easyJet - Crew shortage
 

I've seen an increasing trend of EZY flights being delayed with the reason: "Flight deck crew shortage".

With the fast approaching summer schedule, is this an indication that we're in for a repeat performance of last year (a daily flying programme in tatters and sub-charters all over the show)?

I doubt it. There are many of us in the system and we should all be on line before the summer programme.

Total
 

Have you booked U2?

When and where was the last time you saw an easyjet cancelled due lack of crews. If it was last summer, well everyone knows about the issues last summer. Since late last summer easy have been recruiting like crazy and some figures say that they have hired about 375 pilots since then for this summer. I dont anticipate any problems with easy and crew shortages this summer. Maybe a little tight on the boeing side of things but should be fine!:)

I'm not talking about 1 or 2 delays, they have been cropping up more frequently over the last few weeks.

On Sunday, 2 departures from Stansted were sub-chartered by Titan (due to the above). The decrease in capacity from 156Y to 130Y meant that around 30 passengers were left behind.

I really hope that this is just a blip and not the tip of the ice burg. Last year's saga is still very fresh in my mind, it caused a great deal of heartache for passengers and ground-staff alike!

I was taxying out of STN at the weekend (cant recall wether it was sat or sun ) and heard a plain white 757 with an easyjet callsign call up for his clearance!

Whats that all about then???

Hardly EJ's fault if scores and scores of new crew are on gardening leave for 3 months due to delays in processing IDs?

Titan Airways, operating on behalf of easyJet.

Is it not possible to operate without your BAA ID? I was under the impression that flight deck crew can gain airside access by presenting their JAA license?

Getting your pass...
 

Ah! but you calculate without the security fellas at LTN (who rule, Ok?)

Well I joined easy at the end of November and that is me just starting flying now due to my wait for an ID. I have no idea what the delay was about as my last company had it processed in about a week!

Office Pest

If the BAA were involed then there's your answer!

The damned AIRBUS pilots don´t wana go back to the lovely 737, even with command offered!
Can I understand that?:confused: Yes, I do!:ok:

Sorry, BOEING folks!

Lesson One
 

Never turn down a command!!!

I disagree. Horse's for course's and all that.

Few Cloudy is absolutely right; do not ever turn down a command. In aviation you never know what tomorrow might bring.

I still disagree, If your Command takes you away from your loved ones, it puts one helluva strain on relationships, marridge etc, you become a nomad.
If you are happy with your F/O position with no immediate command prospects (due seniority issues for example)where you choose to live or even reasonable commuting distance, then that must be the way forward, if you are a family man/woman.

If you are foot loose and fancy free then I would agree. As I said, Horse's for Course's

I'm sure that there are quite a few Captains of whatever aircraft, that are happy to go back into the RHS of say BA, Virgin, Cathay, etc.

BR.

I have to agree with BAD ROBOT, I took a command several years ago within my company at the time; against better advice of taking the offer on the table of either 757 or 320 F/O with a reputable charter airline. If I had taken that advice I would have no doubt got my command on either of those two aircraft by now. I have since been lumbered with a command on an aircraft that most companies don't even give a second glance anymore and yes, it is a jet but no longer considered in the grander scheme of things these days.
So I'm stuck with it.:(

So unless anybody is willing to offer me a DEC on 73/4/5/6 or A319,20,21,30,40 without paying through the nose for it?

No? didn't think so. Point eloquently made me thinks.

In my (limited) experience, the kind of guys that usually say ( but not always, but mostly ) "never turn down a command" are usually the guys with at least one divorce under their belts.

I personally work to live, not the other way round and would never be arrogant enough to tell anyone what they should or should not do as a blanket rule as everyones personal circumstances ar different!!


ED

How does taking command put extra strain on marriage? Surely the same hours are worked?

g1,

You earn more money only to see it getting spent as fast as you have just earned it.

Essential items handbags, and belts and ........ :ugh:

Thats got to put a strain on it!!

It's the extra responsibility - the buck really does stop with you. Additionally you have to deal with a new set of issues. It settles down after after a year or so depending on your company culture.

The best advice I had was 'don't look at the right hand seat and expect to see yourself'. I.e. your newly acquired colleagues in the right hand seat won't necessarily behave as you expect! When I swapped seats ninety percent of the First Officers were bloody brilliant. A few were very hard work . . .

How does taking command put extra strain on marriage?
In EZY taking a command will often mean relocating to another base. This is normally temporary but could be in a different country.

If you've a wife and kids settled at the original base then commuting for 6 months to ???? can take its strain on the relationship.

I was away 4 months if you include a type rating course and back most weekends but if it had been a permanent thing (i.e. a few years or more) then the wife said there was no point in being married!!!

Because you start thinking you outrank your spouse :ouch:

well it's ok to say don't put the command at the top of the list whilst things are going gangbusters, just make sure that you get the right !! seat before the next slower period, as history has shown it's pretty hard to predict events that will turn up or down the speed on the aviation cycle.

Is this thread not supposed to be about EZY crew shortages?

Okay, there might be a crew shortage, because Line-Captains still fly the right seat.
As long as this is valid, there must be a shortage of FO´s! At least for the time being!

Gewtting i.d.s
 

The issue is still that getting clearance/id.s is a slow and painful process. For some daft reason, if you have clearance from Co. A, when you shift to Co B, you have to go thru' the whole thing again. If for any reason you are not a "standard" person, then the office-bound staff of the Special Branch get involved.......and they are rather busy at the moment.

IDs
 

What is crazy is that I can get into the UK and European airfilelds we use using my foreign ID without ever having been security vetted. I'm also sure that the muppets that check it have no idea what a HKG ID should look like.
If they are serious then there should be a standard ICAO ID.

@FLY747

What are you trying to explain in regard to EZY crew shortage?
Wrong thread?;) ;)

The plot here Kraut is that the difficulty in getting a pass is partially responsible for the crew shortage. Verstehen Sie?

FLY747

Oh, now I got it! Did not get behind because of the HKG ID!
Sorry for for my slow logic!:ok: