LAN Airlines South America

[Nightmare21]

Hey Everyone,

I am a semi-recent graduate from the University of North Dakota and like my fellow classmates, I am looking to make the move from flight instructor to Airline Pilot. I am really interested in flying for LAN in South America, but its been almost impossible to find a point of contact within the company! I've done as much research as possible online and I am now left with a ton of unanswered questions with no one to answer them! I have around 500 TT hours, 40 ME hours, CPL ME and INST, CFI and CFII, United States and Uruguayan citizenship. Do I have a chance of landing an interview? Is the interview conducted 100% in Spanish? If I were to get an interview how can I study for the Chilean ATP test?! Who can I contact at LAN? Is LAN a good place to start or am I shooting for the stars? Any help, input, or suggestions, from anyone would greatly help. Muchas Gracias.

Nightmare21

[inmigrante]

Please PM
Inmigrante

[Glonass]

Good day to you,

For a point a contact, look no further... use the PPRuNe search engine., it goes a long way. I'll give you a hint: her first name starts with Tamara and her last name starts with Maldonado :}

As to whether you stand a chance of landing an interview, I guess you do :ok:. People have been hired with 250TT.

Is the interview conducted 100% in Spanish ? Quick look at Encyclopaedia Britannica... now, what do you think?? :E

As for the ATPL test, it is based 120% on the FAA exam. As to whether it is done in Spanish, I hope you haven't stored the Encyclopaedia Britannica just yet.

Who can I contact at LAN? Tamara Maldonado

Is LAN a good place to start or am I shooting for the stars? Yes it is, no you are not. ;)

Help, input and suggestion can be found along with the search function. As for me: Keep the blue side up.

Muchas de nada.

[Del Toro]

I'm more or less on the same boat. I applied using the online form on the LAN site and even sent all of the documents they asked me for.

I haven't heard anything back from them... Mind you I have little to no time. 220TT and a Frozen ATPL with a CPL & Multi-IFR.

Can anyone please PM Tamara's email?

[Glonass]

[email protected]

I can't guarantee it though :O

[Del Toro]

I went ahead and emailed Tamara Maldonado and Felipe Hayden. That was a week ago and so far I haven't gotten a response. I'm going to keep updating my file with them and hope for the best

gracias

[A320 CURSED]

Hello Nightmare 21!!!
It depends on you age....
If you are a low time pilot as you state, try to get hired,t fly for a couple of years and then get the hell bsck to the states... they love hiring 200 hr pilots due to the fact that they will only pay you 60% of the F.O`s salaryry to start off. All you need is a Commercial P.L. with your instrument rating on it. Since you are a U.S citizen, I would strongly recommend to find you a job with a U.S carrier, I knwow... I ain`t easy but lifestyle if by far much better than in south america.
So, back to to what matters...
The Name they gave you is correct, send a resume, IN SPANISH most of the low key employees @ Lan will not want to mess with having to speak in english. Since you are also Uruguayan I assume you do good at Spanish. First, tell them you are From Uruguay, not a US guy, when it comes to hiring expats , they like uruguayans, there is about 40 of them flying here.
There are 3 companies you may fit in, LAN, Lan Express and Lan Cargo.
Considering your low TT I don`t think you would go to Cargo, they run B767Fs ans B777Fs, you will end up with Lan or Lan Express, Lan X only takes new pilots for the A320, LAN on the other hand may hire you direct
For the A320 or the B767-300ER, and you have the option once you build up seniority of flying their A340-300 plus the B787 is some time to come.
If you get hired with Lan express you are literally SCREWED!!! PERIOD.
You fly the A320, Rosters are not fun.
Hope this helped U.

[altiplano]

I've always been curious about LAN.

Me, 5000 hours, currently DHC8, lots of command, no jet, Chilean Passport - (need to renew).

My spanish is way out of use from long absence but gets better with use after a few weeks every time we visit Santiago... then I lose it when we leave. How tolerant of second speakers is LAN?

You mention low pay for lowtimers, what's the current pay and sched like for people who have been around the block a while?

Can you work a commuter sched out of Puerto Montt or another city?

And are upgrades straight seniority? or what's the deal?

