Part-time airline pilots

[HIALS]

A couple of years ago I withdrew from airline flying because I wanted to spend more time with my family and less time 'dead-tired and down-route'. I felt like I wanted a life - not just a career.

At that time, full-time employment was the only form of employment and there was no talk of a pilot shortage. I enquired about 'innovative' working conditions (part-time work, job sharing, etc) and was advised that my choices were full-time work or no work. No alternative. I chose no work and elected to resign my airline job and find work in another arena.

As a result, that airline and the airline industry at large is set to forgo my remaining 11 years of potentially 'useful service' - because I am only 49 years old now. I have 14,000 hours and am an experienced airline captain with time on A320, A330, B747 & B744 aircraft.

Now there are newspaper headlines about an impending 'catastrophic' pilot shortage.

With the wisdom hindsight, I can see that what 'turned me off' was the intensity of the workload as an airline pilot. I didn't actually dislike the job - just the working hours (if you know what I mean?).

I am currently very happy with my lifestyle and do not wish to go back into full-time airline flying nor to move my family interstate or abroad.

As I sit on the outside of the industry now, looking in, and reading about the pilot shortage; I am bemused by the fact that my considerable experience was allowed to wash-out of the industry - for the lack of a modestly imaginative approach to work rules. This was only 2 years ago and I am sure I am not the only pilot in my position.

I was therefore interested to note the recent advertisment by Air Vanuatu specifically seeking part-time or casual pilots.

Are any other carriers contemplating this option? It is my belief that offering creative employment conditions to pilots seeking a better balance between work and family life might be a partial solution to the current pilot shortage.

[apache]

Have you thought about Sim instruvting ? I am sure that there arfe companies that would love to have your experience on board, and you would be home every night.

[Going Boeing]

Apache's suggestion may have some appeal as Qantas is currently employing Sim instructors and is giving them substantial payrises. Three new simulators are coming in the next 12 months with six more approved for a later delivery. The training schedule is about to go ballistic. Because of limitations in the number of sim bays at the Sydney Jet Base, some of the sims will be located in Melbourne and a possibility of some going to Brisbane. By spreading them out over three cities, it means that many more experienced ex airline training pilots may be interested in returning to a rewarding profession. :ok:

[A. Le Rhone]

Yes HIALS raises a very valid point.

Why work yourself to absolute exhaustion, miss your kids growing up and find yourself at 60 or 65 with a bit of cash but a wasted life?

European airlines are already offering this part-time option and when retarded Australian work concepts recover from maulings by the likes of the Howards and Dixons of this world (due to the shortage Dixon helped create), Australian airlines will see that they too need to offer lifestyle options.

Whatever you do though, dont work for say oh, er...Dragonair or Cathay in Hong Kong. They actually proudly operate using 1800's industrial relations concepts.

[A. Le Rhone]

...oh and sim instructing? IMHO.......Yuk.
Sitting in a black box in a carpark is no fun.

[Jetwhine]

I left full-time flying for the same reason as HIALS. Like him, I found that not only were companies not willing to budge on full-time or no-time, but comrades thought I was a big baby for even thinking of not flying full-time.

I also knew quite a few pilots who were full-time precisely because they wanted to be away from home. That was easy for any company to figure out.

A portion of my corporate career was as a contract pilot in Citations and Hawkers and there I can say I saw both the good and bad of part-time flying.

Companies loved it because they did not need to pay any benefits. A day or a week's salary later you were gone. That was OK with everyone.

What the companies did not like however, was when they'd call for a part-time trip and you'd be otherwise engaged, or, as the pay-as-you-go life works out from the practical side, you simply didn't want the trip to Borneo. They'd never call again.

But being a part-time employee of one company is simply not the way this industry thinks. I personally think a great many companies - airline or corporate - could have a stable staff of dedicated employees if they'd give this idea half a chance.

My guess though is that if you are willing to travel some, the opportunities are already available in Asia where I believe you're based.

