1time resignations
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By the sounds of it,they need to advertise for a new DFO,he has really lost the plot,and management needs to address that, as the pilots are the heart of the airline,without them you have no airline,come on 1 time directors time has come for some action,or close your doors,there are really good guys there,get rid of the rubbish and get some people that know what they are doing.
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If managers of these airlines fail to realise that "low cost" cannot and must not extend to the human beings who operate complex machinery....then they are on a slippery slope in deed!!
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Lost total of 11 pilots so far from May '10 until Jan '11. Further 2 have interviews pending at SAA, another 2 currently being interviewed by Emirates. Chief of Training leaving for Comair next year, at least 5 pilots have CV's at SAX awaiting interview. Another 2 to 4 senior Captains looking to leave next year ASAP. Hardly any training department left over, but that's no reason to remove rose tinted glasses and wake-up to the reality that 1time is not, nor will ever be, a career airline.
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Artrides
I agree with your sentiments but to be fair do you think all those pilots leaving would've stayed even if they were earning 50% more than they are now. I think the answer is a definate NO! Look at the demographics of all those leaving, they all range in age from 28-34.There is no way they were going to turn down an oppurtunity such as SAA or Emirates. There is no doubt that in the long run ( and lets face it these guys have a long career ahead of them) SAA and Emirates are better places to be. I think other airlines like Sax ,Comair and Airlink will also have this problem it's not just 1 time.
CB
I agree with your sentiments but to be fair do you think all those pilots leaving would've stayed even if they were earning 50% more than they are now. I think the answer is a definate NO! Look at the demographics of all those leaving, they all range in age from 28-34.There is no way they were going to turn down an oppurtunity such as SAA or Emirates. There is no doubt that in the long run ( and lets face it these guys have a long career ahead of them) SAA and Emirates are better places to be. I think other airlines like Sax ,Comair and Airlink will also have this problem it's not just 1 time.
CB
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I agree...to a point.
Comair didn't lose practically their entire training department in one go. The gripes the 1time crew have seem trivial: proper crewmeals, proper crew transport, proper rostering. Let's see if any guys walk over to Comair and SAX, and there probably will be cases of this happening.
Comair didn't lose practically their entire training department in one go. The gripes the 1time crew have seem trivial: proper crewmeals, proper crew transport, proper rostering. Let's see if any guys walk over to Comair and SAX, and there probably will be cases of this happening.
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Those are extremely trivial and not the main issue. The roster is fine by all reports, meals are not that bad. Just eating the same old menu is the issue here. Transport is sorted, so. The biggest issue is salary. Everyone understands the budget airline philosophy, but not the budget pilot one. The request is for a comparable wage to the competitors not an equal wage. Stop screwing the crew when management take a hefty bonus and claim no cashflow. It is told that they are sitting up a bit now, with the latest rush of resignations.
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It's pointless arguing over the internet about issues I agree with you about, and ones that I do not. You have your right to be positive. I will only believe these commitments the day they are implemented. There have been too many broken promises over the years, and too much incompetence from management on all levels. But hey, there are enough other jobs out there to keep me happy.
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Beak- not sure where you get your gen from, but the crew bus issue is far from sorted. It will only be sorted when there are 2 busses running simultaneously and crews dont have to wait, 30 mins after some flights, to get picked up and taken back to ops. 
Right now we are still waiting and only ONE bus is being used.
Right now we are still waiting and only ONE bus is being used.
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Beak: think you should check your gen before posting on threads like this! There are far more issues then salary! At anyone time of the day you will see 1time standing outside the terminal waiting for crew transport, sometimes 2-3 crews( 12-18 people)crew meals are shocking!!!*lot of the pairings if you do not eat the crew meals, you will not eat for the day!crew night stopping between 10-13 times a month, with rosters exceeding 90 hrs a month.....on top of that, much less then market standard salarys!alas, all this seems to be changing, big promises been made, now all they got to do is deliver!
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"or close the doors"
... well isn't that a little extreme? You can't think of anything alse for the directors to do, please? Something that means those who have jobs at 1time, and are having fun, can continue to do so?
