Orange diarrhoea
 

Hello everybody

I'm new here, I've never succumbed to post on pprune before. why now I hear you ask........good question!

I have been a professional pilot for 15 years now, I started my career flying props and then rapidly progressing on to heavy jets and latterly Easyjet. I have been flying as a captain for Easyjet for 6 years now, based in LGW currently, and I don't know about you guys, but I'm just so fatigued and tired of it all.

I constantly pick up changes, rarely keep any standbys, not has any summer leave. I have requested part time only to be told your on the list.

I constantly flying with inexperienced cadets, I'm having to train these young guys to press the buttons in the airbus, where airmanship is simply not taught anymore. I'm finding flexi crew guys dragging them selves in when they are sick, as they are **** scared of not getting a perm contract. This puts pressure on me, which I'm not trained for.

I'm finding myself calling in sick and fatigued at an alarming rate, as I and many of my colleagues are just run down.

My colleagues are generally all good people to fly with and the aircraft that I fly are good bits of kit. It's just all the orange diarrhoea that I have to try and stomach that makes me sick and tired. If we cut all the bull before we go flying the job would be bearable.

I encourage only safe operation of my aircrsft and only taxi on both engines, both packs, config full landings unless otherwise required to do so because of operational reasons such as windshear and not because I can save the company a thimble of fuel. I do not risk my licence for anyone and certainly not for Easyjet.

I can not bear to wear anything orange, or advertising the company, I wear my own uniform as the one the company provides me with is just not fit for purpose.

I find the levels of disengagement across the company, from flight deck, to cabin crew, office shocking. It's so extreme flightdeck wise, people are going to have themselves an accident, only then will the company listen to us, after they have sacked the flight crew of course, as it was there fault.

I am actively seeking alternative employment with another airline, before anybody comments otherwise, and I'm sure some of you will comment that things are not better else where, this may be true, but I wish to try, and there is a handful of good carriers left.

Easyjet are only interested in cost cutting, nothing else, nothing more. Sad, the airline could ave been a great place to work, guess I'll never find out.

Let's hope I seek what I'm looking for.

And as my profile says what happens if this is as good as it gets!

Well, I've had dengue fever, brown kinda diarrhoea, but never orange! :)
Must be new, but by the way I fully understand.

Same airline... different paint job. Welcome to the big leagues.

Experienced FO's are out there. However, some companies would rather hire somebody with 250hrs (or less) than somebody with a few hundred hours of airline experience. A friend of mine is one of them.:ugh:

It's very frustrating to be bypassed for a less experienced candidate, and then hear Captains bemoan the lack of experience in the right seat.

Great post! With this post and the previous "line flying" article by the Ryanair pilot, not sure why anyone would want to fund expensive flight school and then end up flying such exhausting LCC schedules through retirement. Sounds bloody awful. LCCs are a good stepping-stone for experience and then finding a job with better QOL.

BA and VS have their issues (especially ultra-long upgrade times), but the flying sounds far less taxing than what you find at Easy/Ryanair, etc... :eek::{

Have you written to you union reps, your safety manager, and of course, The Authority, and CHIRP?

Pprune is great place to let off steam, and find sympathy and support but is not a place to get official action. Whistle blowing is a scary thing to do, but is often necessary.

I speak as an experienced FO who is being passed over in favour of youngsters with deep pockets. Good luck with getting your point heard.

Would you say I got lucky that my Class 1 got restricted? I certainly feel that way sometimes.

I very much agree with Firestorm

Write to Chirp, and continue to do so, and all of you other guys who feel the same as agaig must do the same. Also, write to the company's CAA Flight Ops Inspector, copied in to Chirp. Tell him that you are making the report in good faith in the spirit of professionalism and as a moral duty to your passengers and crew. Specifically request that your identity remains confidential as you are in fear of spiteful recrimination from your employer.

If you are in a union (and you should be), keep on at them; don't let them off the hook, because in my view, their inactivity on this makes them just as bad as the employer

We are given command of an airliner. But our responsibility goes much further than just getting the machine safely from a to b. We also have a moral and professional responsibility to our colleagues and to the travelling public.

Don't hold back - get stuck in, all of you!

6

Funny, isn't it. The Public used to group EasyJet and Ryanair together in their mind, and we in the industry used to kee preminding family and friends that, no, they were nothing like each other. EasyJet was a professionally run, friendly company, and Ryanair was, well, you know....

Unfortunately, the Current management at EasyJet have tried their best to transform that company into an Orange version of the other one, and now, they really are just as bad as each other in many ways.

Those blokes who set up CTC have a lot to answer for as well!

R.I.P. the Airline industry.

