BRAZIL - Airline Pilot Jobs

[Hnairways]

Hey there,

I am an Australian pilot and have the following qualifications;

* Australian (ICAO) Commercial Pilots licence
* 600 hours Total time (400 hours experience in Multi Crew Operations, 450 in IFR)
* Command Instrument rating (recent on all 2D, 3D, azimuth and CDI approaches)
* Fairchild Metroliner III/23 command endorsement
* Class 1 medical
* Fluent in English (ICAO level 6)

I am planning on moving to Brazil with my partner in one year where I will become a Brazilian citizen (I must have this before any airline can/will look at my application). I will also have to convert my Australian Licence to a Brazilian one.

Just wondering if you guys could give me a bit more of an insight on the following;

1. How difficult is it to convert an ICAO licence such as an Australian one to a Brazilian one?

2. What are the chances that a large airline in Brazil will consider me for a job in the right seat? (I have read that a lot of carriers such as Azul have previously taken on local pilots with 200TT and fresh CPL holders)

3. If not able to get a job with an airline, what other pilot jobs could I realistically expect to get?

Many thanks guys for your help in advance!

[aenobre]

Hi,
I really don't know about how the process to convert your license here in Brazil. About the job it's true that a year or two ago all the big ones in Brazil were hiring low time pilots but due to an economic downturn they are not hiring any more. Instead the word on the street is they are going to reduce flights and probably let people go, I hope not. All the flights schools are full of CFI with lots of hours just waiting for a chance. Anyway all the process of becoming a brazillian citizen and converting your license should take some time and things could change. You should try teaching english for pilots, that's the best way to start making friends in this business for someone like you. Good luck and all the best!

[alemaobaiano]

You will have plenty of time to convert your licence, becoming a citizen here takes around 7 years. How do you plan to support yourself in Brazil during that time? There is a fast track of roughly 3 years for certain nationalities, but Australian isn't one of them.

To answer your questions

1. Conversion isn't difficult, but would depend very much on where you plan to live. Some ANAC offices are more helpful than others, and some seem to take great delight in making life as tough as possible.

2. As aenobre says, the airlines are more likely to be laying people off than hiring in the short term. However as you are looking at the market 7-8 years from now accurate predictions are more difficult. My impression is that the industry has now rationalized itself and we won't see any major changes unless the Government really introduces incentives to boost regional aviation.

3. You probably won't get another pilot job here, there are thousands of unemployed pilots willing to work under appalling conditions for nothing except hours. The aviation English market no longer exists as a viable career choice. I taught for two years at a specialized language school in the run up to the requirement, now I have a few private students preparing for retests or interviews in the Middle East.

We have (or used to have) a member here who was trying to do what you are planning and he had some high level contacts within the industry. He eventually gave up and is now happily flying in Guyana, I think. Search for posts by flyingswiss in the Latin America sub forum to get an idea of what is in store for you.

Hope that helps a little, although I expect it isn't quite what you wanted to read.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have questions that you would rather not post on an open forum.

[aenobre]

Sure things are tuff here but if thats what you and your partner want give it a chance. You can take advantage of the crisis to prepare all the paperwork you need and be ready when the companies star hiring again, but keep in mind that this could take a lot of time and there are no guarantees. And remember you are going to live in a 3 world country with lots of problems like violence and poverty. If I could I would switch passports with you in a heart beat just to be able to live in Melbourne or other city in Australia. 😀😀

[Hnairways]

You will have plenty of time to convert your licence, becoming a citizen here takes around 7 years. How do you plan to support yourself in Brazil during that time? There is a fast track of roughly 3 years for certain nationalities, but Australian isn't one of them.

To answer your questions

1. Conversion isn't difficult, but would depend very much on where you plan to live. Some ANAC offices are more helpful than others, and some seem to take great delight in making life as tough as possible.

2. As aenobre says, the airlines are more likely to be laying people off than hiring in the short term. However as you are looking at the market 7-8 years from now accurate predictions are more difficult. My impression is that the industry has now rationalized itself and we won't see any major changes unless the Government really introduces incentives to boost regional aviation.

3. You probably won't get another pilot job here, there are thousands of unemployed pilots willing to work under appalling conditions for nothing except hours. The aviation English market no longer exists as a viable career choice. I taught for two years at a specialized language school in the run up to the requirement, now I have a few private students preparing for retests or interviews in the Middle East.

We have (or used to have) a member here who was trying to do what you are planning and he had some high level contacts within the industry. He eventually gave up and is now happily flying in Guyana, I think. Search for posts by flyingswiss in the Latin America sub forum to get an idea of what is in store for you.

Hope that helps a little, although I expect it isn't quite what you wanted to read.

Good luck, and feel free to PM me if you have questions that you would rather not post on an open forum.

Thanks a lot guys for your quick responses! Much appreciated!

Citizenship-wise we are expecting it to take one year, it takes 15 years for naturalisation of foreigners but reduced to 1 year if you have a Brazilian spouse (or a child) - I am married to a Brazilian. I have two businesses that I own on the side of flying which will, along with my partner support me financially whilst unemployed in Brazil.

It's a shame the recession has had such a negative impact on everything including aviation! I guess like everything, let's hope for everyone's sake it will be over soon and everyone can get on!

I am lucky that I will still be flying Metros with an airline here in Australia until December but after that the job prospects here look just as bad if not worse than Brazil!

At least Brazil has strong Caipirinhas!

[gee bee]

Spent 8 months trying to validate my EASA license in Brazil...
All I got is a "no no" from the ANAC. No explanations and no descent way to contact them in order to get a feedback.

It is indeed a very long process. Lots of paperwork and lots of delays from the ANAC, quite difficult to get reliable information too.

I did this in 2013, in Minas Gerais. The only advice I could give you is to do it somewhere else. As alemaobaiano said, it seems some ANAC offices are more helpful than others.

I'll definitely be interested to know how it goes, so keep us posted.
You can PM me too if you have more specific questions.

[alemaobaiano]

Citizenship-wise we are expecting it to take one year, it takes 15 years for naturalisation of foreigners but reduced to 1 year if you have a Brazilian spouse (or a child) - I am married to a Brazilian. I have two businesses that I own on the side of flying which will, along with my partner support me financially whilst unemployed in Brazil.

Please don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but it's not quite as simple as you are expecting. I am also a foreigner, living in Brazil, married to a Brazilian, and working in a "protected" industry related to aviation.

The one year countdown starts once your residence permit is published in the Diario Official da Uniao. Getting your RNE will take up to 18 months, although typically around a year. Add that to the required one year of residence before you can request naturalization, so at best, it will be about two years before you can start the process. The process itself doesn't happen overnight, this is Brazil after all, so you are facing a best case scenario of 3 years.

Being an expat I have a number of friends who have been through the naturalization process under the same conditions as you, or with a child born here. The shortest time that I know of is 4 years from the date of setting foot in the country. The average among more than 20 people of various original nationalities that I am acquainted with is around the 7 year mark.

Don't let this put you off chasing your dreams, but be prepared for a much longer slog than you think. With the economy in crisis, political turmoil, increasing crime and violence, inflation through the roof and the airline industry laying off staff you are not coming to Brazil at the best moment.

Good luck, and feel free to ask anything that you want.