Just to play devils advocate, on my TUI initials course, 3 of the 12 had turned down courses at BA. 2 of them offered 787 and the other, 320. All opting for TUI 737 instead.

I'd say 600 hours quoted above as being a slight exaggeration. At least in my experience - on the 73 fleet my average was around 700 - which when you consider for the winter period I averaged 4/5 flights (even as little as 1 flight) per month, it gives a taste of how busy the summer can be.
the figures quoted above in regards to FOs earning potential within TUI can also be true, but is by no means guaranteed. It has nothing to do with the crewing levels being wrong though. As a charter airline, it has to be adaptable, and therefore crewing at around 80% and offering considerable remuneration to pilots willing to work on days off, is actually cheaper in the long run than having a surplus of pilots and paying for pensions, national insurance, etc for the next however many years. Most duties attract 2 WDO payments, some even 3 - so its quickly quite easy to see how 90k is achievable if 1. The opportunity to work on days off is there, and 2. You are willing to be flexible.

Reading some off the above I'm beginning to understand and believe some of the rumours going around that people haven't been turning up for courses and perhaps have headed elsewhere...:oh:

I'm sure there is an obvious reason, but why haven't BA adopted this style? Company reduces costs + pilots make more = winwin?

Enzo999
Your obviously new to the business, Tui/Thomson have adopted this process since Pontius was a Pilot - well for at least 20 years I imagine.
They were the first Airline to work out to cover 3 flights a day you need 3 standby crews. Or, just 1 Pilot on a day off payment. 1 or even 3 days off payments is also cheaper than a sub charter - Simples and keeps the Nigels happy

Not sure it would work at BA but you have to remember you need to get the Accountable Manager and bean counters to sign up for it - those costly, moaning Nigel's should be on min days off mentality rules ok. You also have to remember eventually the tax man will get more greedy so there becomes a point when the reward is reduced,
In the old days of CAP371 it didn't take much for crews to work out if they flew on 2 days off the regs would likely mean they would get another 1-2 days off - result. Not so much under EASA FTL however tut tut.

BA do basically use the same model. Only there is a significant difference in reward. Less than 25% bonus over normal hourly rate. And people lap it up as soon as its available. Factor in no pension contributions on the above, and BA basically get the additional work covered for the standard hourly rate.

USA:
Flying on day off: 200% (and sometimes more because last minute duties generally have deadheads attached that I don't have to do as a commuter. just got 20 hours of pay to work a 4 hour flight, I was gone from home 15 hours.) There is absolutely no chance anybody here would take a last minute assignment for 25%-115%pension=10%extra.

Could any kind soul decode the following gray / amber tiles from a crewlink roster:

CL
LA
LB
WR
BW
SW
S2, S3, S4, S5
NA
DD
ZZ
RP
PR
PL
PD
GT
GD
LFS
FDO
HSB

Also, looking at a roster (screenshot I took from a roadshow), how can you tell if it's 747, 777, 787 etc? Are the aircraft number coded? Where do I look?

Thank you.