Fridays West Australian

[pilotdude09]

Hi guys,

Was reading the west this morning and came across a interesting article. Aboout customs not being able to get pilots because they are all finding jobs with the bigger airlines so they are looking at recruiting from overseas.

Personally i think the whole article is :mad::mad: im sure there is plenty of pilots willing to go on the Dash 8, but not according to customs........

Are they that bad to work for that they cant get pilots?

[TAC inop.]

probably a fun gig....but have you looked at the bullsh1t paperwork an Aussie has to go through? nah...go overseas for that hassle, and get decent bucks.
Aus has to wake up

[The Voice]

The PPRuNe search function and keywords of surveillance or national jet on the 2 aussie pages should bring up some interesting reading for you.

[AerocatS2A]

Personally i think the whole article is :mad::mad: im sure there is plenty of pilots willing to go on the Dash 8, but not according to customs........

You are wrong, there is a serious potential shortage of CW pilots. Part of the problem is that if you meet the minimum requirements for CW then you probably meet the requirements for Jetstar, Virgin, QF, etc. You may be a bit short on turbine time, but if you do six months with CW then you're set for a jet job. Sure, there's a bond, but you're going to pay $35K for a B737 endo anyway, what's another $15K?

There's a real pilot shortage looming in Aus and some companies are feeling it more than others.

I don't know that getting pilots from overseas will help.

[Capn Bloggs]

There's no shortage of pilots, only a shortage of pay. So let's get unemployables from overseas to keep our conditions down...

[Fhead]

There is no shortage of pilots just a shortage of decent minimums. I don't think they would have a problem if the dropped a few 100 hours like everyone else

[Dog One]

There is the same shortage overseas, and I would think that only ex pats wanting to come back to Aus would be interested.

[neville_nobody]

Where do they think they will get international pilots from who have the minimums? Dash 8 FO's overseas all have bare commercials not 1500 - 2000 total! I thought that Coastwatch had to employ citizens or permanent residents.

[jarjar]

Maybe we should all contact our local union reps, get them to submit an article to local newspapers and advise the community as to why companies such as CW are having trouble finding suitable crews. The general public always seem to hear the "Big Companies" point of view rather than hearing the facts,(ie, no one wants to become a pilot these days because you are treated like c*ap, with c*ap pay, and you can earn more up north scrubbing someone's sh*tter for $100,000 a year 2 weeks on 2 weeks off).

just my 2 cents

JarJar

[ratpoison]

and you can earn more up north scrubbing someone's sh*tter for $100,000 a year 2 weeks on 2 weeks off).
Geeez Jarjar, can you PM me the details of the job. Sounds alright. :p

[RENURPP]

There will be some interesting reading in the papers over coming days indicating why said company cannot attract or retain staff.:yuk::yuk:

[pilotdude09]

Geeez Jarjar, can you PM me the details of the job. Sounds alright.

I know a 20 year old that is working on the offshore gas rigs as a cleaner and earning $119,000 a year, gets flown over there etc. Hes just changed to a much better roster as well, think hes doing 2 on 1 off instead of the 4 on 2 off he was doing previously.

[Under Dog]

Watch This

I certainly dont think its the South east section of the RFDS thats looking at pay rates . They are currently going through an EBA and if you look at the offer its worse than the previous EBA (mascot section).
It just goes to show the arrogance of the management of this company who once had a hold file as long as your arm but are scratching the bottom of the barrel for suitable candidates with pilots leaving quicker than they can replace them.

Regards The Dog

[samdour]

Now that will make interesting reading.

From what I hear, a lot of the CW DHC8 guys and gals are leaving for a combination of morale, money and lifestyle reasons.

No flight time limits for Captains! Crikey!:yuk:

[Capt Wally]

Underdog yr correct as far as pay rates goes, there are only EBA's in all RFDS sections so it's not really an option to have pay increases given at random by the Co.to perhaps retain pilots. It's more the fact that the airlines are reaching out for even RFDS pilots these days, something once hardly shown on their behalf mainly 'cause the RFDS operate SP & the carriers like pilots with RPT exp involving multi crew, above 5700 kg's is also an advantage, the B200 falls just short of this, not withstandiung the B200 ramp weight of course. It's got nothig to do with experience, all RFDS pilots have well above the carriers mins.

It is indeed obvious that the flying world at large is expanding at a rapid rate now after 9/11 and the demand for drivers is starting to outstrip what's/whom is avilable. We are now definetly a sought after comodity, but at what price ?

Anyway CW are no different than the rest of them, they have certain standards hrs wise etc & they simply can't get them (& keep them) in the numbers they desire because they aint there !

Fly for fun 'cause it's certaintly not the money !




Capt Wally :-)

[Under Dog]

Captain Wally

Your Right but the issue at mascot Base is a living in Sydney allowance which the The management will not acknowledge. We are paid the same as any other base in the south east section but as all the guys know with in this section that its the most expensive place to live.
You can tell by the vibe when you walk into the crew room that guys are not happy with management and having spoken to many that they
have other irons in the fire. Gone are the the days when you would look to this base as a long term career option. Its a pitty as its a great base to work at.

Regards The Dog

[Capt Wally]

Good luck underdog, Syd is indeed a more expensive place in which to work & live in, you do the same task as others ,just at a higher cost to YOU !


Capt Wally

[Towering Q]

On the subject of Sydney's cost of living, and to create even further thread drift, how are our GA cousins in Perth coping? I read somewhere that the median house price and rents are now the highest in Oz, thanks to the 'resources boom'. :{

[Ref + 10]

TQ, it is unimaginably hard for the newbies over here. I know FO's just starting out with the smaller operators and doing it very tough. $300 a week rent for a small 3x2 in a not so great suburb and they are trying to do it on a training salary which is 70% of the already paltry sum. Hard at the best of times....

Reading the paper today and the median house price in Broome is $615k!!! I thought it was bad when it was $240k a few years back...

[AerocatS2A]

No flight time limits for Captains! Crikey!
No flight time limits for any crew member!

It's not as bad as it sounds however. There are still duty limits and crew member's are required to call in fatigued if they feel they are not fit to complete a duty.

[The Voice]

RENURPP
There will be some interesting reading in the papers over coming days :eek: Imagine that, a real reason to buy the NT News at last!

[RENURPP]

Hopefully the NT news is one of many. :)

It may even displace a croc for a day or two.
:eek:
http://www.ows.gov.au/asp/index.asp?page=media_releases_ows&cid=5231&id=597