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Originally Posted by VinRouge
(Post 10399282)
Some of the best staff travel in the industry and a decent down route lifestyle, particularly long haul. And getting treated, relatively speaking, like a professional/grown up.
Many thanks. |
I’ve been reading this thread with interest as it serves to sum up the situation in the UK presently in the airlines which generate the biggest career earnings. It seems to me these are limited to BA, VS, and the low-cost A320/737 operations which have quick commands or DEC.
I think a factor not discussed here is pension contributions. The bigger your pension pot the sooner you can retire, or more desirably for most, accept the smaller income of going part-time. The value of pension contributions markedly decreases with one’s age. Firstly, because contributions made later in life will be invested for less time before retirement, but also because the closer to retirement, the less risky investments one can afford to make. For illustration (not reliable figures, not pension advice, do your own research)- consider £1000 invested at age 35 vs at age 50, with retirement planned at 60. £1,000 over 25 years mainly in equities then into bonds/cash towards the end, let’s say returns 4% above inflation on average. So you hit 60 and that £1,000 is worth £2,666. Your £1,000 at 50 is going to be straight into bonds/cash, so let’s say that returns 2% above inflation. It’s worth £1,219 when you reach 60. The figures are speculative and generalised but the point is money saved earlier in life is far more valuable. With these savings, the pilot who earns more earlier can afford to retire or go part-time sooner. A question to consider is would you prefer to spend the end of your career at a lo-co dropped down to 50% having banked the cash already, or be on a 900/750hr BA/VS long haul roster for your whole time, with both having the same retirement outcome. |
All good discussion points. After all, we come to work to earn money at the end of the day. I only wish BA management realised this. |
Originally Posted by Large Dave
(Post 10399419)
I’ve been reading this thread with interest as it serves to sum up the situation in the UK presently in the airlines which generate the biggest career earnings. It seems to me these are limited to BA, VS, and the low-cost A320/737 operations which have quick commands or DEC.
I think a factor not discussed here is pension contributions. The bigger your pension pot the sooner you can retire, or more desirably for most, accept the smaller income of going part-time. The value of pension contributions markedly decreases with one’s age. Firstly, because contributions made later in life will be invested for less time before retirement, but also because the closer to retirement, the less risky investments one can afford to make. For illustration (not reliable figures, not pension advice, do your own research)- consider £1000 invested at age 35 vs at age 50, with retirement planned at 60. £1,000 over 25 years mainly in equities then into bonds/cash towards the end, let’s say returns 4% above inflation on average. So you hit 60 and that £1,000 is worth £2,666. Your £1,000 at 50 is going to be straight into bonds/cash, so let’s say that returns 2% above inflation. It’s worth £1,219 when you reach 60. The figures are speculative and generalised but the point is money saved earlier in life is far more valuable. With these savings, the pilot who earns more earlier can afford to retire or go part-time sooner. A question to consider is would you prefer to spend the end of your career at a lo-co dropped down to 50% having banked the cash already, or be on a 900/750hr BA/VS long haul roster for your whole time, with both having the same retirement outcome. (7% of 108k = 7560, 15.1% of 58k = 8758) Obviously you can top up the pension contributions yourself but perhaps slightly misleading to suggest that the pension will be bigger at some LoCos vs BA. Cheers EDIT: counter to my own argument to keep things equal... obviously there’s the mortgage to pay off too, which would clearly be cleared faster earning more at an earlier point in the career. Do the savings made here equate to the extra pension / higher end salary? Probably have to hire an accountant for that! |
Hello everyone,
I've just booked the first day assessment and after a read through the previous comments does anyone have any insight into the SHL verbal reasoning/Maths test or a good place to practice? PMs are gratefully appreciated any any tips you care to share. Thanks in advance. |
Are you going to be full time at pp20+ when the money finally gets good? I certainly cant imagine after 20 years I'll even be medically able to do it. Last summer was the hardest Ive ever been worked and worst I've ever felt. Cant see it getting any easier.
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Out of curiosity, can anyone give figures for how much they spend on commuting per month? Both SH and LH, just as an idea. I've done my sums and want to see just how close or far off the mark I am.
