Figures for LGW for years 1-5 (your engagement freeze) will be pretty much the same as LHR as the pay points are identical and the allowances are pretty similar. There are less nightstops and therefore duty pay will be a little less but the figures for SH will be similar. If you work on the LHR figures then take £200 per month off I doubt you would be disappointed. The issue is that unless the few £ per month difference is a deal breaker for you, I would not wait for LHR if you can get in earlier and get your seniority number sooner.

Application timeline
 

For anyone interested in a timeline for the BA application:

Initial application was spring '15
Invite day 1: + 3 days
Day 1: 4 weeks later
Invite day 2: + 1 day
Day 2: 3 weeks later
Invite to sim: + 1 day
Sim: 4 weeks later
Hold pool (email): + ~ 3.5 weeks

In total start to hold pool was just over 3.5 months

Good luck to everyone applying

I forgot to mention that within the engagement freeze you can bid for a same seat/same aircraft , i.e. FO on the Airbus at LGW to FO on the Airbus at LHR, transfer to LHR which should be processed in seniority order on the annual bid and attracts no further freeze. So, given that recruitment is to both bases you should be able to move to LHR is you desperate to be be there, certainly within a couple of years.

Sim Assessment 12/08/15
 

Good morning,
I don't suppose anyone else has their sim assessment on Wednesday (12/01/15).
Please get in touch if you do.
Thanks,

Qs
 

Hi,

I'd be very grateful if somebody could answer the following:

1. How many leave days do you get at BA?

2. At my current airline we have an agreement that crewing cannot swap you to a duty that is more than 2 hours either side of a rostered duty. Do BA have anything like this?

3. I've heard differing figures for experience requirements to go straight onto long haul. Can anyone confirm this?

4. I have an event in early May I would like to attend. I understand that you don't get a say on leave for the first year. How likely is it that I'll be able to swap to have this time off?

5. Is there a limit to how many hours you can be rostered in a month or does it just need to be legal? Also, is there a minimum number of days off at roster publication over and above legal minimum?

6. After how long can you use staff travel?

Thanks

1. Full timers get 4 weeks leave plus 2 " duty free weeks", so without going into the arcane details call it 6 weeks.

2. BA can't "swop" you onto anything....in theory at least your final roster ( published just before the start of the month) is exactly that...that said in the event of disruption once down route all bets are off (which I guess is the same everywhere).

3. Can't answer that without knowing what you've heard.:ooh:

4. You may get the leave you want, you may not, you bid for it but what you get depends on the demand for those particular days and also how much high value leave you've hoovered up in previous years. Outside of leave you fundamentally have zero control over your days off regardless of how long you've been in the company. That said you may be able to swop to get the days off, than again maybe not.

5. Assume EASA limits with not too many blocks of days off at base.

6. 6 months.

Thanks wiggy.

I've heard it's 1000 hours multi-crew but there was no mention of total time.

With regards to days off, is there no minimum number of days off per month when the rosters are published in addition to EASA? (I'm currently guaranteed 10). You mentioned blocks of days off but I'm more concerned about actual number of days.

I've recently been given the good news so I'm in the pool at the moment. The trainer at the sim suggested courses in March/April. Has anyone heard anything different?

The current rule set has quite a bit of wriggle room in it - we are meant to have an average of at least 10 days off in each consecutive 4-week period, averaged over three such periods...In other words you are not guaranteed 10 days off every 4 weeks. It's also worthy of note that the rules go on to say that
"whenever practicable days off should be taken in the home environment.":rolleyes:

I have seen comments elsewhere that some in short haul are not getting 10 days off at home per month, maybe someone more familiar with the short haul side of the operation will have more info.

Of course, that's for LHR crews.

LGW is different, where you are guaranteed 11 days off a month, excepting that for two summer months it's 10 and two winter months it's 12.

The 4 weeks of leave that full timers get is 2 weeks twice. The downside is the leave includes what would have been days off. You're allocated leave using credit hours. The credit hours do not equate to an average days work - they are significantly less.

So, 4 weeks of leave are not 4 weeks worth of worked hours. It's about 3 weeks worth of worked hours and the shortfall for the 4th week you have to make up by working harder during the other days of the month - of take a pay cut.

Or just bid for a blind line and the credit become's BA's problem and you keep the money. You probably work a lot less in the process. Granted I can't chose my days off but I work a hell of a lot less on a blind line than I do on a trip line. And I get to keep my wrap days as well.

I've yet to work to cap when on a blind line.

But that's a personal thing. I'm not fussed when my time off is, but I am fussed about having it.

No such thing as a day off under EASA FTL!
Scheduling Agreements and UK Working Time Directives will be a help!

I believe that the 1,000 hour jet requirement for long haul has to be on an aircraft with a MTOW of over 50,000kg.

Anyone here have any idea when some sim dates may be available? I hear they might be using a 757 sim as well? Any musings?

Would anyone be able to explain how the carmen rostering system works in LGW? How much control do we have over the rostering in LGW?

Carmen is a preferencing system not a true bidding system. You tell the system what you would like to do and what you want to avoid. It then produces rosters based on these preferences. Carmen will cover the work, if that means blowing off preferences that is just tough. As a junior bod you will get some "satisfaction" I think it is nominally 40% and this grows with seniority. You can bid for specific trips but the more you ask for, the more specific you are the greater the chance this will fall into the unsatisfied portion of your bid. Carmen is a b***h but it is better than nothing. If nothing else it can help you get earlies or later. Everyone has their own theory about Carmen. In my experience it is better to be very junior on Carmen than very junior on Bidline, though quite what Bidline is these days nobody really knows.

JT

:D :D

BA Direct Entry Pilot.
 

I've tried over 20 times per day for the past week to book a simulator assessment slot but it keeps saying "no slots available". I even received a reminder e-mail asking me to book one! I'm going to e-mail them tomorrow's to ask what's going on.

It is, and there's a lot "flux" as well ( I think that's the right word)....:}

Good luck.

Best to call up. They gave me a good idea of when slots were going to become available. I had my interview at the start of July and my sim slot is for early September.