The Caribbean and Latin AmericaAviation has been around South America and the Caribbean since the early days. A forum for aviators from that part of the world.
The Dash-8's phasing out is pretty much complete, so they will not be flying until they are in the hands of their new owners. So all CAL are operating at the moment are the 5 ATR's.
Has anyone awaiting feedback on their September application actually called HR to find out whats going on? Seems very strange that almost two months after the close of the last advert, no one has been contacted to be told of when to expect an interview.
The ATR's are all here, the 767's are here, the crews are mostly trained up and in place. So what happens to everyone else who have applied with no feedback?
Yea I know the deal was being finalized but didn't think the planes would have been phased out so quickly... The ATR's are all operating, that being said, i'm not sure if it was necessary to post another ad (Sep 2012) for more recruitment if all the aircraft are currently online. Wouldn't that suggest there are enough crews for the operation of these aircraft?
Don't know of anyone contacting HR other than to inquire about receipt of updated resumes...
I heard its just a regular HR interview, nothing particularly complex... questions like "where do you see yourself in five years" etc. Prepare yourself for an interview for any major job as you would.
Last edited by chock2chock; 24th Dec 2012 at 19:25.
From what I was told, the interview lasts around twenty minutes in total, with a couple standard HR questions from the HR person, and then technical questions from the Captain(s) who'll be interviewing you. Usually the chief pilot or fleet manager and a senior captain or both the chief pilot and fleet manager together.
Best way to describe the technical questioning; its like a brief FAA oral exam on anything regarding commercial pilot license standards (or the standard you are at, e.g ATPL and type rated or CPL and 250 hours etc) So they'll tailor the questions to suit your level of experience.
Typically 15 questions or so on a variety of topics like weather (like whats a cold front), V speeds, critical engine, CRM, theory of flight and maybe a mental maths question on closing speeds.
All in all, a simple format. If they like you, they'll send you for a sim ride.
The SIM assessment is usually at Boeing in Miami in a 737 sim. They will send you for one night all expenses paid for. Again, the process is tailored to your experience level, but keeping in mind that you may have never flown a 737 before. It last around 45 minutes, with standard IFR flight from TAB to TTPP shooting the ILS into TTPP. In between you'll do steep turns, intercepting and tracking, general handling to test your scan, altitude and airspeed control. Then your done after shooting the ILS.
After all that, they'll contact you....at some point....whenever that is!
For the information of all the caribbean pilots who ever flew at Briko in TTPP, be informed that instructor Nolton Peters passed away on christmas day 2012. His funeral will be at St. Charles RC Church in Tunapuna @ 8am on december 31st 2012. He will be missed .
From what I know, no one has been taken on or interviewed (or called to interview as yet) since the last batch of pilots were sent to France for type training. That's going back to around around July/Aug last year. So no one from the September applications has been called to interview as yet, and many of the pilots who were interviewed in Feb still don't know where they stand at the moment.
Latest news from HR department is that they haven't hired anyone since the job was posted in SEP 2012. They said there are positions available and they will be resuming the recruitment process (No idea why it was on hold) soon but no specific date can be given.
Sounds good especially the detail that they will be hiring. Like always its just a question of when! Who knows maybe they are considering replacing the ATR's with Q400's as a buddy of mine said he heard (can't confirm) but this could be a potential reason to postpone recruitment.
Well that news from HR sounds encouraging. Hopefully they'll clear the air for all those who have been anxiously waiting very soon.
As a separate point, to make the switch from newly acquired ATR's to the Q400 would be quite a 180! Could they afford such a switch? (lease fees, retraining etc.)
Yes it's excellent news as many were hearing rumors about the positions being filled etc etc. All that and the fact that all the ATR's were being operated 'smoothly' didn't help with the anxiety.
With regards to the ATR to Q400 switch. From what i gather the current board was not a huge fan of the ATR's as they inherited the contracts/deal. There was even a rumor that a Q400 was coming down for some "testing". In my opinion it would have been an easier transition from the Q300 to the Q400's. The Q300's have served the airline well, that alone should have made it a done deal (not to mention its performance and reliability). Other than that you have the mean look of the Dash8...a very graceful bird.
From what a buddy of mine heard they are looking into all options, leasing, selling etc etc. I wouldn't doubt it as they are only taking 5 as opposed to the 9 initial purchase as they have gotten (i believe) a buyer for the remaining 4 aircraft. Plus the aircraft are always in need of some sort of maintenance is the word on the street. With regards to affordability of such a move who knows. Cal is government owned so, anything can happen...
@NoJoy A buddy of mine did update his resume. He sent it via email and then called in HR to confirm they received the updated version. The email is jobs@caribbean-airlines.com (as far as i know and have seen on PCC). You can always call HR and confirm this..to be on the safe side.
You can reference my post on page two (2) regarding conversion information [post number 22].
Brief summary: cost approximately $1500 TTD (approx. fees for TTCAA) Timeline for completion will depend mostly on you. Mr. Nolton Peters was the go to guy for conversion process, but sadly he is not with us anymore, he was very knowledgeable and always fun to chat with.
Otherwise there is Pro ATS which is on BWIA Blvd who also holds a conversion course which a buddy of mine took. The cost was $1000 USD for their program. Other than that, he was happy with the program and the end result. Also, not on my previous post, if you have an ATPL you may only have to take the air law examination as a buddy of mine only needs to complete this exam for his conversion based on him having an ATPL ticket and the associated experience/hours.
Being a Local, Cal's last job posting for the ATR did not specify minimum hours. You require a Trinidad and Tobago CPL and Multi IFR (Group 1).
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So did CAL hire any pilots that started flying last September until today? Has the Flight deck recruitment gone Top-secret?
