Well, having sat in the back a few times on both, even Ryanair clientele are a cut above jet 2s, who mostly are very much C,D and E's, often very new to flying, compared to Ryanair to whom it's like a bus to see friends and family. The notable thing to me was that whereas the fabulous Ryanair crew are very thick skinned and adept at defusing conflict, on two occasions the jet2 crew were incredibly and unnecessarily confrontational with clients who displeased them, one poor woman bawled at for having the temerity to dare to move the CCs bag in the locker!

Any significant pay rises expected this year in Ryanair DAC (UK) ?

Hi all,
I was wondering if anyone could supply information for someone starting as a cadet.

I'm particularly interested in a few things:
Timeline between successful interview and type rating, and between type rating and base training.
The sort of base I can expect with Irish passport and Irish license. I guess Dublin is out. Is it most likely to be the UK?
Actual upgrade times at the moment.

Current TRs being offered are end of July
Seemingly the BT is still happening a week or so after LST, but the wait between BT and LT remains 4-6 months. As far as a base, whilst a UK base seems logical, I’ve seen all sorts so prepare for anything.
also worth adding a group of TRs recently got delayed 8weeks part way through their course, no pay etc

4 to 6 months from base training to line training?! Is this down to the boeing delays or training capacity?

lack of LTC

A lack of trainers on the line, desperately short, and currently talk of a mass resignation of 50 trainers in Spain as well to compound the problem.

In the 2017 great pilot famine, sorry, rostering crisis, base training was the choke point in the pipeline. They have created a lot of base training capts and now also run the days from more airports, but all it did was push the bottle neck further down stream.

I have seen DE FO, rated on the 737, take 6 months in line training to do 40 sectors...

Thanks Singapore777 for the information. Concerning about the long gap between base and line training. Not just the delay and lack of salary, but also skill degradation. Though I am sure Ryanair is not the only airline facing issues.

I think type rated direct entries continue to get salary while they wait. Even so, a small number drift away to other jobs rather than wait.

The 100 or so Non Rated Flybe/Blue Islands P2s that came in over the last year took about 8 months to a year to get rated and checked. They were all on full SFO salary and rating paid for (bonded 12k reducing over three years) from day 1.

Cadets however are a very different story with renumeration until they are line checked. They then enter the CLA like everyone else.

Is the regulator OK with 4-6 months from base training to line training?
There must be some refresher in the simulator... right...? :uhoh:

Yes there is, expect several sim sessions to stay current before line training

Word is they’re going to halt training after the fixed base sim which for me was around the 2 months point. Then restart once they can plan all the way through to LCK1. Hopefully they’ll also not schedule line training as they have been which tends to be something like 2 days on, six days off instead of the the traditional 4/4. Often many more days pass between flights meaning you spend the first day getting back to where you were which is frustrating and wasteful. And when you do line check pray it’s winter and not so busy cos in summer expect to go to 90+ hours in 28 days and stay there. With extra beastings before and after leave. Which they will decide when you have. Big (UK) base flying is brutal and relentless, whereas small bases can more reasonable I believe.

Hi all,

I am a high time pilot, I am considering applying as direct entry captain, any specific advice? Like, is there a high demand at the moment, how does the propect looks?

I meet the minimum criteria (12000 hours including 4000 PIC on more than 30 tons). What I am looking for is stability. I am looking for a base in France, with a french contract. Can I negociate a specific base and contract (I understand there are several types of contracts)? If I am based say in Marseille, can I be sent someplace else to begin a roster, how does it work?

Thank you in advance,

You aboslutely can negoatiate a specific base. Met a lot of directs who did that. But then again, someone who wanted Lissabon didn't get it due to overcrew.
roster is 5/4 for everyone. Floaters( no fix base) get 5/5.

Regards

Thank you. So if I negociate a base I can’t normally be sent somewhere else?

Well of course you can. There is always a point like "for operational reasons", or they close down the base within a month. But the captains i know are happy.

Something to bear in mind is that if you don't get the base you want at the outset (and I doubt you would for France, not helped by Bordeaux closing) - then you will not get a transfer to it for many many years as a direct entry - because upgrading Captains join the transfer list above you. Best hope would be a new French base opening, although it's not the most tax/fees friendly location, which Ryanair are quick to react to in terms of deployment of based aircraft. I assume you're not rated, so your leverage to push for the base you want is limited, and even if you are, direct entries rarely, if ever, get into a base with a long waiting list.

That said, I enjoy going to work each day, the difference mainly being fabulous crews and all staff, who are fun, and natural team players. It's a company blissfully devoid of disingenuous company BS, crocodile smiles, and whinging. Everyone just calls a spade a spade, and just gets on with the job at hand.

