My 4 years in wzz was a very good experience, as i mentioned here before. Met some excellent people, learned a lot, but it was time to move on. Never in those 4 years i have witnessed or heard of any kind of bribing to get in to or stay in (after a failed check for example) the company. Believe me, whoever failed or got fired was due to always a very good reason, nothing personal,
afaik. For failed pilots there was always a chance to retrain and recheck again, there was always a second chance, but of course some had a really ****ty attitude, and left like crybabies venting their frustration out about the company all over the show. On the other hand the company i recently flew for, due to their highly unionised nature, had some people who were impossible to get rid of, regardless their performance both in the box and on the line. I wouldn't say that not having a union at all is a good thing, but having one wagging the company like it's tail can have results like people getting upgraded solely due to their seniority and not merit, etc. Could also lead to bankruptcy if it is combined with management who are just simply not having a clue on what they are doing. On the taxing issue it really depends on your homebase and that specific country's double taxation treaty with Switzerland. In some countries it is perfectly legal to be on a local contract, paying social locally, but taxed on your income in Switzerland. In some countries it is not - wzz uk contract for example. Confair contractors are a different kettle of fish, of course. Not too sure on what's going on there, but it looked fishy to me from the beginning so i chose a local gig for my time with them. The bond back then was fairly straightforward as well: roughly 400 euros pm for 15 months and 3 months resignation notice. Left on good terms. Did flew 900 hrs or close to every year, most of the time didn't get vacation when i wanted but then i have never felt forced into accepting flights on off days or using commander's discretion. No questions asked afterwards if i didn't feel like extending. Getting a reference letter from hr was easy, from flt.ops not so much, but then they gave me one after a few emails exchanged. That's my 2 cents. Do i recommend them? Yes, bcoz of brilliant training, maintenance and excellent people i met and no, due to the ever changing roster, not getting vacation and ****ty bases (most of them).