Any Swiss flying for British Airways?
 

Dear PPRuNers

Nowadays it seems to be outdated to consider ones nationality as a criteria. Which is good, IMHO. So, if I am not wrong, I must assume that at least some fellow 'Eidgenossen' drive around Speedbirds, since our own shiny, fancy and anyway superior airline is going through a - let's say - kind of hangover time...

My request: If you are flying for BA as a pilot AND if you are Swiss (nationalitywise) AND if your are willingly to share your so far experience, please PM me.

Waer ganz nett und ueberhaupt.....

N1

N1

I don`t think that "pure" Swiss pilots are flying for Speedbird yet.
If you got Airbus 320 experience and a JAR ATPL you might have a chance to enter as direct entry First Officer. BA wants you to transfer your JAR ATPL from the FOCA to the British CAA before you apply!
Furthermore, and I dont want to be offensive, make sure you have an excellent command of English. The standard Swiss/ Swissair English is not sufficient, write the CPE (Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English) and adopt something like and an "English" accent.

If you are an Airbus pilot you might initially have a chance with Virgin, especially when you are typed on A340, or My Travel, Monarch, easyJet etc. After having established yourself in the U.K. a transfer (i.e. to BA) becomes much easier.....





:cool:

Fly British,
die British....

;) Why not?

After all, Prince Charles is said to like "Birchermuesli"

But then again, that might not carry as much weight as it once did :8

Roeschti, wo isch mini Roeschti?

According newest information, Prince Charles will be cloned by british scientist.

Oh dear...

Can someone clone Keira Knightley?? I want one....!!!:D :O :}

Many Brits flying for Swiss or even Air France?

The most limiting factor will be whether you have the right to live in the EU....

That's no factor anymore. Swiss citizens have the right to work and live in EU since 2002, beginning of the first Bilateral Contract between Confoederatio Helvetica and European Union.
And yes, srjumbo, we had a lot of foreign pilots in Swiss(air), although mostly hired in the 60's and then another bunch in the 80's, where Swissair was in its (last) expansion phase. Mostly British, Dutch and Scandinavian.
On the other side I think that it is rather uncommon to have foreign people in the big national flag carrier of a European state, like BA, AF, LH... I think that's because they all have their cadet scheme.

Dani

There are loads of foreigners in BA from inside and outside the EU. As long as you have the right to live and work unrestricted in the UK you can apply, even to the cadet scheme. I know personally know one Belgian who went through the scheme and we've got a lot of Dutch cadets.

I know of one fellow ex-Swissair/SWISS pilot flying with BA Cargo.

With LH there about 60 ex-SR and with GermanWings > 30 Pilots from ex-SR.

Greetings

773829 what is your point? We are not talking about Germany and Swissair cadet pilots.......Stay focused!

What the heck is BA Cargo?

So far no Swissair pilot is working for BA and it is unlikely that one ever will..... just refer to my previous post.

There is no such airline as BA Cargo. There is a company called GSS which operates 744Fs and is contracted by BA World Cargo to do some freight work. They are not part of BA itself, although BA is their only customer.

I do not work for BA, but sincerely hope that there are no Swiss pilots working for them. It is entirely reasonable in a national airline to only employ nationals - that is part of what makes a national airline national! This is not xenophobia, but just common sense. Nor should there be any Germans, French, Dutch, Spanish, Iraqis or whatever working for them. I would not expect to have a Polish pilot flying an Air France aircraft - I expect a Frenchman. I would not feel racially discriminated against because I cannot get a job with American Airlines, KLM, Lufthansa, Air France and so on. Quite rightly these companies will employ only their own nationals.

Nor incidentally would I expect to find Figo, Ronaldo or Zidance playing for England!

As we are now in the EU (except Switzerland who are de facto in the labour market by their agreements with the EU), and so long as I can work in Europe, I couldn't care less if Europeans worked in the UK. Additionally the British native race is caucasian - that appears to be the same as in mainland Europe the last time I checked: that is not racial discrimination.

The issue of concern is that we, as Britons, are useless at languages compared to Europe and are unable to make use of the opportunities that exists overseas.

Furthermore as a legacy of our imperial past, from which we greatly profited, Commonwealth nationals being able to work in the UK is a result of that legacy.

Instead of retreating into a nationalist cell, would it not benefit us all to ensure that those trade and labour market barriers remain open for the future?

I suppose your answer will always depend upon political inclinations - but my language point stands - is it not as a result of our success in being a dominant culture and market that has caused many overseas to learn and work in English as a foreign language, and should we not celebrate that?

Incidentally one can work for Lufthansa or Air France, being British, und weil ich Deutshce sprechen kann, moechte ich vielleicht fuer Lufthansa arbeiten.

Funny how the Swiss all over sudden turn out to be true European team players ("yas, vee are also part of Europe") when they need a job.

Studi, perhaps you should take a closer look at Switzerland´s national airline and see how they treated their foreign pilots in October 2003, before you claim Norman´s views to be HISTORY...

Racism and protectionism is alive and kicking in Switzerland! :ouch:

Robert Vesco
 

No other European country has given "foreign" pilots (in the hundreds) better opportunities to start their career than Switzerland/ Crossair! Presently I do have a few interviews coming up in the UK and other EU states.

Right now hundreds of foreign pilots work in Switzerland while hundreds of Swiss pilots are unemployed! I do not have a problem with that but I will accept a job in the EU anytime. If I get the job because I am better than you - bad luck for you....

Good luck anyway

Studi - although you disagree with my viewpoint you have failed to make a connection between my statement and your assertion about history. You have also failed to understand my point. I am unashamadely pro-British as you can tell, but that does not make me a feature of history. I work in a company that employs people from just about every country and background, but they are not a national airline. My point is that it is entirely reasonable to employ nationals first before taking foreigners in a national airline.

I note your unwillingness to discuss history - the fact is that the histories of many of the countries in Europe are full of shameful nationalism - none more so than your own. The 'unfortunate' history of such countries has led them to react so massively against their past that any talk of acting in the best interest of their nationals is something to be ashamed of. Whilst far from perfect, we in Britain have one of the most cosmopolitan countries in the world. Nonetheless it is perfectly acceptable to say that in certain circumstances the jobs should go to nationals - the armed forces and the national airline being obvious examples. That is not something to be ashamed of or apologetic about - it is totally appropriate.

I am proud to be British but that does not make me hate foreigners. It does make me see that Britain has a prime responsibility to look after the best interests of its own citizens in Britain and not the interests of everyone else's.

Fletch

I'd move out of the UK sharpish then mate before you have heart failure.

NN