1- It’s SOP for CM1 to park, I think it harkens back to when we had 737’s with the tiller only on the LHS. Current logic is that a lot of the parking aids are LHS only.

2- CM1 has the responsibility to call stop. The skipper is the only one with his hands on the thrust levers. As PM you can bring anything to CM1’s attention but the responsibility lies with CM1

3- I don’t know how things are in BA but we’re pretty relaxed in Orangeland.

4- After roster publication your days off are
sacred, they will not change and you have the ability to refuse certain changes to your schedule within 48 hours of your duty. If you opt for fixed roster you can extrapolate your days off for years in the future with the exception of the reserve months (2 a year) where you have flexible roster. Within your working days you can experience disruption but our fatigue management system is not punitive and can be used if you’re not feeling up to the task.

Can’t help you with 5 or 6 as I haven’t been LTN based or worked at BA. PM me if you have any more questions.

Kind Regards

Polo

LHS LGW

Time to command is heavily base dependant. Portugal, LGW, LTN: Basically no wait and as soon as you meet the requirements and finish the assessments you’ll probably get something within 2 years.

MXP, NCE: A very long time... very!

Most rules are the same in Italy, but the contract is different. Roster, pension, part time, salary, rank and many other things are country dependant.
Money wise you are better off on the continent (France, Italy or Germany).

Who cares who parks the aeroplane, really? Surely the terms and conditions of employment are a lot more important than SOP trivia.

AMS stop line and guidance is set up for LHS also. Who cares anyway? Shouldn’t base the job on who parks. Also don’t think the insurance covers the Fo. Personally I think it’s the best short haul job going. People are awesome and fairly relaxed across the network.

Never felt pressured with fuel decisions etc and on the odd occasion I have had to go fatigue in 15 years never questioned once. Preferential bidding for me personally has been superb.

You don’t join an airline for its SOPs, I’m pretty sure of that one. If it were the case I doubt anyone would join BA (monitored approaches). That being said, I’m sure most take them their stride when they get there. Just my two cents

monitored approaches actually make lots of sense, having seen a few go arounds now, much tidier and far less of a shock for the handling pilot to fly. After all, that’s what he has briefed, whereas the landing pilot is expecting to do that.

If I were going to nitpick an SOP that just is a bit odd, it’s the Non handling pilot selection of reverse.

I would much prefer to work for an outfit though that has an oddity like that though but trusts me as an experienced professional to pull the thrust levers from RHS or call stop as the heavy in the middle seat. Suppose it comes down to trust and experience.

Unless you’re on the Airbus where the handling pilot pulls reverse. The Airbus fleets now are very close to ‘Airbus standard SOPs’ with the major exception being the monitored approach.

champ

Thread creep...

You might be able to ‘pull the thrust levers’ on the ground, but we aren’t trusted to use them in the air. QED.

You cannot call ‘stop’ as heavy, that SOP changed a long time ago. Perhaps a flick through the books might be in order?!

As you were...

All BA aircraft are 2 pilot flight crew. No checklists involve an augmented crew member. Stop can only be called by the P1/P2
Third and sometimes fourth crew are only carried when Duty Period requires augmented crew.
Also BA does not use partially qualified crew members as SOs. All P2 qualified for 2 crew operations.

FACoff if you’re SH have you considered Gatwick? I was 3 years at Heathrow made the move to Gatters in January and I honestly haven’t been as happy in BA as I have since I moved. None of this JSS rubbish, no three week long reserve periods and skippers are far better to fly with, with very few exceptions. Plus you’ll jump in seniority compared to Heathrow. To be fair I’m still desperate for Long Haul but Gatwick is, in my opinion, a far nicer place to wait it out.

I’d agree that BA, easy and Ryanair are probably the most stable but having seen my mates low cost short haul roster in the orange one, it wouldn’t matter because I’d be dead or medical - less in under five years I reckon. That ain’t sustainable.

How common is 6 on / 1 off though?

