Jet Airways 737 Captain--comments requested

[Caissa]

Dear Colleagues,

I will be going to Mumbai soon for screening as B737 NG captain.

While I have information about the screening process,I am very interested in getting feedback about the present reality of being a NG captain in Mumbai.( I have been through past threads via the search function ).

The contract given at present is only for 1 year however it seems that Jet have on occasion cut short contracts.Reading about accommodation suitable for expats in Mumbai,it seems that landlords want money up front for a year in advance so I see possible problems if a contract is broken by Jet.
Any comments on this or about getting a decent apartment ?

Salary is ,I believe,paid in Indian Rupees ( apparently equivalent to the quoted USD figure of 8,700).
Is it easy to change to foreign currency and sent the proceeds outside India ? Are you being paid by the end of the month ?

The routes are varied and there are quite a few overnight sectors.
Do the expats get more than their fair share of 'red eye' sectors ? How many in an average month ?

Any observations on the above topics or on others which would be of interest to an expat ( older,grey haired type) will be gratefully received.

Thanks very much,
Caissa.

[Jet_Settin]

Most landlords want the money upfront.....you will be expected to pay a security deposit of ALEAST 6 months rent....but a lot do ask for 1 years rent too....finding an apartment for rent should not be a problem....there are numerous real estate agents who will help you get what u want...

Salary is not being paid on time for the last 6 months.....it used to be in the bank on the 7th....now is in the bank on the 15th....same for expats...

it is quite easy to convert money in india....and equally easy to transfer it wherever you want....not an issue

red-eye's.....well...the locals complain that rostering favours the expats....the expats complain vice-a-versa....its anyones game....
i personally have not met any expat till now who was not happy with his roster....you get a months roster.....mumbai being the biggest base....and having lotsa short sectors....you can expect your roster to change quite a bit....with numerous requests from rostering to either double up or help them by excepting a change....

on the whole jet is a nice place to work....professionally

[NGFellow]

JetAirways promised a lot of things to a lot of people but were not able to deliver. If you have nothing else going on then consider it. Otherwise if you want something long term go elsewhere (Korea, China, Japan etc).
You will probably get a 12 month contract and an extension is iffy. The Govt is trying hard to appease the " CPLS with no jobs" by getting rid of expats quickly. India for expats is a 12-24 month gig, tops. After that only a handful will be left. Frankly, I don't know how KF, 9W continue to operate as normal considering the financial hurt they are in. But life goes on. The only Indian airline where paychecks seem to be on time is Spicejet, acccording to previous posts, and there has been no news lately. A friend of mine at Spicejet tells me that even there expats are on edge and many will not be returning after January. The problem is there has been no firm ruling on the FATA issue. For those whose contract end in March, April 2010, they have to look elsewhere. Many contract jobs take about 3 months to get (paperwork, medical etc). While Jet, KF etc may need expats the DGCA controls what they can do. A 3 year contract means zippo if the DGCA only gives a FATA for 12 months.

[123567]

i'm sorry but 8700 USD - isn't that a little LOW - i know we are in a recession but come on...

[NGFellow]

It about the standard for just about any B737NG position out there. Plus add the housing allowance of $2,000, making it $10,700. Overtime also not included in this amount.