Heard SAA is hiring again

[loveflying737]

Rumour is that SAA is holding interviews for pilots. Does anyone know what sort of experience they are looking for? Will they be looking at non cadet / PDI candidates. Will the new recruits fly the A319 and B737 or will they have to start as SOs on the A340? Given the shortage of pilots do you still need to be a South African citizen to work for SAA?

[Shrike200]

What shortage of pilots?

[skychick2]

Also not aware of a pilot shortage at SAA?(well shall I say Khaya don't think so). SAA will NEVER be short of pilots as the other carriers in South Africa will always have drivers to pouch from and then quickly pass through SAA for a rating on whatever is the flavour of the month and then a year or three later go and join another carrier,so all that will happen is......SAA will dish out ratings.(for free)HAHAHA !!

[divinehover]

There are 38 cadets in the system. Not all will pass selection from what I hear. All future cadet training is apparently on hold so SAA will have to take new pilots from somewhere else. All new pilots will start on domestic as P2's. In Flight Relief on the long haul will be done by A340 P2's.

[KTM XCW 300]

SAA may discover that when they start looking for crew that the quality of guys out there still keen on a job with SAA has changed. Many of the more experienced guys that would have been keen in the past, no longer are. Those type of candidates are well qualified and more keen on what is being offered beyond our borders, so all they will find to hire will be the youngsters keen on a free rating who will no doubt be on their way overseas as soon as their free rating allows them. The days of our national carrier being a long term career are over. I would sooner stay working where i am in SA than choose to join SAA, but i will be in AUS. by June, so good luck to Kaya and his mates.

[Baron Bigglesworth]

Rumour is Flight OPs wants more drivers but Khaya says they are not BEE enough. All SAX Cadets (bar one notable exception) will be leaving for Spoories over the next 6 months.

[Trawler]

How come a SAA cadet is not welcome at SAA. Once again SAX must sit with the crap that SAA don't want. Why was this cadet then put through the program. A slap in the face of SAX for all their hard work.

[Shrike200]

Well, does the esteemed Khaya have a plan to get more drivers who are BEE enough? It's easy to cry foul with no actual solution in place....

What would be really interesting is if the new BEE owners of Nationwide decided that their newly aquired company is too lilly white w.r.t. flight deck crew and also started looking through the multitude of black pilots that have sprung up in fourteen years of democracy, i.e. almost none. Doh! Maybe a joint NTW/SAA cadet program! (Tongue so far in cheek that I'm choking...)

[i_remind_you]

Hi all,

I am a 22 year old south african working in europe at the moment.
What are the chances if you are of a "lighter shade" of getting into Springbok? and what are the current conditions?

Currently hold A320 type rating with 750 hours on type and total time 952 hours.

Does anybody here know who I might contact as there are no/little details on www.flysaa.com


Many thanks

John

[nugpot]

You started flying 320's with 202 hours total?

.......And you want to come to SAA??

[Shrike200]

That is how it's sometimes done there....

We can (re)start the great debate about hours and experience, but the fact of the matter is, if you study the SOP's properly, know your aircraft, know your ops manual, (and get tested regularly) and your company is a by the book SOP strict place which really puts the proper focus on good training, with good, long term career Captains to mentor you, then it can work. It's when its a not-so-strict operation, flying with a wide range of other pilots/planes, with junior and low experience Captains, with the bare legal limit of sim time, that you need all your socks in the drawer.

In other words - a first world operation. Hence it's absence down here.

Edit: Sorry, I sound a bit preachy, but it does get done like that up there - seems pretty normal.

[nugpot]

Shrike, you misunderstood me completely. ;)

There was no malice intended. If he is lucky enough to start flying 320's at 202 hours, what possible reason could he have to try for SAA.

OK, I know there might be reasons, but I hope you now understand my post.

[i_remind_you]

Gentlemen

Thank you for your responses.

I left SA in the early 90's and have been back only a handful of times. The thought of living in Cape Town and working from there does have its appeal. The warm summers, rainy winters, generally nice flying conditions.

Not to mention great lifestyle, beautiful and unspoilt surroundings, Stellenbosch, shall I go on?

You just dont know how lucky you are :-)

Obviously I am aware of the political situation and the power situation (hehe) and am sure it will, in time, improve.

