Very good insight into this rumor from you all. I would bet a year's salary that it was promoted by LAN, very well known for their mistreatment of employees, specially flight and deck crews. Did you know that COPA airlines made a pilot recruitment in Ecuador a few months ago, offering good packages and benefits, at leats for the region. Do you know how many of the LAN pilots got hired there???.... Not a single one, and yes, many applied. One wonders, ummmm!!
As for the English tests, about 80% of the LAN Chile pilots didn't pass and that is why the "old yeller" Captains keep flying next to younger, much more competent F.Os. (in terms of language skills at least) to US destinations, another reason why it takes them 8-11 years for UPGs. Oh, and in LAN Ecuador, around 90% didn't pass, mainly because of the background of the majority of their latest hirees, Air Force low levels which are the happiest with the crapy salary they earn for the 1000 hrs they fly a year compared to the previous much crapier salary they used to get.
One wonders how these arilines want to make it to the top in the world, certainly they won't by hiring incompetent crew members and paying them the lowest possible hoping that would have them happy in the saddle.
Good luck to all those passengers brave enough to put up to this...