No idea what you’re on about. 10 years in Ryr and one now in Ezy and easy is quite literally what it is.

Don’t do it, BA is one of the best airline gig’s around. Every other airline getting mentioned here pale’s in comparison. Stick it out,

Depends how you look at it. If you’re junior on SH in either seat, BA will work you harder for less money than the competition. If your goal is Longhaul, if you’re junior it’s not much better and VS is probably worth serious consideration. If you’re likely to see some seniority (which depends entirely on your demographic and the date you join), it may be worth it in the long run but no, it isn’t one of the best airline gigs around. Not by a long shot.

Haha !! Good joke !! I remember when I joined they said you are now the best pilots in the world, flying for the best airline !
Funny how the Nigel Doctrine works on some

Ridiculous to say that BA,EZY and Ryanair will be the sole survivors... Im a BA Pilot and a realist!!

BA are hugely vulnerable to a third runway... The company benefits from a Heathrow monopoly. Loose that and the significant profits that go with it and IAG will look very differently at the setup! That’s if they don’t start to look at us differently regardless.

Also, we at BA have managed to see the loss of NAPS, bidline, seeded blindlines... As well as a myriad of other items that are starting to bite!! We are just as vulnerable as anyone long term ( especially Ts & Cts)... And certainly NOT the best gig in town... If you have the drive and sanity to last out the perils of JSS, a ridiculous seniority system and working out of the joy that is Heathrow... And live within suitable commuting distance... Then it’s competitive in the UK... But that’s it!!

You must be superman/ women then, or have started when you were 18 ( which is the upper limit I guess )These four sector days terminating at 0030, only to return at 1500 the same day and repeat.

Slavery.

I’m pushing 40 with a 2 year old and a newborn coming. Started mid/late 20’s. Slavery isn’t the word for what I do. I turned down BA long haul last year who offered me a contract with half the salary easyjet’s contract had written on it. One of the two valued my experience properly and paid me accordingly. I don’t regret it for a single moment, and I wouldn’t even go to BA if they opened up DEC.

If I genuinely feel fatigued I’d call up and let them know. The fallout of this would be nothing negative towards me but in the year I’ve been here I’ve not had to use this facility.

If you’ve been looking at an EJ roster compared to your own BA LH one then yes we work more days than you. Go compare ours to a BA SH one and come back to me.

I think some people are a little too precious.

Funny how people look at things. BA offering a £59k basic to join and easy offered £104k. The roles are very different yes but my family don’t care which seat I sit on. I suggest you don’t look at the BA pay scales as well. The fact it takes 14 years on BA SH lgw to make the basic easy paid me the day I joined...... speaks volumes and it’s why threads like this crop up.

so I’m on the other side of the pond, but at 50 I have a bit of my own experience to impart. I was at a legacy here and I left to go to another legacy because I thought it would provide a better career path. Then 9-11 and then bankruptcy and the T&C were completely unsettling to me. I couldn’t imagine my career going this direction or staying with my airline under those conditions. I took a leave to fly a Citation X and then I went back to the legacy for a month before leaving to fly the “mail” as you say. I couldn’t imagine the legacy I was at would ever recover. So I left in 2007! Then the world economy collapsed in 2009 and I found myself at the bottom of the list at my new airline. Ha! The best laid plans.

I only offer this because sometimes the slow and steady is the way to go. Over an entire career T&C will change. What is hard to win is chasing bases, aircraft, upgrades, etc. I know the market in Europe is different than the US, but I am reading a lot of comments on time to upgrade and to get certain bases... it makes me pause. I know nothing about the state of BA, but I will say I never would have guessed my old legacy contract would bounce back like it did.

Sometimes the current schedule makes one think that they need to make some huge change as soon as possible. If they would have waited just a year or two it could look totally different. I’ve change aircraft and bases and at times it’s seemed like a totally different company and job. If SH is Bad, try LH. Tired of that? Go back to SH. It might take time to get the position you want, but options are great. Use caution with rash decisions based on how it looks today. Step back and have the long view.

