Fastest Comands
 

Hello.
I am B737-800 F/O and I am searching airlines which have a fast comand program. I have around 6000hours, and right now the airline I am flying with is not on its best moment. So what companies around the world you think an European pilot could work and get a comand in around a year?

BA. However, maybe not with a B737-800 rating.

Definitely you should have a look at Sunexpress then; they need a lot of Captains and will look to upgrade you very quickly with those hours.

Try Ryanair, they are expanding on your aircraft type...

As you do not have command time yet, expect a year or so RHS, 2 LCK's essentially, before being able to go through upgrade.

Chocolate Racer, its not the 1st of April yet!

It is most certainly is not April 1st, the most junior pilot now holding a valid bid for an A320 command at BA has been in company less than a year, strange times.

AIS airlines of the Netherlands use low hour Captains.

a couple of airlines in Turkey are hiring FO directly on the Left seat...

I got friends that did that back in September.

I also heard Wizz air are starting to do the same.

Not in Wizz Air, at least for the moment.

Min 500 hours in the company are still required.

I know of someone who joined British Airways non-rated on the A320 last year, having been a Dash 8 captain with FlyBe. He applied to be a captain at LGW and got it - he will take around 18 month from joining to being a captain. You will look long and hard to beat that I would think.

If you have the required command hours you might get a command quickly in BA next year, however BCN makes no mention of having the required command hours for such a fast-track route to command.

My prediction for what it is worth, is that with lots of very junior pilots joining the bottom of the captains' list this year, the position will be considerably more attractive for the more senior FOs next year. This year's occurence is unlikley to be repeated as a result.

Arewerunning Really? which airlines.. I know for a FACT THY and SXS would not do this as, PGS requires command hours, that leaves ONUR,Correnden,BoraJet and Altlas. Prey tell

"MY CONTROLS"

ok ill get my coat….

If you join Ryanair as a direct entry rated FO it will take around 18 months before you could commence Command Upgrade training. You would be required to attain the required grades in your initial OCC sim training and then two recurrent sims. Accompanying this you would have three line checks (3 months apart) before you would go on the annual line check system. You would also have to complete one full winter season. After each simulator and line check the trainer would fill in a command upgrade assessment that is attached to your file. After all those boxes are ticked you will do coaching and assessment flights from the RHS and upon successful completion you will do a command interview with the training department. Once all of that is complete you would be eligible to commence a course when there is a requirement.

As I said plan for 18 months minimum.

Could be true. That said LC said that for 2016 the "junior nature" of the SH commands in 2015 won't be repeated for 2016.....

.......and, in most companies, including mine, you need to be able to spell 'command' to achieve a command.

really? do you have some kind of pre-command spelling bee competition?

RAF, you'll be in the LHS after 3 years as an FO and 1000hrs total :E

You British? If so look at AirTanker Svcs Ltd.

Pegasus advertising for Senior FOs for upgrade "within a year". It's on their website.

Crazy with BA commands running at 18 months! I know quite a few BA long haul FOs who have been in BA for 7-10 years. I never discussed it with them but I guess they are holding out for LH commands then?

CP

A340youmyum, as a wanabee, I couldn't even spell "Pilot".............and now, I are one.

These guys seem to offer rapid upgrade . . . . 737 Command with around 2500hrs total time :}


Crash: Tatarstan B735 at Kazan on Nov 17th 2013, crashed on go-around




"Be careful what you wish for " springs to mind.

Yeah, today you are looking for a company with fastest upgrade, and tomorrow you are in the back of an airplane, the weather looks rough and you are wondering how much total time the guys in front got together.

I think a lot of guys expect a command at times. I was the same at 3000hrs. Admittedly due non controllable factors, now at 10000hrs about to change left seats.

Yes most can cope with straight and level in radar airspace its when things change that it gets a bit tasty.

An old flying instructor once told me, I rather be on the ground wanting to fly then being in the air and wanting to be on the ground.

May i suggest you wait another 10 000?

I would suggest that if speed of upgrade is your driving factor, you have the wrong priorities.

It really depends on the individual and their experience. Surely at some point one can be forgiven for wanting to develop further, take on the challenges of command, advance one's career?

Is it so terrible? Maybe the OP is a late-comer to aviation and wants to maximise the return on their training investment. All around us we're being reduced to the lowest possible financial cost. Is it so bad someone has a motive other than the pure, unadulterated love of flying? After all, isn't that the line spouted by so many of the pay-to-play brigade? "I just love flying so much, I'd pay to do it!"

With 6,000 hours, they've probably got through a good number of checks... cut the guy some slack, or bite your tongue with the snide comments.

