Air Baltic
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Hi Zorsan,
I think I can answer even if I partecipated at the selection for dash 8. I got also a feedback from some of the others at selection for 73 and 75 and everything was the same, except for some questions on the single airplane you are called for.
1) the atpl questions are 50, multiple choice.
25 of these are very basic questions (some of them I really did not know) and 25 are on the ops, more simple for the guys already flying, questions on the fuel etc...
2) I think, but not sure, that if your are called as 757 rated, you will receive also a few questions on the 757...
3) I did day one all the psychologist questions and they were 370 (!!!) on the paper and another 440 (!!!!!!!) on a pc, pretty much similar to the first ones... Just be honest and don't think too much on them.
4) I did the sim on the 737 directly...
4) Bring your logbook, better if stamped from your previous company (mine wasn't) and of course your licence. If you don't have your logbook (!!!!!), make it!!!
They didn't ask me for anything else.
5) I was wearing my suit, I think that's enough. They don't require it, but for a selection for me it's best if you are tidy, clean and everything.
Hope this helps a bit, let me know if you need other tips..
I think I can answer even if I partecipated at the selection for dash 8. I got also a feedback from some of the others at selection for 73 and 75 and everything was the same, except for some questions on the single airplane you are called for.
1) the atpl questions are 50, multiple choice.
25 of these are very basic questions (some of them I really did not know) and 25 are on the ops, more simple for the guys already flying, questions on the fuel etc...
2) I think, but not sure, that if your are called as 757 rated, you will receive also a few questions on the 757...
3) I did day one all the psychologist questions and they were 370 (!!!) on the paper and another 440 (!!!!!!!) on a pc, pretty much similar to the first ones... Just be honest and don't think too much on them.
4) I did the sim on the 737 directly...
4) Bring your logbook, better if stamped from your previous company (mine wasn't) and of course your licence. If you don't have your logbook (!!!!!), make it!!!
They didn't ask me for anything else.5) I was wearing my suit, I think that's enough. They don't require it, but for a selection for me it's best if you are tidy, clean and everything.
Hope this helps a bit, let me know if you need other tips..
Join Date: Jul 2009
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From what I have understood they still interview ( and hire ) new F/O, even 250h with no TR. Is that correct? If so how long will they continue to do that, and I assume that you'll pay for your own TR which is ok but how much do they say that it will cost?
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Thank you Eurocargo for the info.Good to know that they do the sim on a real sim already.It looks like they have been transitioning from PC to real SIM since they re taking over the Oxford TC.
Thank you.Really.And good luck
Thank you.Really.And good luck
Join Date: May 2009
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737??
I really don t understand guys. I am type rated on B737 with ATPL and I did my first application 1 month ago ( or more)...I even did another application 1 week ago....what you suggest me? will I be called for?? 
thx for reply
thx for reply
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Zorsan and others:
ALL ATPL AND OPS TEST WERE MULTIPLE CHOICE(a,b,c,d)? YES
-NO B757 QUIZZ? That's correct, just a few questions on limitations (max speed, ceiling etc) asked by a non B757 Captain.
-THE DAY ONE 280 QUESTIONS AND THE 444 DAY 2 QUESTIONS WERE ABOUT THE SAME?PERSONALITY AND ALL THAT? Yes, first one was around 370 questions, the tip is to be honest but also to have the ideal character of a Captain / pilot in mind and in the Flight Deck.
-DID YOU BRING THE ORIGINALS OF CERTIFICATES AND ALL THAT?DID THEY MAKE COPIES?THEY WERE REQUESTING FOR LOGBOOK WE IN MY COUNTRY WORK WITH FLIGHT CERTIFICATES, I LL HAVE TO SPEND SOME TIME WRITTING EVERY FLIGH BACK TO A LOGBOOK I was asked to email all as scanned documents, I was then asked to bring the original logbook and license on day 2 but nobody asked to see them!