[A320 CURSED]

Hello Altiplano,
If you can get your spanish going that`s all the better 4 U.
There are some A320 Captains on commutter sched, it is not official though, after you have seniority you work it out with your boss plus given the A320 rosters we have it is pretty inconvenient.
As far as pay goes, since you have not jet time, you start @ 60% too.
Upgrades are predicted to take 5 years on new hires now (not bad at all for an A320), a while back used to take about 10 years.
I was hired somewhere in between, have been in the 320 for almost 3 years now and possibly I will go to the 767 as FO, if I don`t, they will upgrade me on the 320, if that happens that is cool but, they will keep me there almost forever before going to the 767, A340 or 787 since I did not fly long haul routes before, it is a "catch 22""situation.
But if you can get hired do it, and build time to go to a better place afterwards, after all that is what airlines do with pilots nowdays, they just use you.
Regards,

[altiplano]

Thanks 320 Cursed,

60% eh, that's a kick in the nuts... interesting they would value someone with years of commuter and regional airline experience and turbine command the same as a 250 hour wonder... What do you need (experience) to get 100%? What is 100% in terms of $ value?

[A320 CURSED]

Dear Altiplano,
in order to swing 100% of the salary you have to spend 2 years in the company, namely:
1st year:60%
2nd. year: 75%
At the start of the 3rd one: 100% (about $4,600.00 USD in hand after taxes).
I was hired under 80% first year & 100% thereafter cause I was hired with over 3000 hrs TT, that that rule changed.
The reason: the company would recongize pilots experience and pay 80% if you had over 1000 hrs TT @ the time of hiring, but in order to do that they demanded the Pilot`s union that new 200hr hires would only get 40% to start off, then 60%,80% and 100% year after year. Thing which I find fair.... what are you talking about!!! from the C150 straight to the A320 or the 767...and these pilots complained about the 40% idea...
"Hello", those guys should be paying the Airline to let the fly under those cirmcunstances.
Union said no, and now it works the way I descrived above.
If you want to make experience that is just fine, if you need to support a family in Santiago on 60% that is tough.

[altiplano]

If you come with jet time though you go straight to 100% salary? How many days are guys working/month on the 320? 767?

Thanks again for all the info.

[A320 CURSED]

I guess if you show up with an A320 B767 type rating you may be
able to negotiate better salary, but no way for 100% to start.

That`s the way I see it.
On the 767 you have like 5 flight per month, on the A320 something like 13 to 15 flight a month with 8 to 10 days off.

[chileno 777]

At the start of the 3rd one: 100% (about $4,600.00 USD in hand after taxes).



Guess that this is the Captain salary. A320 cursed, do you now by any chance the F/O income (in pesos after taxes) at the start of the 3rd year?


Thanks

[A320 CURSED]

CH777 that is FO salary!

[chileno 777]

Noted. Thanks.:ok: Believed it was much lower.

How much is that in pesos?

[AlphaFloor27]

The full F/O salary, that is after the start of the third year, is around US$5.000, after taxes. That's around 2.3 million pesos.

[chileno 777]

AXL Kowalski...Thank you for the information provided. :ok:

[materazzi]

how do you get 12-13 flights a month, and only 10 days off ? that does not look like my roster... I've been flying around that, 13 days a month, but i get most of the other days off, or "blanco" after a late flight the day before.. this month I fly 12 days and I have 15 days off... +2 TURNOS, and 2 days I'm "off" but out of my base... TOTAL HOURS this month 65.. i do not complain about the roster, it's like this everywhere, at some other countries is worse, and some is better, and for example flying Turboprop short distances, you do many more legs a day, and fly more days...

you are right about the salary, the 100% salary around 2.3 million pesos net which is pretty good

yeahh:ok:

[Flying4Ever]

Hi A320 CURSED

Would you also recommend A320 Type Rating to join LAN? Would that be somehow advantageous?

Thanks

[cosmiccomet]

There is no advantage on taking an Airbus A320 series or B767 type rating without at least 500 hrs on those aircrafts.
The most important thing is to fit into the LAN Airlines pilot profile during the psychological tests.

I have many friends who have flown thousands of hours in heavy jets but they didn't pass the psychological test and some others with only 1000 hrs on small singles and very few hours in multies and they did it because their personality fits in the LAN profile.

