Brunei Silence

[SE7EN]

Brunei has gone suspiciously quiet since the leased B777s arrived.
Can we assume that no news is good news?

RBA used to be a great place to work. Any chance that those days will ever return?

[Ndicho Moja]

Fishing? Rishworth is advertising for DEC A320. Tight lines.

[SE7EN]

Nope, absolutely no fishing involved. Did my ten years in Brunei, hence the curiosity.

[Slasher]

This was past on to me by a mate in case I was interested.

Rishworth - RBA

Salary: NZD$13,000.00 net per calendar month
Accommodation Allowance: BND$1,800.00 per calendar month
Per Diem: BND$6.00 per duty hour
Ground Transport Allowance: BND$350.00 per calendar month
Overtime: Payable after 85 hours at 1/85th of the monthly salary

Note its not 13,000 in US dollars but 13,000 in Kiwi fluff.

Not interested.

[Metro man]

This was past on to me by a mate in case I was interested.


Did he give you the figures for Captains as well ?

[Slasher]

That was the captains figures.

[NZ X man]

Hay, currently the US dollar at .72-.73, as it fluctuates, means 7300 US is $10,000 kiwi dollars, so $13,000 kiwi is pushing $10,000 US per month, plus the other perks. That is fare for Brunei and the cost of living.

[Fly4Fun]

Its around EUR 8,500 all inclusive. I would not relocate from Europe to Brunei for that salary. In Europe you can find jobs paying the same for 320 drivers. :ok:

[Ndicho Moja]

Metro man, I like your sense of humour.

[Slasher]

13,000 Kiwi trading today at .737 = US$9,581

BNDs = Singapore dollar rate = BND 1.34 /US$1

You can look up the cost of living in Bandar S.B. and short/long term NZD trends yourself.

Its around EUR 8,500 all inclusive. I would not relocate from Europe to Brunei for that salary

True F4F. One can do much better elsewhere, and in your
case be paid in USD where youll gain upwards in Euros in
the medium term. Its a brave man wholl bet on the NZD.

[Slasher]

Its in NZD I suspect because the Jack Priest mob are
Kiwiside. Also a NZ ATPL was required when the poms
ran the airline.

I agree the fluff has potential on the upside but it depends
on a number of factors just to mention the more obvius -

How long Barack Obama stays in the White House
When Chinas bubble will eventualy burst (although thats
not hard to guesstimate)
What duration of the Eurozone bumbleing over its debt crisis

Im not knocking BSB and should be better than living in
KK up the road but thats up to ones choice. With me its
money - period. Couldnt care less about the base, islam,
etc (nor wisecrack "humour" about my spelling ability
when Im rushed for time).

[pacificgypsy]

Slasher...you intimate that the 'Pom's' ran the airline hence the need for a Kiwi licence......which is a little obscure.
I think the Kiwi's and Brits were instrumental in the initial stages of Brunei's aviation establishment, hence, the validation requirement for only UK and Kiwi licences.

[fullforward]

Nah!...you have to check better your sources: along with the kiwis and brits there are some FAAs on Brunei 777!
And your reasoning to justify the exclusivity of licenses is laughable...

[TopTup]

Money aside.....

RBA do appear to be on "a" better path than only 8-12 months ago.

BUT!

If ANY job in aviation has the words "Jack Priest" and / or "Rishworth" associated then run for the hills. You're in safer hands donating to those spam emails offering you to collect millions of dollars if you just send over a few thousand dollars to get the ball rolling....

RBA has the potential to be good again, but for a few hurdles still it seems. Time will tell, and getting in during an expansion phase is not always a bad idea? I don't know enough about it all to truly comment.

(PS Moderators: I trust it's OK to state a name, as above, since it has been used before my post and has been used a lot in previous such threads).

