I must say it is interesting to see these threads develope. It is quite amusing when you go back about a year through the threads on this subject (Panam). Some posts that were written by people planning to go to Panam accused Panam instructors of being negative and ungreatful. Now these people are at Panam and now they realise that what was said is true! But good on you for having the guts to go there and give it a go. If you dont try then you never know!
I know that for some people who read them it is difficult for them to comprehend that what is being said is in fact true. For those who have not been in the Panam situation you cannot possible comprehend it! For those who have never worked at Panam don't just think these instructors are being negative or ungreatful. That is not the case at all. I know people tend to become emotive when they have just lost their job and been humiliated and yeah... maybe their view of things is not exactly straight and could be somewhat bias. But read between the lines. People would not be so stupid as to make up a bunch of lies. Look at what the majority of posts are saying.
In my experience ..... I was one of the first instructors at Panam in September 2004. We were all excited about the prospects of being the first certified foreign instructors ever in China. We had high hopes for the company and for ourselves with the airlines in China. We were told we would be flying 120+ hours a month and that as a senior instructor most of the time would be a King Air
AND after one year we would get the chance at the right hand seat of an A320.
Once we started flying things started to go down like a lead balloon. We were expected to go flying with shocking visibility no VFR maps, no IFR charts, no security passes and no Chinese licence. Immediately corners started to be cut and instructors were being asked to sign things off in logbooks that had not been completed. By far most of the instructors refused to do so. Many instructors waited more than 6 months for their licences .... I personally waited for more than one year and was NEVER issued a Chinese licence despite passing three flight tests and the written exams first go.
We started to see extremely low hour pilots appear on the scene and be put in management positions. Some of these inexperienced pilots wanted to (and did) go flying in extreme icing conditions in aircraft with no de icing equipment. Those who spoke out against such things were labelled as being "LAZY" and "Unproductive" and it was decided that it was up to the CFI's discretion whether we flew in icing conditions. People who flew in conditions below the CAAC met minima with no alternate and at night were openly promoted despite the breeches of safety within 4 hours of the first CFI resigning.
Things have even got worse since then
. Those who falsify training records,make false entries in logbook using other peoples licence details and forging their signatures (I know for a fact my licence details were used and signature was forged to falsify logbooks and training records for training that was not even done), those who send other people to represent themselves for a medical check and those who have near miss with a 737 are promoted and given a Citation rating despite them having less hours and experience than your average PPL.
I remember one time I refused to fly in icing conditions when the forcaste viz was 3000m reducing below 1000m. The "ALL KNOWING" dispatcher told me "But you must fly". When I refused to fly the dispatcher then went to one of the directors and asked that I be fired for "Being Lazy". The safety issues were too endless to list. It was like living in a mad house. When the DA42s came things got even worse
... I saw instructors almost getting into fist fights over places on the list to just to get a flight in them. I remember thinking at one point "If a$$ holes were aircraft I could easily be mistaken and think I was working at a flight school" It would get to the point where you think "This cant possibly get any worse" .... and then it would
!
I was eventually fired from Panam too for my refusal to fly without a Chinese licence and bringing to the attention of management matter concerning safety. For me it was the best thing that they could have done for me. It got me out of a diabolical situation. I was much better out off there.
Things at Panam will never change. You are dealing with a totally different mentality. The Chinese do not think the same as us "Laowei" (Foreigners). The Chinese management will continue do the things the way they want to do them. They will continue to put people in management positions that they can manipulate. That is how it will always be .. that is the Chinese way. Look at China's history and communism. It is ABSOLUTE CONTROL ... for some Chinese that is all they have known and that is all that they know to do! Trying to change it is like banging you head against the great wall of China.
So to those have been fired, those who will be fired, those who of you who have been cheated and lied to and stabbed in the back colleagues. Don't let Panam poison your view of China! Don't let Panam break you, don't let it get you angry and bitter ... Dont let Panam win! Take a step back from the situation and look at things objectively. Take the positive aspects of the experience and be thankful. Take the negative experiences and let it make you a stronger person so you can move on in life more prepared.
And to those who are thinking of going to Panam to work. My advice is think very hard before you make a decision. Do your home work. Read the threads and get in touch with those that are there. Make an informed decision. And if you read the threads on here about Panam and think "NO way! it cant be as bad as that" ... you would be right! It is not as bad as that .... it is worse
!