Turkish Airlines Seeking Captains.

[diverine]

For the fırst tıme in history, Turkish Airlines is looking to hire Captains who are qualified in B737NG or A319/20/21.

You can apply on the Turkish Airlines web site:


- 8000 h total time
- 3000 h in cmd as Captain on B737NG or A319/20/21
- 4000 h Multi Crew, multi eng. jet MTOW 50 tonnes or greater

etc.....

[McDoo]

..and work 900 hrs a year for all the Turkish Lira you can carry home in your wheelbarrow? (equivalent to about EU 12k a year no doubt...):E

[noelbaba]

You should talk about the things you know. This is not a forum for B.S.
1Turkish lira= 1.5 USD=2.10 Euro.
And the captains pay about 8000 USD. By the way THY just received it's 127 th airplane.

[Iver]

Are these year-to-year contracts or are they full-time employment opportunities (i.e., hire to retire)? I doubt the many Turkish FOs would be happy about this... How did this deficit of qualified commanders come about? Attrition issues?

[Sitting Bull]

Dear Noelbaba

Let's keep things in the correct order please:

1 EURO = 2,1 new Turkish Lire, not the other way around!!!

[plus7g]

for which bases are they recruiting and does anyone atually know the salaries ?

[diverine]

The base will be IST. I do not have the details, however the pay will be no less than $9000 (net) / month + benefits.

TK is one of the fastest growing airlines in Europe (127 A/C + the big order will be announced in the next couple of months).

[TurkP]

Besides the on-line application does anyone have an email address, name of Chief-Pilot or other contact for their Flight Operations.
Thanks.

[swish266]

If anybody is willing to share further contact details at THY Flt Ops, besides the on-line application form, pls send me a PM.
Tnx a lot!
Swish266
:ok:

[Hahn]

Dec. 31st 2008 did the trick!

[Seymour Skinner]

3,000 hours PIC on type! I don't think I've ever seen a PIC on type requirement that high before! Even the likes of Emirates and Singapore Airlines ask for 3,000 PIC on jets but most airlines ask for only 500 or occasionally 1,000 on type. 3,000 is just plain silly...

[Paradise Lost]

3,000 hrs PIC.........They only want the best!
Ist is a great city to live in and work from.
The only caution in my experience is that when TALPA (their BALPA) get a bit xenophobic, they put pressure on the Turkish DCA not to renew foreign pilot validations. This is always resolved eventually, but most frustrating at the time.

[Hold position]

Has any one been contacted for an interview? Once you filed the application there is no link in thier website to mend it or follow it-up.What accommodations like is it expansive to rent ?

[hetfield]

Carefully!!!

I wouldn't apply at TK.

Why? Things can go very fast in turkey and maybe in a direction which may not be your desire. They are treading non-turks like sheep. I have some friends living in turkey, married with a turkish wife, running a business there and so I know what I'm talking about. When a foreigner gets in their way it may get kind of rough.

NEVER EVER!

[Dani]

What makes you think that captains with 3000+ hours on type are better than those with less? More experienced, yes, but not necessarily better.

Dani

[fullforward]

Sorry for being so skeptical and maybe cynical...but your post looks like something coming from a local affraid of a supposed expat pilot "invasion"...
No matter of what associations, unions etc think one fact is cristal clear: in today's environment, every airline in the world is driven by the word COSTS.

If there's a requeriment to quickly fill seats with experienced and type rated pilots, they will use the available surplus work force without hesitation...

[hetfield]

your post looks like something coming from a local affraid of a supposed expat pilot "invasion"..

I can assure this is not the case.

Fully agree with the rest of your post.

regards

[fullforward]

Accept my apologies...

[jamesIST]

Brit currently living and working in Istanbul. Anyone looking for some info on the city and the aviation life here can drop me a pm.

James

[hetfield]

@fullforward.

No problem;)

Have a nice day.

hetfield

[captplaystation]

Has anybody who applied heard anything subsequent to the automated acceptance of their application ? :confused:

[3MTA3]

I applied a month ago, no news yet.

[Hahn]

Sheer silence so far.

[dcsagcs]

Hello James,
I'd appeciate very much your comments concerning the way of life in Istambul and besides that, any tips about the best way to follow up my application process, how to contact ops etc.
Thanks for your attention!
Kindest regards,
Dcsagcs

[captplaystation]

Can anybody who attended the Sim assesment/interview today give us a heads-up on what is involved.

