Ethiopian Experience
Employment with Ethiopian has its good and bad points and I wish to pass on my experience to help those considering this contract. Being fully aware of the Pro’s and Con’s, will aid your decision whether this contract is for you and at least it allows you to develop the right metal attitude to deal with the difficulties you will face if you decide its worth the effort.
Addis Ababa is a developing city with quite a lot of construction going on and the associated noise and dust that goes with these activities. The people are friendly and in general leave you alone, although there is the occasional beggar and street child that can hassle you for some small changes. Occasionally you will be approached by people in the street that will say hello to you and immediately try and be your friend, ths is a ploy to get you to spend some money. These are minor irritants but they can become annoying over time.
You will stay in Harmony Hotel for the training period which is quite OK and not far from Airport. You will use company transport to travel to and from the training center at the airport and very quickly will discover what and unorganized mess this service is. No doubt during your training you will find yourself turning up late for a sim ride due to non-punctual company transport. The additional stress this creates is definitely undesired.
The administration staff are extremely nice and helpful but unfortunately this does not extend to the simulator training department were you will be expected to know everything even though you will not be given any manuals with which to study. All that is provided for study material are files on a USB drive. For some pilots including myself this is not sufficient. Hard copies are a must for learning. Files on a computers are acceptable later on, as a source of reference.
In the simulator you will very quickly find that the simulator instructors use methods of training from the Victorian Era. Techniques such as raising their voices in condescending tones, snide comments and belittlement seem to be the tools of their trade. Methods that thankfully have all but been eradicated at the more enlightened airlines and training establishments. Pilots that desperately need the job must develop a hardened mental attitude to ward off such attacks. Whatever grief you get from the simulator instructor or Training Captain will be nothing in comparison with the verbal abuse (in local Aramaic) the First Officer receives. It is only human to feel some compassion for the F/O when you see another keen (although inexperienced) colleague being treated in such a despicable way but you will just have to harden up and ignore it, if you wish to pass. Making comments in defense of your first office only makes things worse.
On the line you may find that even though your training is progressing well the Training Captain will delay your check–ride. Many have speculated that this is a way to crew aircraft that otherwise would not have a F/O. I cannot be certain either way whether this rumor or point of view has any merit but the number of people who have expressed this idea is growing. Always remind yourself that Ethiopian only pays you $60/day until you are checked to line.
It is reasonable to accept the argument that the whole training process is so full of issues and that the training department is so castigatory in there methods precipitating so many pilots having pulled out of the process that the airline does not wish to waist money paying full salaries until the pilots are checked out. The system needs fixing but while pilots keep turning up to avail themselves of the opportunity at $60/day they will continue with the status quo.
When you are checked to line you will come face to face with the crew scheduling department who will attempt to roster you over 100 hours in 20 days. They will also roster you at times in contravention to their Flight Time limitations. This you either accept or reject, its up to you. If you chose to reject such duty then you must travel out to the airport before every erroneous duty to have it rectified. A phone call is not sufficient, you must go in person and quote the applicable rule or regulation that is being breached and have the duty changed to meet legal requirements.
B737 pilots will have to be prepared mentally to be rostered six consecutive night flights of (seven to eight hours duration) coupled with being unable to get sufficient sleep during the daytime because of the noisy environment that exists around the city. 767 pilots are better off than their 737 colleagues,getting time off down route with quite surroundings.
Jobs are scarce in Europe and the US at the moment and it is understandable that some pilots will feel the need to give this job ago and I wish you all the best of luck. Quite a number of expat pilots have joined Ethiopian and have been with the company for quite a while. There are some pilots that are happy with the working conditions at the airline, so not all is doom and gloom.
The main issues for expat pilots joining the company are not insurmountable.
The easiest solution to improve the situation would be the employment of expatriate simulator instructors and the upgrading of some expat line captains to training duties (A system that works very well in China). A full and thorough audit by Star Alliance to highlight and then correct the erroneous rostering. A thorough overhaul of how the Transport department is organized and managed.
The flying standards at the airline are high but fatigue is still the silent killer and good flying standards are only part of the equation to avoiding another potential accident.
Ethiopian Airlines has a bright future but only if they keep improving and correcting the simple issues I have outlined here.