I think there is always going to be a draw to the majors from a low cost airline, and I think those young guys who have the opportunity, should go to them.
I think leaving an airline because of crew meals is a little sad... And, as it happens, the meals aren't that bad actually, a little obscure at times, perhaps, but not bad. Certainly better than the cold, mayonnaise-ridden stuff I had in the last airline I was in.
1time is a small airline, with only 70 or so pilots. So, any major draw from the big boys, is going to have a disproportionate affect on pilot numbers. At the moment. it's loosing a lot of guys, yes. Some of those guys happen to be from training positions, but the manegement have already outsourced a proportion of that training to Swiss International, so things won't come to a grinding halt. That, of course, has cost implications that the bosses will decide wether they can afford or not.
I chatted to the chief pilot's PA yesterday, she has 160 new cv's to look at since the ad in the Sunday Times, so there is no shortage of people wanting to join the airline. They must just be aware of what thet are going into. It's a low cost airline with a management who seems to be lagging in their view of what a competitive salary is, that's all. The pilots must stop being so emotional about that and see themselves as a commodity. If they do that, they can react to the market as such, and come or go as they see fit, but leave the emotions out of it. 1time is 6 years old, there is no way it has the cash reserves that SAA or 60 year old Comair has, it's not, at the moment, going to be able to retain pilots like those two airlines can. Guys who want to join 1time, must know that from the outset. Sooner or later, the expense of losong pilots and having to rehire new ones, will take it's toll, and management will have to come round. (Sooner, I hope)
Management must react to the pilot market as they react to the airline market - SHOW THEM THE MONEY !
But, as a place to go to work every day - I still LOVE it !
... well isn't that a little extreme? You can't think of anything alse for the directors to do, please? Something that means those who have jobs at 1time, and are having fun, can continue to do so?
I think there is always going to be a draw to the majors from a low cost airline, and I think those young guys who have the opportunity, should go to them.
I think leaving an airline because of crew meals is a little sad... And, as it happens, the meals aren't that bad actually, a little obscure at times, perhaps, but not bad. Certainly better than the cold, mayonnaise-ridden stuff I had in the last airline I was in.
1time is a small airline, with only 70 or so pilots. So, any major draw from the big boys, is going to have a disproportionate affect on pilot numbers. At the moment. it's loosing a lot of guys, yes. Some of those guys happen to be from training positions, but the manegement have already outsourced a proportion of that training to Swiss International, so things won't come to a grinding halt. That, of course, has cost implications that the bosses will decide wether they can afford or not.
I chatted to the chief pilot's PA yesterday, she has 160 new cv's to look at since the ad in the Sunday Times, so there is no shortage of people wanting to join the airline. They must just be aware of what thet are going into. It's a low cost airline with a management who seems to be lagging in their view of what a competitive salary is, that's all. The pilots must stop being so emotional about that and see themselves as a commodity. If they do that, they can react to the market as such, and come or go as they see fit, but leave the emotions out of it. 1time is 6 years old, there is no way it has the cash reserves that SAA or 60 year old Comair has, it's not, at the moment, going to be able to retain pilots like those two airlines can. Guys who want to join 1time, must know that from the outset. Sooner or later, the expense of losong pilots and having to rehire new ones, will take it's toll, and management will have to come round. (Sooner, I hope)
Management must react to the pilot market as they react to the airline market - SHOW THEM THE MONEY !
But, as a place to go to work every day - I still LOVE it !
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I don't think anyone is leaving or getting upset just because of crewmeals. That said, the quality and amount of the food is atrocious: 1 hot meal of questionable quality (sometimes inedible) loaded for an 11 hour duty day, but if you have more than a 1h30 turnaround anywhere forget a crewmeal. You can go into the terminal and buy it yourself. You wait for 30 minutes after being away from home on a 3 day for the bus to take you to Ops to sign-off. You may only get 1 weekend off per month (if you are lucky) on a 75 to 90 hour roster. Not a problem if you are single, but a big issue if you have a wife and kids. How about leave not getting approved for months on end, or having to apply for leave now for next year already...otherwise you don't get leave! What about the pathetic flight-watch system that gets treated (illegally) like a home-reserve until the pilot in question puts his foot down? What about being delayed day after day and recieving endless duty changes whilst trying to live your life? Are these issues not worth getting worked up about? Of course not, beacause I will be leaving within the next year because I am not having fun at all. Some folks will come with me.