I ,and no doubt many others, would be very grateful, thanks. :ok:

[XBOX320DRIVER]

Hi,,,I would like to give you some information regarding recruitment of Turkish,,,

Salary around 5500 Euro, before tax,and think about re taxation in Your domicile,, Approx flight time per month 90 hours,, no extra pay over certain hour,,

You need to have 4 year University graduate!)) Seriously,!?,..
3000 hours on Type..!))
In Turkey 1 liter of gasoline around 2 Euro,,
Rent for an apartment without furniture around 1000 euro,,
You need a Car to go to work,
You can hardly get off days in a line,
Interline agreement unknown for foreigners,,
for your kids school fee incredibly expensive,
And much more,,
Company dont have recruiting experience for expats,, IF You called by them, I bet it would be one day ago they will inform you for an interview and you will be paying your roundtrip ticket and also accomodition, my advise who go there for an interview ask this questions and demand answers,,Good luck,,

[captplaystation]

5500 BEFORE TAX ? OUCH :}

A previous poster suggested 9000USD NET (7000e AFTER tax )plus benefits, anybody else who has attended can confirm or deny this ? that sounds a "little" :rolleyes: light for a flag carrier hoping to attract experienced guys on a 2yr contract.
On their website application there is no mention of 4yr university degree, where has that come from ? thought that was only for Cadet pilots ?

[bear11]

useful link on Turkish tax including income tax:

Property related Taxes and compulsory insurance in Turkey (http://www.turkisheconomy.org.uk/buyingproperty/property_taxes.htm)

While I sympathise with the comments on salary, do you think THY will pay more for expat pilots? That would cause massive IR issues in the airline and open a can of worms. What would you like to benchmark it against, anyway - BA? Air France? How much do you think flag carriers outside the EU pay?

[captplaystation]

Given todays events maybe not the best time for them to consider it, but. . . . a recently offered contract job ( & I believe this Turkish job is a 2yr contract only) was paying approx 8250e before tax for a 75block hour month, with accomodation provided and every likelihood of flying overtime at a pro -rata rate. This would be well in excess of what the local permanent pilots were taking home due to the tax regime in the country concerned.
The market may be moribund at the moment, but the benchmark is the market rate, not what the locals are stuck with. If it is 5500e before tax they will have takers, but they will be out of there PDQ if/when the market picks up. If they want to accept the hassle of re-training every few months no problem, but if they want people to complete a 2yr contract they will have to raise the bar above that, unless we really are in for 2 more years of this sh1t that we have now.

[peterpilot07]

xboxdriver you are very negative on THY..why is that ?? have you been there ?? do you know any of this as a fact ?? 5500 euro i.e. ?? bacause you definately dont know the rest as facts..they DO pay your fare to ist, they DO pay you hotel and they ARE nice folks..so whats up with you ??

best

[bear11]

Can some of us please just get over the fact that other countries don't pay the same rates as European airlines? No, it doesn't make you sound knowledgeable when you say it won't pay an F/Os salary - it's the same rate as some airlines pay Captains within Europe. Turkey can get work visas for any nationality if they can justify the need, so I assume they will get over the fact that you think it isn't enough. Incidentally, I suspect a good number of your European colleagues who have been laid off will also apply for it given it's much closer to home and in some cases far more civilised for the same money than many of the countries they are contemplating at the minute.

[layinlow]

Hetfield
You say you know what you write? I don't think so. I have two homes in Turkey and a business and there are no problems other than the usual government hassle. I got that in England and the U.S. so it isn't anything out of the ordinary. As for the Turks in general, you will never find a more engaging people. I flew for Luthansa, live in Germany and England so I DO know of what I speak.If I was not turning 65 tomorrow, I would love to work for THY.

[Dani]

Congratulations! <fanfare>

[XBOX320DRIVER]

peterplilot 07 ,I have just wrtitten the facts,,if u are interested go ahead and enjoy working for THY. Its a beautiful country and people .Possibly after the accident they might even increase the pay.I have no interest to work for THY as A Captain. Because my aviation culture does not match theirs even though I speak the language!))THY one of the Unique Airline of the world ,aprrox 85 percent ex military 15 percent civilian,this proportion was 100 percent no longer then 8 years ago.I know some people who went there with short notice. they called me after interview thats how I know..!Totally ,approximately 100 captains applied, they decided to ask 4 years university degree during first group interview,after the numbers dropped down to around 25.And they have been called last minute and havent paid for tickets and hotel.Only info given to them is they will be paid the same as THY Captain.The 737 and 320 Captains gets around 11000 to 13000 Turkish Lira with overtime..If some body had been paid for ticket and accomodation possibly they decided after a lot of complaints . In THY there are 2 years Univ. graduate First officers who they had been by passed for their Captain upgrade because of they dont have 4 years degree.They are waiting to react if any body given job who doesnt have 4 years degree!!! I suggest to you go to THY crash site read the threads carefully,maybe u can understand their Aviation Culture and more,Those had been written by some other pruners correct observation!U might find useful Good luck..:D

[captplaystation]

I guess it is totally out of order of me to query whether 8, 12 (or indeed zero ) years collective university time makes a difference to todays initial analysis of crew awareness /actions in AMS. :*

[Norman Stanley Fletcher]

catplaystation - the more I read your posts, the more I find myself agreeing with you.

