The great big "ask an airline pilot" thread!

cuterob

Tenger wrote: »

There have always been a few instructors/managers like that. But for normall day-to-day Ops there is no cross-fleeting.

Yes I was going to add that I wasn't sure whether or not they were flying both on the line but for sure they had both type ratings.

Why is there no cross-fleeting? just timetable wise it would be a nightmare?

1123heavy

I was recently speaking to an EI pilot who said that cross fleeting is quite a regular occurrence, those who want varied flying prefer it and it gives fleet greater flexibility with their employees so everyone's a winner.

Jack1985

mayfly757 wrote: »

No 50/50 split on the B757 with Aer Lingus pilots and ACL pilots

Never knew that! News to me.

1123heavy I was recently speaking to an EI pilot who said that cross fleeting is quite a regular occurrence, those who want varied flying prefer it and it gives fleet greater flexibility with their employees so everyone's a winner.

I could count on two hands those people, they're primarily in office functions too.

Growler!!!

mayfly757 wrote: »

No 50/50 split on the B757 with Aer Lingus pilots and ACL pilots

Jack1985 wrote: »

Never knew that! News to me.

The EI pilots who fly the 757 are on secondment from EI and technically for the 3 years of their contract work for ACL. As in they are paid by ACL monthly unlike EI who pay bi-monthly, have to put in expense claims instead of receiving the cash up front for overnights and have to wear ACL uniforms.

smurfjed

The EI pilots who fly the 757 are on secondment from EI and technically for the 3 years of their contract work for ACL

Whats in it for them?

Growler!!!

smurfjed wrote: »

Whats in it for them?

Early TATL experience. Most who signed up were relatively new F/O's who were some way down the seniority list for the 330. The 2 guys I know were anyway.

smurfjed

How do you schedule your new type rating simulator training, is it 9 sessions in a row without a day off, or 2 on / 1 off etc?

duskyjoe

1123heavy wrote: »

I was recently speaking to an EI pilot who said that cross fleeting is quite a regular occurrence, those who want varied flying prefer it and it gives fleet greater flexibility with their employees so everyone's a winner.

What a load of manure and big manure. I know of one individual that flies the 330 and 320. That's it.

Tenger

Growler!!! wrote: »

The EI pilots who fly the 757 are on secondment from EI and technically for the 3 years of their contract work for ACL. As in they are paid by ACL monthly unlike EI who pay bi-monthly, have to put in expense claims instead of receiving the cash up front for overnights and have to wear ACL uniforms.

Oh, didn't know the in's and out's of it.......thanks for that nugget.

cuterob

and those EI pilots flying the 757 , do they also fly the 320 for aer lingus or are they on the 757 only for the next 3 years?

How many pilots do they need to fly the 3 of them on a constant flying schedule as they are currently?

Tenger

cuterob wrote: »

and those EI pilots flying the 757 , do they also fly the 320 for aer lingus or are they on the 757 only for the next 3 years?

How many pilots do they need to fly the 3 of them on a constant flying schedule as they are currently?

I believe that EI have approx 500 flight crew, this would cover A320 and A330 ops only.
ACL and Stobart would have their own numbers for their own Ops. Flight crew would operate under 1 AOC and not be able to 'flip flop' without refresher training. So its A320 and/or A330 for mainline EI, then ATR for Stobart or B757 for ACL.

basill

There are only a handful of AL FOs that took the secondment to ACL. They are typically relatively new AL joiners who had the required ATPL. The derisory money that was on offer when the contract first came up put off most as well as being locked into the secondment which would have precluded them from taking a command if they had more than about 5-6 years of seniority. Also there was no ability to go from RHS to LHS within the ACL setup. Having said that the FOs seem happy as they see the Atlantic much quicker than if they had stayed within "mainline" and now also have a 757/67 rating which makes them much more marketable should they decide to venture further afield.

The Captains are a mix of AL, retired AL and ACL. The most "junior" captain would have at least +15 years in AL whilst the most senior will shift to the LHS of the A330 when they see out their secondment should all of the expansion plans come to fruition and slots are available.

Whilst the Ops manual has provisions for mixed fleet flying (joint 320 and 330 ops) there are no line pilots currently doing so. There were plans for a small volunteer trial group to undertake this a few years ago but it never came to pass. There are provisions for people like chief instructors to mixed fleet fly but they are the exception to the rule for obvious reasons.

Tenger

basill wrote: »

......

Thanks for clarifying that for the non-EI folks here.

Matthew Gleeson

1123heavy wrote: »

I was recently speaking to an EI pilot who said that cross fleeting is quite a regular occurrence, those who want varied flying prefer it and it gives fleet greater flexibility with their employees so everyone's a winner.

Generally pilots at EI will never do mixed fleet flying. I'd also imagine IALPA aren't keen on the idea.

Only the Cabin Crew do mix fleet flying.

smurfjed

I'd also imagine IALPA aren't keen on the idea

Can I ask why?

