GAYouth111

From the NZ ASL website.

ASL Fee Increase

Many of you may not be aware that ASL fees for examinations and flight tests have not increased since the Company was formed. Over the past 13 years, we have managed to improve continually our efficiency and find savings to keep fees at pre-1992 levels despite steadily increasing input costs: not very many companies can boast that!

However, we have reached a stage where increases have become necessary. We are discussing new fee levels with the CAA who will follow the normal administrative and consultative processes before we implement them. We are working with CAA to achieve a target date of 1 July 2005 for the new fees and we will shortly publish the proposed fee structure on our website. This will allow reasonable notice for candidates and training organisations.

Sqwark2004

Does this mean that we are FINALLY going to quality/relevant exams instead of the absolute wastes of time that we have to endure now?

I DON'T THINK SO.

S2K4eva

cubnut

"....we have managed to improve continually our efficiency...."

Maybe for flight testing, however I think that the vast majority would probably not have seen this in the theory examining side.
I have seen a slight increase in the level of customer service with front line staff over the 5 years I've had any thing to do with them. But this has only been very recently. For a while it was terrible. It is harder to book, pay for, sit and recieve results now than it was when I started without doubt.

cub.

splatgothebugs

You have got to be kidding!

A price increase is $166 for an ATPL not enough?

I challenge any person from ASL to post a breakdown of where all this bloody money goes.

splat

GAYouth111

Joe Bloggs off the street to mark the exam
$10/paper
(Unless it's one of the one's with actual working in it which would be $50/paper)

CAA fee
$50/paper

GST
$16/paper

Admin
$5/paper

Friday Night Drinks/Afternoon Tea/Christmas fund
$85/paper (Or $35 for the harder exams)


Keeping exams relevant and up to date with the current technology and skills required to FLY a plane.
$0

Total: $166


So as you can clearly see, they need to bump the prices up so that they can get an average of at least $70/paper.

kavu

Okay ASL

If you want to increase your fees for ASL then I think you'd better increase the quality of the exams you are writing and get some assistance from the english department at the local highschool regarding your grammer and sentence structure.

For years I have sat your so called Professional Avaition exams and written a few complaints about what you are asking. In return you have to your credit returned my letters but have not answered my questions.

For example in your ATPL exam when I was studying it not so long ago, a friend came up with a question relating in Part II to decyphering the reports.

What does STNR mean?

Well I looked around all the publications and even rang the Aviation Theory Centre in Tauranga and they didn't know.

I wrote a letter to you guys asking about what does it mean and you response was "There was no question in that exam about that"

Now when I sat my exam sure enough that particular question was the last question in the exam.

Can you answer that?

I am assuming ASL read these fine threads.

If you want to increase your exam fees then you'd better have a damn good restructure of your services.

MOR

The thing about ASL, is that they are just about making money. They have no interest in correctness, suitability or relevance. All that stuff is driven by the CAA, who write the syllabus. ASL just take your money and mark the paper. Of course, they have to support an entire company, complete with plush offices, and the only income they have is your exam fee.

It was a lot fairer back in the days of MoT-CAD.

As far as I am concerned, if the CAA want me to sit meaningless exams in order to satisfy their legislation, they should pay for them.

The NZ CAA, and all the leech-like companies hanging off it's coat-tails, are a joke. They are probably the worst enemy of pilots in NZ. They get sued, they lose, it costs them hundreds of thousands of dollars, but they never learn.

And as for safety culture... don't get me started...

123567

STNR = Stop Trying Nobody responds



Seriously though i'm surprised no one could tell you what it means - it's an ICAO abbreviation meaning Stationary.

For example:

"SYNOPSIS...STNR FNT WL CONT DURG FCST PD FROM NRN PTN ATLC SWRN
NEW YORK FIR SWWD THRU FL STRAITS TO NERN TIP YUCATAN PEN. WDLY
SCT TSRA EXP EITHER SIDE OF FNT MAINLY FROM NRN BAHAMAS"

Don't you just love them ICAO Acronyms

Ideeal

ASL

If you're obviously going to increase the fee's, how's about including weekends in your exam timetable to allow for those of us outside the square.

I'm sick and tired of having to take time off work to sit these exams. As if the exam's aren't expensive enough, without a loss in wages!!!

And as for the breakdown of the exam cost, perhap's could you explain the massive difference in price between CPL and ATPL? Last time I checked, they were both professional exam's, often been sat by pilot's in the lower pay level's of aviation.

DragonflyDH90

I tend too agree with everything that you all have been saying.

Making noises on a forum that probably doesnt even get read by anyone at ASL achieves nothing but perhaps to vent a little frustration and further annoy youself in the process.

As you may have noticed by now the comments form that goes with the exams is just a token, as with so many of the touchy feely rubbish customer feedback reports used by a lot of companies, and probably is quite good for lighting the fire in the office at ASL.

I feel the best option is to write direct to the General Manager and see what kind of response you get, a letter to the Consumer Affairs Department wouldnt go amiss either.

ASL have been screwing over pilots for years, mostly with regard to exam content and quality, correctness,and relevence to actual aviating (I dont have a problem with the flight test fees or the flight test examiners as such).

I thought there was something within consumer law regarding having a monopoly, I dont see any competition in the market for ASL.

What do you guys think? Random posting is fine but it doesnt achieve much.

Sqwark2004

Maybe someone can organise a petition (?) / suggestion post on PPRuNe which can be printed out after a set date and posted/emailed to ASL, Cosumer Affairs, Fair Go etc etc.

I would love to do it myself but I have no idea how to go about it.

Any ideas?????


S2K4eva

The Holy Grail

Hmm, not often there is universal agreement on this website!

I think the level of service has dropped, it is getting harder to book exams, takes longer to get the results! As for consistency - the only consistency is the level of inconsistency!!

ASL (CAA side kicks) take your price increases and stick them up your arse (sideways!)

Sqwark2000

Nothing more about the fee increase in the latest newsletter (June), so they would be struggling to introduce a new fee by July 1.

Just as long as it's not in the next week when I apply for my last ASL exam ( hopefully)

S2K