Questions by an Aspiring Dispatcher

[The Blue]

Hello,

All my life i dreamt of being a Pilot, joined Pilot Training ground school in 2006 with limited money only to exit it a few months later due to a Family Emergency & then came the recession which shows no signs of receding.

I was wary of risking my money as I come from a Middle-Class household & my father is on the verge of retirement. All my (well-to-do) batch mates who continued & eventually completed their flying from various flight schools in the US returned, converted their licenses & are ALL S~T~I~L~L chasing the few Pilot Interviews out here in India.

All but 2 made it as an Employed Commercial Pilots, their daddies gladly Lubricated the employment facilitators :ok: - i dont have such fabDads:{

Since ^ I have about 6 years of Voice experience in Call-Centres tending to UK & USA based clients, am currently working for a US Banking major supporting their mortgage portfolios etc.......

I used to chase Qatar Airways quite a bit on their India Cabin-Crew recruitments, made it All The Way twice only to get a No Thank You! mail, same goes for a recent Cathay Cabin Crew recruitment where too i went right up till the Final Interview only to get the boot via email 2 months later


Basically, its been tough merely existing instead of Living the life i wanted (want) for myself but anyways, here i am - 27, about to turn 28 in a few months, based in Mumbai, India & I cant bear the agony of working in a Stupid, STUPID Industry that I just don't belong to.

I'll be fine working up ladders in the Aviation Industry but i have no aspirations in the field i'm currently in.

So i ask you Fine Gentlemen,

I have some close relatives in Dubai where i can do a GCAA-UAE Dispatcher License Course Emirates Aviation College - Training Courses (http://www.emiratesaviationcollege.com/training.aspx)

And Jeppesen seems to be doing the same thing in Hyderabad Aviation Security Courses at GMR Rajiv Gandhi Hyderabad International Airport, Shamshabad (http://www.hyderabad.aero/aviation-academy.aspx)


My Questions are:

What is the market like for someone (like me) with zero experience IN the Aviation Industry but with the Course (and all the world's passion for flying) under his belt?

Is getting an FAA License any better?

I guess my primary job market will be the Middle East¿

Cheers - Blue

[desertopsguy]

Hi The Blue,The situation for experienced flight dispatchers is tough enough right now so for newly qualified ones you can imagine it is even tougher.I'm assuming from your post that you are from India and if you did attend the Jeppesen course in UAE you will find alot more of your compatriates, many with the same ideas as yourself.

Nothing wrong with that but what it does is make the playing field very competitive at an entry level as a lot of Indian dispatchers look towards to the Gulf for employment.


If you are looking at employment in the Gulf or UAE region then you can generally class those airlines into 3 groups.


Tier-1 such as Emirates, Etihad, Qatar Airways, ARAMCO etc all hire either experienced people or promote from within (Saudia is a tier-1 carrier but only hires Saudis at that level). These airlines tend to be the best paid (although these days not as good as before) and they have nice benefits with, good training, accommodation allowances and wide route networks.


Tier-2 such as the lowcost carries like Jazeera, Air-Arabia, FlyDubai, Nas Air, Bahrain Air etc are somewhat easier to get into but still prefer some experience. They are short on benefits and generally dont pay as well as the tier-1 carriers but are typically OK to work for.


Tier-3 are the dirt bag airlines, normally reserved for Terminal-2 in Dubai or the smaller Emirates like Sharjah or in Saudi Arabia. They involve themselves in the 5hit left over that no one else wants and the people who run them are generally incompetent, inept and crooks of some sort. They will not pay you on time or in some cases, at all and they will expect you to accept that, they will not train you and they will not honour the contract that both you and they will sign. These airlines are dangerous and have shoddy maintenance on their aging crappy fleets. But they have no problems finding people to work for the pittance they pay, newly qualified dispatchers etc will swallow what they give them in order to get on the career ladder and hope they can move on to greener fields sooner rather that later.


Outside of these you have the VIP operators, they can range from good to absolutely terrible. The same goes for the trip planning companies, some are fine, some are rotten.


Beyond the Gulf you have S.E Asia and Far East, they tend to hire locally in general but from time to time, when the need arises, they can and do hire expats, it just doesn't happen on the scale that you would see in the Gulf.There is a lot of growth in the region right now and from what I am hearing, the talent just isn't there so it is possible that expat hiring may increase.


Some Aussie airlines have been known to sponsor work permits however it is not the norm and they need to justify the application with proof that they could not find a local.


EU/US...unless you already have the right to live and work in these countries then forget it, they don't give work permits to dispatchers. You'd need to have a Phd or some rare skill in order for them to do that.


There is work in Africa, it is poorly advertised generally and many of these outifts tend to be similar to the aformentioned tier 3 airlines mentioned above. The good ones like SAA, Ethiopian and Kenyan generally hire locals only.


Kingfisher is about to go bust and throw alot of inexprienced and experienced dispatchers alike out on the street. They're going to ruin the domestic job market in India for a while and will certainly even increase the competition for Gulf based jobs. Big headache for anyone in India trying to make a start in this career.


