Air Nelson 'Myth'/Question

[ZKSUJ]

Hi guys

Just wondering if some of the more knowlegable could clear up something for me.

I've been told by numerous people that Air Nelson does not tend to consider applicants (without significant experience i.e. plenty of turbine time) who have worked over seas from NZ and then came back home.

So, I'd just like to know how true or untrue this may be.

If one was to 'outsource' himself overseas to say the islands or Australia for hour building (still in GA), and then return to NZ for work, would they be at a disadvantage (or even not considered) for Air Nelson?

As I understand, if you have thousands of hours (with alot being turbine twin etc etc etc, things will look ok).

But if two applicants for example apply, both from GA and in the range of 1500-2000 TT, with the twin & ATO requirements, but one came back home from a stint overseas, will that be held against them?

Thanks in advance for your help

Regards

[Bongo Bus Driver]

SUJ
In the past Air Nelson has appeared to discriminate against those who do not have 50 hours of nz IF time and this subject has been done to death in this forum.

Presently within the company there are pilots which have gained their experience in various places including Oz, Africa, the UK and the West Indies. There is however a large amount of pilots from local GA companies which would tend to indicate a biase towards locally experienced pilots.

BUT.......
In the interview Air Nelson put a lot of emphasis on your references from your previous employer so if you have been flying in the back blocks of Kenya for example then it might be hard for them to check your references verses say a GBA pilot whose boss is in regular contact with the recruiters.

HOWEVER......
With the changing face of aviation recently Air Nelson have been forced to hire some very low hour pilots with mixed results. The reason is that local GA companies do not want to be stripped of pilots by the regionals so Air Nelson will hire a few at a time from each. Therefore low hour pilots from other less traditional sources have been selected over those with greater local experience as Air Nsn has such a great turn over at the moment and they need to fill their flight decks somehow.

If you have the experience you speak of then I would give them a call and have a chat. If you are wondering what to do after getting your CPL and you have an oppurtunity to go overseas and fly go for it as I believe what has happened in the past is just that IN THE PAST.

One last thought. If you do go overseas you will find that there are a lot of other opportunites out there over and above little old Air Nsn. I hope this helps and good luck.