Cheers, RossBaku |
LH from Paris to London. £600-£800 per month. |
Wow...that’s double what I pay from Southern Europe to LHR about 3-4 times a month. Return hotlines can be a good deal. Not as good as EZ concessions sadly. |
If you are just looking at the airfares then hunterboy’s figures sound reasonable... OTOH if you start factoring in transport and perhaps parking costs at the “home” end, plus, perhaps (being mindful of BAs views on “commuting” ) adding in some hotel/B&B costs at the LHR end into the mix I can how you could start getting up towards the sort numbers eckard has come with. |
Sorry; should have been more clear. As wiggy says I have included accommodation as well as transportation. Hotlines are generally 90EUR return but sometimes more. Rail return to CDG about 36EUR. Accommodation between 30 and 80 depending on how posh I want to be. Say 50 average. So each return commute is about 180EUR. Multiply by 3, 4 or 5 gives 540, 720 or 900EUR. I try to create back-to-back trips if I can. |
My Short Haul commute which involved flight to Gatwick and National Express Coach to Heathrow (including hotels at LHR) used to average out at circa £600pcm. Surprises me greatly that a long haul commute could be in excess of that figure or even close to it given the greater requirement for nights on the Bath Road prior to an early duty on SH plus daytrips in a block. |
Originally Posted by JulietSierra6
(Post 10398613)
For any potential joiners, remember there are thousands of BA pilots that do not post on this forum. That’s not to say they are all 100% happy but despite the fall in T’s & C’s of recent years many still find it to be one of the best jobs in the country. It’s all circumstance dependant. We’ve a lot to fight to maintain and try to get back in some cases, but people above making out that Ryanair of all places is now the better option is (for the vast majority) frankly nonsense.
I’ve only been in a few years and it’s not perfect, but generally I’m happy, I have taken an early command, live close to my home base (Sussex flying club), fly about 650-700 hours a year and spend a lot of time with my young family. I have a huge variety of options available to me should my circumstances change. Come in with your eyes open and remember you’re joining a seniority airline towards the later end of a recruitment bulge, but don’t base your decision entirely on the unbalanced views above. How are the “above” posts unbalanced ? The poster has worked for both BA and Ryanair. I suspect you haven’t but I could be wrong. |
Originally Posted by Lazydogg
(Post 10401440)
How are the “above” posts unbalanced ? The poster has worked for both BA and Ryanair. I suspect you haven’t but I could be wrong. |
Originally Posted by RexBanner
(Post 10401402)
My Short Haul commute which involved flight to Gatwick and National Express Coach to Heathrow (including hotels at LHR) used to average out at circa £600pcm. Surprises me greatly that a long haul commute could be in excess of that figure or even close to it.. ..I’m at the end of a European commute and by the time I’ve paid for the flights (over a year you are looking at at least £100 return,) factored in a £400’ish plus annual car park pass at the home end (no free car parking at the airport for us) and two/three/four nights a month accommodation in a B&B or one of the Purple Palaces @£35 - £50+ per night I reckon £600 p.c.m. is easily achievable on many months, even for a Long Hauler... (I’ve ignored getting to the starting airport ‘cos you’ll be paying that regardless of whether that is LHR or somewhere more exotic..:bored:) |
Fair enough Wiggy in my crown dependency we benefit from free parking at the home end, although the airport are keen to close this loophole (out of pure spite and vindictiveness as none of us will be using the long stay car park instead if they force us out) and a return ticket to Gatwick mixed between easyJet staff travel and BA staff travel usually averages £50, skewed towards the easyJet side of things as that’s what I usually use. I had absolutely horrific months in my first year as a Heathrow Short hauler where I had pre assignments and daytrips that I couldn’t get rid of where the cost was nudging up towards £1000! Something for any potential short hauler commuters to bear in mind. The latest inexplicable JSS twist where 2/3 day trips have been inhibited will not help commuters either. |
Originally Posted by RexBanner
(Post 10401647)
...The latest inexplicable JSS twist where 2/3 day trips have been inhibited will not help commuters either. |
JSS inhibitors appear to be pure trial and error at the moment, but it does seem as though they are aiming for, “You can create your own roster which is tailored to your particular needs, just as long as it looks just like this one!” |
Originally Posted by wiggy
(Post 10401674)
Ah yes, I read about that and was suitably confused ..(easily done I know)...the ”world leading rostering system” strikes again.... |
Thanks for the replies. I’ve budgeted for £1000 a month commuting from elsewhere in the UK. A car park pass at my ‘home’ airport is £53/month and as people have mentioned, hotels are on average £50 a night. I don’t know Hotline prices but standby tickets are around £80-90 return. As SH I’m assuming I’ll be down there 5-6 times a month. Does that sound realistic to those in the know? |
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