ability to work in Mexico

[thesheet]

I am a Canadian citizen/ATR rated pilot living in Mexico.

I would like to know if there is any chance that I could work in Mexico?

-I am under the impression that being a non-citizen means that I will never be allowed to work here.

-Can one get around this by working under a "contract"? Not that I've ever seen a contract job for Mexico.

Any Mexican pilots please email me... I live in the Yucatan and would be interested to hear from you..

[Squawk7777]

thesheet,

unfortunately, the answer is no unless you were born in Mexico. The Mexican aviation regulations only allow Mexicans and Mexicans by birth only to hold a commercial pilot's license. So, that makes it almost impossible and your chances are probably much higher if you have a desire to fly north of the southern border ... :rolleyes:

Mexico's aviation industry has not really recovered. Mexicana has not yet recalled their laid-off pilots, Aeromexico is supposed to start limited recruiting for their regional airline Aerolitoral. The airlines that are hiring on a limited basis are Aviacsa, Azteca and Aeromar. The first two require you to hold a 737 type rating.

We had a pretty fierce discussion about working in Latin America on this rather calm forum a couple of months ago. I don't know if it is still available, Captain Stable had to take it offline, it got so "fiery" ... (without using habaneros :E )

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[thesheet]

Thanks for the answer.

It doesn't look good. So even if I have an owner of a business jet who wants me to fly for him, I can't because of the commercial pilot licence restriction?

Could I fly in Mexico if it is a business that I owned?

thesheet

[Squawk7777]

The answer lies with the aircraft's registration. If it is XA- or XC-registered you need to hold a Mexican commercial license. If it is N or C- then there's is no problem. You may encounter a problem with the Mexican authorities if you use the airplane for commercial operations within Mexico ... You could ask if you can get a (temporary) validation based on your Canadian lisence. I don't know if it is possible, what the limits are etc. Notice that some commercial (airline) planes in Mexico are Dutch (PH-) or French (F-O ...) registered. Some planes have two registrations, but I don't want to get into this right now ... :\

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[Comanche]

Hi

This topic is of interest of me, because I have recently been looking into working for an airline in Mexico.

Would it make any difference if my wife is Mexican? I hold a UK ATPL. I have EU nationality, and been in UK working on 737 as since 1999 and am Capt now. But my wife has not stopped complaining about the weather and has been wanting to go back to Mexico ever since she moved here.

Gracias a todos para ayudar me con esta pregunta. Yo dudo que pueda trabajar en Mexico en aviacion. La situacion es ridiculo con las licencias y nacionalidad por nacimiento. Mi esposa va a regresar a Mexico un dia, sin o con migo.

[Squawk7777]

Would it make any difference if my wife is Mexican?

No. You can only hold a commericial license if you were born in Mexico. Now there are ways to get around this, but don't forget that there are many professional ex-drivers in Mexico (Mexicana layoffs, Allegro, Aerolineas Internacionales, Aerocalifornia to follow?)

Buena suerte

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[Panama Jack]

. . . . . Aerocalifornia to follow?)


Is Aero California in trouble??? :confused:

[Squawk7777]

There are numerous rumours that the Mexican government will ban older planes like the DC-9 in the very near future (noise abatement?). Since Aerocalifornia is not in the financial situation to upgrade its fleet, the end seems to be in the near future. I wonder what other national airlines will do which also fly older planes (732s), or even the government that purchased a few of the retired MXA 722s ... :rolleyes:

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[Panama Jack]

Will the government also be banning the ubiquitous vocho?

http://www.vochomania.com.mx/images/escarabajo.taxi.story_ap.jpg

[Squawk7777]

Actually, they are on their way out P.J. The last beetle rolled off the assembly line in Puebla in '03. I think what killed the bettle was VW decision to add electronic ignition, which transformed a fix-it-yourself vehicle into a 'must-go-to-the-dealer' aeromotor thing.

Now you have got those horrible Atos' and Chevy's (based on the Opel Corsa) running through Mexico :uhoh: :ugh: :{ :yuk:

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[Panama Jack]

Ubiquitous Nicaraguan "people's car", for ages:

http://radio.weblogs.com/0101986/images/lada.jpg

You got to understand that whenever in Mexico I see the phrase "Lada sin costo" I've been conditioned to think that someone is trying to get rid of one of these "chatarras." :ugh:

http://www.banirh.com/icons/logos_telmex/lada-1.gif

As I had a taxi driver in Panama explain to me, a Lada is "a car you can own for the rest of your life. Once you buy it, nobody will want to buy it from you." A few years ago my wife begged me (with tears in her eyes) not to buy one.

http://www.lada.fr/Infos/Galerie%20nature/Lada_Nicaragua_1_g.jpg

(There is a reason why this police officer is not smiling). :p


Now Yaris', Chevy's and Atos' have improved the scenery somewhat.

[Squawk7777]

P.J.,

What fascinated me from the beginnig was the ubiquitous writing on the taxis in Mexico (mainly in "el D.F."): Magna Sin. Took me ages to figure out its meaning and it still makes no sense to me why it is written on the vehicles.

And there's the Nissan Sentra, also known as Tsusuru II (spelling?). The first time I sat in one, I felt like being in first class... :hmm:

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[Panama Jack]

Magna Sin-- is "gasolina sin plomo" vs. the Nova gasoline, which I believe is leaded.

So if you take a Green "Magna Sin" vocho, you're actually more environmentally friendly than the yellow vochos. Give yourself a little pat on the back. :)

[Cipri]

From what I have researched, in case you want to be a public transport pilot, you must be born in Mexico, but otherwise you may be a private comercial pilot (aerial photography, banner, spraying, etc). you can try and get your own conclusions by reading the law itself.

http://dgac.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/Leyes/LEY_DE_AVIACION_CIVIL.pdf

Its a real pity, it would be a great country to live in...

good luck