Anyone still waiting to hear the result of their sim from last week? It's been just over a week for me now and my wife is going to leave me if I carry on being such an unbearable git for much longer!! Unfortunately my sim partner got bad news yesterday, so I'm a little on edge.

I got the no yesterday EMB, as did a couple of others I've been in touch with. Perhaps no news is good news for you? Fingers crossed for you pal.

It's been asked before but anyone a little more "in the loop" ;) with BA recruitment than the rest of us have any idea when they might open up for fresh DEP applications? Ta muchly.

twice around the hold, sorry to hear your news. I can never get past the verbal reasoning, so keep your chin up. I'm interested to hear if your sim partner passed?!

Ditto after a similar day out!

Twice Round, sorry to hear you didn"t get in.

Still waiting to hear at this end. It's been nearly two weeks now. I'm sure they have their reasons and it's just a case of being patient.

Has anyone from this round of recruitment waited this long after the sim? Was the answer negative or positive? This is my dream job, so I'm sure it will be worth the wait if I get it. Everyone I know of from my week has heard back either way now, I even know of a couple of guys who have heard from last week.

Might be worth an email to waterside mate, does seem longer than average for an answer.

Anybody managed to get sim feedback after the sim after a "No"? I emailed the address included in the Unfortunately email, requesting a feedback chat over the phone. Never got a reply.

So here we are. Five years later, all the way to the sim check again, thought it went quite well, and none the wiser. Hey-ho, I still sit in the LHS of 320 flying around Europe. I suppose it must me less challenging than sitting in the RHS of a 320 flying around Europe :E

Sorry, just to clarify Permafrost_ATPL, are you still waiting to hear the result of your recent sim, or are you waiting for feedback? When were you in for the final stage?

Still no joy EMB, give them a shout.

I'm not going to bug them. On the day they said it could take up to two weeks. I'm sure they have their reasons. The wait is painful though.

I bet, everyone I know so far hasn't waited more than 5 days either way so wonder why there's a big wait for you and as far is I've heard each sim pair has heard their result at the same time.

It's definitely taking a lot longer for me than anyone else I know that's been through the process recently, but like I said, I'm sure they have their reasons. Perhaps my application is a little more complex with me living and working outside of the EU?

I did get the "No thank you" from the sim. But in that email it said please get in touch to receive feedback. So I did get in touch. And got not feedback.

Permafrost_ATPL pick up the phone mate.

Same advice for EMB too, I don't think calling will alter their decision mate. They are human (I think, have yet to get to day two and actually interact with anything other then a joystick and some verbal tests :) ), could easily have thought they've emailed you and haven't. Sounds silly but a lad I know who passed recently, with relatively low hours got an email saying he's going on the B747, only to be called 5 mins later and told sorry that email was for someone else keep reading the 320 manuals..

Guys,

It probably won't help your anticipation but just to throw some light onto the process and alleviate the conceived pressure on the recruitment team!

BA still has, at it's core, the mentality and structure of a nationalised industry. There are some progressive departments, primarily being those directly facing the customer, but many operate in their own 'bubble' and communicate completed tasks only to those department dependent upon them.

A classic example is that of 'commercial' deciding what aircraft, routes, loads etc. hence the required flying programme with it's associated hull numbers and thus crewing numbers and then dropping it onto the laps of Flight Ops and Training.

Once that has been done budgets and targets are set and the whole training programme grinds into action and recruitment levels and aircraft courses are decided. Unfortunately, constantly, the requirements generated by commercial are affected by various 'external and internal' influences which have a trickle down affect on training and recruitment leading to a change in annual targets and the ability to adequately crew specific hull types.

So, whilst I am sure you are all waiting with baited breath for your answers the simple fact is that recruiting may well be adjusting their position based on a new edict from above and having to rework their plans to take differently qualified pilots (ZFT to LH?) instead of their initial remit of crewing to SH. I'm sure that doesn't help those who might otherwise have got a place on SH when the push to DEP LH came in but just take it as not being a reflection of your ability 'per se' but more a reflection of the fluid, ever changing requirements of the company.

Hope that helps.

wirbelsturm, definitely agree with your account.

Are people still getting invited to day one? Is the 2015 recruitment comming to a close now with more recruitment for 2016 up and coming from a fresh campaign which I very much hope is the case.

