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Originally Posted by Enzo999
(Post 10508552)
There are other places to live than London! LGW get very few layovers 2 a month if your lucky. LHR many more. Lots of guys commute from LHR, but to be honest looks like a nightmare to me. Thanks for your help |
Originally Posted by AIMINGHIGH123
(Post 10508610)
Grime, crime and slime? Yeah if you believe all the media. Loads of lovely areas stones throw to LHR. Twickenham, Teddington Richmond lovely areas not too expensive. If you can afford it Chiswick, Kew are great. 15 mins to T5 or tube it in 30-40. No parking to worry about. |
Honestly have no idea why anyone would consider BA if Long Haul is not of any interest and you don’t want to live near Heathrow |
Originally Posted by Daddy Fantastic
(Post 10508738)
Sure I realise that but was just stating my dislike for London and not wanting to live there. If I did live back in the UK where would you suggest that is very nice to live and commutable to LGW and possibly LHR?
Thanks for your help |
Originally Posted by zero/zero
(Post 10508752)
Honestly have no idea why anyone would consider BA if Long Haul is not of any interest and you don’t want to live near Heathrow |
Is there anyone who can shed some light on the roster for longhaul pilots?
1 - Is it possible to commute from another country? 2 - If you live in another European country how many days at home (on average) would you have per month? 3 - Is it possible to pay taxes etc in the country of domicile instead of the UK? Thanks in advance for any information! |
Plenty lovely places to live in Surrey/Sussex too if you're aiming for a home-every-night base like LGW.
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Originally Posted by Tricia Takanawa
(Post 10508558)
be a company that you are actually proud to say that you work for, with a much nicer day out when at work, rather than planning a mission to Mars every report.
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Originally Posted by Stocious
(Post 10508840)
Plenty lovely places to live in Surrey/Sussex too if you're aiming for a home-every-night base like LGW.
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Originally Posted by flyingmed
(Post 10508833)
Is there anyone who can shed some light on the roster for longhaul pilots?
1 - Is it possible to commute from another country? 2 - If you live in another European country how many days at home (on average) would you have per month? 3 - Is it possible to pay taxes etc in the country of domicile instead of the UK? Thanks in advance for any information! 2 - You’ll be junior on the long haul fleets. Bear in mind that the junior guys are the ones getting JSS absolute disaster rosters of six trips a month with minimum days off in between (which I’ve no doubt you weren’t shown on any recruitment roadshow/day). Coupled with point 1 above you have to consider if this is really worth it if you only have two days off between most trips and you’re being forced to come back the night before your next trip due to the intimidatory attitude from BA management. Of course if you have staff travel with another airline then you’re onto a winner. You might end up with only five useful full days at home a month in this scenario. 3 - Yes. As long as you can limit your time in the U.K. to a maximum of 90 nights in the tax year. You’ll still pay national insurance (social security) in the U.K. regardless of your domicile. |
P
Originally Posted by flyingmed
(Post 10508833)
3 - Is it possible to pay taxes etc in the country of domicile instead of the UK?
As Rex has said you pay full U.K. National Insurance, which may exempt you from some social charges on income in your country of residence. |
Originally Posted by zero/zero
(Post 10508752)
Honestly have no idea why anyone would consider BA if Long Haul is not of any interest and you don’t want to live near Heathrow |
The worst short haul job? Do 5 years and you’ll barely work a weekend ever again with your choice of earlies / lates / daytrips / tours. The days at work are so much easier compared to low cost, you just need to figure out how to not be bothered by the BA machine. I really enjoy it! |
Originally Posted by Enzo999
(Post 10508795)
In-between is slightly difficult because you are limited to the outer edges of the southern M25. So places like Epsom, Weybridge, Chertsey, Guildford! All very expensive. Once you know your base you can draw a 30 miles ring and almost pick anywhere. I can’t really talk about LGW but I live just west of LHR in Buckinghamshire, lots of lovely places out that way. Henley, Marlow, Amersham. Oxfordshire even Chinnor, Thame, Oxford. Basically follow the M40 or M4 out of London and most places are nice and a lot cheaper than the city. |
Originally Posted by flyingmed
(Post 10508842)
Lovely offer however I'd prefer to live abroad and commute to work. Prefer to fly than deal with London traffic!
