i'm not going to confirm that 43 is racist but it's a no brainer that racism is very prevalent in south african aviation. it's an industry with a very big single race dominating and recently other races were open to join up, so there's going to be a lot of discrimination to the new entrants-that's a fact. the dissapointment is that a lot of the priviledged people are not embracing this opportunity to have equal status to all south african residents but they are painting themselves in the corner and pointing that the measures to level the field are not fair.
when SAA and the government decided on the cadet programme they seeked to address this issue but all the targets they have set have been missed. you must also understand that for SAA only to have a BEE program(which no longer exists anyway) is not enough. SAA is not the only aviation company in SA. Look at other private companies, flying schools, airport operators, and ask yourself, is there a real vision to address centuries of unfair treatment to other human races in our contry.
just look at the replies,apparently if a black person goes into aviation, it's because they have political connections. i beg to differ.
to all aspirant pilots of colour i suggest they ignore totally, all calls refering them as inferior and flying because of the gravy train. i'm not on gravy train. i pay for all my training because of the satisfaction i get in flying. like the guy from Kenya airways, he had no idea of the situation in SA at first and he got a bit of a surprise.THE THINGS YOU HEAR BEING SAID IN AFRIKAANS IN THE BRIEFING ROOMS ABOUT BLACK PILOTS, SOMETIMES MAKES YOU WONDER IF SA IS STILL UNDER VERWOED. ..........for me what i do, i know myself, i fly. i enjoy it, i have fun. if you don't like it ....tough. fortunately i got an opportunity to have good financial base from my previous work. not many people are that lucky. very few ACTUALLY .
i agree that no one should continue flying if they are not safe. i would't go flying if i thought i can't hack it. i love airplanes too much to intentionally bend one.
FINALLY, I WOULD LIKE TO APOLOGISE TO ALL THOSE INDIVIDUALS IN SA AVIATION WHO ARE TRULY COMMITTED TO NON-RACIAL AVIATION IN SA. I HAVE WORKED WITH LOTS OF INSTRUCTORS AND PILOTS WHO WON'T JUDGE YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR RACE AND SOME OF THEM WERE VERY GOOD MENTORS OF MINE.
Last edited by contrails8; 29th May 2010 at 08:55.