Job hunting in PNG with EASA CPL

[Pirrex]

Good evening folks,
I'm a 250 hours EASA CPL/IR holder with an FI rating and I will be heading over to Australia on vacation soon, and was thinking about doing a trip to PNG for a couple of days to go knock on some doors.
I saw online a few PNG companies hiring, but they seem to want "CASA/NZ license ONLY". Can somebody tell me about my chances of scoring something over there with my license and experience, before I go and spend all the money on the trip?
Will also head over to Indonesia in the end of my trip with the same purpose. Doesn't really matter what I would get to fly, I just hope to find something in this part of the world, as it seems to be exactly the kind of flying I want to do.

[Unusual-Attitude]

I'd say you'd be extremely lucky to get a start anywhere in png with less than 1000 TT.

[ersa]

Your wasting you time and money travelling to PNG or INDO.

With your hours, get you EASA CPL converted to a CASA CPL.....you will pick something up in the northern part of Australia......

Getting a visa is another story all together !

[wishiwasupthere]

you will pick something up in the northern part of Australia......

Not if he doesn't have the legal right to work in Aus.

[tail wheel]

During my two plus decades living in PNG we had pilots from all four corners of the world. Canadians, Yanks, Kiwis, Poms, Aussies and from a smattering of other European and Asian countries.

But none had only "250 hours EASA CPL/IR holder with an FI rating". Any irresponsible PNG operator that gave you a start with that little experience has no rightful place in the PNG aviation industry.

With those hours you won't get a hearing and are wasting your time and money going to PNG.

[Brian Abraham]

Candidate for here perhaps. Cessna 208 F/O position

1. Minimum total hours of 250.

2. at least ICAO CPL SEL / IR (Current). FAA mother license is preferable.

3. 1st class medical (current), no restriction except for corrective glasses.

4. Free from any form of color blindness - Indonesian authority only accept the Isihara Color Blind Test.

5. Minimum of level 5 ICAO English proficiency test.

Susi Air -Your Complete Air Transport Solution for All of Indonesia- (http://fly.susiair.com/)

[Pirrex]

Thanks for your replies, I will take your advice and stay out of PNG until further, and go surfing instead. Am I to expect the same in Indonesia, with Susi air being the only option? Can't seem to get an answer from them, but I'll keep trying.
I'll also look into the possibility of instructing in Australia with a work&holiday visa, as was discussed in another topic, maybe my license would come in handy if that would be possible.

[Brian Abraham]

Can't seem to get an answer from themShould have read what they sayWe are receiving applications at any time of year however it never necessarily always followed by interview and course intake. The occasion will be based on company’s demand and Susi Air hold the exclusive rights on how and when to announce it.

All job applications must be submitted via email to r e c r u i t i n g @ s u s i a i r . c o m (altogether, without spaces). We are not responsible for lost documents if submitted in other means. All job applications that we received will be kept for our future interest.

We will contact you if your application piques our interest. If no news after six weeks, please consider it to be unsuccessful.

Do not make a visit to the office for a walk-in interview.

[Pirrex]

Should have read what they sayOh trust me, I have. Probably read everything about Susi air a hundred times. :p Have been applying every six months for the last two years, but until now I've been a bit short of 250h, which seems to be a minimum for them at the moment.
I'll head over to South Asia forum regarding Indonesia, but of course if someone here has some information about expats with my experience scoring over there other than at Susi, I would be more than happy to listed so I can make a decision whether to go or save my money.

[chimbu warrior]

Pirrex I must compliment you for at least being prepared to get away from the major cities and look for a job in the bush. Persistence always pays off; not necessarily overnight, but if you are persistent you will succeed.

Regarding your original question, as long as you have any CPL from an ICAO-member state you will be okay. Whatever country you score a job in, you will need to go through the local licencing process (or in rare circumstances get a validation). It therefore matters little whether your CPL is EASA, FAA, Australian or Armenian (Armenia scored better than Australia on the ICAO USAP audit).

You are on the right track, gathering info and asking questions. There are a few posters on here whose blood is triple negative; don't be deterred by their comments, keep at it and you will find a job.

Good luck.