For those interested in some fascinating facts about Turkish Airlines read: http://www.jacdec.de/info/2009-02-25_TC-JGE.pdf

The most interesting statistic in there is that this is the 22nd hull loss this airline has experienced. I do not know how bad a safety record you must have to be regarded as 'unsafe', but this does not seem to be too great a record to me. This company has some serious changes due, and the tragic events in Amsterdam just highlight the scale of the problem. As one who is both ex-military and has a 4-year degree, I can say with absolute certainty that neither of these features should have any bearing on recruitment decisions. I also think that any airline that has an 85% ex-military contingent needs to radically change how it recruits. No doubt the revelations of the next few weeks will give us all food for thought.

[captplaystation]

It all depends whether they swallow" the food " or spit it out. That will be the acid test of whether any improvement is likely. :hmm:
Going back to recruitment, anybody heard anything since the accident, my contact dried up ( perhaps not surprisingly as they didn't seem too organised before all this ) & it sounds like decisions have been put on hold.
In particular does anyone have definitive info concerning what was on offer, as the info I received was that (amazingly ) it wasn't confirmed at interview how much they were proposing.

[swish266]

I agree that many pundits think ex-mil crew are not as good as ab-initio commercially trained ones.
But never forget that the back bone of most legacy carriers were ex-mil, fighter and bomber pilots.
For the record: some first-hand experience, albeit from 25 years ago...
During the last part of the Cold War (mid-80') there were a lot of skirmishes over the Black Sea between Warpac and NATO pilots. By common understanding among Eastern bloc pilots, the best NATO pilots were the Turks, better than even the Germans and far better than any American.
They flew inferior equipment (F-4/F-5s) against MiG-29s... As far as I can remember they only had the F-16 operational about '86.
:ok:

[Earl]

The last accidents concerning Turkish airlines and a few charters there does not say a whole lot about basic airman ship.
The latest a ex military one at the controls.
There is a thread here on pprune , I think from sun express or something close to that that covers this quite well.
Comparing the Turkish military to others is not a good thing here.

[captplaystation]

With the greatest respect, the skills and mindset required to be a great military pilot, do not "always" equate to the CRM & mindset required to be a good Commander in a 2 crew aircraft performing what are often boring repetitive tasks.
Countries with predominantly ex military pilots as their Capt's unfortunately do not seem to excel in safety statistics, with many incidents being ascribed to poor CRM ( think here of Korea, Turkey etc )

[captplaystation]

To go back to subject, has ANYONE been hired, had an offer, or a recent interview ?
This has gone awfully quiet, don't think the accident can be blamed entirely.
I have the impression that the airline themselves want crew, but in reality the Turkish pilot's union are calling the shots & introducing new hurdles like 4 yr Uni time, which certainly wasn't specified on the on-line application. :ugh:
As they were reputed to be needing a lot of DEC's ( I heard 3 figure numbers ) there seems to be a baffling lack of urgency here. :confused:

[fullforward]

There's a rumour from an internal source that they will need a number of 777
DECs wie as THY is taking delivery of some ex JetAirways and some deferred from other customers (nice prices?). Internal promotions would enter a temporary freeze due to the accident.
The problem is that there's no under 60 age experienced and current 777 drivers available.:confused:
















d

[Sitting Bull]

So what's happening?

Any infos on the interview, the Sim, ...?

Is anything actually happening or was it all just a gag?

[Snowdriver]

I got a telephone on thursday from TK, asking me to come to IST on tuesday for sim test and interview. Htl and airfare paid for. Rather short notice..... Asked them to e-mail terms and conditions before I go. SD

[niss]

5 of my colleges have been offered job in THY. app. 8000$/month, no news on days off etc.
Bonding 7.500$ own housing.

[strawberriesfield]

Just to add to the above, very short notice of interview (after office hours Fri for next Tue in IST) everything paid inc eve meal.
Very welcoming and friendly. Sim straightforward, lots of failures successively but not combined/ conducted on 737 classic but the stated aim was primarily to see your decision making, so don't worry if you only flew the NG. Interview just a friendly chat, no traps or gotchas.
Contract initially 1 year due local labour laws, expected to continue for 3-4 years due new aircraft expected. No details of the "package" offered, roster expected to preclude commuting unfortunately.
Said to expect to hear from Personnel in a month, but I have heard of others, who 3 mths later have heard nothing, maybe that = NO ?

