Overseas Jobs for Aussie Pilots

[Jetstar_Virgin]

hey everyone,
i was just wondering if australian pilots have a chance of getting work in the pacific islands or even as far away as canada? our seemingly endless loyalty to the commonwealth must help us in some way... i know it does for accountants etc... so if anyone can help me i have both IR and CIR and really wanna get away, being nearly 20 something the majority of my mates have been working round the world and my excuse has always been 'but my i can't leave my flying'.

i know that if i have an extended period away from flying that the airlines will probably recruit everyone and i'll miss my window, there has got to be common ground somewhere. i've heard of a few people working in places such as fiji and of some guy who got a placement in canada for a year but how do they get into it???

any info would be greatly appreciated!

:ok:

[druglord]

not to be a wet blanket but canada is probably comparable to australia in the aviation jobs department. They've only got 6 more million people and most of those are on the great lakes. I had a mate that just got back from up there and it sounds worse. Stories like guys sitting right seat of a beech 1900 for 7 years, stuff like that. If you're after your first couple 1000 hours it's similar to oz, you gotta go hang out in eskimo country for an opening. someone else may be able to give you the work rules better than i though...good luck

[pilotrv8]

g'day

I'm an Aussie from Melbourne 270 hours, degree, ATPL tehory and instructor rating. Been instructing in Fiji for two months now. Got a 1 year 1000 hour contract. There is really only one school here in Fiji owned by Sunair called the Pacific Flying school. Unfortunately to get a job in the Pacific (Canada as well i'd think) you need to know someone or be very lucky i.e. right place right time. There are two of us Aussies here at the moment and the bring two new guys over every year as we move onto bigger things. I was fortunate enough to know someone who knew the CFI well and gave me a personal recommendation. I think Aussie is your best bet though either via instructor rating or going north to do some bush time.

PilotRV8

[scarlet wimpernel]

Canada's not a great place to find flying work right now (I've got a couple mates up there and one's on furlough), you also need Canadian citizenship for most operators, in fact most operators need you to have a Canadian passport as well. Aussies are only eligible for one year working visa's (same for them if they come down this way) so the auld commonwealth doesn't help you out to much. If you've got citizenship then you've still got to do a licence conversion.:sad:
Cheers
SW

[Herc Jerk]

There are no greener pastures...

It all depends on what you want. If you want into Jetstar or Virgin before "everyone" else, you're probably better off staying here getting "Australia time" (is this really a term..? LOL). But if you have the travel bug then the world is your oyster, but don't think it will be any easier, you'll just end up with more far-out stories for the grandkiddies.

If you're "nearly 20 something" your "window" is still wide open!

I think this probably relates to anything from instructing at Morrabin to running guns in Africa:

Pick a place where you're interested in going.

Reseach the operators there (internet now makes this easy, but not all operators will have websites)

Get in touch with them and find out min hrs etc (if o/s you'll need to check things like immigration as some countries will req a minimum amount of hrs for pilot work visas or it may be an insurance thing like PNG- just ask OZEXPAT)

Pack your bags and get your @rse over there and hang around doing the meet and greet and washing acft etc (places like Kunnunurra and Botswana come to mind). Be warned though that you will probably be req to consume vast quantities of alcohol during this time...

This list is far from exhaustive, but i'm sure you get the idea.

Oh and BTW, if you do get o/s don't talk about AFL, normal people don't understand it ;)

HJ