Thank you both. So I applied, we’ll see how it goes…I had a 737 TR but expired (but less than 3 years)

86

What a load of BS, I've read some ****e in my time and this is right up at the top. What you meant to say was cabin crew who hardly speak to the flight deck and some flight deck first officers who are so busy on their phones they cant verbally communicate, So damn busy on their phones they still do it on line checks!! and fail.

Steve; look deeper, and I think you'll find you're the problem.

I do recognise the "gen Z" aspects you allude to, but setting that aside, the crews are the nicest and hardest working people i have worked with. Junior CCs can be very shy with FD, especially when a Captain is an egotistical prick, but made to feel valued and empowered, they are invariably a delight. Either way, far preferable to the egomaniacal pursers which some similar airlines are well endowed with.

I think it's wrong to tie poor behaviour in with the role.

There are good and bad in both seats. Some captains are so unprofessional and disdainful towards the SOPs (and the FO). Some captains are salt of the earth and people you would consider friends.

I am more than certain a number of FOs can be a pain, likewise I'm sure there are many decent individuals.

Same goes for the cabin crew down the back.

A lot of it depends on your base. Generally the bigger it is, the worse it is. Lots of dodgy individuals avoid detection simply due to how big the operation in the big bases is.

I'm still recovering from the NATURAL TEAM PLAYERS BS, Bring back Leo Hairy Leo Camel at least he was talking sense.

Now I must log out so I stop seeing this drivel and Bollocks.

yes - kindergarden is waiting for you.

NCL Base
 

Anyone on here from Newcastle base? Hows life there? Busy? Happy? Is Teeside mainly crewed by NCL people?

Does anyone have an indication of Spanish CLA and cadet salaries? Also interested to know how likely getting a base in Spain is after LT. AGP, BCN etc.

What is the latest in terms of commanders not going into discretion?

Discretion is expected and any kind of refusal result in a trip to Dublin, tea and biscuits on you

And the outcome of the tea and biscuits is?

First strike you should get away with it, with the standard threat of forced transfer and/or dismissal. That normally does the job.
Same procedure if you call fatigued.
After all the RYR 5/4 roster is approved by NASA, so you can’t possibly ever be fatigued.

Just to be clear, at the first time in your career of refusing to go into discretion, for whatever the reason, you’ll be offlined from your roster. You’ll then be positioned at company expense to Dublin where you’ll have a one way conversation with management and will be lucky to escape with just the threat of dismissal.

I’ll be honest this does sound, at the very least, a tad implausible

Not as implausible as it sounds, if you knew a bit of the Ryanair management culture. There is ample literature of the threatening emails, most of which have made in on this forum, of the HR and flight ops comms to the pilot and cabin crew community.

Fine, you might just get a meeting with your base captain if you have no previous offenses, but they are not very tolerant from the second time around, if you don’t have a VERY solid justification.

Only the need to exercise discretion needs to be justified.

I'm slightly confused, don't you work for easyJet? I know with friends in other airlines it's possible to have an understanding, but you speak as though you work for Ryanair.

2 weeks ago the PIC refused discretion, have spoken to him since, not a peep from anyone.

One thing in ryanair is once you're doing things as you should, then you are ironclad and they will actually avoid you.

Another similar example .. don't open the active roster app to view that 2 hr earlier report time that's showing on your roster .. get a panicked 5AM phone call from Crew Control .. "I was off and therefore not on my work apps" (this is if you're nice and pick up). They'll not say a word, and it they do, you refer it to the ops manager who will sort it.

When you know what you are doing, life is very easy. Even in Ryanair. There are quite a few egos at management level, but easily handled, once you know how.

The benchmark in Ryanair is the 25 years old Captain, who went from the first flight on a DA20 to the LHS of a 737 in 6-7 years, hence they made “the miracle” of giving them fortune and fame and all they could wish for in life (yeah…). So imagine if someone fitting this description refuses to “protect the operations”…
They have a different approach with more mature skippers though… I mean the message that comes across is the same but with slightly more diplomacy.

I have directly worked with people who have filed fatigue, showed me the reports, and the subsequent time off. This is totally incorrect.

I have no doubt someone who files fatigued after 5 days of early starts before 6AM will not be very successful, but where the cases are genuine and can be backed up by an unusually demanding roster (combined with some personal circumstances in one case I know) - the company gave them 2 consecutive blocks off to recover.

So yes, they do spout nonsense about "NASA approved rostering" (and we get a great laugh out of that), but that is not the full story either. Try to play fast and loose with them, you wont go far, be genuine and honest, it gets you very far. With most things in this place.

Does anyone have any information regarding the BA Eagle test specifically regarding the Rate of Climb/Rate of Descent & Top of Descent Calculations?

And what is EASA doing about it ?
If it's common knowledge and furthermore there seems to be ample written proof of said behavior ?

EASA… mmmm… yes I’ve heard of this word before but can’t really remember what it is… oh wait it’s a brand of crisps?

Nothing to do with EASA, would be the Irish CAA.