We (non Irish airline) don't do it as the A320/330 are in different salary groups.

Tenger

smurfjed wrote: »

Can I ask why?

We (non Irish airline) don't do it as the A320/330 are in different salary groups.

I would assume a similar background. EI dont exactly have different salary groups for the A320 and the A330 but it is based on seniority. You start on the A320, A330 flight crew in both seats are always the senior section of the Capt/F/O pool. There are of course some flight crew who don't take up the offer of the A330, the A320 roster/operations suits their preferences more.

Allowing cross fleeting would mess up the seniority ladder.

cuterob

The EI FO in this video must have started young there to get into the rhs of the 330 so young, well he looks young to me anyhow

sailing

cuterob wrote: »

The EI FO in this video must have started young there to get into the rhs of the 330 so young, well he looks young to me anyhow

To get onto the 330 fleet these days as a FO in EI you would need around about 8-10 years EI service. Many of the newer FO's stepping across from the 320 fleet would also have joined from other airlines around 10 years ago so the experience level from a flying hours point of view on a 330 would be very high. It would rare at the moment in EI to have an FO with less than 8000 or more hours flying on the 330 fleet. As a captain it's around 20 plus years service and twice as many hours. As it is a small fleet it takes a good many years to get onto it through seniority.

basill

To get onto the 330 fleet these days as a FO in EI you would need around about 8-10 years EI service. Many of the newer FO's stepping across from the 320 fleet would also have joined from other airlines around 10 years ago so the experience level from a flying hours point of view on a 330 would be very high. It would rare at the moment in EI to have an FO with less than 8000 or more hours flying on the 330 fleet. As a captain it's around 20 plus years service and twice as many hours. As it is a small fleet it takes a good many years to get onto it through seniority.

That was certainly the "world order" approx 3-4 years ago. In recent times the A330 RHS is seeing some FOs with 4-5 years of seniority. Typically though 6+ years had been the norm in the past few years. It may well drop further if LA and any other longhaul destinations are added requiring an augmented crew with the IAG takeover.

A number of factors have brought this about. Firstly, Little Red offered FOs with approx 6 years plus seniority the opportunity of command (typically 10-12years was the norm for an A320 command). Secondly, the A320 is doing a lot more flying hence the need for more captains which in turn has taken the A330 FOs back for command. Thirdly, the return to the West Coast and the Novair wet lease increased the crew complement with 3 crew (1 capt, 2FOs). Fourthly, since the A320 got its fixed pattern of 5 on 3 off many have felt that the Atlantic lifestyle doesn't suit and they prefer to remain homebirds.

If the expansion keeps up then an ATPL and a pulse is all that will be required to fly the A330:)

Growler!!!

basill wrote: »

If the expansion keeps up then an ATPL and a pulse is all that will be required to fly the A330:)

I'd be happy if they just emptied the pool of interviewed and sim checked guys from 2013:D

ProfessorPlum

cuterob wrote: »

The EI FO in this video must have started young there to get into the rhs of the 330 so young, well he looks young to me anyhow

You must be getting old! Said F/O was a training captain in another airline before joining EI.

Tenger

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

You must be getting old! Said F/O was a training captain in another airline before joining EI.

Now its getting personal!!

cuterob

ProfessorPlum wrote: »

You must be getting old! Said F/O was a training captain in another airline before joining EI.

I must be getting blind more like !

john boye

Just reading all the above on EI A330 pilots and was wondering about the A330 flights to Malaga and Faro. Do the pilots on those operate a mix of LH and SH or do all EI LH pilots have to fly those?

Jack1985

john boye wrote: »

Just reading all the above on EI A330 pilots and was wondering about the A330 flights to Malaga and Faro. Do the pilots on those operate a mix of LH and SH or do all EI LH pilots have to fly those?

S/H operation in EI refers to pilots on the 319/320/321 fleet.
L/H refers to those on the 332/333 fleet.

The A330s do a daily early AGP and twice weekly FAO (peak) in the Summer months. L/H pilots would simply be doing a shorter duty operating in Europe on the A330s. It actually allows Aer Lingus a more efficient use of their hours.

john boye

Jack1985 wrote: »

The A330s do a daily early AGP and twice weekly FAO (peak) in the Summer months. L/H pilots would simply be doing a shorter duty operating in Europe on the A330s. It actually allows Aer Lingus a more efficient use of their hours.

Thanks I figured it was something like that

smurfjed

Yippee..... finished 777 Ground School exams and -300 differences...... now all i have to do is find a simulator :)

eatmyshorts

smurfjed wrote: »

Yippee..... finished 777 Ground School exams and -300 differences...... now all i have to do is find a simulator :)

Feel free to take my seat in one at 1:15 am tonight!

smurfjed

Hope you enjoy it, do you get pay credit for sim sessions ?

eatmyshorts

smurfjed wrote: »

Hope you enjoy it, do you get pay credit for sim sessions ?

Neither pay nor hours credit for sim, groundschool, standby or SEP.