The problem with this industry is that there will ALWAYS be people prepared to work for nothing just for a chance at flying a plane, for wearing the cool uniform, telling their mates they are an airline pilot. I can’t blame them. I was like that myself once, flying skydiving aircraft for free to get hours. I saw an ad today for Eagle Jet in the US offering a chance to fly a B747 freighter in the Middle East - just pay $59,000 US and it’s all yours! So I guess the lure of flying for ANG is too tempting for some.
Unfortunately the dream soon becomes a nightmare when you find out that you are stuck in a third world **** hole (just quoting the US president), getting paid sweet FA, always tired, stressed out, even too scared to go for a walk outside the compound. You don’t get to go home when you expect, the aircon in your room doesn’t work and you get bitten by 100 mosquitos and end up with dengue fever or malaria, you are treated like scum (anyone wanting to know how racism feels - this is the job for you), the roster you get isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on, crewing will constantly call and change your plans, and I could go on all day with other examples of why it totally sucks.
I was there for 9 years. The first 2-3 years were great. I thought I had the best job in the world - good money, great flying, good mates to drink with and tell war stories at the bar. But that all changed about the time O’Neil became PM. O’Neil’s government gambled on making money from oil and gas. They borrowed big from China. Port Moresby was gonna be the new Dubai of the Pacific they touted. The mood in PNG became very anti-foreigner, especially Australian. At one time I had an M16 rifle pointed at my head by the police who stole my money (they called taking all my money at the point of a gun a fine) after they chased me and accused me of speeding. But the price of oil plummeted and the rest is history. Now PNG is an economic basket case.
The management at ANG also changed at that time and a new policy termed the Value Enhancement Program (VEP) was introduced. This basically involved cutting all pilots benefits, a 30 percent pay cut, and a policy to rid the airline of expats. It was basically a crusade by upper management to put the pesky pilots in their place. This totally destroyed the morale of all pilots, expat and national alike. Over the next three years 120+ pilots resigned. The exodus of pilots brought ANG to its knees.
All those new hires will feel the same after 6-12 months max, I guarantee. There is not one single expat at ANG now who genuinely wants to be there. There are some who are stuck for varying reasons but none of them want to be there. I know because they are my friends and they tell me.
Good luck to you if you go but please don’t ever say nobody warned you. There are over 1000 posts on this thread - if you didn’t read them more fool you!!!
By the way if you really want to be an airline pilot so much I reckon you’d be better off paying the 59 grand and doing the 747 freighter gig myself - a lot less stress!
Eagle Jet International, Inc.