Point of view
I have followed this forum for a while and must say that you guys did manage to amuse me a lot. Some very nice inputs, some ridiculous, some frustrated, some truths, some lies and a lot of quotations. When Theralmccoy mixed in I decided to also contribute a few words. An honour to have an SA staff member as high ranked as you joining the tread, suppose you’re here to do damage control? (Rumour goes that someone kicked ibu S’s ass and that she’s pretty upset so you might have joined just to keep an eye on PPRUNE?) Second thing appropriate to do in this tread is to contribute a quotation: Deuteronomy 5:6-20: "Neither shall you bear false witness against your neighbor." This commandment forbids misrepresenting the truth in relations with others. This also forbids lying. Kapt Z, please don’t lecture about ethics whilst you’re lying. 
Shouldn’t have posted your DOB mate, together with Facebook (for someone that has a clue about your identity) it’s pretty easy to figure out. And why lie or trying to hide the truth? Your opinion as a SA employee is as welcome as any else.
I will of course also contribute to this tread in a positive way with some information. Maybe a little beyond the work permit issue but usable information for a guy that wants to make his mind up whether or not to join SA. I used to work for SA from June 2009 till two weeks ago as a free lance Porter pilot /instructor in Papua. At the moment I’m doing my summer job in Europe as a fire fighting pilot on the AT802. After some disagreements with the SA CEO however I feel I’m not welcome anymore at SA. No problem, no frustrations, a lot of work for a qualified pilot around, so safe me the comments about another frustrated pilot on the forum.
Let me just state a few facts.
Indonesia is a third world country although they might not be willing to admit. Bribing, paying for services and corruption are culture. SA is just one more company on the list. There wouldn’t be an AOC, nor aircraft nor foreign pilots or even SA, if it wasn’t for blending in the system. In business you cannot afford being more “Roman Catholic than the Pope”.
SA pilots work illegal. I have been working on a business visa which is illegal. The last time I entered I had a big problem explaining the immigration guy the Susi Air ID that I kept with my passport. (Stupid me, I know) I managed to convince him that I sell “knowledge and skills” as a flight instructor and that this is “business”.
I don’t have any proof of SA paying bribes, I do know however from the mouth of the “CEO aide-de-camp” that SA waits for the proper officer to be on duty to fly the new aircraft from Singapore to Jakarta to avoid to be taxed. I got this answer when asking him why there are several aircraft sitting on the ramp in Singapore, waiting to be flown to Indonesia.
Pilots licensing has been a big issue in the past and for the moment this seems solved with temporary certificates which are renewed every month. The licenses now start to arrive, however every pilot, before receiving the license which is legally his, is forced to sign a contract in which he/she states not to work for any other Indonesian company until two years after leaving SA. This might be the result of the former head of training walking out and now working for another company. He obviously preferred to earn less in change for a better job. (“Chapeau DA”)
SA doesn’t provide a medical insurance, instead promises to indemnify all medical costs. That’s nice for a handful of malaria pills but for a pilot ending up in a wheelchair after a crash it’s not a very comforting idea to be dependant on SA for the rest of his life. Because who will pay him after bankruptcy? Ibu S herself?
Maintenance is a disaster! As a result of the very fast growth of the company, management is unable to keep in pace increasing the maintenance department. In spite of some very qualified maintenance guys trying all they can; aircraft come back on line after inspections and after having been squawked without the problems solved. SA flies due to the very young fleet, any older fleet, with this kind of maintenance would be grounded. It’s impossible to recruit experienced expat engineers with the conditions SA is offering. Local Indonesian engineers and mechanics walk out because of the way they are treated and paid.
Because of the fast growth, SA is in desperate need for pilots and is hiring a lot. According to what the selection officer told me, standards change every day. When I asked him how many pilots he has to hire for this month, or this year, he just shrugged and told me he doesn’t know, as no-one can or wants to tell him. Because of the growth, experienced Papua Caravan captains are upgraded to the Porter as the market of mountain skilled and experienced Porter drivers is a small one. The most important implication here, is the fact that because of this, very inexperienced pilots are forced to fly into strips they are not ready for. In Papua that’s a potential killer.
Insufficient maintenance and inexperienced pilots make a dangerous cocktail; the question at this point is not if there is an accident to happen but when the accident will happen. You are right Therealmccoy: SA still has one of the best safety records in Indonesia but this is about to change, matter of time.
SA is investing big time the last few years with a loan of 80 million US$. No secret as this is the first ibu S will tell you after you telling her your name during introduction. Obviously the banks have faith. With this money they bought 30 new G1000 Caravans, (10 were delivered in 2009, 10 for this year and 10 for next year, totalling 40 by the end of 2011) two Augusta helicopters, two Piaggio’s P180 Avanti (Two till now, with five in the business plan they used to convince the banks) and 7 Pilatus Porters (4 in Papua at the moment, 1 sitting in Singapore and 2 more to arrive this year) SA’s problem at the moment is overconfidence. They seem to think that managing a 50+ aircraft fleet is the same as managing a single Caravan flying shrimp from Pangandaran to Jakarta.
As the growth is way to fast to handle for SA management, the company now is an upside down pyramid in very loose equilibrium. As a standard they’re running behind the facts, “bailing the boat without first sticking the plug in the bottom”. As the CEO aide-de-camp told me in January this year, local Jakarta staff is running away faster than they are able to hire new, resulting in a very inexperienced staff always in the orientating phase instead of working. My guess is that this cannot be the result of paying and treating well your employees.
A pilot invited for an interview in Jakarta is to pay for his own ticket. The selection officer wrote me this week that he hired 100 pilots during the last years out of 250 interviews. Statistically this means a 40% chance you will be hired.
If some SA pilot has insulted ATC, you're right, unforgivable but at the other hand, as a reaction on ATC insistently trying to kill you and you, as a pilot, only saving your life by ignoring ATC, it is a reaction I can understand! I refuse to discuss Indonesian pilots in general as I've met a lot of professionals amongst them. I can imagine though criticism expressed towards them; I suggest as an example you just have a look here ASN Aircraft accident British Aerospace BAe-146-300 PK-BRD Wamena (WMX) I repeat what's said before; for both ATC officers and pilots we cannot judge the group based on the behaviour of individuals. And for the same reason no-one should judge the SA pilots flying in Indonesia.
If you’re willing to fly for the conditions SA offers; go for it. You’ll be one of a group of very nice guys, looking for hours or looking to make at least a few dollars in a time we’re all living a global crisis. Okay, maybe the hours as FO don’t count in the country you come from but you’re flying a lot, building experience and you’ll be upgraded fast. If you want to do bush flying, go for it; Papua is the best environment in the world for bush and mountain flying. Africa and Alaska are jokes compared to Papua. The SA Porter drivers belong to the best bush pilots in the world, absolute professionals. As far as the tax goes, a concern of one of you; in most of the civilized countries the general rule is that if you spend more than 182 days a year outside your country, you will not be taxed over the money you made abroad.
Just make sure you have a few bucks saved for your ticket home when SA goes broke.
Last edited by Dromader; 4th Jun 2010 at 17:32.