This is not a thread about Oba1 of Arik-land. It's primarily about late pay cheques.
But, in fairness, I'll try and make observations as to why others leave and stay.
Obviously, for indigenous pilots who want to work at home, there aren't a lot of choices. The entire spectrum of Nigerian aviation has its issues, with a few glimmers of hope. It would seem that the entire airline could be staffed with indigenous pilots, since they are available 12 months a year. But reality gets in the way.
Arik needs expats to operate today, and probably for a long time, if it remains in business that long. Even government owned Nigerian Airways had expats. I don't think that's what you're looking for, so enough of that.
For expats; the rotation roster is better than many places, but only because they have to. It was pointed out recently by senior management that, "successful airlines don't have rotations. Arik must because it has too". In a nutshell, expats wouldn't come here without a rotation (like they do for Emirates), and Arik needs expats (as does Emirates, and many other airlines around the world).
Whether the roster is 4/4, or 8/4, most pilots are reasonably OK with either. Sure, 4/4 (or more accurately 30/30) is good, but the A330 crews already have 15/15. It must, however, be pointed out that every combination of rotation have pilots leaving. Message to management: ROTATION SCHEMES ALONE WON'T KEEP PILOTS!
PAY: the bad things. I'll spare you a dissertation, when you've already read through the thread. One additional point I'll offer is that the top management was told recently that the pilots had to be paid ON TIME to keep them from leaving. The response was perhaps to pay an extra $200 each month as a sort of "late fee", and continue to pay whenever they felt like it to the bad Arik Pilots (B737, CRJ, Q400, HS25). They don't get it. Next message to management: PAY ON TIME!
PAY: the good things. If you're a Global Express or A330 pilot, you will be paid on time. Every HiFly pilot, of course, is paid on time by their company. In addition, Global and Hifly pilots enjoy business class travel. For whatever bizarre reason, the rest (B737, CRJ, Q400, HS25) sit in the cattle section. Dear management: MAKE BUSINESS TRAVEL EXACTLY THAT; IN BUSINESS CLASS FOR ALL.
Some people stay to get those last hours in the log to get their ATPL, or minimums to apply to Emirates or Turkish. So, no matter how bad it is, even if they're not getting paid, they will stay until that magical day arrives with a job offer elsewhere.
The equipment is generally VERY good. Maintenance is also VERY good.
Some people are redundant / furloughed and will work anywhere that will pay until they can move on. I guess that makes this airline good for them.
Some have been promised, or believe, that they will be upgraded / moved to larger aircraft. That hasn't proven to be a practical belief, but pilots will hang onto to any glimmer of hope. And every airline management knows to say "big airplane" every time there's a pilot issue.
Some need the money. We actually have a TINY percentage of pilots who left another pilot job that paid lower money. It happens.
And some, perhaps, couldn't get a job any where else. Surely, there are those whose background is dubious.
So, there you have it.
Last edited by Oba1kanobe; 19th Sep 2010 at 03:31.