Originally Posted by
alby2000
Hello Gents,
I recently flew with a Senior SV Captain that was positioning with us.
He was mentioning that there is a plan to restart the 777-200s after extensive D checks and that also the 747-8 freighters, along with the 4 777F, should come back on line after some setbacks they had with one of the wet lease operators. The way I understand it is that they might reopen (in the near future and for a limited period of time) the recruitment of expat pilots to man the new additions to the fleet so at the end of the day all hopes are not gone yet....
@alby2000,
The senior SV Captain you spoke to is clearly either deluded, misinformed or basically talking crap.
The B747-8F’s are mandated back into service by higher authority than the SV management. The logic being that it’s better to recoup some of the expense of purchase by flying them for Saudia Cargo, rather than pay out for an ACMI operator to fly the cargo. The same is true for the B777F’s. However, the reintroduction of these aircraft back into service will definitely NOT require ANY recruitment of expat Flight Deck Crew. The required crews are easily provided for within the existing work force. Whoever told you that is either talking out of the back of his head or his ass, most likely the latter.
It’s very unlikely that Saudia will be employing expat Flight Deck Crew anytime in the near future. They have more than sufficient Saudi National Flight Deck Crew to man the current operation. The only thing that might change this is when the airline moves to the new Jeddah Airport Terminal. That should create the opportunity for much for better optimisation of aircraft, leading to the opportunity for greater utilization. This may lead to more flights, both in terms of increased frequency & possibly some new destinations. It’s also a certainty, that should this opportunity occur, it will definitely NOT have been thought of in advance, or planned for, by the very inept and incompetent Saudi Flight Operations Management, most of whom could find their ass with both hands if they were already sitting on the crapper. This lack of foresight & advanced planning, which is de rigeur within Flight Operations management, might lead to a short term shortage of Flight Deck Crew.