Jobs in the UK with an ICAO ATPL?

[Apollo 100]

Does anyone know of any companies that have basings in the UK that will accept an ICAO (Australian) licence in lieu of a JAA one? CX and Dragonair are two that I can think of, are there any more?

[Artificial Horizon]

I think that you will find that NOBODY in the UK will accept an ICAO licence for employment.

I knew a Canadian chap who had over 6000 hours including jet and turboprop time who was hired by a UK airline because he had training qualifications on a new type they were flying, even in his case part of the deal was he had to convert his licence at his own cost within the first year (I believe the CAA will grant expemptions for this amount of time before requiring a national licence to be obtained?).

The cold hard fact is that training is so rampant in the UK there are plently of locally trained pilots to be employed, with the likes of Cathay and Dragon air they seem to employ foreign pilots as there is not much of an established training and regional route into the airlines. So if they want experienced pilots they have to look elsewhere, not the case in the UK.

Good luck, if you would like to know about the long process of converting your licence just do a search for posts by Redsnails.

:)

[Apollo 100]

Thanks for the comments. I am well aware that virtually all operators in the UK require JAA but there are occasionally jobs advertised that say ICAO licences considered. In fact there was one posted yesterday on the Flight International jobsite for a B767 contract out of Gatwick / Manchester. Don't know who the operator is though, contact is an employment agency in Ireland. Its a long shot I know but if you were going from the UK and had the opportunity to work in Australia where there were only a couple of operators who took JAA licences but nobody else did, you would call them first wouldn't you?! ... :E

[Artificial Horizon]

Of course I would contact them first, if you have the hours and qualifications for the 767 contracts then go for it. This could be a good chance as there seems to be a lack of suitably qualified pilots around at the moment with ratings + experience.

A.H.

P.S. By the way I hold both Oz and NZ licences aswell.;)

[Apollo 100]

AH you're right that there seems to be a lack of experienced pilots in the pool at the moment. I have been following the jobs pages in numerous magazines / websites etc for quite a while now and have noticed a substantial increase in vacancies for pilots "wanted urgently". Up to recently they have usually been asking for 500hrs on type but I have noticed more and more that have dropped the 500hr bit and just want the type rating. God knows what a B767 type rating would cost to obtain though, probably not worth it. It won't be long before they will have to open up the field even further.. here's hoping.

Apollo