[Tiger_ Moth]

Anyone know if they also require expat 737 FOs and if so what their minimum requirments might be?

Thanks

[strawberriesfield]

AFAIK there is nothing advertised or planned . The DEC recruitment was supposed to cover a short(ish) term requirement as new aircraft arrived quicker than they could train Capts.
Having said that, two months later I haven't heard a cheep, I know very few people have heard from them, and I still know of nobody offered a definitive contract or engaged . . . . anyone ? 6 months later has anyone actually joined, and if so can they tell us what was offered in the end ?

In terms of F/O's, unfortunately for you , I think they have enough local lads straight out of Flight School supplemented by ex air force bods, you could try contacting them, but don't expect clear or quick answers if my experience is representative of how they do business. :=

[bsmith737]

Hello,

Wynnwith told me there is a 30 question m.c. test. Since I have an FAA, not JAA, ticket, I'm wondering what these questions cover. Does anyone know if the airline ultimately requires a JAA license, or will they require me to get a "Frozen" JAA ATPL? I'm completely new to this expat stuff so bear with my stupid questions. I'm told to expect an interview very shortly. Wynnwith also asked if I might desire to be an instructor pilot. Thanks. bsmith 5600+ PIC on 737-800.

[B737NG]

A Friend of mine got hired in the B777 and was sitting in IST for 3 weeks to wait until they got the act together. He is not very amused about the disorganisation and the time sitting around and doing nothing. Watch what comes next......

Fly safe and land happy

NG

[Nightrider]

The process in IST is clear and follows a standard procedure. This is valid for the 737 and the Airbus. The procedure for the 777 is painful as there is no sim in IST and a complete communication lack (as it seems) between upper management and OPS about fleet requirements and the need of speedy integration of new people exists.

was sitting in IST for 3 weeks to wait until they got the act together

Now this is most probably not even THYs fault. While the residence visa can be issued in one day (I saw this happening in about 4 hours), the working permit takes weeks to be processed.

However, the support and / assistance for crews arriving for screening lacks any professional standards. THY has to change attitude towards the non-Turkish crews and play as an international airline as they claim to be.

[e2alridi]

Ok. With all the negative info.:D, did any one go to the interview? What about the 30 tech. question test?

[Hebridean Jocky]

Hi there,
I would be grateful for any information at all on the selection process for direct entry A320 Captains.
Especially the interview questions.
Kindest regards
MF

[Merlyn]

I second that. I would also appreciate any info on contractair and turkish airlines as to what it's like to work for them.

[fullforward]

Looks like not many fellas interested on this outfit.
However, I know from a friend flying for EK (777 skipper) that 12 colleagues from that fleet just resigned from there to join THY...:ugh:
Go figure!

[EFC 3 DAYS]

No one with any sense would leave a job to go work for THY on a one year contract. The agencies that are recruiting pilots for THY are quick to tell pilots that the one year contract will probably be extended to three years and that the initial one year offer is a labour law issue. If you think that this statement makes sense then you are in a majority of one.
Because THY are unionised their pilots do not want expats there. After you have finished your one year contract you can expect to be shown the door.
Maybe THY would be more successful in getting non desperate pilots to join if they were to offer a contract that was three years in duration.

[Grynstadt]

A good friend of mine is working there. Things were going OK until THY apparently made a mistake with some of the captains salary's and only paid them 1/3 of the agreed amount!

Some are now looking for other jobs as the mistake has not yet been corrected - after two weeks

[fullforward]

:ugh:

This is not the best way to attract people. This sort of mistake is hardly acceptable...

[pilot415]

been here for 4 months now.. everything is a big mess starting with the "non existing" ground training, instructors speaking a very poor english, lot of misunderstanding, lot of stupid tricks and multiple failure (3-4 at the time) like the old days. Some of them are nice, some very arrogant expecially the ex military. Company pay for 15 days only your accomodation then you're on your own. Sometime very difficult to find an hotel room since IST is the European (????) capital of culture.. I hope they will never get in !!!!

Salary received at one quarter of the total for unknown reasons

Stay away, if you can

[zonak]

"Salary received at one quarter of the total for unknown reasons"

I just can't understand why would that be the case?

I wouldn't expect to see a national carrier fool around in such a manner and at a time of such a big need :confused:

If it happen to be explained please get us some update!