Thanks for the insight wirbelstrum. Of those I know that have received the good news in the last two weeks, all of them have gone into the hold pool as opposed to being given course dates. None of those I know that have got the call have had heavy time, in fact most are Flybe chaps coming from the EJet or Q400.

It's certainly never boring at BA! I'll continue trying to be patient! :)

Is anyone else in a similar position as EMB 145? See there guys still in the process at day 2 and sim?

I know of one person who recently passed stage two and who's currently waiting for a sim slot for stage three.

I believe the training department is very busy and quite backed up at the moment.

Just to keep some info trickling in:

I heard directly from a very reliable source that BA will recruit just over 300 this year and around 200 per year for the foreseeable future. The source then added that, of course, that was based on the current plan, which was subject to change!

So, if your heart is set on BA and you are not successful this time, keep trying! They need you!

I very much hope that's the case.

The plan is always, ahem, "fluid" but I think there is cause for optimism if you want to join BA in the next few years.

There are a number of factors combining that will quite likely result in a fair number of senior folk decide to retire a bit earlier than planned or at least go part time. The (slow) demise of the 747 fleet and senior guys who don't wish to do another conversion course, the new dawn of FTL changes and rostering practices, changes to pension laws etc all seem to be having an effect. Retirements of the chaps reaching 65 start again in 2016 (but not in any great number until we get into the next decade). Finally there is some expansion with SH slots slowly being changed into LH with the resultant increase in pilot numbers that requires.

So it is quite possible the next few years will see a constant demand of approx 200 pilots per annum. Good news for anyone who wants to join. And for those who didn't quite get in, lots of space in here if you fancy another go in 6-12 months. There are plenty of BA pilots who had more than one go at selection roulette!

And good luck to all those waiting, fingers crossed for good news :ok:

B.M.R.R....

I think that's a pretty fair assessment.

You rightly mention "the new dawn of FTL changes and rostering practices".....IMHO that new dawn is a two edged sword for many prospective DEPs. Anyone planning on joining needs to be aware that the consequences of changes to the rostering system "Formerly Known as Bidline" :rolleyes: are only just making themselves apparent to the end users....It's a long and complicated story but Bidline has changed radically from the animal it was even a year back and even the most senior are now finding that it's increasingly difficult to protect time off/lifestyle...I'd certainly caution taking advice about BA rosters from anyone who used to work for BA, even if they left the company relatively recently.

The good news for prospective joiners is that judging by conversations I've had downroute or at LHR quite a few senior'ish pilots are planning on taking part time or leaving if they are financially in a position to do so. The bad news is that many full time short haulers seem to be struggling to maintain any sort of "quality" home life - the introduction of "full EASA" across the board later this year is just going to add to the fun and games across all fleets....

Certainly many colleagues in my peer group ( mostly those who joined in the late 80's/early 90's as DEPs) are now planning on retiring in the next year or two, even those who are already on part time contracts. I think what's going to happen overall is that some of the extremely senior will hang on for the glory in being on page one of a Status list, the juniors will hang on in the hope of being elevated into a more comfortable position/fleet replacing the significant amount of "attrition" that may happen in the main from the middle order seniority in Long Haul........

( P.S. I promise to stop editing now..)

wiggy, while we all agree that t&cs are on the slide, even if bidline isn't what it was, having even a little influence over rostering is still more than that enjoyed by those of us here in loco-land (nil). :}

Are many in LoCo land not on fixed roster patterns e.g. 5-2-5-3 or whatever?

Fair enough. But just for info we are now seeing instances of people having work assigned (i.e. added) to their rosters prior to final publication, despite them them already successfully bid to work over the monthly target (CAP). In one extreme case on the 744 last month an individual was assigned extra work into a gap on his line despite having already bid to achieve almost 100 hours, and similar has happened on the 380 this month. It is also possible, now, for the company to remove work from your line and then add trip(s) to improve your efficiency. This was possibly a price worth paying to avoid being drafted at the aircraft side on arrival for a duty the next day but it's still a major, major change, hence my warning about not taking too much notice of those now outside BA who still paint a rosy picture of Bidline. Fundamentally now, outside of leave, it's pretty much impossible for an individual to protect or predict specific days off in a month (we don't have a fixed pattern of days on/days off).

