Airserv
 

In my year and a half with the company there was not much to complain about. The above comments about the pay in comparison are true to some extent except what is not mentioned is that with a lot of the SA companies, when their boys go home for a month they do not get paid. So if you work things out over lets say a year, there is not that big a difference. Take the medical cover provided by Airserv into account and you probably getting a very similar deal. BUT, yes there is always a but, with Airserv you are basicly employed in country for a year!! and this is the main reason that I moved on. You spend a year in country, you get 28 days off in your first year. They only pay for you to fly in at the beginning of your contract and out at the end any other trips for leave you pay for. On some of the contracts you will get R&R, this differes from contract to contract but is something like a week off after 8 weeks on duty. I have been lucky in my move in that I now get to do 8 weeks on and 4 weeks off and still be a bit better off at the end of the month.
It is not all bad!!! but being away for a whole year was not for me.:=
Good Luck
EW

AirServ (again)
 

Reading a few older threads about AirServ in response to suggestions on an earlier thread to check them out. Doesn't seem like such a bad place, but what is the current status of the contractor/in-house pilot dispute? I notice they've appointed a new CEO, will he take a different direction in this regard?

Also, read on an earlier thread that in your first year you get 28 days off. Is this in addition to say weekends or is it 7/7 tied to a pager or phone?

Regards,
TRF

they were at:

RAeS AVIATION IN SUPPORT OF DISASTER RELIEF OPERATIONS: CONFERENCE 31 October 2006

see: www.lukafoto.com for pics and links

Best off emailing: [email protected]

they will give you low down

exact conditions will vary from contract to contract... you would most likely end up in Africa unless you have 500+ hrs on a B200 in which case Afghanistan would be a possibility... 28 days is about right but whether you take it or not will depend on the location... due to the high costs of air travel to somewhere like Kinshasa it's possible that they'll ask you to stay in country for the duration but leave one month early on the years contract...
You might be better off applying to Naturelink who provide aircraft and crew to AirServ on a sub-contract basis but offer much higher salaries... it's been a contentious issue for a long time amongst AirServ high time skippers that the low-time FO next to them is paid considerably more ! One reason why I left. They'll tell you that they're an NGO and therefore a sort of charity but the fact is they bid for and operate exactly the same contracts as all the other operators. Not a bad company but shopping around before commiting yourself might be a good idea.

AirServ
 

Gent's, and those lovley ladies also, have any of you by chance heard of a humanitarian org called Airserv. Appears they are seeking qualified KingAir and Twotter Capt's for various locals in the mid east and Africa.
U.N. work I'm told.

Most gracious for any information concerning this org.

AirServ is very well known and has featured regularly in these columns...
I suggest you check the search section... remembering that AirServ has no e on the end... you'll get reams of info..
US (Warrenton, Va ) based NGO.... started 20 odd years ago as a spin-off from MAF with less emphasis on interfering with peoples beliefs and superstitions and more on getting people what they need to keep themselves alive. Nowadays it competes for contracts alongside the mostly South African companies flying in Africa such as NAC, NorseAir, Qwila, Executive Turbine etc… Less emphasis on the Humanitarian aspects and more on the reality of keeping the NGO viable.

