God I feel sorry for the training department! Mind you - it seems to be coping fairly ok at the moment, creaking slightly. We shall see at the beginning of the summer schedule!

Are there many leaving for BA/VS?

Any advice?
 

I don't suppose any ex FO's from a large Irish 737NG operator who made the move to Thomson would like to share some of their wisdom as to whether they are happy with the change? Either publicly here or via PM? Any insight would be great :ok:

I know of a few this year already, but only to BA, not VS (not that I know of anyway!)

7k reduction for training again? Obviously not that keen to attract the best applicants then, simply the best from the people who can accept a deduction from salary for a mandated CCQ when already type-rated?

It's nice to see the IT is up to scratch. I clicked on the job link, and apparently it's no longer available.

This should work

http://tinyurl.com/TomTermsStillCrap

Such a shame that they have such poor initial pay. Thomson is a company I would like to consider for their regional options but there is no way I could afford to take such a paycut. I guess this would definitely put off some of the more experienced pilots.

This link also TUI Jobs - Thomson Airways

Anyone know what the average monthly take home pay of a year 1 FO at Thomson is? Including all hourly pay etc?

Is it now just 81% pay for the first year? Then full time contract? And 7k a year for the first 3 years for the type rating?

Apologies if this has been covered before.

Hi Ddobin

I seem to remember it was around £3500 in the summer when you're busy flying and around £2600 in the winter when you're quiet. That's assuming you have paid off your training bond already.

It's 81% for the first 5 years and then you get full time when you have completed the 5 years. The training bond is £7,000 for your first year if type rated and £7,000 per year for 3 years if not type rated so £21,000 over 3 years if not rated.

Hope this helps. :ok:

Many thanks! 😀

Its not necessarily 81% for the full 5 years. 2 weeks after joining recently, we were told we could be full time for this winter, and the previous years intake have been offered full time positions. I doubt I'll be PPY at all to be honest, maybe one year at most. Granted it's always possible for those 5 years if the company decides to scale things back so it would be prudent to budget for the full 5 years being PPY but I can't see it myself.

Regarding the pay, yes it's a shame it's not full time from the start without the £7k OCC reduction, and for those who can't afford the pay cut for a year, it's a pity not being able to apply. If you can look beyond the initial figures though, it does get significantly better, 5 years in and full time command ready, the basic is about £70k. With the variable pay on top, day off payments, 10% pension, private health insurance, discounted holidays and so on, it all adds up to a decent package.

Good to know. I always think you need to actually be offered a job first before you start thinking about turning it down anyway, so it's worth applying.

It would be a significant paycut for me, but a huge boost in lifestyle.

I wont be on PPY50 for long is what i thought also but over 3 years down the line only recently have i been made full time. So view this as though it could be 5 years that's all i will say. As we know the airline business changes from month to month but i'd say it changes even more in the charter market. As the offer is 5 yrs PPY50 i would read that as a solid promise and if it happens sooner than that then that is a bonus but it certainly is not guarenteed.

Company and career wise i would rather be here than BA but others may disagree... :ok:

Has anyone heard back from them since applying?

So if you're a 737 Classic driver do you have to apply through the NTR option? And if so and successful then 7k deducted for three years for what would essentially be minimal training seems a bit excessive.

I left Jet2 for Thomson early last year. Got made full time within 6 months and got back pay for the PPY months I'd already done.
Average take home net on PPY50 after pension contribution over the summer was about £3900 ish. With an overtime flight added into a months payslip it was about £4400 and with a couple of overtime flights was about £4800. The overtime is very lucrative. So for my first year I reckon my P60 is gonna say about £79000. Not bad considering thats minus the 7k training cost. Flew around 700 hrs including overtime.
We were lucky that we got full time quickly, hopefully the same will carry on happening. Lots of people retiring and an expanding long-haul network so wouldn't be surprised if it does. Very friendly company to work for with a fair bit of variety, short haul/long haul, round the world trips on the 757, Canada on the 737, Training FO's etc etc.. Good loss of license, private medical etc... I definately wouldnt look back. Also unlike other airlines no fear factor of making a mistake, being delayed etc.. We have a very just culture and are treated like professionals.

79k gross including the 7k training cost?

i doubt that unless you went to canada also?

At least be up front with people who are considering applying

my P60 has never been over 77k and thats having paid the training bond of 7k and on a full time contract and offering any available time back to the company for flexi.

I've been here ten plus years my last P60 was 82k and I did a lot of flexi. Think numbers have been mixed up.

not necessarily, im an 11 year right hand seater on the 78 and my last p60 said 103, this years will be slightly less maybe 99.... lots of flexi and time away though, not everyone's cup of tea.

I can certainly vouch for the above mentioned figures of £77k - also my first year and I'm around that mark and I never went to Canada, this is all through high credit months, out of base and Flexi. But I would say it certainly was a bit of a hectic year rostering wise, I wouldn't expect that this year nessecarily! But hey - finally on the housing ladder!!!

The 7k in year 1 is taken before tax in the same way pension contributions are so you get some tax relief on it. It also won't make any difference to your gross P60 figure, just your net take home.
If you do a full year on PPY then expect around £55k gross. That's what I did. I am now full time and it's significantly higher. I only did one year on PPY.

Toast30, so did Thomson cancel your PPY50 then? We were told that ours would remain in status but full time could be offered as and when they need it. Our year 1 is full time leaving just 4 years to do at 81%.