Just to be clear I'm not looking for sympathy (I know where to find that in the dictionary, thanks ) and I accept that's probably what you guys are used to in the LoCos, especially if you don't work to a fixed pattern, I'm just pointing we are all headed for being in the same boat.....don't join BA because of the rostering system...some who can are thinking of leaving because of it.

The Bidline people are used to is now dead. As wiggy has said the effects of this are still being discovered but it is a game changer. Life at BA is changing significantly, and not for the better.

Still, it seems to suit certain commuters from Canada.

:eek: Canada now who could that be? :}

The reality is this for new guys on SH. Blind lines. Working to CAP or above with most if not all weekends on. 5-6 on followed by 2 off and repeat. About 9-10 days off per month. I am spending 90+hrs each week away from home in March.

The good points.........I don't have to worry to much about job security but we are all aware we need to keep working hard to protect this. The salary is competitive and when I have needed time off for sickness or dependency the company has always been good to me. There are many opportunities but patience is a virtue.

I am happy enough but if I won the euro millions I would probably ask for the 50% option......actually not probably but definitely. Given my choices again I may have taken up the big orange offer but all in all its not something you can turn your nose up at.

Most people that won the euro millions, including almost every pilot I know, would retire immediately. The fact that you had to think about whether you would go 50% or not says quite a lot about BA.

What can I say. I enjoy take off and landing..........you have to have a break from the wife and kids at some point......maybe the 33% option would work.

Another option is to try and get an LGW base on SH. No "bidline" to deal with (they use Carmen at Gatwick) and you also get trump days for those all important weekends off, I am not sure how many though, but this can be a lifesaver for junior bods there.

A lot fewer nightstops, but this should mean being in your own bed most nights.

Some other slight differences from LHR in how leave works, as a general rule I think it is easier to take all your leave at LGW as you don't have to worry about making "cap" and thereby having to work wrap days. In the winter at LGW apparently it is easy to get extra days off attached to either side of leave but expect to be worked hard during the rest of the month. Days at work are more efficient with no time wasted in airside cafes (lots of this at LHR... very boring) waiting for your next sector, and turn arounds are short. Reserve blocks at LGW are only 4 or 6 days (28 days at LHR), but this does mean you'll probably do a reserve stint in most months.

I'll caveat that with saying I am not sure if they will offer LGW bases to new joiners as I think DEPs are only being offered LHR, but you can try and bid to move to LGW in the first annual fleet bid (again, no guarantee you'll be allowed to move across).

Chief W

I think the fact that you've brought LGW and Carmen up as an option speaks volumes about what has happened to the "industry leading roster bidding system" recently..

(...euromillions win...me? Out of the door in an instant, much to the relief of many :E )

If you go over a certain amount of credit hours, say 80 or something, do you get paid the extra as overtime?

So a 100 hour roster would be worth good money at least?

Hi guys. Some interesting info here.

Can anyone tell me what the B747 roster and lifestyle is like at the moment?

I'll be starting soon so would like to have an idea what to expect.

Thanks for any input, and good luck to you who are still going through the selection process.

Just as a little supply of information regarding low cost rostering. Here in orange land, I have not once had a day off changed and the roster for existing bases is still 5 earlies, 3 days off, 5 lates, 4 days off for 17 weeks followed by 4 weeks of random roster with minium 10 days off (have been given 12 the last 4 reserve periods). All new bases and FOs (fixed pattern available in most bases after 1 year as SFO) are random roster, but as far as I am aware, rostering can not touch your days off once they are rostered.


I have flown into a day off maybe a handful of times in just under a decade. Never by more than half an hour.


This is not meant as a pissing contest, but there seems to be some confusion as to how rostering is in the low cost world.

ReallyAnnoyed

Thanks for the input..

That effectively was the intention behind the recent changes to Bidline...once your roster is finally published, for good or bad, the company cannot make any further changes (obviously excluding the likes of down route delays).

As you may have sensed from some comments here there are some who feel too much was thrown under the bus in order to achieve that aim :oh:.

Just wanted to say thanks for all of the encouragement and advice from many people on these boards. I joined the pool this morning. Very excited. Keep the faith to those of you waiting to hear.