-HR AND SIM SAME DAY:PILOT UNIFORM,SUIT OR NEITHER ONE? Common sense if you ask me (at least here in EU), smart neutral suit at all times!
Good luck!
HF
PS: have been offered B757 position last week to start today..
ALL ATPL AND OPS TEST WERE MULTIPLE CHOICE(a,b,c,d)? YES
-NO B757 QUIZZ? That's correct, just a few questions on limitations (max speed, ceiling etc) asked by a non B757 Captain.
-THE DAY ONE 280 QUESTIONS AND THE 444 DAY 2 QUESTIONS WERE ABOUT THE SAME?PERSONALITY AND ALL THAT? Yes, first one was around 370 questions, the tip is to be honest but also to have the ideal character of a Captain / pilot in mind and in the Flight Deck.
-DID YOU BRING THE ORIGINALS OF CERTIFICATES AND ALL THAT?DID THEY MAKE COPIES?THEY WERE REQUESTING FOR LOGBOOK WE IN MY COUNTRY WORK WITH FLIGHT CERTIFICATES, I LL HAVE TO SPEND SOME TIME WRITTING EVERY FLIGH BACK TO A LOGBOOK I was asked to email all as scanned documents, I was then asked to bring the original logbook and license on day 2 but nobody asked to see them!
-HR AND SIM SAME DAY:PILOT UNIFORM,SUIT OR NEITHER ONE? Common sense if you ask me (at least here in EU), smart neutral suit at all times!
Good luck!
HF
PS: have been offered B757 position last week to start today..
Join Date: Jul 2009
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highflyer or anyone else:
correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I have read on this thread it seems like Air baltic hire ( or at least interview ) F/O with low hours and no TR.
If that's true how long will they continue to do that, and what type of contract do you sign? Or in other words, what does the TR cost?
correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I have read on this thread it seems like Air baltic hire ( or at least interview ) F/O with low hours and no TR.
If that's true how long will they continue to do that, and what type of contract do you sign? Or in other words, what does the TR cost?
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Air Baltic Tests
Congratulations Highflyer.
How Long Did They Take To Give You A Positive Answer?
It S Funny Because They Only Have 2 75 S So I Wouldn T Expect Them To Have More Than 4 Crews Per Aircraft And That S 8 Fo S Total So It S Curious That They Re Hiring.but It S Excellent.
They Didn T Ask Me To Send Them Scanned Docs, May Be They Ll Do Before The Tests Day.
Anyway,congratulations Again To Highflyer And Good Luck To Everybody Else
How Long Did They Take To Give You A Positive Answer?
It S Funny Because They Only Have 2 75 S So I Wouldn T Expect Them To Have More Than 4 Crews Per Aircraft And That S 8 Fo S Total So It S Curious That They Re Hiring.but It S Excellent.
They Didn T Ask Me To Send Them Scanned Docs, May Be They Ll Do Before The Tests Day.
Anyway,congratulations Again To Highflyer And Good Luck To Everybody Else
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Highflyer,Eurocargo or anyone interviewed at Air Baltic:the person you had correspondence with (Mara Ziemele) is the Director of HR?Is she also there during interviw?
Thanks
Thanks
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Thanks for all the congrats but I have not yet decided yet to accept or not due to this earlier mentioned 5 years bond even though I am rated!
They bond any pilot meaning that in case you leave before this 5 year period ends you owe them the remaining money. This is a very unusual way of doing business and even when you get a rating from them then the amount of years is high in my opinion.
Since I finished day 2 it took exactly 1 day to get the offer so no time wasted.
BT has a few longer flights all with augmented crew and the summer season is ahead. In addition, to get command you start on a Dash and there are a few B757 FO's doing that now so all together this explains why they need more crew on type.
Yes the mentioned HR person will interview you and a good website is www.aviationtire.com/atpl.cfm for JAA questions.
