Sorry, but that is nonsense. TOM will take up capable FO's onto FT contracts as and when they need, just like TCX does and many other airlines for that matter. While I would agree that its not a perfect situation, there is not much that is better in the UK now or for ever into the future.

Will any preference be given to those who were made redundant a couple of years ago?

I understand the only promise the company made was that they would let those who left know when they were recruiting, which they have now done I believe?

Or would the company prefer low houred second officers?

I have a mate at Thomson and from his mouth, if time to command is a big factor for deciding on this job then don't bother. If its not then this is as good a deal as you are going to see in the UK for a long time, unless you think Monarch's plans will result in a safe and secure job.

Time to command is a piece of string fluttering in a gale force wind at the moment, ANY number mentioned is a guesstimate and MUST not form the basis for a decision to join Thomson.

Having looked again at the full package on offer, I agree it is probably one of the best on offer in the UK with one big caveat. The current Thomson management have previous history in downsizing and redundancies. Yes, if you get in and can avoid the chop for 10 years or so as Blue Baron has, then you're probably safe and have a job for life. But don't forget there was significant downsizing 3 years ago resulting in about 100 pilots being made compulsorily redundant - some of these had been in the company for 5 years so may have considered themselves relatively safe from such events.

Just a little warning for those considering leaving other jobs for the bottom of a long seniority list run by a ruthless management. It may work out and you've got a great job for life in a great company - just be aware of the background behind this recruitment, ie. the fact that there were significant redundancies 2 years ago.

Fly,

the company won't take low houred second officers this time. They have around 100 type changes to manage over this coming winter (Airbus to 737NG, 757 to 737NG and the 787 ratings as well, which arrive in febuary 2013).

This is a big strain for the TOM TRTO, and there will be no capacity to do full type ratings and the OCC as well. Hence, on this occasion they need 737, preferably NG and with some time.

There is a new TOM cadet pilot scheme being developed (which would be open to anybody with a frozen ATPL, not just CTC etc) but that isn't for this winter.

Ezy is right. Can't see time to command being less than 10 years, and could see it being more.

Penworth, is spot on. Good job with good Ts and Cs, but please apply with your eye's open to what has happened, and the tought sector that is tour operating in the UK.

Hopefully this thread will help people with that.

Hi all I have about 1k hours 737 1200TT , what are my chances of getting in....? Ie how many pilots do they need and will there be an absolout mass of applications from ryan guys even jet 2 etc....?

Apparently the number required is not fixed. It depends on how many current (expensive I guess) people at the top take the redundancy package on offer or career breaks. It could be 10 to 25 apparently.

This is third hand information though so make of it what you will.

I dont think you can offer redundancy whilst at the same time hire in an effort to reduce costs. I don't believe TOM are making positions redundant; they'd be opening up a can of worms. Part time work I can see, early retirement possibly but not redundancy. Might be wrong.

Thomson Airways is obviously one of the few companies left that offer industry leading Ts & Cs to the pilots, but for how long they can keep this up in the face of competition from EZY and FR has to be an issue.

Penworth is spot on imho

and more worryingly, dashead says

How long the company can sustain these comparatively generous rates of pay in the face of relentless attacks on pay and conditions by the likes of FR and the inevitable "benchmarking" by the rest would surely be a question a new joiner would need to ask.

Surely there must be painful times ahead if TUI are to remain financially sound.

The issue here in my mind is whether the IT business model is resilient enough to adjust to the changing face of leisure air travel. I feel personally that longhaul package holiday is less attractive to families than a few days in the timeshare and the flexibility offered by the low fares brigade, so in my view, the purchase of the 787 is a courageous decision.

Thomson tried low cost with Tfly in 2004, then quietly dropped it and laid off a lot of good pilots which would seem to confirm that they could not compete with FR/EZY in a low cost capacity and are now going to great lengths to differentiate themselves from the low cost airlines.

Good luck to all at TUI, if they've got it right this time, then they truly are one of the few remaining companies worth joining, hopefully the leisure travel market is not too crowded and can support both IT and low fare business models. Let's hope they know what they're doing this time round.

