Virgin Atlantic
 

Hello all,

I'm after some info on the general state of affairs in VS at the moment. I've been offered an interview but, if successful, would be giving up a lot of seniority in another outfit. With the current status quo in the aviation industry and the looming threat of Gulf War II, I'm fairly reticent about any immediate move without some more info.

I know there has been a lot of bad press about the way the 9/11 situation was handled, but have things been sorted out & calmed down?

What are the expansion plans, if any, for VS?

Pension? Am I right in thinking it's a money purchase scheme, not a final salary scheme?

Any idea what a first-year F/O's salary is, or what they might take home at the end of the month?

Do VS apply training bonds?

Any info or advice would be great.

Thanks.

Sorry - forgot to ask one other point: what's a "typical" roster like e.g. how many trips can you expect per month, and how many days off between them, etc.

Thanks again.

Hope they dont do a test at the interview on the difference between Reporting Points (News) and Terms and Endearment.

rt

Tin Tin I hear what you say, not what I expected, however it would be nice to check out VS first hand.

Is anybody willing to appraise me of what to expect at interview and the following selection process? - anything will be better than working for the charter/low-cost/regional airline that I work for now!

Virgin Atlantic
 

I went to the interview not long ago. I was told that "some of your days off will be down route". That is not acceptable in this day and age.

Virgin did overdo the reaction post-9/11, but so did some others. However, Virgin does appear to be recovering somewhat more strongly than other airlines in the same or similar marketplaces. Whether that is a reflection of Virgin's management, or a statement about Virgin's strong brand image, you'll have to judge for yourself. As for the airline's potential longevity, who knows? I doubt that any airline has a cast-iron future, but I'd be prepared to bet that we'll still be around in another 18 years. Expansion is back on the agenda, but it's unlikely to be quick!

Virgin's T&C's aren't the best, and there is considerable and vocal discussion going on right now about that subject between the company and the CC. I'd say that trading conditions right now are unlikely to support a large increase now, but that a substantial improbement in the future is on the cards. However, this is only my opinion! If you want a comparison on current pay and benefits, try this site: Airline Pay Comparisons . It's not totally up-to-date, but it's not far off. The pension is a defined contribution one, with the company contributing 15% of gross pay. Starting pay for an FO is about 40K, rising to 55K after 18 years (time to command is an unknown right now, but bank on 5 years minimum). Maximum hours is 750 pa. Days off can be down route, but aren't often. I get about 12-14 days at home a month and three or four trips (I'm Airbus - the 744 guys do more, shorter, trips).

The grass is always greener, isn't it?! But I'm pretty happy here at Virgin. There are moans and groans, and there are items of perpetual disagreement between 'them' and us, but I doubt they're anything you haven't heard before elsewhere.

If you want to know more, e-mail me - but be prepared to wait, as the pprune mail server is down right now!

Be prepared to wait... because Scroggs is probably either in mid-Siberia/-Atlantic or using one of his 9 days off this month to sleep...

Aktshirley, Dun me old, I'm on a 10-day break between Jo'burg trips, doing the bloody decorating. Still. And trying to persuade some, no, any, bloody builder to erect (ooer) an extension for me (ooer again!).

And my commute is a good deal shorter than yours, mate!

Now I know Í'm on the wrong fleet. It must be me that's got 9 day's off this month.

Nine days - luxury!

Don't even go there! The grass is greener and all that! I thought it was and it's NOT!

just curious...

can you bid for trips at virgin?

Yes, on a rotating bid group system. It generally works OK, if yours is the favoured group for a particular month. I personally prefer to bid for particular days off, but you can use the system either way.

You can bid for trips or days off, LUCK if you get either. If you do, it will have standby somewhere before it that will ensure you don't do it anyway!

DICKFLYS:
interested to know what sort of operator you moved from to go to VS. You are v.negative (as we often are) about T&C's at VS. Looking at the bare bones of the deal they seem a bit better than my current employer (big charter) in terms of fringe benefits like hols, allowances etc.

I came from a low cost small charter company, and thougt the same as you. New Labour learnt all of it's spin from Virgin Atlantic, just remember that. Branson can sell **** to anybody. The free flights and all the rest sound fantastic, try and use them and the novelty soon wears off. However, there is only one way to find it out, as I did. Good luck!

As to Leave, when they get around to allocating it, you need it! You will probably have been rostered to death just before it. There is no seasonal work load as with charter, it's full on 365 days of the year. This now includes Christmas away without your family as the anti morale unit have decided it's standby companion tickets only, and NOBODY got to L.A. last year.

Just thought I'd point out that we may not all be comparing like with like here. dickyflys is, according to his (her?) profile, cabin crew. While some Ts&Cs are common between flight deck and cabin crew, many are not. I'm not decrying dickyflys' point of view, but it wouldn't be right to assume that all he says applies equally to flight deck - equally, flight deck have some gripes that don't apply to CC!

Scroggs
 

You mentioned earlier a start pay for FO of 40K does this include allowances, and if not how much are allowances worth on a typical month?

Also I'm considering basing myself near a Scottish hub and commuting, do many people do this?

GGM!

There is no crystal ball. I left a top seniority in a small carrier to join a "major Scandinavian carrier" almost 4 years ago.
Next week I will receive my pink slip.

My only advice is to follow your gut feeling.

Good Luck!

Sroggs
Maybe you could post some basic T & C's for people to make a comparison with their own companies. At the end of the day what is good, bad or indifferent is different for every individual depending on circumstances, aspirations etc etc.

There has been some discussion re: easy F/O's leaving for Virgin,
may be that should include those Virgin F/O's being interviewed and simmed by easyjet over the last few weeks!