I worked for this mob not that long back and would advise the following...
In my opinion, holding professional qualifications such as a CPL/ATPL and M/E CIR with 1500+ hours (av qual's of guys joining) deserves respect in my book. The same way I respect engineers for all the hard work they have done to get where they are.
Aero Tropics shows absolutely no respect to their pilots and makes you feel like absolute scum... for what? Oh yeah, they are giving you the “privilege” of flying a twin (BN2!) on "so called" RPT routes... wow!
Get your hand off it Aero Tropics and start treating your pilots with the respect and decency they and all others deserve. And while im on a roll, take a good look at the “Check and Training” that you are providing... everything from line training, endorsements and checks are by far the worst standards I have come across.
The moral amongst pilots was that of constant everyday negativity towards the company and their operations and the like stated above.
If your are reading this RL start making some changes mate... I know you and other management have tried to address these concerns in the past by making special trips to Horn but talk is cheap cobba. It takes more than a free feed at the pub and cheap XXXX Gold cans to win over an angry group of pilots.
They didn't have the training bond when I was there but to hear that these poor blokes are now being bonded truely indicates the type of people who are running the show. And before people start saying that they "had" to bond people cause they have such a high turn over of pilots well that again is their own fault... Its pretty simple logic - pay them correctly, give them an organised week (a real roster), give them a chance to get to Cairns to see the real world every now and then and for god sake treat them with some respect.
These pilots are not 200hr fresh CPL's, they have some decent experience under their belts and shouldn't be forced into doing jobs as sweeping hangar floors or washing the head engineers cars just to prove they are a "company" man.
All I can say is, if you want to treat your pilots like this, don’t get p!ssed off when they pack up and leave at short notice... bonding is not the answer... not even close.
And to top it off, due to some expansion and securing some new contracts, Aero Tropics is seen by potential new pilots as being up there with Skytrans, Hinterland etc... New pilots beware, Aero Tropics does not even come close to these companies.
I thought I had a pretty bad job before I joined Aero Tropics... I say no more.
Last edited by dougiehouserMD; 9th Sep 2005 at 06:11.