I Flew for Solenta for over 4 years. They are not a bad operator. I never had to (and was never asked) do anything illegal, always paid on time. Sure they waited longer than they should have to pull us out of Abidjan and I was the 1st one ready to evac if required there after. I never had any major come back for grounding an unserviceable aircraft. I always had a good working relationship with the office.
Let me dispell any miss givings. They dont care about you they care about the bottom line. It is a buisness. It is very different work experience for the crew than it is for managers sitting in there offices in JHB. They will never understand work ethic of pilots. They dont realise what it takes for all the crew and engineers to get the aircraft flying (within the boundaries of the law). They dont know what it takes to be away from your family and friends for some times 11 months of the year (as you are always helping them out). As we dont fully understand the logistics in keeping the admin and legal side of things going and what ever else that goes on in JHB.
The bottom line for all you guys is you need a job they are hiring! I would recommend Solenta not over anyone else but they are not all that bad! I know the new CP has upset half the guys there but give it time I am sure he will manage to upset the other half soon enough.
They are using you to get the job done and you are using them to gain experience and cash. So go get the experience and make sure you can get as much cash out of them as possible (and ratings) and then go to your airline job!