As-good-as-it-gets
Not wanting to sound dismissive of your post - but, yes, it is time you moved on.

I've been in easy a lot longer than you and I've been in aviation a lot longer than you and, no, I don't agree with you. Operating was a lot more challenging and the job had a lot more to it in the past; what was different was that we didn't work so many days. Once at work our job entailed a lot more: planning the flight, going to the met office, fileing our own flight plans, down route sorting out tech problems ourselves (no mobile phones for us), paying the handling and landing fees, the list goes on. We relied on the F/O to carry out many more tasks alone then.

So the job is very different and perhaps with modern reliable equipment and all the ops and engineering support we get these days operating with inexperienced F/O's is a small price to pay. Agreed some are a little wet behind the ears and occasionally a little too cocky but the majority are eager and willing to learn. These days the F/O is constantly supervised by the captain.

I've come to the conclusion we must move with the times. I wish the airline would recruit pilots from general aviation jobs and not such a high proportion straight from the training schools. I wish some individuals would have a real love of flying and aviation rather than a false impression of what the job entails. I wish the attitude of some to authority was better. I wish airmanship throughout the industry was not becoming degraded. And I wish there was more acceptance that getting an aircraft into the air and to it's destination safetly was a team effort that included: the pilots, cabin crew, engineering, ops, dispatch, the refuellers, ATC and so on.

So in my eyes the job is what you make it, just like having a command. Be professional, operate to company SOP's and then make your own decisions. As for not wearing the company supplied uniform; well that is telling in itself. I've found the tone of any duty is dominated by the attitude and demeanour of the captain, 'do-as-you-would-be-done-by'. Don't bring all your hang-ups to work; it is up to you to pace yourself and if it is too much, go fatigued or take a break.

Your next job will probably be different, as you imply the grass is not always greener, but I wish you well.

The OP post raises a number of interesting points, and others have responded with balance.
One issue that I would like to see tested a little more is the notion of "engagement". I'm not persuaded that Flight crew have ever been fully "engaged" with their employers. They have been engaged in what they do, but not much with their actual employers.
A few members of Flight crew have always been engaged, but I think it is a few, and always has been a few.
For some reason, the sense of "belonging" in Aviation is seldom with the employer.

I thought that pilots were well educated.

CHIRP IT !
 

Good post and sadly something that has been on the increase at EZY since 2008.

But have to agree with others here: CHIRP it or send a letter to the Times with other Captains who are brave enough to go into print.

www.chirp.co.uk/downloads/ATFB/ATFB101.pdf

All the best.

As good as it gets


You do realise (I hope) you have opened Pandoras box here (who, he retorts, is Pandora, and where is she based ;) )

Welcome to countless nights (after a thoroughly miserable shift at coal face) wasting good drinking time in the interests of thumping a keyboard to share your misery with the pprune community :ok: Of course, one can drink whilst thumping (Ooer ! ) but the results might explain my gripe in the last Paragraph :hmm:


WHAT HAVE YOU DONE ? ? :ugh:



Nonetheless, welcome to you, hope we treat you gently (at first anyhow) :ooh:


Edited to say, I want my "deleted" posts back. . must have cracked 2500 by now , Shirley ?

How about pink diarrhea?...
 

Hi Guys!

I am reading all of the above, and I must admit that the LCC flying is very far from what I was expecting some years ago during my training.

Just imagine as_good_as_its_gets in Wizz...
You do the same job, same frustration, same boredom, same stupid push to save even E10 at all other costs(read crew)! **** bases! :uhoh:

And all that pleasure for approx 50% of Orange pay. :mad:

Beware of Pink diarrhea!

Good luck everyone! :ok:

Wind up.....

I am sure a lot of people wish it was (but it truly isn't)

Stiglet - that post smacks of someone heavily involved with their own self importance. I pity the FO's who have to bow and scrape to you at work.

As good as it gets, I walked away from the blue and yellow one after 5 years with 4 years to go - I decided that I would rather be on the street than put up with the lifestyle anymore!

Touchwood I had no health problems but I thought if I carry on doing this for much longer I might start to go downhill.

Nothing is more important than your physical mental and emotional health not to mention family relationships etc

As good as it gets - It is of course hard to be earning £100k a year and flying brand new jets around Europe. I can imagine there are countless people reading this with tears rolling down their cheeks just so glad they work for Onur Air or FlyBE instead. The simple fact is that, as your name implies, easyJet is as good as it gets - unless you work for a major. Great if your wife will put up with Dubai then go to Emirates. Cathy is fantastic, as is BA. If you can get jobs there best of luck to you. Presumably if you could get a better job you would do so. My genuine question is this - which airline specifically would you regard as better than easyJet to work for. I can imagine you may add Virgin Atlantic to your list if you want a big pay cut, much less job security and 15 years to command (if there is a Virgin Atlantic in 15 years). You may want to trade in all of that for a long haul lifestyle - good luck to you. From where I sit it seems like professional suicide, but that is probably just me. Like everyone else, I stare at Flight International every week looking at jobs. At this stage I cannot see a single one that would interest me more than easyJet. So, do tell - where is that promised land that is so much better? I need to find out.