Imho, is it really fair to compare Thomson with the likes of FR & EZY?

By this I mean that TOM is a Charter Tour Operator that provides package holidays which EZY and FR (Thank God) do not.

Surely as long as people want a package holiday, which I'm willing to bet would be a massive percentage of the UK population, TOM would be safe(ish) gamble.

Or have I got the wrong end of the stick?

Kilo

I may have used the wrong term, but basically I think they are offering early retirment or vountary redundancy (same thing maybe? I dont know) to make room for people joining at the bottom. I would have thought if it isnt compulsory it isnt a problem.

I guess you can employ 2 first officers for the cost of one high seniority captain?

whatever, its good that companies seem to be recruiting again :) Even if the T's & C's arent what they used to be :(

I concur with Penworth. Good company and some fabulous crew, but help yourself to rose tinted specs on the way in. I was one of the unfortunate 100 three years back and am now at easyJet. With the benefit of hindsight, fate has actually been kind to me and therefore I shan't be applying to come back. I wish well to those that do, it really is a good airline, but don't believe airlines are that different these days. It's all about screwing costs and pilots are a cost.

wooly

You are absolutely right, Thomson tried the cheap and nasty low cost operation and decided it was not the image that their customers wanted and that it was cheapening the brand.

The question is however, if FR and EZY are making money out of it, why couldn't Thomson? Why couldn't they see off the low cost market and stop them gaining market share in the Med?

Years ago, the only way to get to the sun cheaply was with the charters and I think it would be fair to say that they never saw competition coming in the form of sheduled operators, eg FR/EZY. The charters have reduced capacity steadily over the years and the low costs have aggressively increased capacity into the corecharter market to the extent now that this core market has moved further east, and further out of the Eurozone.

So no, they are not chasing the same market at the moment, but whether the ability to grow revenue still exists within the IT model is key to any growth, but although the charters were forced to move east to maintain their margins as the Eurozone became more pricey for the tourist, the timeshares and villas remain where they were ten years ago, on the Algarve, the Costas and the South of France.

Thomson moved into longhaul with the aquisition of the right equipment 20 years ago, but the competition from the sheduled carriers, such as BA/Virgin/Emirates in the form of their own in house leisure products should not be underestimated.

I see the families sticking to the Med or southern Europe for their holidays for sheer convenience, and the young well off singles/newlyweds (ie, no kids) using the scheduled longhaul for their citybreaks or luxury resorts. All of these options are a lot cheaper now with the scheduled operators than they were 10 to 20 years ago when the IT market was growing.

Hopefully, TUI being a savvy company with cash in reserve will not want to fall behind.

Really ?
 

@ macdoo

You probably know TOM made many capable and experienced crew redundant at the drop of a hat three years ago. What makes you think it won't happen again ? :ugh:

Interview Structure
 

Morning All,

It's probably still a little premature, however, can anyone in the know share the interview structure?

Can we expect a general chat type affair or the full on verbal/numerical tests, sim rides, technical assessment?

DD

Does anyone have a link to the application?

Search Results

Click on the search result link for pilot and all will become clear, good luck.

I am flying to the canaries for the second year in a row this year with Thomson.

This year I cannot book an inflight meal but they were "pleased" to inform me that I can purchase a wide range of snacks on board.

This year I will not be enjoying inflight entertainment on board but they were "pleased" to tell me that my own portable devices may be used in flight after take off.

This year I paid a premium and went on line to choose my seat.

So, excluding long haul, I do think it is fair to compare EZY RYR and Thomson now as the difference between them is becoming less and less.

Next year I may as well take my family by my own employer, not really seeing much of a difference, except in price of course.

Thomson are ruining their name in shorthaul, if I wanted a low co experience I would have went with my own company.

Ezy driver, as informative as your post was, how is it related to Thomson recruitment?

Anyone else having problems with the recruitment process? As a new applicant, when clicking on "Apply now", I'm consistently getting the message "an error has occurred processing the page you requested"

Overloaded? Or a glitch in the IT? Mac vs PC problem?