Sit down with your laptop next to the phone, look up the NZ white pages online, and call up the handful of operators in NZ, should take you all of 30-45mins, even that is an over estimate, and you will get the picture.
Any Link hiring doesn't even put a dent in the number of pilots out there under rocks from years gone by, along with the new ones qualifying.
Twin operators are quickly reducing in NZ as more turn to the C208 or are going bankrupt, so very soon Eagle will be the main contender to get your multi time!
Experienced pilots staying put and not moving in mid-size operators.
Anywhere but NZ is the place to be for a flying job, though I think you will find there are hard times in quite a few places. Indonesia has the new time on type rule for expats, Australia wants 500 multi PiC all round, Flybe in Europe looks to be about to dump some pilots by the looks.
What makes me laugh is the recent sale of Air NZ shares, dire warnings all through the media of how "Volatile" and precarious the aviation industry is so be warned before you invest. Yet for spending your money to be qualified as a pilot its the golden road the whole way isn't it, and pilot shortages abound.
"big jets"/"carriers"...
1 new A320/737NG=6-8 pilots at a guess?
1 new wide body= 12-16 pilots ?
1 new Tprop = 4-6 ?
Depending on the size of the company you get better economies of scale as the company gets bigger with more pilots of course, but you get the gist.
So, is there any carrier out there expanding so massively enough to hoover not only the pilot ranks in NZ expanding by some 220 new pilots a year, but those also unemployed from the previous years???
(Yeah probably Emirates!!! -min experience 3000hrs+1500 jet hrs required)
Also take into account availability of our Australian cousins and experienced NZ/Auz pilots overseas hankering to come back home.
Not necessarily doom and gloom, but I hope this alters the Dream you were sold instead of a Reality.
Last edited by DeltaT; 22nd Nov 2013 at 03:18.