The rumour from kano is - the near crash captain and the fake document guys are all in the process of getting full nigerian licenses......no more validations.

There are no nigerian pilots available in nigeria??? How long will nigerian immigration allow non-nigerians to come fly planes in nigeria with only a tourist or business visa??? As long as the bribe money continues to arrive!!!

The Umrah/Hajj money has started to flow to Max Air, but they still haven't paid the pilots their due from last year! To those who are considering an offer from the Lithuanian contract company you should understand: The salary offered is about 10% less than the past. The hotel is far worse than last year. You are expected to pay for your own p/c, which is another major change from previous years. Nigeria is at war with their homegrown terrorists and the bombings in Kano have resumed. Over 30 killed yesterday in the heart of Kano. What kind of pilot would be foolish enough to become a human target for a short-term, low paying contract where you will probably be cheated out of pay?

Heard a rumor today, that MaxAir is insolvent. Any confirmation?

I've heard the insolvency rumours from several different sources, but Max Air still seems to be operating, as of this moment. Because Max didn't pay their crews last season, I really didn't expect them to find anyone willing to work for them this year. I was wrong! The Lithuanian contract company seems to be supplying an endless stream of losers and fakers to Max Air. Just got your 744 type and never flown as a Captain before....welcome aboard....you are now the Captain on a Umrah/Hajj flight. Fired from every flying job you ever had....welcome aboard....you are now a 747 F/O. No p/c in years....welcome aboard....we will change the dates on the form for you. Can't fly....welcome aboard....you'll fit right in! Any guess on when the first incident will occur this year?

Irony on:

I am pretty good on my flight simulator on my tablet pc; possibly they take me at least as F/O on their B744?

Irony off.


I pray that all pilgrims will fly safe, without incident or accident to and from JED.

Max is still flying! Chief - it is not flight sim skills that get guys a Hajj job this year......it is their forgery skills! Kabo seems to be having the same problems.

A guy at max air informed me that max air has employed crew from midex.Can anybody substantiate that??? If so they are well qualified crew.

If Midex is involved with crews, it means that Midex has obviously not much work at the moment...

i think max air got the crews they deserve!

There's quite a few Max Air aircraft sitting on the ground in Jakarta at the moment.

GMF is smart enough to demand full payment before the planes depart! I am sure they will get their money, but the fools flying the planes this year won't be so lucky!

Thanks.

Well, it seems to get serious with Saudi GACA:

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: Hajj - Group Cautions On Airlift Delays

"Saudi Arabia saying that "GACA has adopted air safety specifications and standards implemented by European Civil Aviation Safety Agency and it will ban flight blacklisted by the agency from operating to and from the kingdom."

It is against this warning, the civil society maintained, that "air carriers should endeavour to conform to the set standard so as not to incur the wrath of Saudi General Authority for Civil Aviation. Such situation if allow to happen will not only affect Nigerian pilgrims but it will also blemish the image of the country."

"It then tasked Max Air, which has the highest allocation of pilgrims, with over 45 percent of the total number, to give attention to the conduct of its ground staff, in view of their direct impact to the psyche of pilgrims.

According to the statistics released by NAHCON, Max Air is to convey 40, 527 pilgrims, Kabo 15, 736, Medview 5, 200 and Meridian 3, 500."

How will they be able to comply with EASA regulations, or did I got something wrong?

I guess they must have complied.Every crew member is current and the aircraft are serviceable.Ground staff have also been on various training programmes.

Did everyone get paid? The final payment at the end of the Hajj is always a big concern.

Well all turned out well.Guys we rewarded with a 12 day bonus and we all went home happy chappies.So to all you doomsayers what can I say....just that you were way off the mark!!I guess its just plain old sour grapes!! We achieved the target and that was all that was required.

sour grapes? nope. just the truth about not getting paid. i've heard that not everyone was paid in full this season, so we'll stand by for all the details. it has also been suggested that the guys who received the extra pay were the one's who were on the lowest (third world) terms and conditions. so.....congratulations! it looks like you have indeed won the race to the bottom. everyone is also waiting for details about the damage caused to the aircraft this year by the frequent hard landings. we're also really looking forward to hearing the story about the crew that was fired for the "unusual attitude" flight with the chairman on board! what country were the pilots from for all the incident flights?

Recruitment WARNING
 

it's that time of the lunar year and max air is searching for all new crews again. there are still many unpaid crews from the 2012 and 2013 hajj, so do not think anything has changed.

why do they need all new crew again? lack of payment mostly, but they also had problems last season with the middle eastern and asian pilots on the classic and their poor flying skills. they even had a fake captain (from europe!) that seriously damaged the 744 with an extremely hard landing.

if the withheld payments and the poor quality of co-workers is not enough to help you take a smart decision to avoid this place....also consider the current conditions in northern nigeria. not a safe place for western people at the moment!

you have been warned.....again!!

I still have not been paid my salary either. The jordanian crews caused so many problems last year that they will not be back, so I do not know how Max will be able to find enough people this year. Pity the poor Hajji going on a pilgrimage with fake pilots!

You were warned!
 

Rumor from Kano is that all Western pilots have snuck away in the middle of the night during the break before Hajj starts! The pay problems are back again and everyone who departed was owed salary and/or allowances.

The planes are junk this season. There was no maintenance performed during the off season and the entire fleet is un-airworthy.

What will keep Max Air on the ground this year:

1) The Saudi government banning all flights from Nigeria due to the Ebola outbreak.

2) The Saudi GCAA banning Max Air due to the horrendous condition of their planes.

3) No pilots to fly Max's junk planes.

