After more than 25 years with Cargolux I can only recommend all Wannabes to reconsider their application.
It`s not the best choice in Europe anymore.
It certainly has been a great airline with fantastic people (I miss the Icelanders so much) with a great spirit and a good CWA.
This all changed when the Qataris took the Swissair shares, sold them some time later but left this chinese traitor in position as CFO and interim CEO.
Mr. R.F. almost scuttled South African Airlines:
"Forson has resigned abruptly from the national airline, but declined to comment yesterday on the reason for his departure. However, it is understood that his departure is linked to the R7bn in currency-hedging losses suffered by SAA in 2002-03."
So he ran away after causing big disaster.
Now he is our new Chief Financial Officer !
But the worst is yet to come.
Our new CEO Mr. D.R. who had to leave Kühne & Nagel on account of wrong strategy with resultant high losses.
In exchange we lost our best and most reputable manager, Mr. Robert van der Weg. He was the key figure in Cargolux as VP Sales.
And where do we stand today ?
Management cancelled our CWA a year ago which basically means, that we lost all our privileges which we fought for in the past 20+ years.
Luxembourg protects it`s employers not the employees.
Without a CWA, Cargolux can offer new pilots whatever they are in the mood for.
They don`t need to abide by the old CWA.
Significant lower salaries (B scale = A scale minus 5 or more), less OFF days, less vacation, full 13th month salary only after 5 years, just to name a few...
With the introduction of the new EASA FTL rules Cargolux can implement minimum limitations which will have tremendous impact on our quality of life.
As if that were not enough, management drives a wedge between pilots and the rest of the company. And it`s working.
So I`m asking everybody in Luxembourg, how much intelligence is necessary to figure out, that an airline needs pilots ???
Here an oversimplification:
1- Airline owns aircrafts to make money
2- Pilots needed to fly aircrafts
3- No pilots no money.
4- Airline goes bankrupt
5- Pilots find another job anywhere in the world
6- Ground staff No job anymore
As long as the witch-hunt doesn`t come to an end, Cargolux is by far the worst choice at the moment.
Consider Far East: same treatment for much more money
