Best airlines to work for as a Pilot in Europe
 

Hi all!

if you could work for any airline in Europe as a pilot, which one would it be and why? Which is according to you the best airline to work for in Europe?

Just curious on your thoughts…

Thanks!

For me i've always thought if you held good seniority in a Lufthansa group/Air France KLM group airline you've probably got it pretty good? Control of roster and a wealth of destinations, good contract and contentinental european lifestyle to go with it. With Lufthansa especially the fleet diversity keeping it interesting.

Outside of the national carriers, UK wise I imagine if you're LHS TUI B787, again, with decent seniority you're probably enjoying life?

In terms of good employers the feedback on Jet2 seems generally positive on this forum. Maybe not as well paid as the Middle East or as varied as some. But the combination of quiet winters and a reasonable culture sounds quite pleasant particularly if you like living in northern England.

I think Cargolux and Aer Lingus are generally well regarded by their pilots. Certainly the pilots I know at both on the whole are happy with their lot.

I’d be looking for a good work/life balance with the ability to commute from a sunny country. I don’t know which airline would be best. The one I’ve joined recently potentially allows that so I’m happy where I am.

Couldn’t possibly say. 😎

The funny thing is, you don't join any airline as a high seniority longhaul PIC.

The OP's question _as stated_ is truly pointless.

And everybody’s life situation and career ambitions are different. What’s best for one person definitely isn’t for another.

Threads like these usually just end up in phallus waving

The tables have turned though. Very hard to objectively look down on Jet2 LHS. £150k (ish) for a regional base somewhere cheap up north. 30 years ago it wouldn’t have even been a consideration. But now, for a lot of people, that beats the prospect of a longhaul command somewhere like BA or VS 15/20 years down the line.

Ok not from me but a mate of mine had LHS offered at J2 just before the start of 2020 shenanigans. He made the moved to BA instead and yes he lives up north. He is so happy at BA. J2 he was miserable. Same 2 sector days 3/4 plus days in a row was how he put it. LHS then what? Yes his mates who stayed are all LHS now at J2 but career options are more to him.

If you’re saying you’re happy at your airline that’s great.

Best airline IMO say if someone laid out every airline in EU land any option with no restrictions I would pick Air France.
Of every roster, T+Cs I have seen for me it looks the best.

What if you don’t want to live up north and do short haul for the rest of your career? As I said, different roles suit different people, it’s not a difficult concept to understand. Horses for courses. Different strokes for different blokes. Paint it as you want.

And thank you for proving that threads like these just end up in phallus waving.

What good is being "home" every night if you and your family prefer to live abroad and you want to commute? Nothing is perfect for everyone.

Have you read my post? Have you attempted to apply even a second of comprehension whilst reading it? :ugh:

Bro didn't need to as you've made his point now twice.

Answering what's asked descends into a groanfest of comparing singular qualities relevant much only to the one who's sharing the opinion.



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Did my fair amount of homework on terms and conditions at Euro carriers. Also obviously union influence and labour laws has to be taken in to account as that protects one’s contract or CLA the best way possible. A while ago I came to the conclusion that in Euroland there is no employer in anyway shape or form close to AF/KLM. Those two are the ultimate carriers for pilots in Europe, you will never hear of any pilot leaving or rejecting AF or KLM. Especially KLM that has a monstrous pension scheme, the pilots seem to have the best pension fund in the Netherlands. Their payscales are amazing as well, plus the share amount of possibilities of moving from fleet to fleet. Their unions have managed to maintain their core 40 yr old labour agreements as intact as possible. In my opinion they are the two best employers to work for as a pilot in Europe.

Cargo.
The only airlines that carried on right through 2020/2021.
And will do so again if similar happens.
A very pleasant environment to work in. (Was "the best kept secret in the industry" until 2020 when every time that you saw one of those very, very rare contrails and looked it up on the likes of FR24, it was cargo -- so the secret was out!!)

KLM but you need to speak Dutch

To each his own...
I would never fly cargo, because I need to sleep at night. Flying cargo in Europe means you can't sleep (apart from the odd day flight), even if you have short flights. Too hard on my body.
My vote goes to AF/KLM as well.

Having done short/medium and now long haul, without question long haul is my preference. More quality time at home with the family and an overall better work life balance plus I love the fact I don’t return to the same patch of concrete at the end of the day and actually get to see the world. I absolutely loved short haul (initially) but the repetitive nature of the flying wore me down and there is no way I could have sustained it for an entire career. I do miss the more manual flying side of things but take every opportunity to hand fly which keeps me happy.

I would personally say getting on the seniority list at any of the decent legacy carriers (yes BA/Virgin/DHL/Cargolux/AirFrance/KLM/Lufthansa etc) at a reasonably young age is still the best option overall. Out of the friends I know who have done this I don’t know any that have looked back.

You will find most people will promote and justify whatever they are doing at that time (myself included) but have noticed once you have done 10+ years short/medium haul your opinion might change.

Currently at about 20 years of short haul, preceded by 10 years of long haul. So go figure. Ironic that you say people will justify what they're doing, but then go on to say long haul is better! I found the flying unbelievably boring, the layovers got boring once you've seen them a few times, and endless hanging around waiting for CC, buses, hotel check in/out etc etc. I even found night freight less knackerimg than jet lag