[Brian Abraham]

don't be deterred by their commentsForgive me if I came across that way. I assumed for a number of reasons that you had been on the phone following my post. Know a lad who spent a year with them, and a lass who turned down the job she had been offered.

Concur with chimbus comments, and good luck with it.

[Unusual-Attitude]

Not negative...realistic. Fane or Tapini with 250...even 750 hrs...on an 'average' day?

Not with any of my family on board...:eek:

But he'll get there if that's where/what he wants to do.

Thought about Maun on the Okavango, Pirex?

[Pirrex]

I appreciate the encouraging replies!
I have been reading A LOT about Maun as well, but it has changed a lot in recent years, and seems to be a waste of time without 500TT. Another small problem is hanging around at the delta probably for months, I can't afford it at the moment, as just the repayment of my CPL loan and rent is at 2500 euros per month.
Also the aviation in my country is pretty much dead, with 13 CPL classmates and not one of us finding a job now over 1.5 years after graduation, even instructing seems to be impossible to find. I was crazy to go integrated and finishing with big debt and only 150TT, and apart from my FI course, all the hours I've gotten is from doing scenic flights with my aero clubs c172. The market is starting to be saturated, and I won't be able to find enough "customers" to reach 300TT this way.

[pilotchute]

Pirrex,

That is a huge debt burden you have. I must ask, what sort of job did you think you were going to get on graduation?

The market hasn't become saturated in the 18 months since you finished, it has been saturated in Europe since about 2008. Unless you were on a tagged scheme you chances of getting a jet job on graduation were almost zero.

I must also ask how you get a CPL ME/IR with only 150 hours in the airplane and 100 of the that being command?

[Pirrex]

It's actually not as bad as it sounds, I've got 65k euros left to pay back and a 15k car I'm about to sell, and if I don't find a flying job (lower salary), I'll be done with it in three years.

Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find anything too soon, but determined that I will sometimes get a job, as I'm not too much into jets, I just want to fly, and I don't care too much about staying in my home country. I know now when I'm older and slightly wiser, that an untagged integrated course wasn't the right way to go for me, or anybody else for that matter. As a 20 year old, I was just too worried to do my training in a school i didn't know, as my cousin lost a lot of money years ago, when "his" FTO went bankrupt.
I had as my plan B though, which is what I'm doing right now, not a nice job, but I'm paying back more than double than i was expecting to do.

The requirements of 200 hours can be reduced to 150h on an approved course, which means that I finished with 150h TT, 100 PIC and 64h FNPT2.

[meggo]

What a well spoken young man. You sound very realistic and determined. Keep at it. :ok:

[captboeing737ng]

Hi Pirex

Unfortunately Susi Air is the only major operator that will hire a fresh CPL/IR, in Indo. Indonesia has a 250hr on type rule for anything in part 121. So the only options for expats in indo is companies like Susi air, and a lot of experienced guys are trying to get in.

Good luck, keep trying and with some persistence you'll get that first elusive job.

Thought about South America, too?

[Pirrex]

@captboeing737ng
As a matter of fact I have! I just got back last month from a trip to Peru, Colombia and Brazil(even though a foreigner can't get a license in Brazil). The problem with South America is however the Spanish language, and without that skill, it seems completely impossible.

On the bright side, I'm getting the staff travel benefits thru my girlfriend, so I can keep doing this :p

[lilflyboy262...2]

Good luck Pirrex. You do have the right attitude for it.

Sorry I can't be of any assistance for you for Botswana. There is still the odd guy sneaking through with less than 500hrs. That tends to be with Delta air or Major Blue. But thats it. Its a big gamble to go there for a long time with just those two companies.

It's not just Susi thats hiring expats on vans in Indonesia. There is a few other companies around that are hiring or will be in the next 12 months so.
It wouldn't be a terrible idea to head over to Jakarta and then hop on a lion air flight to Papua (Jayapura/Sentani). You will be amazed at the amount of aviation that is happening out of that small town.

Off the top of my head, I can think of 7 different van operators in Sentani.

Good luck in your search!