Just to aid anyone's "fag packet calcs" if you are thinking of applying (whilst we're on the topic)

My year one PPY gross was 60k
year two full time gross 73k

Sorry perhaps I was unclear. First year I completed a full year on PPY. My second year was full time because I took a winter detachment. Those that didn't take the detachment in winter 15/16 were offered winter work anyway and subsequently full time. So some people never actually did any time on PPY, some like me did 1 year. I suspect those figures quoted earlier are full time figures.

The professional comment is debatable, all depends on your bench mark :)

Hello all,
I have applied to Thomson in hope of a shot at my first jet job. Been flying since 2004 when I obtained my PPL, decided to have a go at commercial via modular route in 2006 which took me till 2011 when I achieved my MCC. Been a instructor , ferry pilot , corporate pilot on MEP to a British baronet, took the attitude fly anything, anywhere, anytime and this year completed my B737 TR. I am keeping current by volunteering as pilot monitoring for LST and LPC in the sim. I have 2500tt about 70hrs in level d 737-8 sim am I in with a chance or dreaming ............ Thanks for replies and advice in advance.

Just by way of a personal observation, without wishing to enter into the debate around the rights or wrongs of current TOM recruitment terms other than to say that they have proved to be rather more flexible than what recent joiners have signed up too....I have never regretted for one moment joining the Company more than 30 years ago. The aircraft are well maintained with very few deferred defects, the routes are varied and the pay is good and reliable. Add into that the other benefits such as loss of licence, share scheme, private healthcare, death in service benefit, Thomson holiday discount scheme etc, and thanks to the constant efforts of the BALPA Company Council the overall package is hard to beat in the UK. Many pilots who have only recently joined are now flying long haul on the B787, so a varied operating lifestyle is available. Add to that quality training and excellent colleagues it is not hard to see why in recent years, without exception, all the recent joiners I have come into contact with either in a training environment or on the line have no regrets about joining. Yes the roster can be fairly punishing during the peak months, but no worse, I suspect, than at other comparable operators. The Company Council are engaged in a continuous dialogue over innumerable issues with the Company, and some outcomes such as pension contribution rates are not ideal, but overall they achieve a great deal in mitigating the more zealous ambitions of the management.

No I am not a management pilot, just someone who has had a long and varied career with this Company and who would encourage anyone thinking of joining to look beyond initial financial considerations and play the "long game."

Like BA, Thomson offer both shortish/medium haul and long haul options. It is always nice to have that choice.


Questions: what is the seat-lock time for those who change from 737 to 757/767 or 787? Also, when will we start seeing the MAX arrive?

Type freeze only applies to new pilots joining the Company and is for 3 years from the date of joining the Thomson seniority list. Other than that no freezes, and there have been many cases of pilots "flip flopping" from one type to another and back again to satisfy seasonal imbalances. The MAX is scheduled to begin arriving in 2018 I believe, gradually replacing the 757 and then NG fleets.
There is also the (rather tortuous) introduction of "One Aviation" within the group airlines across Europe. This has suffered delays, but already pilots from the UK fly services from Scandinavia regularly on long haul routes, and there are winter detachments to Sunwing in Canada flying mainly down to the Caribbean and Mexico on the 737. This has been a source of continued employment year round for the recent PPY joiners.

Advice on Applying
 

Hello,
Just looking for some advice on whether or not you feel I should get an application in.

I currently work for a well known Q400 operator in the UK, I'm sitting at about 700 hours total with around 400 on type. I know the falls short of the 1000 total time, and 500 on a turboprop/jet, but By October, which i believe it says the positions will be for,I will certainly meet this requirement.

Do you think applying now is a quick way to get myself to the bottom of the pile with a 12 months freeze on applying again, or do you think its worth a shot if I explain in a covering letter etc?

Regards,
B

The vacancies have been significantly oversubscribed in the past with the result that criteria have been stringently applied. What, however, have you got to lose by applying other than the time required to complete the application? Changes to the numbers required has also led to the application list being revisited at a later stage, by which time you would have met the requirements.

BShute

Don't ask - don't get, so get your application into the system. Thomson need a lot of pilots and there are other options out there for experienced pilots so finding the right numbers is not going to be so easy. You may be very inexperienced but the training system is good.

I would certainly echo the above. I done the same when applying to airlines in the past with borderline experience.

As for working with TOM, it's a great place to work. Fantastic all around, it has its niggles but show me a place which doesn't. The negatives are wildly discussed and mostly on the financial side with OCC/Type costs. That being said I surprisingly made more than I expected including year one, the figures discussed above are accurate for myself too. On paper it looks poor, that's the guranateed return, but in reality most have been surprised with the additionals. It's a great gig overall and I'm glad I made the switch.

I've got my fingers crossed but not too hopeful. I've applied with a frozen ATPL and very low hours. Ground school was avg 85% so middling but managed a great MCC/JOC and passed CPL and IR first time. Not sure if they'll even give me a glance but sounds like a good outfit to work for.

I have an application in but just wondering what you guys think about the assessment days being spread over only four days? It's too late in my current employment to guarantee these days off, or even request them for that matter, so should I really just be accepting that although I may get called to interview I may not be able to make it and that's the end of it?

Perhaps, Stable500 you'll find that you were sick a bit more than you normally are that month which, oddly enough allowed you to go to the assessment days...

Has anyone been invited to the assessment day yet?

I presume you haven't received the e-mail from HR that was sent out at the end of March by all accounts?