Not ex-BA, but thought I'd add my 2p:

Basic for 100% Captains is a shade under £130k; sector pay is probably about £10k; a second hat will get you get a few £k more. Part time options are being offered. Cpts had profit share of about £13k this year. Company pension contribution is 10% for 3% for Cpts.

Atmosphere is usually positive. Support from local management is incredible - really, really good. It's a great place to work, that tries hard to improve. The aircraft are very well maintained, and there's always support if you need it. There is no seniority.

Negatives (for the sake of going in with your eyes open) are generally thought to be:
1) Training department has a higher ratio of difficult instructors then perhaps you might be used to. The majority are excellent, but...
2) Manuals are improving, but still it can be hit and miss to find what one needs, when one needs it.
3) The earlies are EARLY (0400h) and the lates are LATE (0400h). That said, they have an excellent fatigue system, and are positively improving the rostering.

Company HQ is in Leeds, but you'll only go there for training unless you're also based there. There are bases all over (Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Derby, Birmingham, Stansted & Bristol), except the southeast.

For now...

pretty sure STN is in the south east …

<br /><br />According to my Londoner friends, you'd need to determine the latitude of Stansted in relation to Watford Gap, which puts it firmly in the South-East.

Lol - I guess STN is in the southeast, but a pain to get to from Kent/Sussex. There have been persistent rumours of a Gatwick/Southampton base which have so far come to nothing. With that said there were rumours of 10x A330's, and a £30k bonus too.... I guess it gives folks something to talk about on the way back from Turkey at 3am. Jet2 management is both good at communicating what they're doing, and good at keeping plans under wraps until they want them made public.

I did forget the new base - Liverpool - that'll open up next year.

A few extra questions if I may please:

Do you mainly do two sector days?
Do you do night stops or is it usually there and back?
Where are the simulators based?
What is the salary uplift for Training Captains?

Thanks

Mostly 2 sector days, there may be a very few 4 sector days from LBA.

Nightstops, except for the sim, are very rare. I've done 3 in the last 2 years or so. 2 tech and 1 planned but it was only a night.

Sims in Bradford and Manchester.

Dunno. Not enough. LTC is about 14k gross.

Thanks Chesty Morgan.

Is there a system for bidding for days off, earlies/lates, long/short sectors etc?

There has been an AM/PM preference trial during the summer alongside various part time working options which are going to be rolled out company wide next year.

Generally earlies are short(ish) and the lates are usually longer.

But no bidding system per se. You request what you want and you might get it then you're on it for the foreseeable. Although if you choose a part time option they can't guarantee a full time option will be available down the line.

Arguably time to command is indeed shorter at JET2, being a meritocracy and not a seniority based airline. That being said, TUI at the moment has some of the shortest time to command in its recent history. This recent bid, 73 upgrades were issued for next year, with guys and girls getting their commands who joined at the end of 2017.

I agree the contract for new joiners isn't as favourable as perhaps Jet2 though. 81.3% contract, full time summer and random off periods in the winter. A few part time FOs were given full time in the most recent bid, who had been with TUI approx 2.5 years - but IMO all new pilots should have been recruited onto full time! The flip side is despite joining on 81.3%, you can easily earn a substantial amount in overtime if you are flexible in those summer months. Full time FO's comfortably earn over 100k plus in a year.

Just to touch on "JET2 has significantly better long term career prospects" - it depends what you want out of your career. A career solely operating short haul, or the opportunity to experience both short and long haul flying.

In relation to the comment below regarding TUI not being around, I personally would find that hard to believe given load factors over 95% on average for the summer and rumours of very strong financials being released at end of year.

A very well rounded view on TUI - however the time to command is not going to continue as it is currently. The 70 or so per annum is not the norm. Upgrade is still 6-10 years and those on the 81.3 will remain on it even after upgrading. 4 FTE being issued this year essentially means that it would take 20 years to become FTE. The company simply do not want it. Yes, you can earn vast sums in the Summer, however this comes at a huge cost to time off and fatigue. Furthermore as crewing numbers are resolved, flexi will dwindle. The sad fact is TUI is a million miles from being a premium employer of choice as it once was and the T&Cs have been ruined by selfish and incompetent past members of the CC. The vast numbers of those leaving for Jet2, VA and DHL are testament to this. The replacements will be made up of ex mill or cadets with little to no experience. Wonderful colleagues and easy days out but unless you’d like time off in the winter months to travel with nothing in return, don’t touch TUI with a MAX sized barge poll.

Agreed - the command number will likely not hit anything like that number again anytime soon, but looking at the retirement numbers (which were made viewable on the cc forum some time ago) for the upcoming years, its fair to assume it will stay at a reasonable level for the foreseeable. Although you make a good point regarding the 81.3% contract, I hadn't even given it a thought that those guys and girls may only be offered command on said contract - that's hopefully a fight the CC can and will take another day..

I disagree that only 4 a year will be made full time though. I assume you weren't in the company 6/7 years ago when every single FO joined on a part time contract, and then they were all made up at the same time overnight to full time. 6 months is a long time in aviation. Anything can and will change. Who is to say that JET2 with all of their new aircraft on leases with expensive winter downtime wont look to do the same thing in the future for their crew? Anything is possible in my opinion.

"Flexi will dwindle" - Ill believe it when I see it. I have heard that every winter for years now and nothing ever changes - maybe one day it will..

I agree completely that the TUI job offer is not what is used to be, and that is a shame. Professional pilots should be offered professional contracts. Vast numbers leaving? I empathise and respect their choice if so - but if they are leaving looking for the golden ticket gig, I think that all ended about 2 decades ago!

Jet2 already offer part time though. My mate joined them just under 2 years ago. He’s on 75% contract still with them.

Speaking with colleagues TUI seems to have changed a lot from when they joined. Then again everywhere has. I don’t know anywhere that is rosy.
Command at BA went to the bottom of the list recently. 18 months in BA I think it was. I know a few for sure who joined 2019 who got LHS earlier this year.
Even with the recent pay deal I still think LHS pay under 5 years at BA is on the low side.

Also thinking about making the move
 

Hi Steve,

I know this post is a couple of years old now, but I was wondering if you made the move from BA to Jet2.

I'm in a very similar position, circa 10 years on the 78 at BA and have very similar feelings regarding the company, so also looking at a similar move.

BA Issues?
 

Can you expand on what these feelings / issues are?

Hi there,

It's been a while since this thread was started. Of the people that made the switch from BA to Jet2, are you still pleased with your decision?

I've got an offer from each company. BA seems like the best package along with union and roster protection but I'd had to commute from Bristol (2hours) and spend plenty of nights away to make it viable where as Jet2 offers a 25 minute commute and home everynight. 99% going Jet2 for convenience but hope I don't regret it in the future!

Kind regards,

Chris

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