Promotion
Friday morning I had to be in Paris for a meeting with the Unit Director. R. wanted to go along so he requested the AMS-CDG flight I would be on at crewco and got it. Friday morning I got up with a slight headache and headed to Rotterdam first and from there R. and me headed to SPL.
After I checked-in I headed to the gate and boarded my flight, where I saw R. again. The flight was only half-full, so I could sit where I wanted to. For the first time in a long while, I actually had fun. It felt good to have a good laugh again. It really changes your mood.
Robin and Evelyne in the galley
Surprise! Thanks to Evelyne for the keys to the bathroom... Lol! :-)
After I landed at CDG I said goodbye to R. and the crew. They were heading back to SPL and from there on to Oslo (OSL).
After I picked up my bags I took a taxi to the Novotel Hotel. I changed my clothes, had a bite to eat and watched a movie untill I fell asleep.
Yesterday morning (Saturday) I woke up, got ready and went for my meeting at the Air France headquarters in Roissy with my Unit Director Eduard.
Eduard - Unit Director Air France Consulting Europe
You may remember him from the dinner I had after the ASSIST training in Paris a few months back
After some small talk Eduard got right to the point.
It's like this: since the death of Winston AFC has a staff shortage at the Rijswijk office. They are currently busy recruiting new personell as we speak. Winston was a Lead Consultant in team #5. So basically they wanted to promote me from Associate Consultant to Lead Consultant. I would remain in team #3 for a while, because I have 5 months of training if I accept the offer. Then on January 1st, 2007 after several assessment tests, evaluations and talk sessions I will be Lead Consultant in team #5. In the meantime someone from AFC London would fill up Winston's place for 5 months.
I was really surprised they offered me the position. It's not what I expected and I don't even know if I want it. Too many things are happening in such a short time. I don't even know if I want to remain at AFC any longer. I mean it's a cool job and I work with cool people, but since the accident I've been re-examining my life and I have in the back of my mind to stop with aviation completely and do something totally different. I have my Associate degree in Hospitality Management afterall. But anyway Eduard gave me untill the end of the month to think about it and then I have to let him know. We'll see....
After that I went over to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to visit to new Air France International Crew & Staff Center. Wow... amazing how it turned out. Check-out this video. Thanks to Air France and Guillaume Lacroix for providing the video for me.
Air France Crew & Staff center
After that visit, I got a bite to eat at a restaurant and headed to the hotel to get some rest.
This morning (Sunday) I got up, had breakfast and went to Montmartre to visit my cousin Melissa and her best friend Migdala with her boyfriend Sergio. They were coincedently in Paris doing their internship (stage) for school for 3 months. That's why I decided to overnight in Paris. We had a great morning and afternoon walking around the city together.
Migdala, Sergio & Melissa
Thirsty!
Around 18.00 I said goodbye to them. I went to the hotel, picked up my bags and headed to the airport. I listed on the AF flight to Eindhoven, because EIN is closer to my house than SPL. The flight across was uneventfull and at 22.00 I landed at EIN and I took the train to Dordt.
Now I am going to shower and head to bed. I have a lot to think about.
Welterusten!
After I checked-in I headed to the gate and boarded my flight, where I saw R. again. The flight was only half-full, so I could sit where I wanted to. For the first time in a long while, I actually had fun. It felt good to have a good laugh again. It really changes your mood.
Robin and Evelyne in the galley
Surprise! Thanks to Evelyne for the keys to the bathroom... Lol! :-)
After I landed at CDG I said goodbye to R. and the crew. They were heading back to SPL and from there on to Oslo (OSL).
After I picked up my bags I took a taxi to the Novotel Hotel. I changed my clothes, had a bite to eat and watched a movie untill I fell asleep.
Yesterday morning (Saturday) I woke up, got ready and went for my meeting at the Air France headquarters in Roissy with my Unit Director Eduard.
Eduard - Unit Director Air France Consulting Europe
You may remember him from the dinner I had after the ASSIST training in Paris a few months back
After some small talk Eduard got right to the point.
It's like this: since the death of Winston AFC has a staff shortage at the Rijswijk office. They are currently busy recruiting new personell as we speak. Winston was a Lead Consultant in team #5. So basically they wanted to promote me from Associate Consultant to Lead Consultant. I would remain in team #3 for a while, because I have 5 months of training if I accept the offer. Then on January 1st, 2007 after several assessment tests, evaluations and talk sessions I will be Lead Consultant in team #5. In the meantime someone from AFC London would fill up Winston's place for 5 months.
I was really surprised they offered me the position. It's not what I expected and I don't even know if I want it. Too many things are happening in such a short time. I don't even know if I want to remain at AFC any longer. I mean it's a cool job and I work with cool people, but since the accident I've been re-examining my life and I have in the back of my mind to stop with aviation completely and do something totally different. I have my Associate degree in Hospitality Management afterall. But anyway Eduard gave me untill the end of the month to think about it and then I have to let him know. We'll see....
