Moggy, I used to know Dave Morgan when we were both at Virgin. He’s a bl00dy hero for what he achieved in the Falklands.

Originally posted by Moondance
…so the alternate system (or whatever Airbus call it)…

La systeme alternative 😉

I’ll get my coat…

So just to put that in context… just the weight of the fuel you sometimes depart with is over 50 tonnes heavier than a fully laden 757-300.

Just supposing you were able to load full fuel, how many tonnes would that be?

Yesterday I heard confirmation of something I heard a couple of weeks ago which was verified by a report in the Sunday Times financial section yesterday with direct quotes from Lufthansa and Karstadt Quell.

TCuk is up for sale!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It seems that Germany is in such dire straits that they need a rapid cash injection. The only item of true value they really have is TCuk as we have been turning in significant profits in the last few years. This evening I unofficially heard that I can expect to start an A340 course in early June so I have to say the timing couldn’t have worked out better. I don’t think there can be any better flying in existence to beat charter work around the Med but after three and a half years I have worked for 4 MD’s, 2 colour schemes, 2 names, 2 call signs, numerous SOP changes, 1 served and rescinded redundancy notice, 2 threatened redundancies, 1 threatened forced base move and phenomenal roster instability. I will look back through rose tinted spectacles and claim I miss it but it is time to re-embrace the tedium of longhaul for the stability and terms and conditions it offers.

I know the last one (but don’t want to give the game away) but haven’t a clue with number 2.

Thanks very much for the link Jethro. A friend phoned me up this afternoon to tell me the news but I hadn’t been able to find it anywhere online. This is the news I have been waiting for and hope to get a course date fairly shortly. I will still have a 3 month notice period to serve out though.

Most of Virgins recruitment will come from the charters with a very small number of ex-RAF tanker-VVankers. The low cost pilots will probably replace us at the charters and the regional pilots will fill the low cost vacancies. Basically everybody takes one step to the right!

Tim, I remember watching a UK TV program that made exactly the same mistake as that about a year ago.

Steve, gawd knows what the terminology is in Australia…probably not ‘cleared to land runway zero four’ but ‘the pub’s that way cobbers’!