I’m happy with my decision, and it’s been a great ride, but I would have been better served by staying put. Best of luck in your decision.

I left a major legacy carrier during tough times, contract getting screwed down, seniority not moving anywhere and lots of time away from home, having said that I left due to personal issues and needing to move to the other side of the world due to a family situation. Joined a LCC and got a command in 9 months and was home every night whilst earning more than my spot at the legacy carrier.... good times ;-) Fast forward 10 years and I am still in the Left Seat with said LCC, all of my mates at the legacy carrier also now have commands or very senior FO spots in longhaul and have good control over their lifestyles, they are earning more than me and their conditions I.e pension etc are out of my league. Now the LCC has gone backwards in terms of contract, in this respect all airlines are the same constantly screwing down terms, the roster now comprises 4 and 5 day trips as this is ‘more efficient’ for the company, not a day goes by that I wish I could have stayed with the Legacy carrier, at least there you get some reward for your years of service, at the LCC I am likely to lose my bid in any given month to a 1 day Captain as it is totally random, no one is happy and I can tell you multiple 4 sector domestic days for 10 years is more fatiguing than anything I did at the Legacy carrier. As stated above, be very careful about traded short term angst against your long term prospects, what I would give now just to be able to bid to a long haul fleet for a few years, BA may be a bit hard at times but in terms of fleet choice, work choice and career opportunities you probably won’t beat it.

It’s all about how your body can cope with Jet Lag and Red eyes combined.
If you find your a quick to recover and a natural night lark LH is great.
If your an Early Bird or struggle to get over jet lag LCC is for you.

At the end if the day money is very close. Yes at Legacy you’ll earn more eventually but the money you earn in the short term can be worth more with compounding, or debt paydown.

There is merit to waiting your time, but I fear Ollie maybe missing the changes that have occurred over the past ten years where his friends have gained a good lifestyle. For example, PP34.. an extra ten years to get to the top of the tree now, so many joining in their thirties will enjoy only a couple of years. This coupled with the loss of NAPS to an industry competitive pension further reduces the significant benefits of a long term BA career.

Other things that must be considered (especially short haul) is the ‘Heathrow factor!’ Slot delays, 25 minute taxi times, holding inbound, waiting for stands, Aircraft and terminal swapping, 2 hour waits between flights in Pret. When you add these together over a 12 month period these add up to 10’s days of lost time ( or effective earnings ). You can also factor reserve periods into this. Considerable loss of earnings and stability can occur during your three week period of reserve. If you get unlucky and sit at the bottom of a fleet you will be enjoying plenty of reserve, regardless of weekend points. Compounded since the loss of fixed flight pay which was in existence when Ollie’s mates joined. Also, long haul are working hard, loss of back to backs due EASA makes life more difficult. Busy long haul fleets can often see five or more trips with just two days off in between. Being junior on certain fleets can be brutal, with reserve, weekend work and lack of roster control.

If you hit a sweet spot during a recruitment bulge and go in as a DEP to a long haul fleet, with 1 or 200 coming in under you on seniority, you may end up with a fairly comfortable lifestyle. However, the desire of management is to reduce lay over lengths ( short haul already enjoy many 12-14 nightstops ), address the hotel budget ( not a good thing when we spend our lives in them ). Who knows what else is to come??

BA is certainly still a decent career in the UK, but it has changed beyond recognition and our new union has a huge battle on their hands. To get to a point where you can control your roster ( tanks to JSS) and enjoy the ‘big bucks’ (PP34) is far longer than previous! Regional based flying with front loaded earnings certainly competes now, hence the frustrations of the many at BA and this thread. You certainly accept less career stability (well at the moment), but you are potentially going to enjoy a far greater work life balance ( something we take for granted whilst we young and have our health). With that said, if you can make BA work, on PP34... You may just earn more on a payslip over thirty years.