After that I went over to Charles de Gaulle (CDG) to visit to new Air France International Crew & Staff Center. Wow... amazing how it turned out. Check-out this video. Thanks to Air France and Guillaume Lacroix for providing the video for me.
Air France Crew & Staff center
After that visit, I got a bite to eat at a restaurant and headed to the hotel to get some rest.
This morning (Sunday) I got up, had breakfast and went to Montmartre to visit my cousin Melissa and her best friend Migdala with her boyfriend Sergio. They were coincedently in Paris doing their internship (stage) for school for 3 months. That's why I decided to overnight in Paris. We had a great morning and afternoon walking around the city together.
Migdala, Sergio & Melissa
Thirsty!
Around 18.00 I said goodbye to them. I went to the hotel, picked up my bags and headed to the airport. I listed on the AF flight to Eindhoven, because EIN is closer to my house than SPL. The flight across was uneventfull and at 22.00 I landed at EIN and I took the train to Dordt.
Now I am going to shower and head to bed. I have a lot to think about.
Welterusten!
posted by Traveller at 12:06 AM
18 Comments:
You have to do whatever makes you happy, Ryan. You only have one life to live afterall.
Greetings from Oostende.
Junior
Hahahahahahahahaha Poor Robin!!! You guys mean to him hahaha....
Well Ryan goooooo for it, heee mira ki yu, bai pe koi unbes. mane nan a bisa ey wa un bida tin dus wak pa bo asepta e koi mesora.
Hey Ryan, in Oktober i'm flying to holland. And will be flying as companion with an F/A of KLM, he was telling me sumthing abouth Listen and IPB aldo he didn't really explain it clear to me..
Do you know anything abouth that... I saw you wrote sumthing bout LISTED so i figured out your talking bouth the same thing...
Oh am soon gonna be flying high in the skies again, INSUL AIR is here baby!!! Sinds DCA gone it's a mess for me.
Devon
Yikes! Lol! Oooh Robin.... ben jij weer eens de lul geweest?
Miekesch
Tja... ik ben altijd de lul lijkt me!
Rob
@ Junior: Indeed. Werk ze daar in België
@ Devon:
Kon ta, swa? I wasn't aware that you are ex-DCA crew. Sad to see how that airline went down the drain after so many years. Since you're ex-DCA'er, I will write in aviation terms. It works like this.... every employee who works for KLM (Ground Services/Gronddienst, In-flight Services/Vliegdienst, Office/Kantoorwerkzaamheden etc.) has the right to travel at a reduced rate based on ZED (Zonal Employee Discount) tickets for unlimited use. This is called ISA (If Seat Available) or IPB (Indien Plaats Beschikbaar). It was also known as rebate travel at LM/K8. An added benefit is that certain family members of the employee can also make unlimited use of those kind of tickets (wife/husband, children or if you are living together and not married your live-in partner). They are allowed to fly on KLM and almost any other airline in the world. If you are working for In-flight Services (Vliegdienst) you can also carry your partner for free if you are working on the flight. You are from CUR, so I checked in the system and if I'm correct you paid about ANG 237,- for a CUR-AMS-CUR flight.
In February 2002 KLM came up with Companion Travel. So each KLM'er can carry 2 people with them twice a year. They do not need to be family, but can be friends or something. The main rules are that you must travel with the KLM'er on the same flight and you can only make use of KLM & KLM Cityhopper... no other airline. In both cases, when you are travelling IPB, KLM rules state that you must list. That means that you call KLM reservations in whichever country you are and put yourself on the list for the flight you want to travel on. Any date that you wish. That is called listing. If you do not list, you'll be the last IPB'er to get on board. Remember... you only can go if there is space. Normally a ticket said OK... a IPB ticket says SA. Let's say one seat is available than you cannot go, because both KLM'er and companion MUST travel together. The longer someone works for KLM the better his/her priority is to get on board. When travelling IPB you must be well-dressed, because if Economy is full, you will get upgraded to Business for free. It is also NOT allowed to tell any other passengers that you are a IPB'er. You are not allowed to beg for a seat, food or an upgrade. You must behave yourself at all times or the IPB rights of the KLM'er can be revoked.
Although I work for KLM Nederland, my contract is with Air France and with AF it is slightly different... we get the same things KLM'ers get, except for Companion Travel. We don't have that. What we do have are Buddy Passes. You get a set amount of tickets per year (depending on the amount of years working within the company) and you can give them to anyone you like. Best of all they can travel IPB alone... the AF'er doesn't have to travel with the person. They can use the tickets systemwide on all AF, KL and SkyTeam partners flights as well as other selected partners like Air Tahiti Nui, Air Mauritius, QANTAS etc. If you decided to take ZH (Zonal High) than you pay 50% of the IPB ticket and the ticket gets a OK status and no SA.