[OXOGEKAS340]

A340 drivers for THY.
THY is asking for A340 cpt's, and many of us (ex. Olympic 340 drivers) received "invitations" to participate in the recruiting.
Money is good, something like 15171 TL (7,5K euro's) net, plus 1k euros, for home rent allowance if not staying in an hotel provided for free by the Company (5*).
Initial contract for one (a) year, 3 weeks "on", 1 week "off", with 75 hours per month.
Loss of license insurance provided, as medical plan also.
They are expecting, A340 currency, 11k total hours, 1000 on type plus 500 wide, or 1500 on type minimum.
JAA/FAA/ICAO ATPL, plus english 5 or 6 level.
Not yet passed the interview. In a few days will inform everybody for this procedure.
Till now, first day is an interview with HR, chief pilots stc. About 10 persons.
Then, 30 questions ..Read the "technical interview for pilots"....
A sim on the 340 (I had being informed that due to lack of such a sim, they are using 320 sim, but I am not sure about this info...).
I dont know, the total number of pilots they want. From OLYMPIC AIRLINES, about 35 - 40 are interested to participate in the "procedure".
Actually, many are "asking" how Turks and Greeks can work together in a cockpit.
I can assure you, that both "sides" have NO problem at all.
Turks and Greeks, have the same mentality.
Personally, I look forward to join (if lucky) THY, and if selected.
Good luck to everybody willing to join THY.:ok:

[Uncle Wiggily]

A couple questions for those who are better informed about the nature of contracts and contracting agencies:

1. Why would a company like Turkish (or any other for that matter) use a contracting agency such as Parc to get Captains? Would it not be cheaper for Turkish Airlines to simply advertise for DEC positions on their own website and conduct the process themselves? Or is it still more cost efficient to use an agency like Parc because that somehow lowers Turkish HR costs? I understands that if Parc says they will pay 9,000 USD/month to the pilot then in actuality they are probably really paying 10,000 to Parc....Parc takes 1000 USD...and then the contracted pilot takes 9,000 USD. Is that 1000 USD paid to Parc still cheaper than Turkish recruiting DECs itself? If so....can somebody please explain!

2. Is Turkish Airlines hiring DECs because it is cheaper than upgrading its own First Officers or is there a severe shortage of Captain or Captain-ready pilots?

Thanks so much for your responses!:)

Regards,
UW

[captjns]

Damn!!! coffee on the screen and keyboard again:mad:!

As stated by OXOGEKAS340

Actually, many are "asking" how Turks and Greeks can work together in a cockpit.

I can assure you, that both "sides" have NO problem at all.
Turks and Greeks, have the same mentality.:ok::D

Definitely the quote of the day.

Just a bit of humor guys and gals.

[Payscale]

What the true story with all these DECs that Turkish is looking for on B777 and A340.
They do have 20 odd aircraft on order, but dont they have nationals they can promote?
Is it a corporate way of putting pressure on the unions?
Who is recruiting for them? Dont see any vacancies under their own website.


Anyone with good intel please share or PM me.

Teşekkür ederim
Payscale

[EAM]

Just one thing, Turkey is NOT Europe, even if some recruiters insist on it.
Everytime I apply for A320 postitions in Europe, it comes ot that it is THY.
Turkey is NOT Europe!

[Payscale]

OK OK...its not Europe!
Now go back to your beer mate..

I was hoping for a reply from an expat working for THY. Not a geography expert

[OXOGEKAS340]

Sorry mate....check your map!
:ugh::ugh::ugh:

[MaxBlow]

OXO,

I see that THYs' base is Ataturk (IST) which is geographicly Europe :}

Crews are based in IST so there's nothing wrong with that ad.

Cheers ( and to put some more oil into the fire here) from the beautyfull Turkish island of Cyprus:ouch:

Who cares anyways ?

[sylversurfer]

Any idea if they are accepting 320 rated Capts for the 330?

[CAT3A]

MaxBlow

This is not a political forum and yes you put oil into the fire here with comments like that.

No need for that...

[MaxBlow]

CAT3A,

your're right. My appologies, simply disregard my comment.
I really don't care if it's Europe or any other continent when the
contract suits me.

Ryanair says they fly to FRA but actually go to HHN (110 klicks away), they also advertise Paris but fly to Beauvais etc. - you'll see that there're more people in the industry that should go back to school.

Happy flying!

[CAT3A]

MaxBlow,

Appology accepted, thanks

[zonak]

OK! Anyone with sound, clear and useful info about Turkish A320 DEC?

So far a lot of bull s*****g?