What you’re describing is akin to the pressures that come from nearly any job where one is earning a six figure salary.

You’re flying one of the most sophisticated bits of kit out there with corresponding automation levels doing a job that is done tens of thousands of times a day globally with very few issues. It is not rocket science or pioneering/high-risk surgery.

Tiring/stressful/hardwork etc – yes of course, but that’s what the company is paying you for – probably at a cost of around £10k/month. Why not work part-time?

OP said he had requested part time ,& was told "he was on the list" .

Orange diarrhoea
 

Why doesn't he move base?
I've never flown more than 700h/yr and cadets are not allowed here. :)

Hmm was the USA system that started the decline! European conditions seem to lag ten years behind the states! A quick glance at Ppjn and you can see nobody in Europe wants that!

If you hate easy so much look else where! I know few people who like working for easy, but you will get no sympathy from most of the uk industry! You either put up with it and enjoy the the bits you like or quit. Good luck finding a job with the same pay/time off, if you do please let me know where, I will join ŷou!!!!

Hi guys thanks for your support, I have recieved several Private messages from colleagues that also feel the same as me.

As for some of the comments on here, that is why I never ever post on here.

I have CHIRPED today.

Have you seen the transfer lists for MXP CDG ORY? Take a long time to get there, and it will be the same crap different faces, apart from no cadets or flexi guys.

Unfortunately, I have no kids or any sick relatives, so I am at the companies merci.

I think a completely new challenge is in order. I intend to leave ASAP.

FANS

Correct it's not rocket science I agree, but it is bloody hard work isn't it, when you are flying 5 days of 4 sectors, lose all sbys, flying with in experienced kids who think they know it all, and especially with the challenging winter ahead. Tired over stressed Captains do not make the best pilots do they, but maybe you are a better captain then me. Scary isn't it looking to the left and seeing only my reflection, realising I'm flying all alone.

Adm

So you also agree that you look at flight international then, staring blankly at the jobs section. Maybe your level of satisfaction has not yet reached my low levels just yet, but give it time and you soon will.

I am afraid I value my health, my social life, and the people around me and it's not all about the 100k I earn a year, more to life than sitting in a dirty smelly orange airbus thinking about the pay cheque.

I do believe that there is a couple of better places than Easyjet, which I will endeavour to sniff out.

Great to hear that you are so satisfied in your job!

If this poster doesn't win the most selfcentred person on Pprune Award who will! Never seen so many I this, I that, I such etc. in one post!

Me thinks you will never be happy anywhere as soon as you find out that you need the company and their pay more than that they need you.... :hmm:

WIND UP!!!!

100k? That's excluding the 20k you're sacrificing into your pension for tax purposes, your company pension contributions, both share schemes, the free shares, divis, the profit share scheme and not forgetting the free champers darling!
I really don't have anything to complain about at easy and nor do many. Except of course the flexi-crew issue.

EASYJET PLANE - EASYJET PILOT

That's a bit unfair. We all have our me, myself and I moments.

'As good as it gets'- dry your eyes mate!

I survived my standby today and the last few standby's. Your picture of life at Ezy doesn't match mine, I'm also based at LGW in the left seat and have had very little disruption on my roster (touch wood). I know that's not always the case with everyone and some get it worse than others.

I'm quite happy here, yes things are not perfect but find me an airline that is. I think the package is very competitive and don't think there is anything much better for short haul out there at least based on a proper contract. However everyone is different and deals with things differently so you just have to find the right balance.

Flexiscrew mind is a whole other issue that needs sorting and I will stand by my collegues with whatever action is required.

easyJet plane = easyJet pilot.

I've never worked for Easy so it's hard to compare. But I:

- Earn £90k+, (I know it's not quite as much as you but read on)
- 99.9% of my days are two sector days (the longest sector is 3.5hrs),
- I have FOUR sectors this MONTH and TWO next MONTH (the longest is 2.5hrs), I've only asked for eight days leave in those two months,
- This summer I rarely flew more than three days in a row,
- I have NEVER been called off a standby, I've had three changed in advance this year,
- I've done four hundred hours this year, give or take,
- I work for a UK airline, it's not a"major" and it's not on your list.

