Job Title: First Officer
Location: Halifax, Canada
Submitted on: 28-Apr-04
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This was a very large employee group with our head office out of Halifax
although we also have bases in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, London,
Calgary, Vancouver and Victoria . Jazz Air inc. is wholly owned by Air
Canada. We were guarenteed 12 days off a month. A typical pairing would
consist of 1, 2, 3 or 4 days. This may seem like a lot of time off but
you were often gone from home and unable to do simple things like
banking or spending time with family while on the road. I once became
ill while in a different country. I ended up in the hospital but all it
took was one phone call to crew scheduling and things were taken care
of. Most days were 10 to 12 hours long. We were required to wear our
uniform (hat, tunic, flight shirt with epulats and wings, outer wear and
proper shoes.) The job was unique in that the flight crew were their own
managers while in the air, taking full responsibility for the flight and
making the neccessary desisions. On the other hand there were strict
operating proceedures to be followed. Communication from management was
usually in the form of memos. Advancement was by seniority (date of
hire).Equipment bids come out two times per year where you could choose
a base (city) and equipment per your seniority, although once trained on
a particular aircraft you were frozen for two years on that aircraft.
Harrassment of any kind was not tolerated and there were programs in
place to help employees if they chose (for example: the employee
assistance program).
Safety was the main culture. I found the atmosphere pleasant as everyday
was different and we as pilots were being paid to do what we love. The
hardest part of the job was being based in a city other than where I
chose to live. I was expected to be at my base (at my expense as I chose
to live elswhere). If I was unable to hold a regular schedule
(seniority) I sat reserve; waiting to be called out in the event of a
change in schedule, or a pilot became sick etc.
We were required to take a flight simulator flight test every six months
(lots of emergencies) as well as our aviation medical. We were also
required to keep all our publications up to date.
The working atmoshpere was good, the job itself challenging but fun.
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