The way I see it is, you're all sitting in a nice comfortable seat, probably left, in companies which are good but not good enough for frustrations you hold in yourself and this is the place to let them out.

Leave people, who are really looking for a new prospect, alone and keep frustrations for yourself (or your wife).

[DownIn3Green]

I know nothing about this THY recruiting...HOWEVER...I lived in IST for 2 yrs (1993 -94) working for Istanbul Airlines (Now Defunct)...

Turkey is a great place to live and work, as long as the pay and conditions are reasonable, the Turks are GREAT HOSTS and you will want for nothing, as long as you remember you are a guest in their country...

As far as a previous post stating Turkey is not in Europe, well, it is in Europe, and belongs to NATO...The Turks build F-16's under contract for Gen Dynamics....

Also, ISTANBUL is the only city in the world to rest on 2 continents...Europe and Asia...the 2 parts divided by the Bosphorus Straight...

English in Turkish Aviation also has never been a problem, in my experience...

I may call some of my friends over there and see if I could get in on this...

[OXOGEKAS340]

ZONAK what is your problem?

[sylversurfer]

How about the cost of living in Turkey, what can an expat expect regardind housing,international schools,med care for the family,you name it,what keeps us afloat ? Anyone care to detail these issues?

[Payscale]

Id love to hear the answer to that question as well.
I checked ReMax. It looks like at lease 3-4000 USD for something half decent.
What about international schools?

[astronaute]

No,Turkey is not in Europe ( except the Istambul part ) !

Neither by geography,culture,population or religion !

:mad:

Ps USA and Canada belong to NATO and are not in Europe, but they are closer of europeans than Turkey !

[B767PL]

What the true story with all these DECs that Turkish is looking for on B777 and A340.
They do have 20 odd aircraft on order, but dont they have nationals they can promote?
Is it a corporate way of putting pressure on the unions?
Who is recruiting for them? Dont see any vacancies under their own website.


Anyone with good intel please share or PM me.

Teşekkür ederim
Payscale


Good question, anybody know the answer?

[pacificgypsy]

There are a number of agencies involved....Wynnwith and PARC are 2 and there may be others

[captplaystation]

Sigma now say on their latest plea for candidates :{ (on flightglobal .com) that the positions for F/O on B737/A320 are ·" commuting", but don't claim that those for Capts for these types would be, only the long-haul types, as previously promised, are shown as 3wks on/1 wk off.

Are they assuming that all us LH seat bods are bitter divorced old (youngish? :rolleyes: ) men that don't want to go home ? :hmm:

[Babylon]

You need to go out more often ! Get a live man what a lots of .... have you not heard of "two nations divided by a common language"

[Kinggeorge]

Anyone got any information on what to study or prepare for the Thy assessment?

This is the schedule..im going next month.

Day One
Travel to Istanbul and stay in hotel overnight
Day Two
You will be required to attend the THY HQ building. In the morning all your documents will be checked and all
necessary paperwork completed. You will then undertake either a verbal or written technical examination.
In the afternoon part of the group of candidates will attend a SIM assessment.
Day Three
The remaining group will undertake the SIM test.
Day Four
A one to one interview will be conducted. The THY panel will consist of both Flight Operations Management
personnel and HR Management personnel.
You will also be required to undertake a Psychometric and Psychomotor test as part of the assessment.
Day Five
Hotel / Flight home- successful candidates may be required to extend their stay in Istanbul to attend the local
police station to complete the residency permit.

Happy to hear from somebody who already went:)

[captplaystation]

It has possibly changed since beginning of 2009 but at that stage the important point were. . . learn how to politely enjoy a nice tea around the table whilst having a friendly chat with 6 men, only one of whom had a reasonable grasp of English.
If you are going for 737/A320 don't use the C - word (commuting:= :oh: )

Forget all that crummy crm/methodic completion of checklists stuff that stood you in good stead in all those sim checks you have done thus far. . instead just operate single crew whilst completing both recall and non-recall items by recall, horse the aircraft around the sky in a cowboy approach and throw it on the ground without involving your colleague in any way. They gave me the impression this was what they liked, they may have used the intervening 18mths to become a bit more MCC/Boeing, but then again maybe not. Great laugh :rolleyes:

[Chuchinchow]

I wonder if THY are interested in recruiting ex-El AL pilots at this time?;)

[kotakota]

Will Turkish consider raising the max age if they cannot get the numbers they need , or is it something to do with historic Retirement Age / Pension ?

[Payscale]

About 11K USD for a Longhaul captain.
Need 11000 hours and 1500 command on A340/B777

Who has info on pension?