Today I booked a ticket for my cousin Jeandrina to come Holland in the big vacation from AUA with a ZH ticket. I didn't want to take any chances, because she has to be back in AUA on time for school.
I hope this explains it all. Any more Q's, just ask. The KLM'er that you are travelling with MUST provide you with the KLM pamflet with the rules and regulations of IPB travel or you can get it at the KLM office at HATO (Antillean Flight Services) or the KLM main office in Zeelandia at Jombi Mensing.
@ Miekesch:
Ik vond het gewoon leuk om te doen.
Ryan
That was a very good explanation thanks dude, Well he is in Holland at the moment in August he will be here i'll tell him to provide me with that pamflet.
He gave me access with his password and PSN to log in on some intranet thing... it's abouth KLM and a whole bunch of other stuff. I will read them in the meantime i guess it will be fun, travel for a very low price, yihaaaa!!! can't waith for the day to come...
Yes i was a flight attendant for DCA one of the last crewmembers and got this blog from a KLM purser... currently i work at HATO but in a whole different division... and soon will be in the skies again... i was thinkin on flying with DAE (dutch antilles express) but i heard the pay sucks. i'm better off where i am now. For the time been. my friend also told me KLM that they are building on another pier at schiphol and that KLM will be hiring 1000 crew members i don't know the story abouth that, but time will tell. He told my i can come and see if i can get in. but that i will have to be living in holland for a certain amount of years. but he knows people that doesn't even have 3 years living in holland and already working... so don't know the truth bouth that...
Wel ma type muchu hopi kos kaba. te despues
Devon
Hoi Devon,
Ik kan je vertellen dat je minstens 5 jaar in NL gewoond moet hebben om in aanmerking te komen voor een Schipholpas. Het is niet de regel van de KLM, maar van de Koninklijke Marrechaussee (KonMar). Dit doen ze omdat ze een achtergrond check moeten doen in je verleden. De enige uitzonderingen zijn studenten die stage moeten lopen of mensen die in NL zijn geboren en een tijdje in het buitenland hebben gewoond of mensen die niet in NL zijn geboren, maar wel hier hebben gewoon en naar school zijn geweest. Als je dan een paar jaar weg bent geweest in het buitenland, telt die 5 jaar regel niet meer. Ik kom zelf uit St. Maarten en ik kon op Schiphol werken omdat ik toendertijd bij Transavia/KLM stage moest lopen.
Les
New pier at AMS? I don't think so. The new H-pier opened a few months back and it is strictly for Low Cost Carriers like easyJet, Sky Airlines, Pegasus etc. KLM is not allowed at that pier. The H-pier uses stairs instead of loading bridges.
Yes... KLM will be hiring LOTS of new staff since they are expanding with the whole AF-KL thing. In fact they already started recruiting for Passenger Handling (SPL/PH-KL & partners) and Passage Ground (SPL/PG-Transavia.com). But you will not work directly for KLM, but via Content, Randstad or Olympia uitzendbureau. You only do baggage drop-off points, floorwalking and basic check-in in Axis. These employees are called FLEX. You can work up to 3 years as a FLEX, but never can receive KLM benefits. It sucks! Because I have a lot of down time when I am not flying, I work as a FLEX at SPL. Where before I could do gate work etc., now I cannot! :-(
Gate, Transfer, Editing, Coordinating is done by KLM'ers who work directly with the company. They also are the only ones with access to the codeco system and are the only employees that are allowed to get stripes.
NOTE: KLM only employs people on a 50%/75% basis, so you will only work a maximum of 6 hours per day, so you will not receive a full salary. You cannot survive on it!!!!
Check out this link www.jobs.klm.com and see for yourself.
I also have to add that you can work with KLM fulltime, but only in the See Buy Fly Tax Free shops (cigarettes/alcohol). Those employees are 100% KLM'ers and use all benefits including IPB.
Vliegdienst are always recruiting. As long as you have the correct papers (HAVO/VWO or MBO 4), the correct height and social skills, you can go through the selection procedures. Look at me! I've been rejected 3 times by vliegdienst before I got accepted the 4th time after 7 years!
Anyway I have the KL735 on July 4th with a 3 day slip on CUR. I cannot wait to visit your island once again! Although I prefer AUA... LOL!
Rob
Robin you should bid for Tokyo, atleast you can get $100 buks daggeld haha... or maybe Cairo $30 haha poor poor
I heard a 5daagse AMS-AUA is $290
Damn, those daggeld rockssssss....