[14DStrasse]

Those Rishworth figures you were given don't look bad for a life in Brunei.
BUT: Expect to be on a local contract at RBAs earliest convenience. The numbers then aren't so rosy.
Apart from a lucky few, the rest of us are on Yr 1 salaries, oh, and there isn't a Yr 2 increment, or any increments!
I rarely get more than NZ$12500/ mth and that includes per diem.
I don't get a transport allowance. Used to but it has been stopped.
You would be lucky to get a decent family house for the current accommodation allowance. Expect to pay NZ$2500/mth.
The cost of imported expat prefered food is rising sharply.
Don't expect any leave! They have got enough tech crews to run just on the limit of overtime payments, so little gain there for you, but not enough crew to allow you your entitlement of leave on anything approaching the dates you might prefer.
Recommendation: Stay where you are!!!!!!! Oh, and does your outfit have any vacancies?
Keep the blue above the brown- there you go!

[Slasher]

I'll second that last post of TopTup.

Mr Priest is another reason why Im not interested (the money thing again).

[pacificgypsy]

fullforward

Admit, I don't know what licenses are acceptable for validation these days...but 25 years ago, when I was in Brunei, it was only UK and NZ.

[666]

still the same

[NZ X man]

Is Jack Priest still around, I thought he dried up and blew away? A walking , talking sheep shagger if ever there was one. Enough said!

[Slasher]

Some requested copy and pastes from the same document (please stop sending PMs!) -

Minimum Qualifications /Hours:
(a) Hold an Airbus A320 family Type rating endorsed on a UK or New Zealand ATPL (UK ATPLs still exist? I had one once and that mob at Kingsway flushed it down the toilet!)
(b) 4000 hours total flight time
(c) 1500 hours airline Jet experience
(d) 1000 hours PIC on type
(e) Flown on type within the last two years (ie desperadoes)
(f) Be less than 60 years on application (knocks out those superanuated 60+'s who still wanna fly and could use some extra "beer and cigarette" money)

Contract Term:

One year. <------ (note the full stop)

Start Date:

As soon as possible (you are required to start within 3 months of completing the screening).

Screening Process:
Sim Check: 1 x simulator sessions will be required – likely to be on a B767
Location: Bandar Seri Begawan Duration: Your simulator sessions will be held over 1 day. You will need to allow
travel time to and from Brunei
Accommodation: Royal Brunei will organise and cover off HOTAC in Bandar Seri Begawan
Flights: Royal Brunei will provide tickets for you on their network for travel to and from the screening location.

Recruitment Consultant Details:

Jack Priest (usual blah blah)....

Regional Director Details:

Jason Cochrane (blah blah)....

No mention of Brunei DCA Medical exam (and when).

[sleeve of wizard]

No requirement for a Brunei DCA medical, as long as you have a valid UK or NZ licence, fill out the required paperwork and you will get a Brunei validation.

[Ndicho Moja]

You forgot to mention the B$9.50 validation fee.

Also be aware that the chances of using your leave when you want it, are very slim. You will only be advised as to when you can take leave a few weeks before you have to take it. So forward planning, not one of RBA's strengths, is near impossible. Better yet, don't take any leave and use it all up at the end.

Allowances are B$6/hour. A three day Perth layover will leave you empty handed just on meals.

It is a nice place, nice people, easy routes, just does things in a very different way

Good luck.

[cruisin]

RBA have not had a payrise since 1994 on salary, and the hourly allowance of $6sin has not moved either and thus no cpi increase or cost of living allowance for over 16 years.
There is no structured tiered pay tables as there used to be for advancement in years of service for first officers or captains and there seems to be no review of such in the future.
The system of salaries and incentive to remain with the airline in future years need to be realigned with other carriers, if the airline wants to compete in the market and offer flight crew an incentive to stay, instead of running up massive training costs to continue to try and employ crew in a restrictive market. :ok:

[Hanz Blix]

What's happening at RBA now? Heard they are hiring again and have nothing to do with Rishworth anymore.

[sleeve of wizard]

All f/o's now only get economy travel, cost cutting measure. How long before they start attacking the captain's T & C?:yuk:

[Fly4Fun]

I think RBA could be one of the best airlines in the world. Brunei have the money, so they can invest in the airline to be a top notch. Provide a competitive package for pilots and all the staff in general and bring again the glamour of the flying palaces to the skies.

Happy landings.

[Ndicho Moja]

Fly4Fun, perhaps you could emphasize the word "COULD" and you would be very right.