PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - Jetstream 41

yrvld · 19th March 2009, 10:18

Countbat,

Thank you for the history lesson, 90 percent and the idea behind it - very correct.
One little thing though.. Romania is not run by gipsies, that is untrue. It is run by Romanians, by all means. The regions where gipsies are a majority are scarce. Population of Romania is about 22 milion, out of which, the minorities are spread as follows:
aprox 6.6% Hungarians, 2.5% gipsies and under 0.5% of other nationalities like Germans, Turks, Ucranians, etc.
Yes, gipsies are a big problem, because they are not civilised by any means and the former communist regime did a bad job regarding them as you correctly said in your post. On the other part, we are in the EU and it would be hard, impossible and politically incorect to send them all to where they came from hundreds of years ago. (although many many would like that very much indeed)
And yes, I say it again, they are a big problem. But one should not fall in the trap and think Romania is gypsyland and that you will get robbed at every step.
If you follow tourist-in-a-foreign-country common sense, Romania can be a pleasurable experience. You can get robbed on the streets of Berlin or Amsterdam or London or Bruselles or Dublin or Madrid or Paris, you name it.

There are a great deal (keeping the proportion) of foreign, western European pilots currently flying in Romania and enjoying it very much.

As for the more or less dubious financing of the Eastern European aviation companies and the fact that they need pilots, that is another matter. Think about the fact that unlike western Europe, the East has poor infrastructure and air travel started appeal to many, especially with the recent years drop in ticket prices. In Romania alone, there are 22 milion people spread on a surface as big as the UK, with just 1-5% of the infrastructure of the UK. Air travel can actually be a good business in Eastern Europe these days. And yes, the local companies probably are at an advantage, starting by knowing the local 'habits', but that is true for any country, don't you think?
So I would not necesarily follow the advice of those saying 'don't go and fly in Romania'. As it had been said here, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who feel allright here, it might just be a decent job like any other.
And one more myth I feel necessary to brake. It is not true that pilot jobs in Romania are poorly paid. While not at par with the Western majors, the pay is decent -in the range og 2-3K EUR per month for an FO and 3.5-6 K EUR per month for a Capt- and one can surely make a good living out of it.
Sorry for the long post, but many untrue things have been said here and I am under the impression that they have been said with little to none local knowdlege whatsoever.

19th March 2009, 10:18	#36 (permalink)
yrvld Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Europe Posts: 29	Countbat, Thank you for the history lesson, 90 percent and the idea behind it - very correct. One little thing though.. Romania is not run by gipsies, that is untrue. It is run by Romanians, by all means. The regions where gipsies are a majority are scarce. Population of Romania is about 22 milion, out of which, the minorities are spread as follows: aprox 6.6% Hungarians, 2.5% gipsies and under 0.5% of other nationalities like Germans, Turks, Ucranians, etc. Yes, gipsies are a big problem, because they are not civilised by any means and the former communist regime did a bad job regarding them as you correctly said in your post. On the other part, we are in the EU and it would be hard, impossible and politically incorect to send them all to where they came from hundreds of years ago. (although many many would like that very much indeed) And yes, I say it again, they are a big problem. But one should not fall in the trap and think Romania is gypsyland and that you will get robbed at every step. If you follow tourist-in-a-foreign-country common sense, Romania can be a pleasurable experience. You can get robbed on the streets of Berlin or Amsterdam or London or Bruselles or Dublin or Madrid or Paris, you name it. There are a great deal (keeping the proportion) of foreign, western European pilots currently flying in Romania and enjoying it very much. As for the more or less dubious financing of the Eastern European aviation companies and the fact that they need pilots, that is another matter. Think about the fact that unlike western Europe, the East has poor infrastructure and air travel started appeal to many, especially with the recent years drop in ticket prices. In Romania alone, there are 22 milion people spread on a surface as big as the UK, with just 1-5% of the infrastructure of the UK. Air travel can actually be a good business in Eastern Europe these days. And yes, the local companies probably are at an advantage, starting by knowing the local 'habits', but that is true for any country, don't you think? So I would not necesarily follow the advice of those saying 'don't go and fly in Romania'. As it had been said here, it might not be everyone's cup of tea, but for those who feel allright here, it might just be a decent job like any other. And one more myth I feel necessary to brake. It is not true that pilot jobs in Romania are poorly paid. While not at par with the Western majors, the pay is decent -in the range og 2-3K EUR per month for an FO and 3.5-6 K EUR per month for a Capt- and one can surely make a good living out of it. Sorry for the long post, but many untrue things have been said here and I am under the impression that they have been said with little to none local knowdlege whatsoever.