Very well said, Journey Man. Me too, I had to change from legacy airline to low cost to have the chance to upgrade. This career is supposed to be lived from the left hand seat, the right hand position being only a transition, a time used to learn and to interiorize some profession's hard points. I am happy to have changed company. Guess what? my former colleagues are still in the right seat in that legacy airline, and most of them will never have a chance to upgrade. Between them there are some really nice guy, some of them have big flying experiences in many different areas: this is life.
It is normal to find other and better chances: it is not normal to expect anything due to the fact that someone has logged 6000 hours or more. In my opinion, 10000 hours flown as first officer do nor guarantee to be a good PIC. My advice is to change for a fast growing airline, going in the right seat, waiting for the moment and keeping in shape for that moment: would be a nonsense to fail the command upgrade just because you wanted a fast upgrade.
Falchetto

Joe F. Quick question. How much more than you are you former Legacy airline Right hand seat colleagues being paid ??

Oh and how do their T's and C's compare to yours??

Just wondering

This is a real interesting and fully legitim question. I shall say that I moved very fast after the upgrade in the LCC to other better options. Actually I earn an average of 4 times (gross) the monthly income of my former mates. I have to deduct the equivalent for the social security and retirement scheme that I have to pay by myself, but anyway it ends up to around 3 times the average monthly income. I have less job stability, but at the end I feel safer because in my old airline people are starting to be made redundant, and while for a FO over 50 is quite a challenge to find another job, for a PIC experienced on a very common aircraft is not that difficult. I have a full health coverage that I can easily afford to pay. When I was in the legacy, the last contract was 30 annual days of leave with 10 monthly days off reduced to 8 in peak season; no more than 12 days of leave during summer season; base changed and I found myself commuting. Now I have a commuting contract, a good number of yearly leave days and enjoy my time with my family. The quality of life for my family has been greatly increased. In the last 7 years I have always earned more than my former mates.
Just one last point, but not the least: I enjoy my job, I like to fly, and I find a great satisfaction to fly as PIC.
Hope this can answer your questions.

Hope DEFACTO is choking on his ill thought out piece of, er, advice (?) Maturity was one of the qualities looked for in my day for upgrades . Defacto, true to form, not displaying much quality. PINHEAD, good luck with your transition. Time due and I'm sure you are ready. I know lots of guys, like me too, who bailed out of legacy carriers for quicker Commands. We all succeeded, got much more pay, year after year after year than those happy to sit and wait. Once in the LHS of anything, you are now a Commander and after some useful hours build-up, you can market yourself as such. Nothing wrong with your strategy or vision. Good luck for 2016.

Slowjet,

I am not chocking….but thanks for wishes….just that based on PIN HEAD name an dilates tech post questions, i would rather he waits another 10000 hours, because at 10000 hours of TT if he doesn't grip the basics of the aircraft he s flying,its worrying.
Pprune is a good tool to learn however some questions are more basics than others….

Examples of recent posts….i would think those would come from a new on type without any basic knowledge of his aircraft or of a non aviator/aircraft enthusiast.,,so pardon me my serious tongue in cheek when one says he has 10 000 hours (should be able to read manuals with ease and see what the f:mad: is going on with the systems while he's "flying", and h says he s about to upgrade...


True,haven't bothered answering tech questions of such nature lately nor wishes of fast command to a PIN HEAD.

Yep, and non of this maturity stuff either. Can he get from one side of the bar to the other without touching ground or spilling his beer? And will he buy his own round?

DeFacto:
Just my opinion, but PinHead's questions seem more reasonable than the frankly creepy reposting of them.
If you believe your superior knowledge of FMC wind predictions or the subtleties of noise profiles is going to keep you out of the s**t, then I know who I'd rather be driving.
Back on topic:
From first RHS flight on a twinjet to first LHS flight: 2 years and 1400 hours.
Those days are long gone, of course. The upgrade process alone takes that long sometimes.
I probably couldn't have told you a whole lot more about noise b vs napd 2 beyond what was on the plates and in the manuals, but I didn't seem to crash much.
I guess what I'm saying is that it is at our peril that we examine knowledge, Total time, or years (because it's easily defined, and HR can get involved) instead of ability, aptitude and attitude.

It is amazing that some people here are questioning if it is legitimate that a 737 FO with 6,000 hours aspires to get a command as soon as possible?

How many hours should a guy have before his first command, according to you?

GS-Alpha

Sorry you out of touch, I know few guys who joined BA around 1 year ago, with TT around 3500 - 4000 hours, no command time from before, and are starting command this year. So you don't need to have command experience either.