Sponsorship schemes/Ab-initios

[Burn'em and Turn'em]

Hello everyone!! Just joined the forum a couple of weeks ago and find it to be quite interesting.

Now the question.....do carriers like Singapore, Cathay, Emirates, Thomas Cook, etc (anyone with a sponsorship scheme) accept foeign nationals into the cadet program? I'm a US citizen with a FAA single engine CPL with IR. What are my chances, if any, of getting on with one these carriers?

All posts welcome and thank you.

[Lucifer]

Only with the unrestricted right to live and work in the EU can you be employed by a company in the EU. Sponsorships beyond the EU are often reserved for nationals of those countries as well.

Once experienced with 1000s of hours, many of those listed will accept people if they have a licence that is compatible with their operations, except in the EU, where ther right to live and work is still required.

Why do you need a cadet scheme if you have a CPL though? I suppose in your position you might be eligible for some second officer schemes in the Far East perhaps?

[Burn'em and Turn'em]

thanks for the reply....although I have a CPL (very little time only 290hrs) my chances here in the US are slim to none. I say this because I'm a Sikh (from India) and am not allowed to cut my hair, hence shave the beard. All carriers in the US, atleast that I've heard of, wll not allow their pilots to have beards because of the sealing of the O2 mask. That is not the case with European and Asian carriers from what I've gathered from this form. If I have to move to Europe or Asia or anywhere for that matter, I'm willing to do it as long as I can practice my religion.

Should I even bother applying to the various cadet programs? I figured having a CPL already would help, but that doesn't seem to be the case.....what was that second officer thing you mentioned in the Far East all about??? thanks

B and T

[GusHoneybun]

i personally don't think you will get anywhere applying for cadet schemes. these are aimed at young chap(ette)s who they can train and mould into whatever the company wants them to be. anyone with more than a ppl be considered to have too many bad habits and would cost more to retrain than someone with limited experience. you're only way to get a ticket in europe is to convert your faa or indian licence. a search of the wannabe's section will give you no end of advice on how to do that.

the main worry for you is the right to live and work in europe. unless you have that then it would be pointless to go through the expense and trauma of gaining a european licence only to find that you can't use it.

as for the second officer scheme, this is otherwise known as cruise or relief pilots. on the real long pacific trips, cathey use a cruise crew to monitor the aircraft while the take off and landing crew get some nookie with the steward(ess). the cruise pilots are usually low houred guys who are minding their time until they get booted up to the chain of command. as you would expect, these jobs are rare but might be worth a look.

[zulfakharudeen]

Emirates will not take Ab-initios others than their UAE national.

In fact why they should.... Would an arab sutdent be trained by European or American carriers. Answer is simple... a big NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. :*