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Originally Posted by WhatTheDeuce
(Post 10508973)
The worst short haul job? Do 5 years and you’ll barely work a weekend ever again with your choice of earlies / lates / daytrips / tours. The days at work are so much easier compared to low cost, you just need to figure out how to not be bothered by the BA machine. I really enjoy it! If if you want to stay in the RHS then you’ll probably do ok, but the people that choose to do that rather than move on to other fleets and seats are few and far between. |
Originally Posted by Mylius
(Post 10508954)
BA is probably the best long-haul job in the UK
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Originally Posted by RexBanner
(Post 10509232)
Have you seen a junior LH roster nowadays? At least in the days of Bidline you had Seeded Blindlines and you could go somewhere decent and not work too too hard. Nowadays you can expect to pick up all the crap, with six trips with minimum days off in between. There’s guys now actively bidding for reserve because it gives them a better work/life balance, that’s saying something! Virgin fly 750 hours a year on a full time roster to our 900. That alone disproves your point. The case of the DEP who did a couple of months on the 787, took the type rating then buggered off to Virgin tells its own story. Just for completeness, Seeded Blindlines were ONLY on the 747.....the other long haul fleets weren't so lucky. However when I joined on a LH Fleet Blindlines were pretty good and trading with EOT was very easy allowing me to totally rewrite my roster some months. I'm currently about 2/3 down the P2 list on the 777.....rosters are manageable but under JSS I'm very realistic about what I can expect so bid accordingly. My real gripe at the moment is the number of weekends worked per annum which is ridiculous. In fact it's having a very serious impact on my family life. That said, I met a lovely bloke on my last trip who's just vacated the LHS of the Bus to return to the RHS on the triple. So short of moving to the RHS of the SH Bus and gaining a huge chunk of relative seniority I'm stuck with it. Hopefully the efforts towards getting a fairer balance of weekends off can be achieved soon! As you say, stories of DEP's joining then swiftly leaving (I know of at least 2 other guys who've done the same) and people giving up a BA Short Haul Command to return to the RHS on a Long Haul fleet to regain some sort of life out of work says a lot!!! Pretty sad really isn't it. |
Originally Posted by DuctOvht
(Post 10509188)
Not true. These days 5yrs will likely give you the seniority for the LHS on short haul, where you will be as junior as it gets and staring down the barrel of some really grim rosters for a very long time. If if you want to stay in the RHS then you’ll probably do ok, but the people that choose to do that rather than move on to other fleets and seats are few and far between. |
That’s assuming you can get Part Time in the current climate. People with bids are getting rejected left, right and centre. |
Are they? Bugger! I'd heard it was getting more difficult to achieve Part Time. I've been giving it very serious consideration. As eluded to above, people clambering for part time, leaving the company soon after joining and giving up short haul command all paints a grim picture of life in the bottom half of the list.
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Originally Posted by RexBanner
(Post 10509232)
Have you seen a junior LH roster nowadays? At least in the days of Bidline you had Seeded Blindlines and you could go somewhere decent and not work too too hard. Nowadays you can expect to pick up all the crap, with six trips with minimum days off in between. There’s guys now actively bidding for reserve because it gives them a better work/life balance, that’s saying something! Virgin fly 750 hours a year on a full time roster to our 900. That alone disproves your point. The case of the DEP who did a couple of months on the 787, took the type rating then buggered off to Virgin tells its own story. |
You’re in the minority on Long Haul if all you’ve done is 700 hours. |
Originally Posted by Mylius
(Post 10509321)
And the people who have moved from Virgin to BA on the 787? What’s their reasoning? As always you need to take a long-term view to a career at BA. In terms of variety and career options it’s hard to beat. I have flown 700 hours full time (including positioning) in the last 12 months so the thought of an extra 50 elsewhere is frightening! Point re-proven. |
Originally Posted by Riskybis
(Post 10509415)
700 !!!!!! May I ask what fleet you are on and your seniority |
I’m guessing you mean it’s unlikely anyone’s done less that 700 hours on LH? If not in the last few years I’ve done no more than 650-700 full time LGW, with no long term absence. I do work every weekend though :rolleyes: |
100 hours overtime last year and my flying hours were about 750 - no sick days. (SH LHR)
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Originally Posted by Stocious
(Post 10509039)
Cool. I live in a lovely house in the Sussex countryside, near a lovely school, spend every night in my own bed and I leave the house 25 mins before report time. I know which I'd prefer!
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Originally Posted by 2 Whites 2 Reds
(Post 10509259)
Just for completeness, Seeded Blindlines were ONLY on the 747.....the other long haul fleets weren't so lucky. However when I joined on a LH Fleet Blindlines were pretty good and trading with EOT was very easy allowing me to totally rewrite my roster some months.
I'm currently about 2/3 down the P2 list on the 777.....rosters are manageable but under JSS I'm very realistic about what I can expect so bid accordingly. My real gripe at the moment is the number of weekends worked per annum which is ridiculous. In fact it's having a very serious impact on my family life. That said, I met a lovely bloke on my last trip who's just vacated the LHS of the Bus to return to the RHS on the triple. So short of moving to the RHS of the SH Bus and gaining a huge chunk of relative seniority I'm stuck with it. Hopefully the efforts towards getting a fairer balance of weekends off can be achieved soon! As you say, stories of DEP's joining then swiftly leaving (I know of at least 2 other guys who've done the same) and people giving up a BA Short Haul Command to return to the RHS on a Long Haul fleet to regain some sort of life out of work says a lot!!! Pretty sad really isn't it. Back in the good ole days there was no such thing as part time. Now days there is one UK AOC (big red and yellow machine) that's see's part time as a positive way of keeping its crews,(probably 20% are P/T) This ensures their loyalty (most of the time), offering fixed roster pattern for a large amount of crew and has agreements for days off in a year (never enough for Nigel's but a good amount) and has an agreement on weekends off also. The problem for BALPA is getting their members to think collectively rather than just for themselves - Good luck with that. If BA are to offer more weekends they will want something back e.g. no payrise, 1000 hours etc etc |
If BA are to offer more weekends they will want something back e.g. no payrise, 1000 hours etc etc Weekends off come more frequently with seniority in a seniority driven system. It’s really as simple as that. All the collective Nigelism in the world won’t stop the need for Saturday-Sunday reports. |
Originally Posted by BitMoreRightRudder
(Post 10510007)
How are BA going to offer more weekends off? Cancel flights? There will always be a need for BA pilots to work weekends. We aren’t talking about a charter operation here.
