This is a warning to my fellow G550 pilots.
If you are offered work on a new G550 in India, Poonawallah Aviation, be careful.
I have seen a complete lack of integrity from the Principal and one of the Directors.
The rest of the team are excellent, Pilots are excellent, Ops staff excellent, Accountable Manager excellent (but was fired Feb 1st).
I spent 5 weeks there and they did not pay a single Rupee for salary or expenses. Of course, I was assured many times that all my expenses would be reimbursed.
They did not pay;
Any salary
Airline ticket to or from India
The hotel bill
Several internal flights
Many many taxis
Plus the bribes ...
The Principal genuinely believes that he should not pay any salary as the aircraft did not fly, despite the Accountable Manager agreeing to pay from Jan 1st.
They very generously offered to pay a salary when the aircraft was ready to fly and wanted me to wait indefinitely, could have been a few days, could have been months. Bearing in mind they had already delayed me first 6 weeks, then a month, then another month. Obviously I could not accept such a magnanimous offer, and in any case, I had other freelance work offers from Operators that actually pay pilots.
They also say they are under no obligation to pay any expenses, despite being agreed by the Accountable Manager and Ops staff.
As well, they agreed I would have medical cover in india from January 1st, but I discovered that there was no medical cover. If I had been ill, one can be sure these guys would leave you high and dry.
India is a great country to work in, and previously I have had a very very good experience. But if an owner is dishonest, you have no recourse to the courts. Therefore in my view, it has to be money in advance if a country does not have a legal system that at least gives you a chance of recovering the money.
The G550 has been parked up since 29th October awaiting C of A, etc, etc. due slow bureaucracy. That's an incredible three and a half months. If they cannot find a local pilot, they will wait perhaps another two months or more for a pilot validation and security clearance.
Why are smart people so dumb? The question has haunted servants, wives and bartenders throughout the ages !! Perhaps they have no brainpower left for common sense? If you ask the Principal a simple question, he comes up with some one of the dumbest answers you have ever heard
It seems he enjoys being laughed at? He saves a months salary and some expenses and ends up grounding a new aircraft for months ….
If you need the work and are desperate go for it, but fore-warned is fore-armed !