This is all well and good but it means nothing unless BA start recruiting, so back to the original question; when will this be, or more realistically what are people's best guestimates? Thank you!

At the moment, they have a plan to reduce the number of 747 hulls in operation quite significantly over the coming year. Apparently the plan is not to scrap them, but to take out of service the odd one with lots of faults, fix it and then leave it parked behind a hangar or whatever until another one is getting a bit tired and then swap them over. The idea behind this is that it will give the engineers more time to fix things and also enable the company to respond to a route that suddenly becomes commercially viable, and I guess it will allow greater flexibility during disruption too. The pilot establishment will be based on the current forecast plan, therefore if the company suddenly decides to open up a route or increase frequency on a route outside the current plan's forecast, I reckon more type rated ex-hold poolers will be given a phone call (as per the recent Airbus at LGW requirement). Once those guys have been depleted, I think DEP selection will open up again. The stuff about the plan of keeping out of service 747s operational is only what I have been told by trainers, so it could just be rumour. The rest is just my own prediction of what the company will do. None of this is factual apart from the current plan to reduce the number of 747 hulls considerably.

Thanks for the reply.

Apparently 12 hold pool (maybe ex) have been called for short notice DEP onto airbus

Correct.....I believe LGW A320

bex
 

Already discussed on page 4 of this very thread.

I am so ahead of the game :O

For new entrants, it's still bloody brilliant. Do you pay for your TR, get offered flexi-contracts etc.?

The world of FO T&Cs has moved massively over the last 5 years and we're only waking up to the fact that this is not a temporary shift in T&Cs.

Give every airline has not shortage of suitable (by their definition!) candidates, it's still a fabulous offer but not for everyone as you're just a number at a massive organisation in the SE.

Really? Why leave British Airways for Emirates. To attain a quicker long haul command?

Voluntary or forced unpaid? If Senior Pilots are taking voluntary unpaid leave for their own convenience it might be cheaper for the company to continue to allow them and bring in cheaper junior pilots?

I have read figures close to 200 pilots are being taken via the future pilot program, if correct I would regard 200 as quite a lot and it should cover most of the requirements for an airline not expanding with nobody retiring. Is that a fair assessment or will there be opportunities?

Any more news or rumours regarding recruitment?

listen to yourselves....aviation is like politics (although a pilot would never say it)....its all talk of right & wrong. Yes it is, but you all miss out 2 key words...FOR & ME.

Not necessarily and I suspect that lifestyle and financial reasons may be the main motive for moving, for those that wish to do so. Especially if you are single and don't live in the SE and commute to LHR.

I would have thought it you were over a certain age (say 35?), joining on a BARP pension living in the UK, then BA is not actually that good a gig. Coupled with the corporate culture and unique working relationship on board, I should imagine that opportunities in the M.E and the Far East would tempt somebody with few family ties.
I know that I will be telling my children to look East & West and try to stay out of the U.K. (Unless they get into banking or politics)

The security and certainty that BA provides could quite well be a very attractive feature for someone who is more mature. Uprooting a family to move abroad is a costly experience and you then have the gamble of seeing if the whole family settle into where you have moved. If the other half is gainfully employed along with having the kids settled in school, then you would need fairly compelling reasons (i.e. unemployment) for moving long distance. BA would win hands down here versus EK.

If you are single with no dependants then (imo) EK is the better option - providing you can see yourself being happy in Dubai. The cost of living in Dubai versus UK has the potential to be lower in Dubai, if you are single. That along with the higher take home salary, means there is potential to have a little more financial flexibility for putting money to one side, than compared to being a single F/O at BA.

The problem with joining at a later age in BA is that the demographics work against you. There are approx. 100 pilots due to reach 65 in the next 5 years, followed by around 400 pilots in the 5 years after that.
That is out of about 3500 pilots.
Assuming that you are looking for a long haul command, I'm guessing that it would take a new joiner around 20 years to achieve it.
That together with the upcoming changes in pension LTA's, I'm guessing an awful lot of people are sitting there crunching the numbers.

Emma,

Just on the cost of living... I'm in Dubai now and have lived in the UK for about 5 years.

The difference is not big at all. It may seem like you'll get a lot of money for working here and you do, but it goes out at a similar rate. The going price for a small packaging of blueberries is around 4 pounds, just to give a (weird?) example.

Some things are cheaper, but all in all, in year 1 I am struggling to set money aside for saving etc.

Not meaning to hijack the topic, just trying to make it more complete :-)

Just out of interest, what would one say the time to command in EK is at the moment?

Whilst not wanting to divert the discussion from the primary topic which is BA Recruitment, at a rough guess it is around 5-7 years for a command. Plenty of information on the Middle East forum.

As for joining BA during your more mature years, you may be into your fifties or even sixties (if you joined in your forties) until you saw a long haul command but that is perhaps a small price to pay when comparing that to moving a family abroad with all the potential pitfalls that are associated with such a move. All you need is one of the kids to not feel settled and you either commute and send the family home or you all go back home and hope that there will be a plan C.

There seemed to be a degree of bewilderment in some of the responses questioning the logic of why one would leave BA for EK but if you are young and single, then the pros for moving have the potential to outweigh the list of reasons why you shouldn't move, providing you can see yourself being happy abroad.

It can be tough to save anything significant whilst you settle in but thereafter, it is possible to bank a comfortable amount over the space of a year at EK.

Is there any hope of Direct Entry Recruitment in the near Future.

Emma


Less than 20 yrs to a long haul command at BA?!


What are you smoking?

In fairness to BA the argument about low experience levels is probably flawed as they take so few each year. BA take perhaps 130 cadets a year, thats less then 4% of their entire pilot body, hardly creating an experience issue. BAs experience levels are probably amongst the highest in the world. Anyway BA took some experienced BMI pilots and were within their right to decide how many they wanted. The inexperienced cadet argument may only become valid if an airline is recruiting en masse. Other LCC airlines in Europe recruit hundreds of cadets and they will argue its not an issue while those LCC cadets fly with inexperienced Captains that does not happen at BA.

Obviously it can be disheartening for Pilots gaining experience in other airlines to see cadet schemes in an already saturated market but its BA's gig and they can rightly do as they wish, those pilots just have to sit tight and wait and see what happens when BA requires larger numbers. Anyone holding hostility to BA in that regard most hold hostility for every airline operating today.