Agreed..the company could reduce exposure to weekends by reducing CAP, which would mean either reducing the flying programme or employing a lot more pilots..what are the chances :oh: Wanting weekends off isn't something new but there isn't a complete fix and even those of us on senior long haul rosters will see work touch or completely cover the majority of weekends in a month ( though you do bump into the irritating outliers who like to claim they never work weekends..). Re Part Time and Aiminghigh's question: ..I don't have the numbers to hand but: I gather getting an Aspirational Part Time Contract ( as in I'd like Part Time) is rather problematic. Some folks are getting a "no" to " to asks for "Right to Request" contracts. So yes, the observation that people are having difficulty getting a part time contracts is true. |
BMRR. Not wanting to distract from what is a BA thread but comparisons can be useful and the point made was that the red and yellow machine has weekends off as part of a scheduling agreement rather than being miserable for a number of years until seniority becomes your friend. Freight does move at weekends and plenty of crews have weekends away from home in all sorts of places. Also getting home am sat after a string of nights doesn’t really count as a weekend off, neither does reporting sun pm. Out of interest does BA have a contractual annual Days free of Duty total? (Leave plus OFF days). How far in advance is the roster published? Once published can the days worked be adjusted without consent? just curious. |
Originally Posted by deltahotel
(Post 10510241)
Out of interest does BA have a contractual annual Days free of Duty total? (Leave plus OFF days). No, not as such..in basic terms for guaranteed days off you have your 4 weeks leave, plus ,if you opt not to work in them you have a handful off wrap ( buffer) days associated with the leave,, plus 2 Duty Free weeks, and up to 6 Golden days you can also opt to take. Outside of that It's down to EASA. How far in advance is the roster published? Once published can the days worked be adjusted without consent? |
Not wanting to distract from what is a BA thread but comparisons can be useful and the point made was that the red and yellow machine has weekends off as part of a scheduling agreement rather than being miserable for a number of years until seniority becomes your friend. The problem is BA doesn’t work like that, and in a seniority system you have to accept a period at the bottom. Which means years of majority weekend working. |
It beats me why a bunch of new joiners don't club together and mount a legal challenge against the application of seniority in BA -open and shut case.
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Originally Posted by BitMoreRightRudder
(Post 10510520)
The problem is BA doesn’t work like that, and in a seniority system you have to accept a period at the bottom. Which means years of majority weekend working. I'll emphasise that I don't agree that there should be a situation where somebody is forced to work every weekend outside of leave for years on end but we need to be careful of creating an impression that weekend working is very much more biased towards juniority than perhaps is actually the case. |
Originally Posted by wiggy
(Post 10510573)
I've just had a look at the rosters at the top of a longhaul senority list ( numbers < 100) and a significant number are working 2 or 3 weekends in July, and at least one is working 4. I'm not at that stratospheric level of seniority but I've just come a run of three weekends on the trot ( albeit by choice, to get the trips then subsequent days off I needed).
I'll emphasise that I don't agree that there should be a situation where somebody is forced to work every weekend outside of leave for years on end but we need to be careful of creating an impression that weekend working is very much more biased towards juniority than perhaps is actually the case. |
Originally Posted by EMB-145LR
(Post 10510712)
Absolutely agree with the above. I’m in the top third on my fleet. In May I worked two weekends (my choice), June I worked every weekend (definitely not my choice!), July I’m working one weekend (my choice) and by using leave and golden days I already know I won’t be working any weekends in August. |
The anecdote above, that senior people are working lots of weekends in July, is because BALPA/BA have recently incentivised weekend work that enables you to accumulate points that result in you not having to do 21 days of standby in a row (called ‘Reserve’) So now if you’re junior you might get a few more weekends off than you used to, but you’re going to do a little more reserve as a consequence. |
Originally Posted by Right Engine
(Post 10510790)
The anecdote above, that senior people are working lots of weekends in July, is because BALPA/BA have recently incentivised weekend work that enables you to accumulate points that result in you not having to do 21 days of standby in a row (called ‘Reserve’) So now if you’re junior you might get a few more weekends off than you used to, but you’re going to do a little more reserve as a consequence. |
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