It’s quite likely that they are in need of crews in this market as experienced people are thin on the ground and AirServ in spite of being a non-profit NGO offers only about half the salary that others offer and does not operate a ‘tour‘ system ie: 6 weeks or 2 months on followed by a month or whatever off…. You’re stuck in what can be a very uncomfortable location for probably a year or so… I believe that their operation in Afgahnistan has an RandR system but here in Africa it doesn’t apply. They work hand in hand with a South African company called Naturelink who own many (maybe most) of the aircraft being operated by airserv… Naturelink pay more like the going rate and find the money to pay for the transport costs of crews flying regularly up an down to South Africa as they work on a 6 weeks on 6 weeks off basis, this causes a lot of discomfort to AirServ crews, which is why few of them return to Airserv at the end of their contract… Airserv have never pursued a policy formed to encourage long term employment of their crews and have been content to rely on the enthusiasm of people wanting to help bring aid to Africa… In fact very little of what I used to do with Airserv was easily recognised as aid work in the sense that we understand it and anyway you will be on much better terms and conditions doing exactly the same work for a South African company which is why I’m sitting here now looking forward to a 6 week break…
Not sure what levels of experience they’re currently looking for… I know that in Afghanistan the capt’s have to have 500 hrs on type but like many companies this may change as the market dries up which it’s doing rapidly…. Best bet is to look at the web-site and find out who to contact..I’ve lost touch a bit with who does what… I know that they’re having a new building put up in Warrenton so who knows.. maybe they’ll find more money for the poor B*ggers stuck out in the bush… but more likely it’ll be used as an excuse for not having more money ! Good luck.

ha some one seems bitter.
ASI is a good company to break your teeth on and enter the contract market and make contacts.
twin capt makes 2800 US a month tax free living expenses paid for.
you will meet great people and have a blast flying.
R and R depending on the program.

take care

PM for extra info

CIA
 

Isn't this a CIA outfit? The sort-of tree-hugging version of Air America...?

Dunno about them being CIA??

They do in fact bid for the same contracts as many South African Contractors. But ask yourself this - if most south african companies are paying almost double the salary as AirServ, no onder they are having a hard time crewing their fleet. Many of their aircraft are registered in SA, so a validation will be required.

$2800/month......forget about it son!

If i am to fly in a seemingly hostile environment.....I am going to want my company to make it worth my while. :=

SN

RCC... no..there's no Spook connection... I've no doubt that one get's on board from time to time but that's only because they need to get somewhere a bit remote... they also no doubt travel on United and Delta... Most of the real spooky stuf is done by ........ and ........ plus of couse the CIA have their own operation. ASI is just a harmless NGO. Frog Fry or whatever is right inasmuch as you will meet and fly with some good people...also a few odd-bods but you can say that of anywhere.

It's not a bad company...chaotic in its admin maybe but then so are the two SA companies I've worked for.... Just depends on how much you want to work in Africa.... and how much commitment you want to give for $2800 pm.. ( must of gone up...was $2400 pm when I was with them. ) True that SA companies require a validation... but then there are also some interesting jobs in the more civilised areas of Africa...Game Park territory... Have a good look at Tanzania, Botswana etc through the Pprune search system...

Oosik... also check your pm's

Agree with what has been said. Unless you have a real calling to help poor people around the world for pittance, then Airserv is not the place for you. You will work along side other guys getting paid double the money for half the work, on the same contracts. If you have the necessary experience to get into Airserv, then you probably meet the requirements for some of the other contract companies who lease aircraft and pilots to Airserv and pay better wages.

Twin Capt. -- 2800 per month
Twin SIC -- 2300 per month
Single Capt. -- 2500 per month

Before taxes, which may or may not be much, depending on many things.
:ugh:

There are folks here who got hired with under 1000 hrs and some of us have stopped counting. The interview is a piece of cake and 99% of all flying is VFR. ASI operates under U.S. part 91, although that could be debated among some FSDO folks, so there are no flight time mins.

One year in country with two weeks vacation every six months, air fare not paid for, so most people just make an exit one month prior to contract end. Contract starts the day you leave your home country. Most programs get some type of R&R, which is a hotly contested policy among folks in the field, but apparently falling on deaf ears in Warrenton, VA. Equipment upgrades are non-existant unless someone dies or leaves with no notice (happens often), and even then it's temporary. It's a tough life, and a tough company to work for with kind of shady management, but ASI is the only U.S. company really doing this stuff in such remote places. I consider it just a strange one year vacation from driving a jet around the States.

Air Suck
 

yeah but there are plenty of non-US companies doing it and they ALL pay better. Air suck is a rip-off.

