Ryanair for experienced pilot
 

Hey guys, good evening.
Is Ryanair a good option for an experienced FO with >6500, 5000 on type?

Where do you work now ?

It depend what you are looking for?

Unless you come from dark places like LionAir it is best to look elsewhere... :}

Flyhigh is talking :mad: What's the matter? Didn't you get in back in 2009 when you were asking questions about the place?

The reasons why it's worth considering for the Op are numerous.... he's obviously got quite a few hrs, could be in the left seat pretty quick in ryr, could potentially be based near to home, money ok, straightforward operation etc etc etc.

Admittedly Ryanair are partly responsible for the way the industry is now but they are nowhere near as bad as the pay to fly bandits such as Violeta or whatever she's called, Vuelling or Air Baltic.
The real cancer of the industry are the training organisations who sell dreams to kids who shouldn't be trusted with a vacuume cleaner let alone a jet. They flood the market with individuals who can't land a job, rightly so in many cases, and then go on to use daddy's money to buy one.

If you want a straight forward job, turn up, fly the plane how they want you to, keep your head down and take the money it's alright. If you want a Gucci uniform, frappauchino and a hand job in the cruise then it's not the place to be.

In terms of getting experience there's not much better out there. T&C's not perfect by a long way but I have flown with numerous pilots who have joined from other airlines who all comment on how it is a very slick operation, how the aircraft is operated very, very conservatively and ultimately how you can turn up to work do your stuff, park it up and go home and very rarely hear anything from the company. It is still a training airline and there are many opportunities out there after spending a couple of years in the left seat here.

Ultimately and with all the expansion that is planned Ryr will need to do something to retain pilots who are leaving in droves, this summer will prove very interesting and at some point I sincerely hope management will be forced to improve the package - people have been saying this for years but it does feel a bit different this time with some big names going across to Norwegian, CSA and others.
I think it says a lot about the place when you have guys who have left to join the likes of BA straight onto 747/787 who are now returning to Ryr, unfortunately management will use this to further their case against giving us a few more quid.

I'm not management. I'm not a troll (look a bit like one) and I'm looking to get out in a couple of years to experience something different but I don't know many who regret joining even if it is just a stepping stone.

Good luck.

Well said Sallytraffic. :ok:

I´m agree with 70% you wrote here.

Command upgrade quick... umm not totally agree I tried to prepare any single recurrent hard and keep studying but for the moment I´ve been almost 2 years in the company and keep waiting for the command upgrade.

Money... yes it is good compare with others LCC such us Vueling or Volotea or Iberia Express even Eurowings but from my point of view conditions should be betters.

Roster... for the moment is good 5/4 let see the summer...
Too many days 4 legs with 12 hours duty time kills you slowly. If you are so lucky of 2 sectors day base then everything change completely.

Base transfers... For me this is a weak point, there is no transparent at all. You don´t know really how they manage this. Also once you upgrade be prepare to go outside of your base for at least 1 year even 2... to a non popular base.

To be honest I would like a seniority list like Norwegian so you can manage your life (wife, children, dogs... :))

I don´t know where are you guy working now but here the training is hard, specially if you have not been training as a pilot since you were a low experience pilot, like a robot, they pay lot of attention in our Sims, OPCs, LPCs, Line trainings, specially for us OCC guys coming from other companies and specially in Stansted. So if you are looking for a quick upgrade it is gonna depends of some factors you cannot manage, the first one your Base Captain, he could be a nice guy trying to help you or maybe he does´t like your face too much and decide to retain you in the base as FO until he wants.

If you are looking to make money also it is not a good place.

If you are looking for living in Europe, it is a good choice but not probably the best.

And if you are looking for stability the answer is yes, good choice... Lot of airplanes coming and new rotes...

If you do get selected for upgrade remember that Ryanair charge for this, 6000 plus euro bond plus deductions from your salary every month for 2years? and while you are at the upgrade training base ( STN or DUB) you pay your own costs. However, simple job ( well it was!) go to work, get paid, days off planned in advance, no hassle if you are on Ryanair contract

Samca - fair points risen there, they definitely prefer their own cadets to the OCC who are seen as a necasarry evil, the only reason for this is the cadets know nothing different than the ryr sops etc and don't revert to stuff that has been learnt at an other operator.

