Had the same problem but then tried to do the whole application on my iPad and it worked :-)

No sponsor - I hope to god I'm wrong too.

BA Direct Entry Pilot.
 

Cheers guys. Had to find ie9 for it to work.

Is there a chance that anyone who is towards the bottom of the seniority list on the 747 could share a couple of rosters?

Much appreciated, just want to see what I am getting myself in for!

I eventually managed to get the thing to work on a Macbook, you have to scroll down with the arrow keys to see the rest of the page as it didn't load fully straight off, that was using Firefox. Had the acknowledgment so at least it got there.

Best of luck to all. A bit of luck for myself would be quite welcome as well.

Billiybuds,

Two typical rosters from the bottom of the 747 are like this:

1/2 off, 3-7 s Africa, 8 off, 9-11 E USA, 12-16 off, 17-19 E USA, 20/21 off, 22-24 mid east, 25-27 W USA, 28-30 off.

1/2 carry in trip, 3/4 off, 5-7 E USA, 8-10 off, 11-13 Africa, 14/15 off, 16-18 mid east, 19/20 off, 21-23 E Canada, 24/25 off, 26-28 Africa, 29/30 off.

The most junior FO on the fleet will be about 500 places above you on the seniority list. So you will be at the bottom for a log while.

Hope this is of use

Regards

Five trips. Sixteen days off at home. (In a 30 day month!) Eight days off downroute, and at least one three crew trip.

That's 'junior'?

Sweet.

Where do I apply??:E

4468

Looking at my roster this month I couldn't agree more! That looks fantastic.

How about:

1-3 Off, 4-8 Caribbean, 9-16 off, 17-19 E USA, 20-22 E USA (Back2back), 23-27 off, 28-31 Caribbean.

:-D

777 fleet. ;-)

How about 6 days hoping around Europe. 1 day off and then three more days hoping around?

Jealous aren't you?

Race to the bottom anyone?!

If you guys are longhaulers and think those are good/easy/fantastic rosters :eek: you genuinely have my sympathy, please let us know who you work for so we can put them on our "avoid" list...

For those who haven't experienced the joys of Long Haul: yes, the rosters look good on paper, but to badly paraphrase somebody: "before you judge a pilot's roster, work it for a month"

In the case of those binsleepin has kindly provided it's worth considering that hidden away beneath the surface are a fair few time zone changes (which may or may not be trivial), not much in the way of augmented crew, but above all a lot of nights out of bed tied in with 24 hour layovers, which produces multiple swings back and forth between day "shifts" and night "shifts" over the course of the month.......

IMHO those lines look like they are extremely tiring/fatiguing - a run of them certainly would be, that's why they're junior lines.

Just remember you will likely be at the bottom of any long haul list for around 7yrs+. In that time, aside leave, you will have little to likely no control over days off (working every Xmas!), leave allocation or destinations. As a junior pilot in reserve band 1 you will also do more standby than the majority of the fleet for the first 5yrs. These things may seem trivial now, but give it a few years and see if you feel the same.

Not to put a damper on things but also consider that a number of pilots in the past have been allocated long haul fleets, turned up on day one, and subsequently been allocated short haul. You are joining a company, not a fleet. Be prepared!

Finally, it has been confirmed that any long haul recruitment will be onto the 747 with perhaps a small number going on the 787. There will be no DEP on the 777 due sufficient internal bidders.

Have things changed? There used to be a point system for working over Christmas that avoided this.

There is a points system, but most guys have half a dozen already and all the LH DEP's will start at 0. They will also start with 0 leave points, which are built up over a rolling 5yr window. Added to this is the fact that there will probably be very little future external recruitment to the fleet so the majority of new pilots to the fleet will be senior internal bidders who have likely already built a bank of points from short haul.

Wiggy,

It's all about choice. The wife wanted the first Caribbean, I wanted the second one and the back to back is my choice so I have certain days of the month off. All told, for my personal circumstances, the month works out very well.

Personally I don't find East Coast particularly demanding. But then that's what it's all about, differing personal preferences and the ability (after time) to fulfill them.

At the risk of repeating a question already answered, what is the likelihood of 737 being added to that list of acceptable types?

TBH there's a hardcore of senior pilots (self included) who for reasons various bid for Christmas "out"......and in theory very little Xmas work should drop through to the junior Blindlines, though who knows what will happen this year under the new rule set.

My personal nightmare (as someone who doesn't live near LHR), is having Xmas off but having an early report on Boxing Day - hence my inclination to bid "out"!


W (belatedly)

Well some East coast destinations/trips maybe :bored: and as for back to backs :{ but anyhow just to emphasise that I wasn't making a point/having a pop about your particular roster.

binsleepin - Thanks a lot for that, much appreciated. Above what sector length do you get an augmented crew?

The 737 has a very limited life left in BA and there will be no new recruits on to it. BA therefore has no need to 737 type ratings. they will take the 737 as an acceptable rating when the supply of people rated on relevant types dries up. It is all about cost these days, BA will no longer pay for a rating they don't have to.p