I left LCC flying in 2016 for BA and took an early command at LGW (we didn’t all choose to be junior LHS under JSS) I’m now at LHR after being forced up following COVID. I have to say a point that’s not been mentioned and one reason I don’t (yet) move is that IMO the LHS is actually a better job than the right. If you can put up with the rosters (still more days off than at my LCC) I think take the extra money and better job satisfaction etc for the first 5 years or so while you weigh up your options and would then have better relative seniority on Long Haul. (Plus you’ll bump me up the list :E)

I’m pay point 8 and estimate £140k for this year. Tax efficient electric cars also a good option for the tax trap. There’s no escaping the junior rosters which can be hard but you’re never far away from a block of leave and the two guaranteed weekend days off have softened the blow. Also Parental leave is a nice option which I use often. Every year I weigh up moving RHS long haul vs going part time where I am but currently still (quite) enjoy the job, have gotten used to the money, and the pension contributions are another huge plus in comparison to most other uk airlines, even more so in the LHS.

I’ll move one day, but for now it’s still 100x better than had I stayed where I was, and that also highlights the other benefit… the option to change your mind!

Re-arrange assessment date
 

I have received an email to ask me to pick a date for BA DEP assessment. However, there are two dates availble and I won't be in the UK for those dates.
I have email the recruitment team to see if they can give me a different day but when I check the BA portal both dates are now gone?!
Is it possible to ask for a different date like I did? They haven't replied me yet and the end date of this post is the end of April. Any suggestion is appreciated.

Druggy

Thanks for your helpful comment. Might you be willing to explain the parental leave further? Can I assume unpaid and limited - how much is reasonable etc.

I would be interested in part time asap but if not possible for the first few years this may be an important factor.

Much appreciated
V

My guess is that those dates are gone because someone else have booked it and now they’re fully booked hence disappeared. I doubt it has anything to do with you emailing them.

Yes if the dates don’t work you can just wait. I think new dates come out fairly regularly, but they can fill quickly (especially the sim assessments - sometimes by the time you have checked the calendar they would have gone!)

I can’t imagine they will be stopping recruitment any time soon though.

Max 3 ATOs
 

The BA low hour pilots job is limited to 3 ATOs in pilot training from CPLIR, ATPL and APS MCC. How strict is this and whether a pilot can still be invited for interview if he or she has trained in 4 different ATOs (CPL and IR at different school) but meets all the requirements?

hi, yes it’s still the capacity test after the video interview. Providing you’re successful you’ll come back for day 2 - interview and group exercise. Then day 3 for the sim.

and I’ve come here today to ask about the sim if anyone’s done it recently. Also, the long haul suitability tick box. What actually is the criteria for this? I’m already aware of the hours however I know people who’ve applied for LH however due to their performance in the sim, it was decided they didn’t meet the suitability for LH and were offered LH. So what’s the suitability?

just good CRM, situational awareness, NAT HLA etc etc?

BA need ~200-250 pilots each year for the next 3 years so I can see assessments running fairly continuously.

It’s funny my friend trained with 4 different ATOs (CPL and IR separate school) still got invited for assessment with Ba? Have they made a mistake? He meets all the other requirements though and passed everything first time?

The suitability for Long Haul thing is a bit of a red herring in my opinion. The way the BA sim assessment always worked was that if you passed the sim you were deemed capable of passing any BA type rating, including the long haul fleets.

For a long time a few people (more than a few) started turning down Short Haul offers - against good advice to get the earliest possible start date - and were holding out in favour of Long Haul positions. Then as word got out about the reality of Short Haul after the loss of the duty rig this trickle of course declinations turned into a flood. This obviously started creating headaches for Pilot Recruitment which they quickly got tired of.

So the long and the short of it is they then introduced this whole “suitable for long haul” tickbox which conveniently then enabled them to force people’s hands and say to them that they were deemed unsuitable for long haul, take it or leave it.

Even if you take the view that this is a nonsense conspiracy theory the unavoidable conclusion is that they must then have to some extent or another dumbed down either the sim assessment itself or the standard required to be met as previously anyone the trainers deemed to be unsuitable for long haul would have failed the assessment full stop.

I don’t think they have lowered standards, at least Balpa will tell you that, so that leaves you with the conclusion that it’s a tool to stop people turning down the first offer in the hope of a long haul offer. Dont read too much into being told you’re suitable for long haul or otherwise as I think it’s a load of nonsense.

The absolute gem of wisdom in here is to get the earliest start date you can. It makes a huge difference - you may want to fly the big iron but seniority moves a lot faster in short haul AND when and if you move across to LH you will be moving in above anyone who joined as a DEP LH after you did. You are only junior once (or rather, you only CHOOSE to be junior once), why not do it on a fleet where currently you’ll be moving double figure percentage points in seniority within 12 months… you’ll be junior for a comparatively short period and can then move to a less junior LH position.

Absolutely, and just to put a different spin on it, this was the advice I was given, and what I did. When it came to it in Covid I kept my job, when those that joined single digit months after me lost their jobs. I take no pleasure from it, and sincerely hope we never end up in that situation again, but now that precedent has been set I think it has to be a consideration.

Parental leave can be applied for up to 365 days in advance. You get 18 weeks per child and can use a maximum of 4 weeks per child (I think) per year. It is UNPAID but I like the flexibility of it and the fact that it puts off the decision of whether to commit to part time permanently. In the tax brackets we find ourselves I think it’s an effective way to guarantee time off, for relatively little financial pain.

The tax rates make my blood boil , incredibly frustrating!

LH suitability is not a red herring and very much a real thing. My understanding of it is that it relates to training risk - the LH line training footprint allows for 6 or so sectors / landings and hence there is very limited scope for training. On SH this can be much more easily facilitated.

So why was this “suitable for long haul” stipulation not a thing just a few short years ago where the exact same set of circumstances you have just described were extant? Am I incorrect in saying that a candidate that displayed any element of training risk would not have made it through the assessment?

Genuine question here because if so then we are definitely talking about a watering down of standards; my understanding (and that of many others) of the BA Sim assessment was it considered a check of your ability to pass any BA type rating you could theoretically be coursed be that short haul or long haul.

I agree, I think the idea of training risk is nonsense specially as you’d need to have an ATPL,
thus sufficient experience.

Also, I have witnessed someone do the assessment not long ago where her PF sector was a raw data SID, tracking to a VOR, take up the hold, set up a procedural ILS and land, NO EVENT. God knows how the assessor figured that she ticked all the six competencies they assess for. Without a situation(event) that requires positive, co-operative decision making through CRM and a PM sector that was atrocious, she got longhaul.
It’s a gimmick to force people into shorthaul.

In the nicest way possible - I'm not really interested in debating the rights and wrongs of it. That's clearly already been done by greater minds than mine in the training department. I just thought it was worth clarifying its existence in the selection process, for future applicants.

Having become aware of a couple of recent resignations from my outfit to BA long-haul, I beg to differ.

It seems that the talent pool that BA can choose from is not as big as it used to be.

resigned for what reasons?