[Pirrex]

@lilflyboy262
You can't possibly be if more assistance when it comes to Botswana, than your Maun-thread. :p
I'm under the impression that you are currently flying somewhere around Indonesia, maybe even Papua? If you really think with your experience there might be even the slightest opportunity with my experience to get an FO job on a van in Sentani or similar, then that's what I will spend my money on!

[Pirrex]

I'll write a 1-month-update to my situation. I'm taking lilflyboys' advice and will be heading to Jayapura in mid-September, but just for two days. Flying via POM and spending one afternoon there, but if it's the general opinion that it's impossible to get anything over there, I will probably not waste any time chasing a ghost.

It seems impossible to find any information about the operations in Papua/Sentani on the internet, having found only one of lilflyboys mentioned 7 operators. Will they expect me in this part of the world to have my license, medical and logbook with me when I show up, or is a CV enough? Should I give them a phone call first, or just stop by unannounced?

Ps. lilflyboy262, a PM coming your way, hope you don't mind.

[Unusual-Attitude]

Id take everything mate.

You never know, being the 'Johnny on the spot', they might need someone there and then, so it'd be a shame if they couldn't give you a start for the want of a bit of paperwork...you'd need to get a local licence/medical etc, but your current licence might get you a C of V...not sure how it works that side of the border, but being indo, it'll probably be cluster f**k wrapped in red tape.

But still, nothing ventured/he who dares etc! :E

Good luck. :ok:

[Pirrex]

All right, will have to hope for the best. Any information on the operators from Jayapura is more than welcome, as it seems impossible to find anything on the internet, having found only one company there operating vans.

Thanks for all the help guys, it will be an interesting trip!

[training wheels]

It seems impossible to find any information about the operations in Papua/Sentani on the internet, having found only one of lilflyboys mentioned 7 operators.

Here are three that I know of who take foreign pilots;

HOME (http://www.enggangair.co.id/index.html)

Home » dimonimair.com (http://www.dimonimair.com/)

https://www.maf.org/about/where-we-serve/papua#.U-12RaMYkeM

There are also a few in Kalimantan (Borneo)

http://airborn.co.id/

Whitesky Aviation (http://www.whiteskyaviation.co.id/wsa/)

Regarding having your licenses and logbooks with you, it's always a good idea to have those when looking for a job. The license validation, plus work visa immigration process can take months to complete so the quicker you can get the ball rolling, the better it will be for you.

[Pirrex]

Better late than never. It would only be fair to share my experience, as I got so much help from here.
I ended up doing my trip already some time ago, despite some small problems in Port Moresby(well, what can you expect?), I got back home in one piece. In the end, I only visited one company mentioned in this thread, but I don't know whether that will materialize or not. Hopefully, but I don't know if I made a positive impression or not.
Another company which may have been worth visiting had an accident a couple of days earlier when I was there, so I figured the CP has more important things on his mind than me.

Am I crazy because I much rather want to get a job in those parts of the world, instead of having to stay in Europe? :} (<--Why does pprune have a emoticon which is chewing areca nut?)

[worldoffe]

Hey Pirrex,

thank you a lot for sharing your experience with the job hunting there. :) And to answer your question: No, I absolutely do not think that you are crazy. I'm just impressed of your attitude and that you would go anywhere to make your dream of aviation come true. I hope that you will get the chance to work there soon and wish you the best :ok:

Please keep us up to date here where you ended up!

Greetz

[Pirrex]

Almost half a year has passed since my previous trip, and due to the lack of replies I'm getting from the CP's I met down there, I can't wait forever and it's time to get back on the horse. Next month I have a couple of weeks' winter vacation, so I will have to take another job hunting trip, and my itinerary will be about the same as last time but a bit more extensive.

I'm still fascinated by PNG, and even though I'm well aware of the safety issues in some parts, I'd still love to work there. Obviously I'm not qualified for single pilot ops there, but see a few companies operating king airs, twin otters and bandits. Is it really an impossible thought? My experience is still around 250h due to seriously depressing winter here.

I will of course be traveling around Indonesia as well, visiting and the companies i see myself having a realistic shot with.

If anybody would be willing to help out who has some closer information what it comes to PNG companies Tropic Air, SWA and OMhl I would be forever grateful.