Specialist Flight Planner: Virgin Atlantic

Crawley, West Sussex
Competitive
18 Jun 2021
30 Jun 2021
Permanent
Full Time

Virgin Atlantic Logo

Specialist Flight Planner

Salary: Competitive
Hours: Full Time
Location: Crawley
Contract: Permanent
Closing Date: 30/06/2021

We are gearing up for an increase in flights and will be seeking up to 4 Specialist Flight Planners to join us in the very near future and would encourage applications from those who want to be part of our journey to become the World’s Most Loved Airline. Please note that with anticipated high numbers of applications we may close the campaign early, so please don’t leave your application until the close date if possible.

Many of our staff at Virgin work flexibly and in many different ways, including different core hours or remote working. Please talk to us at your application or interview stage about the flexibility you need. We can't promise to give you exactly what you want, but we are happy to explore what's possible for the role.


In a nutshell

We will soon be hiring up to 4 Specialist Flight Planners to join Virgin Atlantic, responsible for creating Operational Flight Plans (OFP) and Briefing Documentation for all company flights world-wide, in accordance with company and UK CAA operations manuals,

Based in the Operations Control Centre (OCC) the Specialist - Flight Planning team play an integral part in the delivery of the Virgin Atlantic flying programme, ensuring flights are planned in a safe, efficient, and regulatory compliant manner. To achieve this, the team must assess a wide range of tactical information including meteorological data, NOTAMs and airspace flow restrictions as well as monitoring real-time messages (Sitatex, AFTN, ACARS, etc) and take appropriate action as required.

The Flight Planners will also support the Supervisor with quality auditing, procedure development and team technical training.

Day to day

Create cost-efficient flight plans and Briefing Material for all Virgin Atlantic flights world-wide, that are released in compliance with both the Company Operations Manuals and EASA Ops.

The Flight Planners will be able to positively communicate with all stakeholders using operational facts, regulations and best practices and confidently distil complex technical issues into readily understandable information for a wide range of stakeholders of differing backgrounds.

Ensure that the OFP is delivered to flight crew in a timely manner along with all appropriate briefing materials (E.g. NOTAMs, SigWx charts, NAT Tracks, Volcanic Ash, etc). File the FPL with all relevant ANSPs. Highlight any significant issues to the flight crew and brief them if necessary.

Conduct aircraft and airfield Performance calculations. Understand and apply MEL performance restrictions as required.

Where necessary, provide in-flight support for company aircraft – includes-flight re-analysis of fuel critical scenarios, ETOPs alternates and changes to the route, to aid the safe & efficient continuation of the flight.

Monitor real-time messages (SITA, AFTN, ACARS and email) and take appropriate action as required. Use tactical information to monitor airspace & airfield restrictions, providing a timely solution to operational delays. Accurate event logging enabling effective operational reviews and trend tracking.

As directed by the Supervisor, provide team subject matter technical training, procedure development and regular quality auditing as per the department SAP and review of documentation/systems to advise on deficiencies/potential improvements.
 


About you

Are you an experienced Flight Planner, passionate about what you do and an eye for detail? If so, we think this would be the ideal role for you. To perform effectively in this role (and enjoy it), we would require you to have the following skills and experience:

- Operational experience in a Flight Planning environment (North Atlantic and/or ETOPS advantageous)
- Have satisfactorily completed a formal training course as a Flight Planner or Flight Dispatcher
- Knowledge of Flight Planning systems & Crew Briefing Procedures
- Knowledge of aircraft performance capabilities
- Knowledge of aeronautical data and navigation charts


Be yourself – Our differences make us stronger

Virgin Atlantic are committed equal opportunities employers and positively encourage applications from suitably qualified and eligible applicants regardless of sex, race, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, religion or belief, marital status, pregnancy and maternity. Diversity brings strength which is why we strive to provide an inclusive environment where individuality is celebrated, and we can ignite the potential of our forward-thinking mix of people.

Please be aware as part of our recruitment process we may look to use a variety of resourcing tools to help us understand your skills and experience in relation to the role you have applied for. These may include application questions, video interviews or online testing. Please feel free to contact us at recruitment@fly.virgin.com if there are any reasonable adjustments to our process that you would like us to consider, for example use of hearing loops, sign language interpreter etc. Please don’t hesitate to reach out if there are any issues preventing you from being at your best during your application or assessment process. Any issues raised after your assessment is completed or once a decision has been made will be too late for us to consider within our process.

You'll be assessed against our values for a selection of your interview process, learn more about them here: Our Values