kilomike_19

Hello,

I'm a Moroccan pilot student and I'm very confused with the situation of my country. In Morocco there are two major airlines. One of them take foreign F/O who paid a "self-sponsorized training".However, Moroccans have to face VERY hard (and stupid) requirements to get a F/O position. There are many Moroccans grounded waiting for a opportunity or searching contacts in the airline. The other airline is more or less in the same situation.

Aviation is dying... Pilots are paying to fly.... PAYING TO WORK ! I can't understand it. I'm doing my pilot studies abroad and I know that I' will not have posibilities to return to my country (without paying a Line Training or something like that)... Regrettably, Moroccans pilots have difficulties to fly in Morocco and also abroad. I know that many of us will pay a Line Training...and that saddens me...

The best thing is that the Moroccan government complains about the escape of skilled professionals such as pilots ... What a hypocritical country.

Greenlights

kilomike,
aviation is not dying as you say (only pilots who cant pay are "dying"). Aviation grows up and every year more and more pax travel. For the next 20 years we will need more than 500000 pilots.
I posted about this subject recently, and true thousands of pilots are willing to pay. There is no nationality about this problem. Moroccos pilots are not the only one who face with high requirements etc.
I have decided to move on the management side for these reasons you have cited.
I may contribute to P2F as the company I work for do it, but many arlines propose it anyway. I do not really approve it but as far as I know, this problem comes from pilots themselves and not airlines. When I read letters about pilots writing they are ready to pay or fly for free, nobody asked them to write it.

You say you don't understand this situation, however it is very easy to understand. Many wannabes think that flying is a hobby and not a real job.
They do not want to become a classic worker, they want to fly thinking that their job will make them very happy in life. It is more a psychologic problem as happiness it not only related to the job you do.
You have only one way to be a pilot : you need to adapt to the market. The market will never adapt to you. It is hard to accept it I know, but real life is not Disney world.

Geotracker

Hi Kilomike 19,


Well the only company recruiting moroccan local's is air arabia for the moment, so maybe you can make a chance there when you finish your pilot study. Concerning for RAM, yes they do offer pay2fly and also resumed the training of their own cadets.

But now let's talk about another thing except for RAM or any other moroccan companies. Because there is the typical ignorance and stupidity of moroccans showing off again. Instead of always blaming the moroccan companies, the moroccan local's should finally stand up and fight against european compagnies like Ryanair and Jetaifly basing their aircraft in Morocco and not employing any moroccan pilot. If these two european compagnies would finally take moroccan pilots a big part of the unemployment problem would be solved in the country. There are enough EASA qualified Moroccan pilots with the competent standards to fly for one of these carriers. The Moroccan civil aviation has to stand up and force these companies to take moroccan local pilots and not only moroccan cabin crew and ground staff (cheaper work force) like the jetarifly thieves and even paying their pilots partially with moroccan contracts so they can earn more on the back of Morocco. It's simple, 1 european pilot in morocco is equal to 1 moroccan, if not then they should ban them for basing their planes in Morocco.

kilomike_19

Geotracker, Moroccans are stupid because they think that a pilot needs to be a maths genius or something like that... Now there are many qualified pilots waiting for any vacant in Air Arabia (they have only 3 A320, so they have to wait a little bit)... Ryanair and Jetairfly have only EU pilots as you said...but, in my case, I will have a EU citizenship when I finished my studies so I can apply to this two carries isn't? Anyway, returning to Morocco is not my plan nowadays... Fortunately I'm studying to become a pilot, no a 737 or A320 pilot...I don't care the plane I will fly. I focused my studies to become a FI no for earning hours, like the majority of FI's, it's because I love teaching. Yeah, I would like to fly big birds, but not now, paying a line training without experience...I want to reinforce my skills and become a better pilot. So, for me, flying a A320 with less than 200 hours is very stupid and dangerous...

Geotracker

Well it's normal that their selection process is very tough. Because imagine you an airliner paying for your flight training and offering you a job with a fixed contract. And don't forget that RAM pilots are one of the best paid pilots around.

Well glad for you that you love instructing but beeing FI and pilot on jet are two different things. It doesn't mean that even if you have 10.000 hours of instructing that you will be better off in the handling of a jet. There are a lot of instructors who even failed airline assessments and got surpassed by low houred guys coming out of school, so it's not a guarantee I think.