Avenger - 6000 Euro bond for 2 years. No deductions, nothing to pay back.

Dub or STN are the main upgrade training bases and you'll be required to do 100 hrs after getting signed off before going to your new base - as you're out of base you get an extra 20 eu an hour to cover expenses. It actually ends up being a very lucrative couple of months and for me covered the expense of relocating to my new base.

Ryr contracts are being given out at the moment as are Storm McGinley. Like everything, horses for courses, some prefer to stay self employed and others like to take a contract.

Isn't that the mentality that's gotten Ryanair into the position they are... everybody keeping their head down!? Look at the remuneration how that's developed over time, the self-employment mess, the lack of respect (bring your own water, no free snack from the bar when blood sugar drops, unpaid standbys, the base transfer system, the guys fired over simple IDs... you know the rest..)

In my current airline management would love to see us fly for free. Fortunately we have a strong group of pilots willing to speak up when thing's aren't right. Admittedly we're backed up by labour practices that allow us to speak up in unison. My point being that the ethos of "keeping your head down" is flawed, and the situation can only develop for the worse.

Ryanair training is superb, but as for sim checking, it is the only place I have encountered where I sense the objective is constantly trying to trip up the candidates (for example, rattling off RT instructions so fast, or so timed, that the co pilot gets overloaded​ or confused, and why must the Cat3 fault always be the nastiest possible AP disconnect during the minimums go around?). Generally no biggie for the Captain, but for the FO, a 4 grade can delay command considerably. Normally I would be sceptical about a post like samca's, but it does kind of ring true.

with 5000 jet time, I'd be looking for the fastest route to the left seat...
Starting at the bottom of the Ryanair seniority list might be a waste of your experience unless it is a quality of life issue.
Good luck either way!

There ain't a list - that's the point. It can be the quickest route to a command around, but luck and skill are needed to avoid the metaphorical quick sands along the way.

I insist, the command upgrade here is a mix of 3 things

OCC or cadet + Your Base Captain + Stansted TRE

Samca...
I know friends joined with 3000TT and they directly entered in RYR contract, base of preference and after a season, depends on performance, CMD course promised ....
Those were the deal....just few months ago

Good grief, a large carrier with no seniority system?
That's like the Thunderdome for pilots.

If you don't care where you are based or arn't too bothered about the lack of any base transfer policy, then that's a plus. Additionally the lack of any transparent leave system shouldn't bother you. Contractual terms are both loose and variable & no real improvement of note has ever really been made. That said, it's a living & probably no where as bad as some of the real bottom feeders. However it should be much better considering their never ending crewing 'problems.' Problems mostly created by the culture washing throughout the organisation.

I left as a captain a number years back and I've never regreted it. I don't miss the roster as I wasn't truly 5/4 for quite some time. Yes the operation is slick & safe and I learned quite a lot from it.

Just be wary that if you have 5K on type with 6.5K total, they'll be asking the question why you're not a captain already? However that's their world. They don't really consider what goes on with other airlines

As I said it depends of your Base Captain, in some bases is easier to be recommended by your BC than others. That´s the first point and really really important.

Second point. Your simulators, they look any single fail, sometimes I feel there is no training just checking. In my case no problem with the handling or AP, FMC manage at all BUT as I said if you have a single 4 in just I repeat just one point, you are not been recommended and have to wait to the next sim...

So could be really easy if you are lucky or difficult if you take in account the points that I explained up in this message.

Agreeing with several posters above - it all depends on base!
You need recommendation by BC, who may not (yet) know you if base is too alrge AND BTRE (equally as BC but will try to fly with all SFO to assess regularly, however again in large base...).
Some bases are in between BC or BTRE posts thus delays exist there...

Hello
I will post my question hear so i apologise if it is somewhere else but i did not find it.
I guess some of you are experienced pilots at ryanair and i would appreciate if you could shed a light on my question.

I would like to apply for non-rated direct entry captain position in Italy.

What is the difrence in RYR ,Brookfield, McGinley contract and witch to expect.

If someone is living and working in Italy can you provide basic information regarding tax payment, because for me what i saw in

Ryanair pilot jobs news for airline pilots and aviation schools

is a bit confusing.:ugh:

Thank you