My buddy buddy is doing a Cairo today, 24uur stop!!!
Well am off to bed now!! Voila..
Devon
"Robin you should bid for Tokyo, atleast you can get $100 buks daggeld haha... or maybe Cairo $30 haha poor poor
I heard a 5daagse AMS-AUA is $290
Damn, those daggeld rockssssss....
My buddy buddy is doing a Cairo today, 24uur stop!!!"
We at KLM call the Japan stops the "koelkast vluchten". Why? Because you get so much daggeld that whn you are back you still have enough money over to fill up your refridgarator. :-)
The most popular flights that are requested ar the KUL, BKK, CPT and CUR. I prefer BKK myself, but only the 9-day BKK with two rotations to TPE in between. Thailand is the best!
Lies
Devon: I would like to request a NRT, but unfortunately NRT is a 777 destination. I am only licensed on the 737, 747 and 767. They have a shortage on MD11 crew and as the 767 are being phased out 767 crew could choose to be reatrained on the M11 or A330. I asked for the MD11 (AUA!!!) and I should be retrained on the MD11 within the next 3-6 months. CAI is also a combo of MD11 and 777, so also not for me. What I can do and it is also popular like Tokyo Narita is Osaka (KIX) in Japan. The same amount of daggeld like NRT, but operated in the winter with a 747-400 combi.
Rob
Ik vindt die NRT stop maar niks. Je moet de galley delen met één van die Tokyo/Osaka based crew and de pax spreken amper Nederlands of Engels. Je moet elke keer de Japanse CA erbij halen. Balen vind ik dat. Geef mij maar een 5 daagse IAD op de 767 of een 3/3 PVG. Heerlijk shoppen is dat!
Kim
Top:
AUA... chillen bij de Paddock!! BON... duiken bij Klein Bonaire! CUR... Mambo Beach! Amstel Bright! BKK... shoppen op de drijvende markt en Kao Sanh Road! KUL... best crew hotel in the world. Bangi! PVG... Xian Yang Market in downtown Shanghai; need I say more?! JFK of EWR... shopping in the Big Apple!
Hate it:
YVR... 24 uur stop met niks te doen. THR... Hoofddoeken dragen en je mag niet met de mannelijke collega's eten. Stomme Moslim land vind ik dat! HYD... Niks te doen in India man! ALA... Grijze grauwe stad met rare mensen. Zitten meestal veel hoertjes op die vlucht die hun familie gaan opzoeken in Kazakstan. EUROPA WEEK... HAAT het! Dat vroeg op staan voor een vroege vlucht is niks voor mij. Heb het leifste toch een ICA en dan leiver een middag vlucht naar de USA/Caribbean of een avond vlucht naar Azië.
Dit is MIJN mening.
Ronald B.
Ron.. een BIP Europa week is ook niks voor mij man! Op welke kisten vlieg jij dan? Ben je ook een CA 53?
Rob
@ Rob: Ik ben 737, 747, 767 en MD11. Ik zit pas 4 maanden op de Mad Dog 11. In Oktober stop ik helemaal met de 767. Wat een bagger kist is dat man.
En ja ik ben ook een 53'er. Ik ben januari 2005 geslaagd.
Ronald B.
Mijn dushi heeft de 747-777-MD11
Oh i hate the 737 yuk, never worked on one but just don't like the look of it. I worked on the 767-300ER oh my god!!! lovely aircraft, but the one from SOBELAIR, because the 767-200 from air atlantic was a messsssssss... Sardines in a can...
747 looks cool to work on, so huge. so much crew members, waw!!!
nice nice I admire the KLM crew in their uniform when am working the evening shifts. But despite i've noticed KLM is one of the airlines with the least hot looking crewmembers(females) the boys are oke though...
I wonder what Insul Air would come up with... Cause i sure bet doesn't want to wear a t-shirt like DAE(dutch antilles express) has... hahaha what a waist..
U guys should see it,
Devon
T-shirt @ DAE. That sounds horrible!
Joost
That DAE t-shirt thing is the way a lot of airlines are going to nowadays. easyJet, Transavia.com, Smarthandling etc.
Lets face it... the Nina Ricci's and Oger Lusink that KLM'ers wear and the Christian Lacroix that AF'er wear do not come cheap and are custom made for everyone. That KLM sh*t is just filling up my closet now. Since this whole KLM project thing we had to wear it but now it is just sickening. I know that Brenda dumped hers in the garbage!!! LOL!
Anyway considering how we want cheap tickets and airlines have to keep the costs down it makes sense to wear simple stuff. In any case the work remains the same and I don't think one chooses a job because of the uniform. If that were the case, I don't understand why anyone would work for Martinair or Transavia.
Smarthandling
transavia.com
Cheerio
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