11 to match a Year 1 WUK/EZY/J2 Captain. Paypoint 24/25 to match a Year 10/11 WUK/EZY Captain.

My order for you would be: BA LHR base, Virgin, BAEF/Norse at the bottom. (WUK currently pay better than BAEF, which is a bit embarassing)

[VariablePitchP]

Originally Posted by Potatos_69

BAEF is terrible T&C wise, doing 5-6 years there while being good for the MSL position is going to be bad for your financial and mental health, especially if you need to pay SE UK rental/house prices for being down there...

Virgin wouldn't be a terrible place to be in comparison, and it has much faster times to command than BA for LH now (7-10 compared to 18+) that could be a huge advantage if you want to stay there long term. BA in comparison has terrible salaries for those who want fast commands. LHR SH takes Paypoint 11 to match a Year 1 WUK/EZY/J2 Captain. Paypoint 24/25 to match a Year 10/11 WUK/EZY Captain.

My order for you would be: BA LHR base, Virgin, BAEF/Norse at the bottom. (WUK currently pay better than BAEF, which is a bit embarassing)

WUK do not pay better than EF for their FOs, unless they’ve snuck a 30K payrise in without anyone realising. Particularly when you include the 2024 pay rise for EF, which brings them a lot closer to Heathrow, albeit not quite all the way.

Assuming you never need a day off sick, have no intention of doing anything other than 850+ hours a year on an airbus, and don’t want a pension, Wizz UK might make a bit of sense for a quick command. But when you add it all together with an early command there’s not that much in it for the first few years. WUK then goes ahead for captains by Y12, where you’d sit forever. BA lags but only gets better and clearly surpasses it eventually.

As a data point, a day 1 BAEF FO already gets over 7x more paid into their pension by their employer than a training captain at Wizz UK does. That to me is a pretty massive red flag.

I’d reorder it BA LHR, BA EF, Virgin, Norse. Plenty of people evidently doing 18-24 months at Euroflyer and skipping up the road anyway

[R T Jones]

Originally Posted by VariablePitchP

As a data point, a day 1 BAEF FO already gets over 7x more paid into their pension by their employer than a training captain at Wizz UK does. That to me is a pretty massive red flag.

This is a pretty crazy statistic… and I agree of it being a red flag!

[Fox_one]

You won’t need a pension if you do 850+ hours a year for your whole career, you won’t live to see it!