How's that sound?

LSM
I work for a similar(maybe even the same) outfit as you, my roster has 2 flights and a sim in the next 7 weeks, grrreat!

But you gotta ask yourself, can it last?

As much as I know I am in a very privileged position on a legacy contract, the word legacy looms bigger every day. I suspect i will end my career working, hopefully, for the same firm, but with T&Cs that will turn me into a bitter and twisted knasher of teeth!

The only difference between me and the OP is that he is knashing his teeth several years earlier than I am. Those on here who are supportive of the LoCo way of life a) probably don't know wwhat they are being denied as they never experienced it in the first place and b) want to see how many applications that Virgin and Emirate ET AL have on file from LoCo skippers all dying to go back to the RH Seat.

OP, your decision is made, walk away before it kills you inside, but in all honesty, don't expect your next billet to be ultimately much better.

AdeM
just about anything which doesn't have LoCo or regional attached to it!!

OP/ AGAIG'ts.

There are plenty of A319/A320 jobs going around the globe so you have nothing to lose by looking at them. Why not try a European base? Are you on the transfer list? It's not just different faces but I get the feeling you know that anyway :ok:


No point posting here as you won't change anything.

Good luck.

Speaking as a flexicrew pilot at a uk base, with a sick relative mind, be careful what you wish for... I reckon easyJet, on a perm contract is a pretty good place to be.
Yes you work hard at times, 5 days of earlies then moving to late night flights next block is tough. However I agree that the perm contracts are pretty competitive, as has been mentioned, a decent basic, pension, free shares, buy and save as you earn. All benefits flexicrew are not entitled to, oh but we did get the champagne... Good job security, home most nights and from LGW a varied route network. Nothing is perfect, my advice is to just not read any of the wonderful emails we get from the hanger. You will get the same in most companies I imagine.
I hope balpa have success in their campaign, as on reasonable and fair terms and conditions I think easy would not be the worst place.

The thread starter's account sounds realistic to me.

Long haul or Charter is the only way to operate out of LGW. Big airport, big hassle if operating on a daily basis. Therefore I agree with the guys who suggest, moving to another base.

Easy has always struggled to define it's product and has high staff costs compared to the Blue and Yellow one. In these tough times price is king and although some folk will pick and choose to avoid the Irish carrier. Profits still count and the crew are the easiest cost to attack.

I'm not sure what your original motivation was for a position at the pointy end? or if you came from another career beforehand. But maybe a bit of time off, do something relaxing and consider the big picture. I know many friends in similar position and part-time worked well for them.

At ezy we do packs off take off so we don't have to worry about that.....plus the ecam always gives you a little bing at an inconvenient moment....not that I ever forget......ahem!!

Well, yes. As One Post Only says, it's not an issue on the Airbus as it will ping at you after takeoff should you forget a pack. I too never forget though!! Packs off takeoff was the norm at my previous operator too. I really do not see taxiing out single pack as a distraction. Come on! I read complaints about some new entrant guys not being up to standard, yet we find having a pack off on taxi out a distraction??

I am not LGW based (but have been). It is busier at LGW, no doubt about it, and there is far more inexperience to deal with, but I certainly didn't find it as dire as mentioned here. At other bases like my own it's actually a very good job to many. Few complain. Yes it has it's moments, and busy times in the summer, but Mrs B&B works 9-5, Mon-Fri and says I'm always at home! No airline is everyone's cup of tea, and easyJet certainly isn't, but I like it. If I was younger, maybe BA but I wouldn't leave EZY for anyone else right now, certainly not any UK airline.

I wish As_good_as_it_gets well in finding a more suitable job. As I say, it's not for everyone and it's clearly not for him. Fact of life.

As good as it gets, are you in your random month? If so I do have some sympathy, those three weeks suck all the motivation out of a pilot. How other people work a full time random roster I don't know.

Otherwhise, as others have stated quite clearly, it is what YOU make of it. And to be honest, I think you are your worst enemy in this. Tell me how I can take your complaints seriously if you choose to make an issue out of single pack GROUND operations and flap 3 landings?

You must learn to take responsibility for your own happiness. If working long days with cadets is not for you, then do something about it. easyJet presents many opportunities in this regard. You could have moved to Italy. Many did before you. But then I'm sure you would moan about the amount of sectors or the fact that you have to cross the Alps on a daily basis, or that they all speak Italian. Or you could have put yourself on the part time list much earlier. But you didn't.

Ask yourself this. Six years ago you were happy to take this job. Nothing much has changed in easyJet since then. Things have actually become a bit better. You got your command. Your pay soared. You are in charge of how you conduct your day. So why are you now unhappy?