There is another less well known route that 99% of dispatchers don't even think of when it comes to looking for work but you would still need a year or so of experience in order to apply and I'm not posting it here because it will end up swamped. PM me if you are interested or have any questions.


D.O.G

[crocs]

Hello desertopsguy, your reply to The Blue's post is very informative. I want to learn more regarding that. If you don't mind, can I pm you to ask more questions regarding flight dispatch field?

Thanks.

[desertopsguy]

Sure Croc, go ahead...

[waco]

BaconRash

I would say that those figures are more likely to be the number of unemployed pilots and engineers in 25 years.

No wait a minute......probably more than that for the pilot community....

[JimmyRC]

Hi Desertopsguy,

How are you doing?

I hope you don't mind me PMing you regarding this topic.

I am a 31 year old with an International Business degree, several languages and business experience and have always been passionate about aviation. I always wanted to become an airline pilot but, alas, my eyesight falls outside the requirements.

My girlfriend is from, and lives in, Toronto, and I would be most grateful for any advice regarding Flight Dispatch training and career opportunities over there, if you have any knowledge of that part of the world. I would also appreciate being party to the way into dispatch that 99% of people don't know about!

Many thanks in advance,

Kind regards,

James

[desertopsguy]

James,

With regard to Canada, I hear the situation for flight dispatchers is ok provided you have the right to live and work in Canada. So far I have not heard of any companies there sponsoring people's permits.

I know Westjet had vacancies right up until recently and they are also about to launch a new commuter/regional airline so that should, in theory, require more dispatchers.

Am not sure what their experience requirements are however. Best to go on their website.

As for training, am not sure to be honest. TC issues licences so I suggest you go on their website and look it up, just google Transport Canada and you should get to their home page. While you're at it just google training schools too. I do know that they will convert FAA licences without any trouble and the Canadians that I know took their licences south of the border..

Best.

D.O.G

[desertopsguy]

....don't believe a word Boeing or Airbus says about the numbers of pilots and engineers required...they're in the plane business; not the crystal ball business... they have no clue what is coming next year, never mind 25yrs from now...

[YOWDXR]

Hi Jimmy,
DOG is correct, you can find all the information required to obtain dispatch certification in Canada. Most importantly, the right to work in Canada is required. I've worked for a few carriers and have yet to see them sponsor a dispatcher. The pay in Canada for a dispatcher varies from carrier to carrier, but generally a starting salary is around 45k-50k CDN for Type A carriers.

The employment outlook for Canadian dispatchers is quite good. I always see postings looking for experienced individuals. If you have your heart set on Toronto check out Sunwing, Air Canada, and Porter Airlines websites for position requirements. Westjet and Canadian North are based in Calgary, Air Canada Jazz is based in Halifax, First Air is based in Ottawa, Air Transat, Nolinor and Sky Regional are based in Montreal.

Hope this helps!

DXRYOW

[The Blue]

@desertopsguy - sent u 2 PMs at intervals of a month each, care to reply mate?

[RMC]

Desert Ops Guy...I worked for Airbus.Every three months they send a guy out to EVERY airline of note wine and dine the top man...get his next 25 year view... then come back three months later to see if its changed. Of course they are in the crystal ball business. It takes over ten years to get an aircraft from concept to service. Do you seriously think they just take a punt on whether a new type (which has the capability of breaking the company) has a market

[Inspecthergadget]

@RMC. Well if i was taken out wined and dined by Airbus i think my reply might paint a rosy picture for Airbus.
I think that if this is your company policy for Inteligence gathering it's needs a major review.

[desertopsguy]

I wouldn't exactly call it 'taking a punt' but let's face it, with only 2 large manufacturers out there and a handful of smaller ones, operators aren't exactly spoiled for choice when it comes to who they purchase from. The manufacturers make what they think will be needed in a decade, based on today's technology and the operators buy it because it is better than what they had before...or at least they hope it will. A380 anyone? We all know Airbus had to give 2 away plus a free 319 Elite to EK just to keep them from scuttling the image of EAD's latest baby.

And yes, they are in the plane making and plane selling business and that is all I'm afraid. Geopolitical forces and economic ebbs and flows have huge impacts on the aviation industry and its ability to grow. None of the OEM execs or so-called top men in the airlines have any clue how these forces are going to interplay even 5yrs from now. How many of these guys are even in their chairs 10yrs after their clairvoyant predictions let alone after 25. There are a some exceptions of course, O'Leary, Fernandez, Clarke etc but as I said, they are the exception rather than the rule.

The truth is, the future of this business is a moving target. The treehuggers are trying to get their way with their ETS, aviation is a soft target for government taxes (UK is case in point), an oil shock is only a heartbeat away and looming economic crises in many countries who were prior-to believed to be immune (France is just one example).

So, let Airbus and Boeing sell the snake oil, let the airline chiefs get fat from free lunches at posh restaurants meanwhile the rest of us will keep an open mind and take it as it comes. Plan for the worst, hope for the best but don't be surprised when the predictions made 25yrs ago fall short.

Have a great day.

D.O.G