[fullforward]

From a call to their HR today: NO MORE recruiting for B777 this year. Maybe t 2011.:{
So, don't bother to fill out all that paperwork through the agencies. It's gonna be a waste of time.
And yes: with the current 'commuting' police they assume all long haul bods are either single or hate be at home:ugh: 3 weeks ON one week OFF, travelling on YOUR days OFF means less than 6 days back home a month...

[OXOGEKAS340]

Day one, you arrive at the hotel. 4* hotel.
Day two....they pick you from the hotel around 9am, and there is where the "action" starts...You wait in a room with other candidates, for a couple of hours, till they call you, to check your license, your medical, and other documents. Then you wait for many hours, till you enter the simulator.
There is NO A340 sim. Therefore, they ask you to be tested in the 320.
This is a real thriller!! You start with basic :} steep turns!!!! Left-right, climb, descend.
Then, they "slew" the machine to an airport, basically LTAC or LTBA, and with CAT 1 weather, and some 25 kts xwind, they ask you to fly a raw-data ILS.
In the meanwhile, a nasty co-pilot (nasty is his job, the guy is OK), makes your life extremely difficult. (you know, he brings the aflor easily....he does not obey your orders...he flies like my grandmom...).
And all this, to captains with more than 15k hours....:ugh:
It is a good experience....Next day, if you pass this thrill, you are asked to pass an interview. Nice people, friendly.
Then you must go to a police station to sign paper work, till the afternoon, for your stay there.
The next day, you fly home......and you wait, till they contact you again.

[foairbus320]

please explain further about whats happening there?how much u get per monthly and will they pay during our training?

[gesot]

I have heard from colleagues who are passed the thriller that during the training THY will not pay them. No body knows how long will be lasted this training. (Who guaranties that will start?)
I don't think that will be less than 20 - 30 days.

[OXOGEKAS340]

It is really a thriller going over ......
Commanders with 6 or more k of hours on type, are failing their sim....
For 777, they are using 737, and for 340, they are using 320 sims.

Nice place to live Istanbul, nice people, nice food, nice night life.
Excellent staff in the Company, and very helpful.
But the assessment sucks!
It seems, that in the reality, they don't want foreigners, in their cockpits.
Otherwise I cannot explain the 80% of failures.....
:mad:

[upspeed]

Hi guys and gals,

I got a call from Sigmar today. Non-commuting 3-year contract for FO´s (renewed every 12 months due to local labour laws). 8000 turkish liras basic salary minus local taxes (around 5%) including 70 hours block, 95 liras/hour for overtime, quarterly bonus of 3500 liras, at least 8 off days (2 day blocks), 18 days annual leave, possible upgrade according to company´s need,
ID-90´s + ZED´s, first 15 days at hotel payed by company, local transportation by company, no housing allowances. That´s the contract in a nutshell. I would appreciate if anyone actually flying for them could post details on A320 and B737 rosters, layovers and cost of living in Istambul.

Thanx and safe flights for all!

[foairbus320]

thx for the info.did sigma mentioned anything about pay during training?
how much roughly is the pay for F.O A320 basic+allowance.

thank u.

[theflyinggreek]

Thanks for the info, I am due for an assessment this month. Is there anything I should focus on?

[737superace]

Well worth brushing up for the tech exam. It's 20 questions straight out of "ACE", easy if you read the book lately.
Good luck they are great people

[heavy.airbourne]

Begin of ops 1933, 22nd hull loss in 2009: That's one loss in 3.5 years.:= Wow, this is one reliable carrier. A good way to make your family rich (if you have got appropriate life cover).:ugh: Even Merpati Nusantara did better than that.:D

[Payscale]

What is ACE? ....besides being a hardware store :confused:

[zonak]

"Wow, this is one reliable carrier."

Wow, I wonder how in heaven it's possible that same "unreliable" carrier was invited to Star Alliance group by distinguished companies like Member Airlines - Star Alliance (http://www.staralliance.com/en/about/airlines/?)

What have they think? :confused:

[excell1]

Dear theflyinggreek I am thinking to go for the interview next month, would you please be so kind to give me some tips I will really appreciate any comments please. thank you very much! excell1

[Grynstadt]

A friend I know that are a captain there says: Don't worry about the assessment - there are a few questions mostly instruments and aerodynamics, an interview with a panel of five to six people a mix of pilots and HR. The panel will ask a few questions, but as their English is terrible the hard part is understanding the question! The thing people fail is the sim. It is with fire's and failures and memory items non stop. If you can fly within 300 feet or not does not matter as long as you don't crash.

The payments are good, but they are still going by their own rules! This means they still have not paid some of the pilots the full salary mentioned in the contract.

