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.