Etihad Pilots Can Now Fly Both Airbus A380 & A350

“With mixed fleet flying, will pilots get paid more when flying an A380 than an A320, or will there just be a consistent scale somewhere in the middle?”

I think you meant A350 rather A320?

@ Auspointer -- Fixed, thanks!

Hi Ben,

Out of interest, do you know what hotel EY uses at Heathrow? Is it a good one? Going back the best part of a decade, I remember that crazy trip you went on in late 2014/early 2015 as you tried to catch the EY A380 inaugural, and QR A350 inaugural, and I remember (I think you stayed at most of the LHR hotels during that trip!) you noting that QR Pilots used the LHR Sheraton Skyline at the time, and how amusing it was overhearing the pilots, who all flew different planes given the massive range of aircraft that QR flew to LHR at the time - particularly during the sound testing of the A350. Didn't you try to get on that mystery A350 flight, but ended up rebooking on EY's 777 First? Have you had any similar experiences with Etihad pilots at hotels at LHR?

Also, Ben, whatever became of Janesis/Wong Chin off of Singapore Airlines? I know your paths crossed a few times after you met her on that 2012 SIN-NRT SQ flight, but I'd be keen to know how she's getting on now if you are still in touch. Hard to believe that flight was 12 years ago...and it would be fascinating to see if anyone else on here these days remembers that era of the blog. 2012 to 2015 really was a fascinating time for you.

Crew hotel, celebrity, or any high profile workers' hotel info should never be requested or posted.

Pilots at U.S. airlines get a monthly salary? Not according to United and American. Both offer a pay scale per flying hour. Pilot’s pay is based on the plane and the number of hours flown during each bid period.

The FAA would allow this on aircraft that have similar cockpit design as all Airbuses do but pilots have to get a minimum number of landings in each type on a consistent basis and that is virtually impossible to do in longhaul aircraft because of the augmented crew and few flights/month. US carriers don't operate small fleets of 4 aircraft as many carriers do so the cost/benefit is must smaller.

Feel like it also has to do with not wanting to train pilots for A380s anymore, right? Especially when they're on their way out

Seems not great for safety. Even if the cockpits are roughly similar, those are two very different types of aircraft in terms of size, number of engines, etc. It really seems like it's stretching the common type rating concept.

This does not instill confidence in the independence of the UAE's aviation regulator.

This would be perfect for Lufthansa in Munich.

pilots at pretty much all airlines get a minimum guarantee which is the minimum amount of credited hours that they must be rostered to fly/have per month. This essentially forms a base salary for the pilots because it'll never go below that due to pay protection rules.

Can you give an example of what you are talking about? If an aircraft has a common type certificate, like the 757 and 767, you just need 3 landings, within 90 days, to remain current in both aircraft. That’s the idea behind a common type rating. Are you referring to someone having type ratings in two different aircraft, say the 737 and the 787?

He was specifically saying ETIHAD PILOTS get paid a monthly salary, UNLIKE US pilots

Not cool to ask nor advertise the location of crew hotels.

Mixed fleet flying such as this has led to some close calls specifically with UAE carriers.

I’ve gotta think even taxiing would be a big deal, jumping from one plane to the other.