Again - does anybody know where I might be able to drop my CV?

Many thanks

[Greyarea]

I see you are looking at SA through those rosy coloured specs that most SA expats wear having left SA in the early 90s. You come here on holidays and experience the splendours of SA of which there are thousands, as you rightly have identified. But what you don't notice in your two-four week holiday is what day to day living in SA is like.
Without going into the negatives, this is something you should start researching more than the "warm summers, rainy winters, generally nice flying conditions. Not to mention great lifestyle, beautiful and unspoilt surroundings" that you speak of.

The only reason, as I see it, to join SAA at this present time is to get a valuable and free type rating, maybe a few thousand hours on type even.

But you appear to already have that opportunity where you are now.

Have you thought about an eventual exit strategy should you, for any reason, not wish to continue flying for SAA in the future? The salary at SAA, whilst seemingly competitive on the surface of it all, is not worth much once converted into Pounds or Euros. What currency are you going to have to convert your hard earned rands into? Also, add to that the difficulty for the average man on the street to haul his life savings out of SA with a meager 2 million Rand foreign investment limit per person, courtesy of the exchange control legislation. When you eventually sell your Stellenbosch "mansion" for 1.8 million Rand, say, what will you be able to buy in Europe for E150 000??

"Obviously I am aware of the political situation and the power situation (hehe) and am sure it will, in time, improve." again you are hanging onto hope here..........has history taught you nothing?

I too have roots in both Africa and Europe, except that I left SA recently, and a lot later in life than you did, subsequently at a much larger cost to my family and me.

As much as my heart pulls me back to Africa, my brain overrides the urge to give up the hard slog for a "scenic" life down south.
The future there simply has to many variables, "if's" and "hopes".

It's great to go back on holidays and enjoy the absolute beauty of SA for 2 or 4 weeks, especially when spending Pounds or Euros, without having to actually live there every day.

All that I'm saying is, look at the whole picture and don't just go on your emotions.

As far as the thread topic goes: To all the Dash 8, J41 , HS748 drivers down there at the moment, go for it, get that jet type rating and see what doors open from there. :ok:

[slapfaan]

i remind you....

Mmmmm..yes..you DO remind me of somebody...now let me think...:eek:

Ha..yes!!Is that you Johnny!!!!

Didn't we have this converstaion before...

Now why don't you run off and go and play your FLIGHT SIM 2004?And let the REAL pilots post their stuff here...go on now...:ok:

[Arcla]

I remind you.....with that kind of experience i'm sure they will offer you a DEC.......:} :} :}

[GAS guy]

Are Australian pilots eligible for the job? I'm keen to immigrate into S. Africa and would ideally like a job flying for SAA. Is a DEC position a realistic goal? I have over 10,000hrs plus TRI/TRE experience. If not SAA are there any start-ups starting up?

[Shrike200]

....don't you run off and go and play your FLIGHT SIM 2005?

There is no Flight Sim 2005. It's 2002, 2004, or FSX. Get your facts straight dammit! :8 ;););)

[porridge]

I agree with Greyarea's sentiments. Emotion versus practical sense is a difficult role to make sense of.
Apart for getting a free type rating and enough hours to get into MRats etc there is little sense in going to SAA. SAA has always been an airline that finds it hard to keep it's pilots. I remember that in years past it was known as Singapore Airlines Academy!
I came to the UK in 1988 and although I regretted it for years, I have to say that at least now I very glad I did as at least I have capital that is in real currency that I can choose to live where I want to when I retire. As an ex-whenwe too, I know of many from Zim who are in dire straits in the later years of their lives.
By the way a little inyoni told me that some 70 pilots have recently resigned from SAA, so maybe they are hiring, but you have to ask how do you lose 10% of your flight crew in a month? Something can't right.

[divinehover]

About 70 pilots have left since August, but includes retirements, VSP and resignations.

[saywhat]

I don't think it's as high as 70. More like 60. Out of a total of about 800 pilots, that's still a very high attrition rate though. SAA is a great place to work. If you want to live in SA that is........

[Flyer14]

This is probably a stupid question but where do you send a C.V. SAA these days? Is it still that physical address on their website, the one with the application form that doesn't work?:ugh:

[divinehover]

I'm not sure about the cv address, but I'll find out and post it here.