Rosters are completely random in a nut shell....

737 busy Summer, quiet Winter
756 busy all year round with some long haul and scandinavian work in the Winter
787 90% long haul and busy all year round, again some Scandinavian work in Winter.

Minimum 11 days off per month, generally get more as lots of blank and RT days which are rest days and don't count towards days off.

Good luck
 

Just wishing everyone who has an assessment day the best of luck. I haven't applied yet but will apply in the next window for NTR.

Anyone heard back yet after the assessment?

Anybody non-TR got a sim date or a call post interview?

Also not heard anything, non-TR. Since sim dates were mentioned as being this Tuesday and Wednesday it's either not looking hopeful, or will be very short notice!

Also NTR and no call yet. A friend did get a call Friday though with a sim date. Quite a few 73 rated guys on my assessment in the afternoon though.

Non-TR Sim Assessment
 

I was at the assessment day last Monday and got an offer of sim assessment on the Thursday. Have the assessment today? Anyone know what it entails?

Still heard nothing after the assessment day... anyone have any news?

A few people I know got a 'No' email last Thursday.

I was told during the interview that everybody would hear "by the end of June" - still a while to wait then!

Stand by your phones guys, I just received an email to say I've been successful at the assessment and have been placed in the "pilot talent pool" and that they'll be in touch with "a further update" soon!

I'm 73 rated.

Same here... I'm 73 rated also.

Hopefully we all hear some news soon about timescales and basing.

Anyone know of plans for 787 recruitment?

Very unlikely for the foreseeable future, all positions can be filled internally.

Has anybody heard anything since being placed in the "talent pool"? Anybody been offered a contract or base?

The original job add was for positions commencing late August - that's not looking too likely since most need a 3 month notice period.

Heard talk of a bit of a slowdown in the business? Some courses postponed?

Any back up to this?

pin head.... i don't know the answer specifically to your question... however i will say that Thomson has always and will always be a very conservative company regarding the economy. They (as in the management) do not like to over extend and tend to live life happy with steady returns with a long term outlook. When the economy is booming, they have added capacity slowly and when the economy is flat or contracting.... withdrew cautiously.

That is why they have been here for 50 years and in my opinion will continue to be here in 50 years time.

They work on a 5-10 year timescale not the 6-12 months other airlines do. Any minor changes to a few courses should be seen as just that... minor.

Hope that helps.

Contract dates
 

I believe august was the earliest for type rated pilots.
November for 757 then Jan for 737.

What's the general consensus with commuting within the UK in TOM? Is it possible on the 73 fleet with the random roster? For example a new joiner who lives in the South East and gets offered a NE base - are days off paired together to make this doable?

Thanks in advance.

Days off are usually paired together and we get 10 days off a month in the summer. More in the winter. You are required to live within 1.5 hours of your base though, so the company would expect you to abide by that when you are operating. The summers are very busy and therefore tiring and I believe some pilots do commute.

Plenty of people commute around the country. Mainly those new commanders who relocated for a promotion or new FOs still waiting for their choice of base.

There are, however, a number of pilots (CPT + FO) on the 737 fleet, full time, that commute from various European countries and don't seem to have any issues doing so.

And yes, days off are paired nicely. I'm not sure if that's a rostering agreement or the way things work out on my roster. But I generally get 2-4 days off in a row in the summer. You can also bid to have your work in blocks.

Great info, thanks guys :ok:

Looking forward to joining in the new year!

Could anyone explain how the round the world charters are crewed? Does a single crew operate the whole trip or do they get swapped out periodically?

Single crew for whole trip almost always. Very rarely FDP issues to meet the charterers schedule requires another crew. 2017/18 programme fully crewed and running now. Bids for 18/19 open early next year. At the moment about 5 years seniority on the B757 fleet gets you in the running for the single FO slot.

Thank you. And how long are the trips typically? Sounds like fun.

Depending on trip, 3 to 4 weeks. About 10 per year, Oct to Mar. All subject to change though as the 757s leave and the 737 max arrives. No idea what the plan is.

If you are joining with an eye to jumping onto a round the world trip; you are probably wasting your time.

For the FOs bidding it has now gone down to the younger generation shall we say, for at least the next 2 years i would say it will be full up with those currently already in the airline.

After that if it goes to the 73-8 or Max then it will go majorly senior again as many long termers on the fleet will be clamouring for a trip.

Assessment dates?
 

Hello there,
I just got an email inviting me to the assessment at East Midlands airport. The only available slots are next week and totally undoable. Does anybody know what happens if I don't book a date right now? Will they offer new dates later?

Same, its pretty much take it or leave it. Disappointing given they only give a weeks notice.

It certainly wouldn't be their intention but personally, if you want a job badly enough, you'd make it doable.

Job advert said the group interview/exercises will take place between 13th and 17th of November. It wasn't a week notice.

Presumable the NTR applicants will only be offered the 737/756, and 787 jobs will be filled internally? Any rough ideas about waiting time once 'in', for the 787?

Thanks

If you're NTR, you will be frozen on your initial type for 3 years. Go back some pages and you'll find your answer :ok:

Easier said than done
 

It is quite hard to comply with those dates with such a short notice because getting to East Midlands and back would require 3 days for me and one has a flying job to do. London would have been another thing. (I'm from Scandinavia and I was thinking that I could do this without commuting during winter). I guess it was not meant to be.

:mad: ................

My sincere apologies plikee, are there any more hairs you’d like to split?

I don't understand what the problem is. The job advert said the interviews will take place between certain dates, and they're taking place between those dates. If you can't do those dates, why bother applying?

TUI do assessments over a week, they pull a specific set of pilots off the line to conduct them with the HR department. They're not going to add extra dates just for you, they have over 900 applicants for less than 50 jobs.

As they advertised for 787 type rated, I wouldn't hold your breath for NTR 787.

Some chaps who got the 787 very recently haven't even been in the company 1 year. But as always, history isn't an indication of the future.

My curiosity lies with why it went to junior guys. I hazard a guess that the lifestyle isn't for everyone. Thanks

I don't know enough about the 'behind the scenes' to give an accurate answer. Perhaps something to do with there only being 3 787 bases? The junior guys are taking a UK base in the summer and Scandi base in the winter. I guess the older FOs with families don't want that and are waiting for permanent UK slots to become available. I'm just guessing.

It's not a bad way of life at all. Very senior fleet for the LHS.

I joined in the last intake. The first thing I did after applying is book 2 days annual leave during the stated assessment week JUST IN CASE I get invited.

Preparing for an interview isn't just about researching the airline's history - it's also about making sure you can attend!