V-Flyer

From the Brighton Argus

Whilst I usually deprecate this 'news by press release' sort of article it is of interest to us here.

VS has employed 22 former Monarch pilots and in total more than 100 former staff (apparently increasing to 200 in total) have been found jobs at VS

That's really good news.

I would have thought there was a lot more training required than just a month to convert from a A320 to a A330/40?

ColOrd wrote:That's really good news.

I would have thought there was a lot more training required than just a month to convert from a A320 to a A330/40?

Fully agree - this seems very fast. I was under the impression that Cabin Crew training alone is a 5-6 week course & you have to do the lot, even if you are transferring from another airline who flies the same aircraft, so you learn about "all things Virgin" when it comes to service / safety etc.

Whilst the cabin service aspect is clearly not relevant for flight deck crew, just one month to gain a new type-rating & learn a new airlines procedures seems very short.

On the plus side, good to see that Virgin have helped some former Monarch staff gain new employment in the industry. I am sure that Virgin are not alone here either, as I recall a number of airlines very quickly announced recruitment events aimed at displaced Monarch staff.

Monarch used to have a couple of A300 aircraft. It’s possible some of the more senior pilots have ratings for the larger airbus frames

Know of an ex BA captian on the 320 who has joined VS as a FO- his first sector on the A330 was 29 days after joining - he is just about to be fully relased to the line 7 weeks after joining

Corporately, I might be inclined to hoover up any number of trained flight deck and cabin crew for conversion to type and affiliation programmes.

The process is likely to provide an already skilled and experienced workforce, that are motivated (they have applied to VS) and with a, likely, high acceptance rate.

A win for VS.

NV43

Good to see some of the ex-Monarch crew have been able to get new jobs quickly.

PaulS wrote:Monarch used to have a couple of A300 aircraft. It’s possible some of the more senior pilots have ratings for the larger airbus frames

They had 4x A300's - the last of which was withdrawn in April 2014 - and 2x A330's which had left the fleet within 12 months of the A300's leaving after Monarch announced they were ditching long-haul flying completely. As you say, some of these may well already be A330 type-rated, but how long can they retain the type rating without actually flying that aircraft, or is it just a refresher course?

I'm think class and type ratings are valid for 12 months from the date of completion of the skills test.

Lets just say this must be great news for those who are lucky to have been re employed.

HAPPY CHRISTMAS