The training (if one can call it that) is terrible. NO plan - NO instruction being done only fire and especially stuck flight controls. After every sim "do you have any questions? That is the debriefing!

At the moment there is not a system in the roster. You can enter a bid and you will most likely get your request for days off. The rostering is terrible and they call you every day to change your program.

After your 50 hours of line trg you fly 100 hours with other captains and during these 100 hours you will see things...

[SMT Member]

On the subject of cost of living:

Buying daily necessities is cheap, as is going out for a meal if you keep off the booze. Going out for a night in town, especially the posh clubs on the Bosphorus, is very expensive - around 30-50 Euro for a drink.

Cars are very expensive in Turkey, unless you buy something produced locally - Ford, Renault and Toyota all have factories churning out boring little 3-boxes in large numbers. Don't expect being able to afford a Range Rooney; those things will set you back 200K USD easily (yes, really expensive stuff like cars is often priced in Dollars). Fuel is around 3.5 Lira/litre.

As for housing, well, what are you looking for is the key word as is, of course, location. You will probably, for security reasons, wish to live in a gated compound of some sort. There are several on the European side, some 20-40 KM from downtonwn and the airport. If you're looking for a comfortable 3 bedroom house, expect in the vicinity of 2-3000 USD a month, unfurnished but incl. water, gas, electricity etc. Add a pool and you're looking at around 3-4000.

An apartment, with security, of around 100 sqm with 2 bedrooms in a nice area is around 1000-2000 USD, mainly depending on age of residence and location.

Living on the Asia side can be quite a bit cheaper, up to 50%, but then you'll have to negotiate the traffic across the bridges, or que for an hour-ish to catch a ferry. Say you live 5-10 km on the Asia side, you'll easily be looking at a 2-3 hour commute each way to the airport. Traffic is quite horrendous in Istanbul, and not made any better by the locals' disregard for traffic rules and rather poor, if not near non-existent, driving skills. Getting to the airport from the near-outskirts on the European side can also be quite a hassle, especially in rush hour, but it's not as bad as coming from the Asian side. Public transport is, more or less, a joke. Yes, there are plenty of busses around, but you wouldn't want to set foot in one of those. There's a tram system, but it doesn't connect the airport and basically only serves the downtown area.

If you fancy living on the Bosphorus, better have a significant other pulling 3 times the quoted Captains salary.

[captplaystation]

Perhaps 1 and a half years on , the previous two posts give the real reasons why they are STILL desparately advertising, via numerous agencies, for candidates, rather than the scale and speed of their expansion, as they would rather you believe. :hmm:

[theflyinggreek]

I have been delayed until mid August.. will let you know..

Cheers!

[Callsign Kilo]

Forget all that crummy crm/methodic completion of checklists stuff that stood you in good stead in all those sim checks you have done thus far. . instead just operate single crew whilst completing both recall and non-recall items by recall, horse the aircraft around the sky in a cowboy approach and throw it on the ground without involving your colleague in any way. They gave me the impression this was what they liked, they may have used the intervening 18mths to become a bit more MCC/Boeing, but then again maybe not. Great laugh

14 or 15 hull loses in it's history I seem to recall. Good to see they are embracing the concept of CRM, challenge and response checklists and the multi crew environment then!

[CHfour]

What is ACE? ....besides being a hardware store

Ace The Technical
Pilot Interview

by Gary Barstow (http://www.actechbooks.com/authors/43/)

[boeing747sp]

are there any crew on A340 who commute to Australia? Is it possible to do 6 on and 2 off as a 24 hr commute each month will eat into the days off at home. Also are they helpful or accommodating when it comes to the roster and getting you home?

[CAPTAINNIC]

yes i can confirm:

very unfair, unprofessional and lousy assessment at THY:

- this is not an airline, this is the turkish airforce mafia; a foreign captain gets called for the sim at a specific time but has to wait over 4 hours because they first screen the ex airforce copilots. ( kissing one another upon meeting... )

- turkish FOs ( also with other airlines ) write all PF ( pilot flying time ) as PIC time in their logbooks. And claim this is in accordance with management and the turkish DGCA...
then they upgrade, fly like 200 hours and off they go and pass screenings at THY as direct entry captains.. and out of a sudden they have over 2000 PIC hours...

- one Turkish company with just 20 B737... had over 10 tailstrikes last year...and many more incidents..

and when the ICAO language proficiency test would be done correctly, over 50% of turkish pilots would fly domestic only...

anyway, all the best for anyone out there who likes to join a turkish carrier...

[pezetaroi]

Anyone who's actually flying there already? Would appreciate some feedback!

cheers...

jerry