I'd heard that an argument had been put for pilots joining a base such as Manchester to go straight onto 767 a year or so back, due to the number of 76s there over the summer. Been out of the loop for a while on the 737 so didn't know that this was occuring!

PP

WOT, you work waaaaay tooooo haaard!!

BB, I laugh at your roster and measley allocation of days off.;)

There are some of us who will be 'discovered' by Carmen... perhaps. As said, once on longhaul you have a better control of your lifestyle. Dont forget bigger bases can bid for roster stability etc which can guarantee days off when you want/need them.

MAX:cool:

World Of Tweed check youre pm's! :cool:

What kind of standby procedure do Thomsonfly use? Do you have to be based at the Airport while on Standby or can be withing 90 (?) minutes of the Airport?
Also, how is standby built in around your days off?

Thanks in advance :ok:

Amit

Joining the 767 fleet!
 

Hi all!! Recently applied. Assessment Day end of June. If successful can I request to be positioned on the 757/767 fleet??? The invitation to assessment states that they are recruiting for both 737 and 757 fleets. I have 1700hrs FO B737.

How is roster with 737? More nights at home or more work than 757?
Thanks for info.

I would have thought if you came with significant 737 experience they would put you on the 737. That's just my thoughts though and not the official company line. I can't see why they would put you on the 757. Remember also that just about every man and his dog who joined on the 737 and who are therefore more senior to you will be bidding for 75/767. You can request what you want by way of the base bid which you will complete if successful. Trouble is they will make the job offer on the type and at the base where they need you/ want you. As soon as you join though you put in a Standing Bid for your base of choice and then it is in the lap of the gods as to when you get that choice, which depends on those more senior to you and their choices, fleet expansion/ contraction, current numbers at the various bases etc etc etc. Nothing guaranteed and if you put Gatwick 75/767 and they place you on the 737 you could be waiting some time as I understand it is over subscribed. Remember that Thomsonfly want you to want to join the company more than to fly a particular type. Read the earlier post with regards to Carmen rostering which will (supposedly) be in by the time anyone applying now joins. We do block standbys, which you can bid for, but very few people do. If you bid you are pretty much guaranteed to get the block (1 week), the advantage being that you get 3 days off wrapped around each end of the block and you know you have these months in advance of roster issue. There is NO airport standby for pilots, you just have to be within 90 minutes (I think) of the airport, so go shopping or gym or whatever else and just have your mobile with you.

PP

Following on from PP, some standby's are only four days long but you still get 3 days off either side. Plus you can wrap a gold/silver day around them. Effectively 4off, 4 on, 4off etc, do one before a block of leave and you extend your holiday by 4 days.

Joining the 767 fleet!
 

Thank you Pilot Pete for your reply. Please don´t get me wrong, I DO want to join the company. But you know how it is: you always want to go for the bigger plane!!
From your point of view what would be the best base to bid for-again if successful!- in order to fly the bigger equipment faster in terms of time???

Manchester, but like I said, with plenty of 737 time I think they would want you on the 737............

PP

We are under Carmen with my present employer. Carmen has ruled us for about two years, and the benefits of bying a such rather complex system has not yet been discovered. The system has a lot of parameters for the scheduler to play with, to ensure maximum production of crews at all times. The problem seems to be that Carmen is happy as long as you are on duty, i.e you don't have to be flying on the balcony yourself, you can just as well fly as deadhead for a half day, produce one flight, and be deadheaded back to base.
The other hickup, in our system, is that our schedulers never got the proper training to learn all parameters and what Carmen actually is capable of producing... :rolleyes:

Ciao

TUI.....737....layovers?
 

Hey guys.

Just interviewed for the second stage with TUI on the 737. Was wondering if you have many days away from base? Do you get to stay over in other destinations? My idea is to wanna see and experince some of the destinations. Seems like it would be a shame to fly to all these great places......and then only to have to came back home without seeing much of the places we go to.

Any feedback?

Another query!!!! For those of you that have lots of experience......is it better to start your career with someone like TUI on a 737 and fly european destinations.....or to get with a bigger company flying a bigger jet?

Your thoughts are appreciated. Thank you.

Simba 7
The new carmen rostering system allows (in theory) pilots to place preferences on how they will be rostered.
One of the preferences that can you can bid for is for nightstops at the destination and the minimum time you wish to spend there.
Unfortunately, I'm not sure if there will be many nightstops abroad on the 737 fleet.
Also, it will depend which company in the TUI network you are hoping to work for. There will be large variations between the various companies due to their network, type of operation etc.


" Another query!!!! For those of you that have lots of experience......is it better to start your career with someone like TUI on a 737 and fly european destinations.....or to get with a bigger company flying a bigger jet? "

I am still an inexperienced pilot who considers himself extremely lucky to be in the position I am right now and have only experienced short haul on the 737. If you are starting your career, the option of flying the 737 or a 'bigger jet with a bigger company' may be out of your hands. There are some extremely lucky candidates that may move straight to the larger jets. However, early in your career, with low experience levels, much of the priority should be on buliding your skills and experience levels. Medium/long haul on the 'bigger jets' doesn't offer the kind of training that short haul does. This is mainly because short haul allows you to practise many more take-offs and landings in a time period than long haul would allow.