Slasher:
DEFINITLEY not interested.
Rest assured ValuAir will also be not interested in you , but DEFINITELY there are a lot of pilots who are interested. Now this is where it gets very interesting, exciting and it would be just as interesting to track the operation and growth of ValuAir.
Budget or no frills airlines operates differently and requires a different breed of professional pilots. They will do 6-8 sectors in just as many hours or less and get paid less than their glamorous counterparts in a major airline. They don’t do night-stops and will operate single type without benefit of moving up to wide bodies. In Airline business everyone knows that it takes a big fortune just so you can make a small fortune. These airlines are all about saving cost and giving it back to budget concious air travellers.Saving cost also means getting the best pilots for what they can offer littlest. So if you are long haul types, higher paid or expat types, you will probably not be seeking here. Would there be pilots (CAAS licensed TR A320) willing to invest their future on a yet to be proven, stable or profitable airline? Probably and maybe for reasons other than financial gain.Immediate captaincy,to be pioneers in a growing company, to have a hand in shaping an airline, to be known by first name by the CEO, and a whole bunch of other reasons a fat paycheck cannot give.
However for every 1 pilot that is in a major airline there are scores more of struggling wannabes from crop dusting bush pilots, self-sponsored GA pilots, smaller regional airlines pilots (local pay vs Singapore Dollar) that are interested, probably more for their FO positions. Terms & conditions are probably secondary compared to being given the opportunity to fly a mainstream modern commercial jet.Ask any freshly graduated pilots. Selecting those that fit ValuAir profile, with the necessary experience and retaining them for a longer term will be a challenge. This is where the HRM and DFO will differ but always remember, it will only take a minor incident due to inexperienced crew to jeopardize a fledgling startup or even ruin it.
Finding suitable candidates will not be so critical with 2 airframes but if and I believe it will, grow then it may pose a challenge. Air Asia is already resorting to cadet sponsoring and Easyjet has their TRSS. You will want pilots that share the optimism, the enthusiasm and vision of the company. Who knows, some major may acquire Valuair and you got your ticket to the wide bodies.Goodluck Valuair.