P.S. How many of those phantom 160 CV's are applicants with more than 1500 hours who can replace the 5000 hour plus crew that are leaving? How many of them aren't young-guns just tired of contract work who want a foot in the door in SA, and we'll phone them before Link does? They'll probably be good in the right-hand seat, but the company is losing commanders. Not so easy to replace.
In my opinion, they can shove it.
P.S. How many of those phantom 160 CV's are applicants with more than 1500 hours who can replace the 5000 hour plus crew that are leaving? How many of them aren't young-guns just tired of contract work who want a foot in the door in SA, and we'll phone them before Link does? They'll probably be good in the right-hand seat, but the company is losing commanders. Not so easy to replace.
In my opinion, they can shove it.
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The management of 1Time has been able to progressively squeeze the crew financially for a number of years without worry, due to the poor job market. Lesser issues with rostering, transport, catering, nightstops, maintenance, pleading poverty despite extravagant bonusses, trivial politics, silly pilot slurs (FAPS anyone?) etc etc have done their part in dropping crew morale. Whatever. The attitude of "if you don't like it, then leave" prevailed. Which, honestly, is fine in a bear market.
Trouble is that, for whatever reasons, no one seems to have anticipated the inevitable upswing. So the crew IS leaving. Obviously. And not just to SAA/Emirates either. The sentiment has been brewing for too long. Losing a respected chief training captain, in your time of need, to the direct competition is quite frankly, embarrassing. And apparently rather expensive.
160 CV's? Great news. Just hope that there are a few in there that are MD80 instructor rated. It's going to take the two surviving sim instructors a while to sort the lot out. Oh, and FO's needn't really apply. Plenty of direct entry Captains please.
Good luck to us all.
My potentially hugely misguided 2 cents worth on matters that shouldn't concern me...
Trouble is that, for whatever reasons, no one seems to have anticipated the inevitable upswing. So the crew IS leaving. Obviously. And not just to SAA/Emirates either. The sentiment has been brewing for too long. Losing a respected chief training captain, in your time of need, to the direct competition is quite frankly, embarrassing. And apparently rather expensive.
160 CV's? Great news. Just hope that there are a few in there that are MD80 instructor rated. It's going to take the two surviving sim instructors a while to sort the lot out. Oh, and FO's needn't really apply. Plenty of direct entry Captains please.
Good luck to us all.
My potentially hugely misguided 2 cents worth on matters that shouldn't concern me...
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Severe Crew shortage
1 Time won`t be the only local airline affected but other local carriers as well, Emirates alone need 700 pilots in the next 5 years, with big orders placed at Boeing and Airbus from many majors meaning that they will all be recruiting heavily. Global prediction estimates 320 000 pilots needed in the next 10-15 years. So if 1 Time have them CV`s they better be looking real hard cause those CV`s are lying at SAX, Mango, Comair, SAA, Link etc too. Companies like Execujet and those operating at Lanseria etc are also going to have to get off their high horse attitudes with regards to the maybe we will look at you if you have a rating kind of thing, there are guys flying Hawkers and Gulfstreams and Learjets that are just getting their hours up and will soon be looking at moving to airlines. There might be a few old guys around that had the monopoly on for example the Gulfstream market but they wont be flying much longer due to age so those companies are in for a wake up call! All in all the market is on the up so good luck to all that want to make the move!
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Ok here is what I think, I agree with the previous posts that management took their eye off the ball in anticipating the upswing. This despite umpteen warnings from the crew. However I believe that the problems are being attended to but it can't happen overnight it takes time. So that means we need to have a little patience and try to be positive going forward, if you feel that you can't stick it out then perhaps you should seek greener pastures ( or browner if you head to Dubai). This is a job that you should love and look forward to every time you go to work, if that's not the case then there is a problem. You have 2 choices basically, you can change your attitude or change your environment, pick 1 and move on.
CB
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