FATTY...
That’s a bit harsh, to be fair Airserv did not start out in the same way as the companies it now competes with...as I mentioned earlier here it was originally a modified version of MAF depending to a large extent on the motivation of its aircrew and field staff being that of bringing aid to the third world and therefore keeping costs to a minimum and aid funding going to where it's most needed...
The reality is that it has undergone a metamorphosis over the years and apart from its technical NGO status it's pretty much indistinguishable from the profit motivated companies serving UN and similar contracts in areas of hardship and conflict.
In the current market there are fewer people available with altruistic motives AND the necessary qualifications to fly in what can be difficult conditions and territories and so it's not suprising that ASI with it's relatively arcane T's and C's are having crewing difficulties... these can be offset to some extent by the close association with Naturelink who provide not only aircraft but (better paid ) crews. The management of ASI seem reluctant to recognise the change of circumstances either in the NGO itself or the market in general. One excuse offered re crew rates was that as an American company they had to pay very high insurance on employees... I found that difficult to acccept in relation to non-American contract pilots who I would have thought could be offered the alternative of putting there own insurance in place.

An e-mail from a colleague who more recently left ASI tells me that the current whinge is the amount of money that goes into salaries and support of home office and talk of reducing qualifications of recruits... so 'wannabees ' it may be an opportunity but take care... the demands on flying ability while normally not excessive can be extremely demanding under the wrong circumstances and you only have to get it wrong once...

For my part I enjoyed the experience of working with ASI.. but it's not a career company. No one forces anybody to work there and by my way of thinking those that choose to have no real reason to complain, at least in regard to contract fees as the rates are made clear from the beginning.

As to ASI's problem with recruiting..... that has to be left to the management.

yuk yuk
 

I used to work for them, so spare me the BS. They are a rip-off. Just like 9 out of ten U.S. companies. The money is made for the phoneys in the U.S., while the people in the field risk their lives for peanuts. Cry baby boo-hoo starving people we must save while others get three times the money and do ten times a better job. They even have a paid lobbiest in Washington D.C.! Just like any rip-off american company, they don't pay but they LOVE the coins you bring them! Its just to bad if you get killed...next. FU bub.

No one pushes you to work for them, I spent three years or so with them, flew on well maintained aircrafts (not all contract companies have that) and while a lot of people post 9-11 where sitting at home with no work I got the chance to go out on the field and build a hefty load of experience.

I was able to get good contacts and move on to bigger and better airplanes and i am happy to have spent good times out there.

Yes they do not pay all that well, but at least the check is in the bank every month, which is not the case with nature link!

The people that you will meet are from all horizons and countries making for a good mix. Yes upper management is an issue, but please let me know if you have found a company that is perfect? Look at the mess in some SA contract companies, and the aircrat they have to fly?


Bottom line, if you are not happy move on, and many people have, and most Ex AirServ people have gone back to great jobs.

cheers

Whatever
 

Ok...I'll stop playing the Grinch. I'll be more practical. I've seen Air Serv contracts and "other" operators contracts when I shouldn't have. Air Serv DOES NOT save significant money for anybody. However more than half their income is derived from U.S. Government grants.....

http://partners.guidestar.org/contro...ein=59-2500627

....to the tune of 16 million Dollars and thats only Half their income! They pay their people less than the UN per-diem! But they keep the UN per-diem for themselves! So...where the hell is the money going? Cumbaya's aside, they simply take advantage of good people risking their lives for whatever the hell it is that air serv does. Not to mention competing with REAL commercial relief aviation companies struggling to make ends meet. Hell, I thought the Americans were capitalists spreading capitalism around the world? What aviation company derives half its income from the United States Government...free gratis?

No wonder Africans are finding it tough to make a living flying in Africa. No wonder African aviation companies have a hard time making ends meet. Its a rigged game.

I do have to admit to being puzzled as to why Airserv with their much lower flight crew salaries, negligable crew transport costs ( they don't rotate their crews every six weeks as we and most others in SA do ) and huge grants still often lose out to profit driven SA companies when it's contract bidding time.. but, fortunately for us... they do !