WARNING
 

All of Max's 744 pilots have escaped during the night! Max are now in contact with several recruitment firms in an attempt to find crews for a two month contract. This type of arrangement has caused many pay problems in the past. When the pay doesn't arrive on time Max blames the contract company and the contract company blames Max. In the end, it is the pilot who will lose. Late pay or missing pay.....same as always.

Not all of the Western pilots have escaped this year......only the competent ones! There are a couple of dangerous American pilots still remaining on the 743.......because nobody else is foolish enough to give these guys a flying job.

No disrespect intended to any of the South African pilots or any of the Flight Engineers at Max. I have a great deal of respect for you guys and I hope you all survive the Hajj. I fear it's going to be a very bad year!

Here's how the pay works at Max:

1. Go to office and wait to see if the Senior Account bothers to come to work that day. Repeat this step four or five days. When you finally catch the Senior Accountant in the office (trying to sneak out the side door) he tells you the Chief Pilot has not approved the payroll yet.

2. Go to the office and wait to see if the Chief Pilot bothers to come to work that day. Repeat this step two or three days. The Chief Pilot tells you that he signed, but the D.O. has not stamped the payroll yet.

3. Go to the office and wait to see if the D.O. bothers to come to work (sober) that day. Repeat this step three or four days. The D.O. tells you that he has stamped the payroll and it is now with the Director of Finance.

4. Go to the office and wait to see if the Director of Finance bothers to come to work that day. You discover that the Director of Finance is in the office every day, but he hides behind his locked office door. The Director of Finance says the form is with the M.D.

5. Go to the office and wait to see if the M.D. bothers to come to work that day. After several days of waiting, the M.D.'s secretary tells you that the M.D. is in California on business. You make numerous calls to the M.D. before he takes your call. He says the form was approved before he departed and it was left with the Vice Chairman.

6. Try to go to the office and wait to see if the Vice Chairman bothers to come to work that day. You can't get transport to the office because all the crew transport vehicles have been commandeered by the D.O. to transport several loads of goats that he is selling on the side. You take a taxi to the office and are told by the Vice Chairman's secretary that the M.D.'s brother in Kano is handling all the payroll paperwork while the M.D. is out of town.

7. Try to go to the M.D.'s brother's office, but none of the crew transport vehicles have fuel. There is no fuel available in Kano and the lines at the petrol stations are a kilometer long. Take a taxi the next day to the M.D.'s brother's office. He won't see you because he is in a very important meeting. Some "local" guy waiting in the outer office (a freelance money changer) tells you that there's no problem with the salary payment, but the M.D.'s brother doesn't handle pay issues. He suggests that you should speak directly to the Chairman.

8. Go to the office and wait to see if the Chairman bothers to come to work that day. After doing this for a few days, the Chairman's secretary tells you that the Chairman only comes to the office on Sunday evenings. The Chairman's secretary also tells you that the payroll has been approved, but they are having a hard time getting such a large amount of U.S. dollars. He says the Senior Accountant is currently in Abuja working to get the cash. The secretary recommends that you check with the Senior Accountant in a few days.

Back to step #1. The crews in Kano refer to this pay procedure as "The Full Manwani." The system is designed to keep you from getting your money. It's even worse for the fools who contract with a third party. You'll never see what you're owed!!

Warning, stay away from Max Air, both the B-747 and the Lear jets. The Lear jets are doing illegal charter work. They are all private jets without an air taxi certificate. There is very little maintenance being done on the jets. You will be forced to fly the planes. The pay is always late and in most cases reduced. I have not been payed for my service. Conditions are very bad in Nigeria.

bobcat, are you one of the Lear 60 pilots that decided to skip town?

CORRUPTION!
 

Bobcat:

I'm sorry you had to learn about Max Air the hard way. The warnings about these clowns have been all over the internet for a couple of years and things have only gotten worse every year.

The only reason Max Air can continue to do what they do is because of corruption at the Nigerian CAA. I'm sure it is obvious to everyone involved that Max Air does not operate within the bounds of the law, but key officials look the other way only because they have been paid to ignore violations.

The 747 operation relies on corruption in Nigeria and Saudi Arabia. The Saudi GACA have been informed (in writing) of severe safety violations committed by Max Air on several occasions. The Saudi authorities don't even investigate the issues! A Nigerian with a big bag of cash can make any problem in the Kingdom disappear in a day or two. Sad, but true.

Max Air have increased the salary of all crew in an effort to prevent any more current guys from disappearing during the night. They have also upped the offer for 744 crews. It really does not matter what they offer because you will never be able to collect what they owe!

I think anyone who goes to Max now is a fool. The risks there this season are many and you WILL BE CHEATED OUT OF PAY. If they have no intention to cheat you they should be willing to pay you every week IN ADVANCE. If they will not do this then you know what to expect. Do not complain when it happens to you. You have been warned. Again.

gear yanker, how long, and what year did you work for Max Air?

New year.....same old scam!
 

Well, it's that time of the year again. Max Air is searching for another new group of uninformed pilots to fly their aircraft for the upcoming Umrah/Hajj. It's becoming harder and harder for them to find legitimate (no shortage of fakes!) 747 pilots. Most North Americans and Euros know enough about these clowns to avoid the place, but they seem to have found a group of South Americans foolish enough to fly for them last year. That group got cheated on their final pay, so who's next? How desperate for a job do you have to be to risk your life (in what's essentially a war zone) in Northern Nigeria when you know that Max Air is going to cheat you on your pay in the end?

Lots of 74 fakes from South America.
Perfect fit.

It looks like the South American fakes are back! Max Air is also looking for a 744 instructor to train their local pilots, so everyone needs to remember that Max Air lost all of the legitimate pilots a few years ago due to LACK OF PAYMENT!!