HF
They bond any pilot meaning that in case you leave before this 5 year period ends you owe them the remaining money. This is a very unusual way of doing business and even when you get a rating from them then the amount of years is high in my opinion.
Since I finished day 2 it took exactly 1 day to get the offer so no time wasted.
BT has a few longer flights all with augmented crew and the summer season is ahead. In addition, to get command you start on a Dash and there are a few B757 FO's doing that now so all together this explains why they need more crew on type.
Yes the mentioned HR person will interview you and a good website is www.aviationtire.com/atpl.cfm for JAA questions.
HF
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Well,congrats anyway because you passed it all.
and all I can say about the 5 years bond is...wow.That s twaaay too much.
If they give you a Type I can understand, and more 2 years than 4.It doesn t make any sense at all because the line training has almost no cost for them.
The all idea of the bond is that they re "giving you"20 or 30 000 euros for the TR,but they re not.
Personally I was expecting from zero to 2 years,and I was thinking that 2 years is ok,but 5 years in Latvia...plus what type of calculation did they make(by the way what kind of salary do they pay to FO,about 3000/month?) because that amount gives them to pay 7 TR s in 5 years.
So if you leave year 3 supposely you ow them 2 complete years of salary?
anyway as I said congrats for the tests passed and good luck whatever you decide to do.
And thanks for all the info
and all I can say about the 5 years bond is...wow.That s twaaay too much.
If they give you a Type I can understand, and more 2 years than 4.It doesn t make any sense at all because the line training has almost no cost for them.
The all idea of the bond is that they re "giving you"20 or 30 000 euros for the TR,but they re not.
Personally I was expecting from zero to 2 years,and I was thinking that 2 years is ok,but 5 years in Latvia...plus what type of calculation did they make(by the way what kind of salary do they pay to FO,about 3000/month?) because that amount gives them to pay 7 TR s in 5 years.
So if you leave year 3 supposely you ow them 2 complete years of salary?
anyway as I said congrats for the tests passed and good luck whatever you decide to do.
And thanks for all the info
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My advice is to just take the bond, and subsequently forget all about it!
A lot of guys have left prematurely (aka before the 5-year priod had ended) and no one was ever pulled into court over it.
Remember, you're dealing with the former USSR here: Their system was based on intimidation, hence airBaltic thinks they can scare people into staying.
Indeed, it's even rumoured that the Latvian Law prohibits bondings extending beyond 1 year, so they'll never be able to go to court over it. As with so much other stuff in Latvia, it's just a big act of bluff. If they were to end up in court over the matter and loose, it would create precedent...and it would be against the very fragile egos in the region to ever risk such a faceloss.
How can they bond you for linetraining, will it not be conducted as revenueflights or what?
Do minimum 1 year with them...and then tell them where to go, should they hit you with a claim!
A lot of guys have left prematurely (aka before the 5-year priod had ended) and no one was ever pulled into court over it.
Remember, you're dealing with the former USSR here: Their system was based on intimidation, hence airBaltic thinks they can scare people into staying.
Indeed, it's even rumoured that the Latvian Law prohibits bondings extending beyond 1 year, so they'll never be able to go to court over it. As with so much other stuff in Latvia, it's just a big act of bluff. If they were to end up in court over the matter and loose, it would create precedent...and it would be against the very fragile egos in the region to ever risk such a faceloss.
How can they bond you for linetraining, will it not be conducted as revenueflights or what?
Do minimum 1 year with them...and then tell them where to go, should they hit you with a claim!
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I am not in a position to give you any good advice about type ratings or bonds. But if I were you I would take the bond, deal with it and put the 30K of your own money that you would have spent on a type rating into a good investment account that can earn you an average of 10-13% for the next five years. The future value on your investment will be more than you would have made in the five yrs combined at AirBaltic if your investments averages 10-13%. that is my 2cents. I think pilots sometimes lack a little bit of financial sense which is why we end up broke and wonder how we got where we are.
Good luck!
SVENSK!
Good luck!
SVENSK!