I'd start gathering a little information on how much time and money it might take to get recurrent in the most popular airplane - if you're not - and then begin calling friends who are still flying and asking for contact names and numbers.

I'd spend a week on the phone calling people and telling them precisely what you're after ... "I'm a 747 qualified captain with this experience and I'm after contract (or part-time) work. Would your company be interested in talking to me? Contract yes, part-time no? Can I ask why not?" You might have some interesting insights after a week or so. I'd surely like to hear them.

If I could find a part-time gig right now in Chicagoland, I'd grab it. They are very few and far between in this part of America though.

Jetwhine

[Chris Higgins]

Please e-mail me about Netjets USA. We have a variety of work schedules and a fine fleet of aircraft that will suit you just fine. The Citation X is a love affair...only without the guilt!

[Jetwhine]

Thanks Chris. I will connect privately.

Rob

[Howard Hughes]

I heard recently that ANA were offering varied rosters for the 767 contract, full time, 50% roster, or 25% roster, but it was commuting though.

[Ejector]

The common argument that management puts up is training / checks cost the same, and they want to get the most pound of flesh out of this ‘fixed’ cost.


When there were many drivers, they couls do what ever they wanted.

Now they are struggling to get drivers, they want to put as many hours in your log book as possible. Still one way in favor of management. And as seen with companies like REX, they prefer to park planes, piss of the customers that pay the managements fat pockets, and just manipulate media reports, in favor than thinking out side the box for drivers.

[greybeard]

In spite of a previous post,

SIMULATOR INSTRUCTING is great fun and very rewarding, many jobs both full and part time are available at Alteon and many other places

PM to me will get you details

:ok::ok:

[Chris Higgins]

I liked simulator/procedural training work as well, but it can get very monotonous. I think that class room instruction where you can augment CBT training with white board work can be rewarding too. The obvious answer to this kind of work environment is not to over do the time at the office.

[KaptinZZ]

Likewise HIALS and Jetwhine.

Airline flying is as boring as hell and anybody who says differently is somebody who feels the need to put a cap on his melon and walk down a concourse in the eyes of the adoring public to feel good about himself. I think it's caled an ego problem, or narcissus complex, by psychologists.

I reckon sim instructing would be a good alternative, a lurching box in a carpark though it may be.

Whatever you enjoy doing, go ahead and do it. There's no sense in having buckets of money and no life; fortunately with the resources boom over the past few years I have a couple of smallish buckets of the former, and lots of the latter.

I recommend it to those who have yet to discover the joys of not having to put up with working and all it involves.

[Jetwhine]

You're right. The flying is the fun part. It's the commuting or sitting around in hotels that's really the work, right up there with getting up at 3 AM to face a Midwest winter where the OAT is about -30C.

When do I start?

Jetwhine

;)

[Kransky]

And the other side of the coin is -- suppose it is available, will you actually stick with part time flying?

There are one or two airlines in Oz that went to a lot of trouble to get jobsharing and part time work into their employment contracts. JPC put one in place in 2004. Google 'jetstar pilot agreement' read the pdf file and look under categories of employment. The JPC had dozens of pilots humbugging them to hurry up and put it in place so that experienced pilots could have a lifestyle and the company not lose their skills. Sound familiar? So guess how many of those dozen or so pilots took up the job sharing arrangements? None. After all the work and all the time spent negotiating that deal instead of other stuff, each of the humbuggers said bloody hell I cant live on a half time wage!

:ugh::ugh::ugh:

[Jetwhine]

C'mon Kransky. You have to tell us who you're talking about. Was this a U.S. airline or what?

Jetwhine

[pakeha-boy]

Kaptinzz quote....Airline flying is as boring as hell and anybody who says differently is somebody who feels the need to put a cap on his melon and walk down a concourse in the eyes of the adoring public to feel good about himself. I think it's caled an ego problem, or narcissus complex, by psychologists


mate!!! couldnt have said it any better myself......

[Chris Higgins]

Owen Stanley,

No Netjets aircraft are based in Australia...yet!