BA Gatwick in year two: the Caribbean and Florida long haul from the south, the Brighton line crew
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#1 BA Gatwick, two years, and Eleanor's Gatwick comparison thread describes the base. Year two from inside, because the Gatwick base is the one the applicants from Sussex and Kent ask about and the Heathrow threads are the louder ones.
The Gatwick long haul
The 777s to Barbados, Antigua, St Lucia, Kingston, Orlando, Tampa, Cancún, Punta Cana, Las Vegas and the seasonal ones. Leisure long haul: the families and the honeymooners and the retirees, the Caribbean on a three to four day pattern with a 24 to 48 hour layover, the Florida on the same. Year two is the long haul bids landing more: I hold a Caribbean most months now and the Florida fills the rest. The Heathrow crew have the world; the Gatwick crew have the Caribbean and the sun, and the Gatwick crew chose it.
The summer Europe
The A320s to the Mediterranean in summer from Gatwick, full and leisure, the four sector days that keep the hands fast. The Gatwick crew fly both fleets and the summer is the short haul season and the winter is the Caribbean season. Two seasons, two aircraft, one base.
The Brighton line crew
The Gatwick crew live on the Brighton main line: Brighton (the expensive temptation, as Leah's easyJet thread said for the same line), Hove, Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath, Crawley, Horley, Redhill. Twenty to forty minutes. The crew who live in Brighton have the sea and the rent. The crew who live in Crawley have the airport and the savings. Year one I was Crawley. Year two I am Hove and I know what it costs.
Why the Gatwick crew would not transfer to Heathrow
The commute from the south (the Heathrow commute from Brighton is two hours), the base size (the Gatwick crew room is big and known, the Heathrow one is the departure lounge), the leisure long haul (the Caribbean passengers are the happiest on any aircraft on the outbound), and the Gatwick identity. The Gatwick crew who want Tokyo transfer. The ones who want Barbados and Brighton stay, and most stay.
The honest Gatwick
A smaller network than Heathrow, the leisure long haul instead of the business long haul, the same BA contract and the same seniority logic, the Brighton line as the commute and the sea as the reward. The Gatwick year two is the Caribbean and the summer Europe and the Hove flat. The Heathrow year two is the world and the Hounslow crash pad. Both are BA and the Gatwick crew think ours is the better deal.
For the Sussex and Kent applicants
Ask for Gatwick. The base is smaller and warmer, the long haul is leisure and lovely, the commute is the Brighton line, and the Barbados in January is the reason.
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#2 BA Gatwick, and Noah's year two is the Gatwick base the comparison thread described from inside. The Caribbean most months at year two is faster than Heathrow's Europe at year two and the Gatwick crew know it. Hove at year two is a brave choice.
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#3 Heathrow purser, and the Gatwick crew would not transfer to Heathrow is true and the Heathrow crew who want the Caribbean transfer to Gatwick and do not come back. The two bases have different crews by choice. Noah's deal is a real deal.
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#4 easyJet Gatwick, and the Brighton line crew across both airlines at the airport live the same commute and the same Brighton temptation. Noah fell for Hove at year two. I fell for Brighton at year one. The line is the same and the rent is the same.
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#5 TUI Glasgow, and the BA Gatwick Caribbean leisure long haul is the full service version of the TUI job and the Gatwick crew's description of the happiest passengers on the outbound is ours. The leisure long haul tribe has a BA chapter.
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#6 BA Heathrow, year one, and reading the Gatwick year two with the Caribbean most months is the first time I have wondered about the transfer form. The Hounslow crash pad versus the Hove flat. The Toronto versus the Barbados. The Gatwick crew make a case.
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#7 Leeds, aspiring, and the Gatwick base being a choice rather than a consolation is the thing the southern applicants should know and the northern ones can envy. The Brighton line sounds like a life.
