Hey Monkee ...you should rather stay in the trees .. just to get those facts right:
"...I understand that last year Excel had American pilots both Captains and F/Os working for them"
As I've stated- Been there- done that & most likely_: "Uuuuups - I did it again!" - flying. .as AAI-Skipper for EXCEL during the next summer ex LGW - and as it looks right now, that's going to be four 767s this year - but that's beside the point!
I wanted to state the fact, that the colleagues, I'd been up at the flightdeck for some 6 month, are definitively mostly (about 70%!) Europeans!! i.e.: lots of Italians (Ex-AIR-Europe), some French (ex Air-Liberte), German (ex Britannia GmbH), Austrian (ex LAUDA), Belgique (ex City-bird) and "some more exotic /non-european" jockeys: . .like "Ex-Air-Mauritius" or "Ex-Vietnam-Airlines" and some Aussies from "Ex-Ansett" - just another few (!) Canadian ("Ex-Korean") folks on the 767 -
But they have all two things in common:
First: Great (wiede-body) mostly B 767-experience & professional attitude and good standards (We'd been trained by Britannia-Checkers in LGW/ GECAT) and a good laugh most of the time/ good moral!
and secondly: most of 'em come from some "Ex-Companies" -which couldn't employ them anymore, 'cause their business plan didn't work out - on the long run!. . Now they (& Me) are happy to have a suitable job again, where their professionality & loyality (!) is appreciated, and their pay-check is on the exact day on the bank!
I didn't state, that's that kind of job, I've ever dreamt of - but for the time being, its the best I can get (over 40 years) ..
And I definitively will rather do another couple of years some contract work &thus meaning, sittig @ home in the winter, than joining a "Will Fly for Food"-Airline-outfit, like that Ryan-Air thing!
Never with me -thats the REAL slavery in my eyes!
And to Xenia: Never mind some bitter colleagues here .... .Big hug to You- Hope to See You soon!
[ 26 January 2002: Message edited by: Cyberbird ]</p>