Even with your EU nationality these two carriers won't take any moroccans even with a EU nationality. All the EU moroccans come seek for jobs in Morocco in the end. So really the Moroccan authorities and all moroccans should stand up and fight against these 2 european low cost carriers who bases their planes and makes huge profits on the back of morocco. There should be a law that needs to force them to take moroccan pilots if not, they should be banned.

kilomike_19

Morocco needs this two carriers to improve the tourism in the country....they don't care about pilots, and RAM will stay taking actual pilot's sons or daughters and mathes geniuses...So my unique way will be instructing or flying in Asian or African carriers....But never paying to get a job (I will never have the money to pay a Line Training 😃&#128515

What about RAM ATR's...all the staff are foreign as I know, overall F/O's

evansb

"What wrong with Morocco?"

Lovely country to visit, but since you asked..



1. It has a Constitutional Monarchy with Islam as a predominant religion, thereby limiting consumerism and large scale manufacture. (I'll leave the pundits to figure this one out)

2. The state has yet to resolve long standing issues with indigenous forces. (The Western Sahara Peace Processes have thus far failed to break the political deadlock).

3. 10% (conservative estimate) mostly male unemployment, with an increasing population putting pressure on an economy that is over-reliant upon tourism.

4. Fluctuating agricultural and minerals (their chief exports) causes financial instability.

5. A long history of European occupation and colonialism starting with Rome, Spain, Portugal and France, (the USAF SAC base at Rabat Salé Airport doesn't count as occupation, but it is telling that they were kicked out by the King of Morocco because they were "too western"), thereby supplying the populace with an inexhaustible source of excuses. (Think of Cuba's continuing excuse of the American Embargo)


Better times, (only because it is nostalgic for some of us) :

Jumpindan

I don't know about the specifics of Morocco because I live and work out of Burkina. However, I do fly the entire Western Sahara. What I do find though, is that no company wants to put Northern Africans in the cockpit. It has nothing to do with competence or racism, but risk. You are not going to put an African pilot at the controls of a B737 that costs 35 million when his country's GDP is $550USD per person a year. Almost all African carriers are backed by European holding companies and they won't risk such an expensive asset to someone they have no legal control over. What is to stop a pilot from flying across the border of a conflict and then ditching the aircraft in another country? It can and does happen, so European backers of aircraft leased to national carriers won't allow local nationals to captain the aircraft. Due to some nationalization projects in places like Kenya and Nigeria, FO's are required to be local nationals. But until countries buy the planes outright, foreign note holders and paranoid African dictators (they all are, there are no free elections on the continent) will not support locals flying their most valuable assets that can leave the country at will...

Unavailable

RAM doesn't finance their cadets' studies! They used to do so in the 90's but only for a short time. Then they closed the academy and then they opened once again in 2004 I believe but this time they paid 50% of the training costs. Three ago, RAM academy closed again; and this year they opened the recruitment doors for pilots but with stupid conditions! Unsurprisingly, they didn't get any applications.
They announced, this summer, their need for 25 students to study abroad (ENAC, France) on their own money with no guarantee of employment after finishing their courses. The only thing they guarantee is that they'll help the students get a bank loan and they'll put them on the waiting-list for three years in case any vacancy appeared.

I think they are desperate. But the stupid thing, I find, is that they refuse to give a chance to the pilots trained in Morocco! Quite weird considering they were all trained and examined by the staff from RAM academy and from the military!

Geotracker

yes ,that's true. RAM can only take some moroccans if you have high contacts for RAM Express if you have studied in any school abroad or outside RAM Academy. RAM Express also hired now some foreign guys with zero hours just with a ATR Typerating for line training which they paid for I guess.

ffa

Hello kilomike_19,
I am also a fellow moroccan studying abroad, i recently graduated high school, and an aspiring pilot. I have been looking at cadet programs literally everywhere and i have found many cadet pilot programs except in morocco which is honestly very sad and disappointing. I finally found this post, from what i understand, morocco does have a cadet program right? but its very difficult for morccans. So, i would like to ask where can i find this program if thats okay with you and which moroccan airline offers it? Thank you. Hope to hear from you or anyone else that knows about this.