What's the Virgin Interview like?
 

Hi guys,

I have an interview with Virgin next month. Just wondered if any Virgin pilots that have recently gone through the process could shed light on the interview itself, what the tech paper is like and what the sim detail is?

Many thanks.:ok:

There are many previous threads on this subject, mostly in 'Terms and Endearments' or 'Questions', as no Wannabes will get anywhere near Virgin until they've been in the business for a few years! Try a search in those forums.

Scroggs

Thanks scroggs, I've now found what I was looking for!

Velocity Boy,

Just curious about your background given that Virgin is very difficult to get an interview with.... Can you give us a brief background so that we know what to shoot for?


Cheers

Lav, you'll need at least 2500 hours - preferably more - and the majority of that should be on commercial jets. Equivalent military experience is fine too. Over and above that, you need to come over well on your CV and covering letter, and it helps if you know someone in the company who can recommend you.

At the moment, the majority of our (relatively few) recruits are ex-low-cost peeps, with 2-3000 hours on 737s.

Scroggs

Scroggs,

Thanks for the reply. On which aircraft type are the newhires being assigned recently?

Side question: I recall when you were flying the 747 Classic and I know that you are now flying the Airbus - how do you like it vs. the Classic in terms of aircraft flying and routes?


Cheers

scroggs - please don't answer Lavdumpers question until he/ she fully answers questions I've asked of him / her here: Lavdumper - a consumate time waster ?!

Hi scroggs,

was on the door step a couple of years back for VS but then 9/11 happened.
On the door step again and wanting to weigh up all the pro and cons.
Just wondering what the pay is like now?.
In 2001 it was about 40,000 gbp gross(?!).

Gordo In 2001 the starting pay was a smidge under 38k basic. It's now 40.5k. Under the new terms & conditions that will rise to 53k at year 5 as an FO (time to command? Who knows?). Profit-related pay may add up to 12k to that from 2005. Subsistence allowances are about 6k-8k annually.

Lav As we have new aircraft in both fleets, whatever new hires there are (and there aren't many just now) could be sent to either fleet, although the Airbus needs more than the Boeing. As for the Airbus, it's fine, thanks! Routes are good and the aircraft is a technological revelation after the Classic, particularly for a gadget-junkie like me. I do miss the stick-and-rudder stuff that was enjoyable even in a B747, but that's the way aviation is going.

Scroggs

Many Thanks Scroggs,
overall it doesn't sound too bad at all(except the time to command).
We'll see what happens!.

The new pay deal makes things a lot more rosy here especially once into the 3rd yr, however the time to command is an issue worth looking at.
Anyone joining now will have about 320 F/Os ahead of them out of about 600 flt deck, and an average age in the left seat of about 45ish. Some bright spark worked out recently that assuming no expansion or early retirements/resignations that anyone joining at age 39 would not get a command before reaching age 60!!
However it is a great place to work, with relatively stable rosters, nice destinations, new a/c and the new pay deal takes a lot of the pain out of the L/H seat situation. Good luck and see you soon :)

Very Interesting Pnooze.
Out of interest 2 years ago I was told by the powers that be that time to command was about 5 years so what has happened since?.
Im also assuming that its a straight number seniority system irrespective of experience or how soon you get into the pool.

How about a small issue called September the 11th that caused a few ripples.......

Seems like a silly question that last one to me.

Gordo

to flesh out tailscrape's comment: after September 11th 2001, Virgin announced that 40% (yes, you read it right) of its flight deck workforce would be made redundant. That comprised 25% of the pilots and all of the flight engineers. The Classic fleet (11 aircraft) was to be retired, all expansion plans cancelled, and a very large reduction in the route structure was announced. The main reason for this was that Virgin had been expanding too quickly and was already beginning to overreach itself when 9/11 occurred. There were already rumours of planned redundancies before 9/11, so the reaction after that event had to be severe.

As a result, we had an airline full of young captains, some promoted after as little as 12 months, and now-frustrated FOs who could look forward (ahem) to a significant period of zero expansion, and thus no commands. At all. We also had a very large number of our mates on the dole, and an unhealthy number of commanders demoted to FO to reflect the diminished fleet.

As it happened, the airline overestimated the effect of 9/11 on our trading (or underestimated our customers' loyalty?) and fairly quickly began to retract some of the measures taken. Thank God they did overreact, or we wouldn't be here at all now! Nearly all of those made redundant or on unpaid leave (but, unfortunately, not the FE's) were re-hired, and most of the 'temporarily displaced captains' have regained their seats. The airline is still, two years down the line, smaller than it was in summer 2001, new commands are still on hold, and our expansion plans are more modest than they were then. They are gaining momentum, though, and we're looking for more aeroplanes. Who knows what the future holds? It certainly looks better than the past!

Scroggs

Many thanks scroggs,
really appreciate the informative reply.

I'm in the hands of the people in the office now so thanks again and I may see you round.

You're welcome! Actually, I didn't address your question about how commands are allocated. Essentially, it is a seniority system. However, you must have 6000 hours to be considered for a command, which may be reduced to a minimum of 5000 hours subject to your length of employment with Virgin. There is then a period of assessment of suitability for command, prior to actual command training. So it's a mix of merit and seniority, if you like.

Scroggs

Gordo,

Scroggs is spot on as usual. To awnser yr question then yes it is a straight line seniority system with the usual checks and balances. Not that long ago some guys got ahead of the system by virtue of having the req 6000 hrs for cmd, but i would be surprised if there are many F/Os that do not have these hours now. In the near future the recruitment people will squirm in their seats when asked at interviews about the cmd time.
I have been here 5 and a bit years, and have 70 F/os ahead of me and 220 behind me, so who knows?? :(

Scroggs, do you know what will happen to the pilots who passed their interview in January this year? I had a positive answer to start a course in April, then unfortunately the course was cancelled. Now, I'm still hoping to get called back. Is there a waiting list? Anyway I keep my finger crossed

3MTA3,

For those of us who wish to apply, what was your background (hours and aircraft) when you got accepted? Also, did Virgin indicate to you the type of aircraft you might fly when trained?

3MTA3 I'm not involved in recruiting or selection, so I can't give you chapter and verse on the subject. As far as I am aware anyone who has passed selection will be contacted as and when a place is available. If plans change to the extent that such promises are unworkable, you will be told. So I would expect that you are on some kind of holding list until places are available. If I were you, I'd ring Janine and find out!

LVL CHG from 3MTA3's profile, he's currently a B747 pilot. That should give you a very rough idea of where he stands in the scheme of things! As for the type of aircraft you could fly, please read my post early on in the thread. There are only two kinds of aircaft Virgin flies: the A340 and the B747. If it bothers you that much which you fly, you're probably not our kind of pilot!

Scroggs