I would not say that somebody who pass the psychological exams is better than other who doesn't.
I have a very good friend who failed twice and short after was called by Emirates. He have flown A330/340 and at this moment he is A380 PIC qualified waiting for his command slot.

[A320 CURSED]

Hello flying 4ever, cosmic comet may be right on his take.
but if you already have an ICAO A320 type rating that sure as hell ain't gonna hurt you at all.

As far as the rosters go, you will see a braod spectrum that makes no F@king sense at all sometimes.
I have a ****load of cycles for this month with 74 hrs, plus the blank and standby days and 12 days off-duty.
Some other "Piots" only have 5 flts a month GRU, GIG and back to SCL.
How they manage to get that... beats me.
I never request any flights.... perhaps that the reason.
In other branches like LPE they are in a much worse position.
I wish I had 15 days off per month like the other fellow.
Good luck!!!:D

[Flying4Ever]

Thanks cosmiccomet and A320 CURSED for the replies, very appreciated!

I have a last one, do they accept a FAA or JAA license? or they only accept a local one?

Thanks!

Regards

[cosmiccomet]

LAN Chile/Peru would accept any ICAO license if you meet all the requirements.

After been accepted, LAN will be in charge of the license issuance.

During the Indoctrination/Initial Ground School, the applicant would have to take an ATPL/IFR multiple choice test at the Chilean or Peruvian's Aviation Authority.

You are also gonna have to take during that period an ICAO English Level exam in those countries, they don't take into consideration your actual ICAO English lvl for the issuance of a license.

Don't worry for the paper work, everything is going to be done by LAN.

The ATPL/IFR multiple choice at the DGAC is the same LAN is going to take you during the selection process.

I think that you can down load the Questionare ATPL bank from the Chilean/Peruvian DGAC websites.

For the IFR test I would recommend you to buy an IFR test prep from ASA or Gleim, you can also buy those on line.

[Nutforflying]

Hey guys, does anyone know what determines which equipment you fly? Do you have a change of being transitioned to another equipment after you get some experience?
A friend of mentioned that once you start flying in the bus, all you can do is get to the captain position of the Airbus. You must start in Boeing if you want to continue in the Boeing.
Just for reference..

Thanks.

[AlphaFloor27]

That's not true. I'm not exactly sure how it works, but if your start on the A320 you can transition to the A340 or the B767 as a FO, then go back to the A320 as a Captain, and then transition again to the A340/B767 as Captain. A friend of mine started as a A320 FO in LAN Express, then he went to the B767, and now he is a year or so away from becoming a Captain in the A320.

Maybe it has something to do with which company hires you (my guess would be if you ared hired by LAN Airlines you transition to the A340, if hired by LAN Express you transition the B767 and so on).

Regards.

[Nutforflying]

I am guessing that is probably what he meant. Although, I think it is that way for the flight attendants a totally different ball game.

[thatchecks]

Hey guys. Half my family is still in Peru, but I don't have any citizenship papers. Born in the USA, 1500+ CRJ turbine SIC time. My Spanish as well is very weak due to disuse, but can become fluent quickly after visiting Lima. Clean record, and tired of flying for the regionals here in the US. I also have some experience flying jet freight in Mexico, not that that is the same thing as South America, and Canada.

Any chance?

[BaronRouge777]

Hello A320 CURSED,
I sent an e-mail with my basic data asking if I was eligible to apply.
And, surprise...they answered with an excel to fill out and a request to send a resume.
I guess the resume will need to be in Spanish?
Do you think I have a chance?
Can you describe the selection process? How do I prepare? Do you like it there?
Many thanks!

[captain.weird]

Would they hire someone with a JAA frozen ATPL, Kazach Nationality but fluently speaking Spanish?

[A320 CURSED]

Hello BR777,
I think you may have a very good chance at it.
Just wait for their reply.
Good luck.

[BaronRouge777]

Hi A320,
Well I did send my resume and the filled out spreadsheet.
Two days later I got a confirmation e-mail from the girl in HR saying my docs were received and they may contact me for their selection process...
Let's see what happens.

[A320 CURSED]

BR777,
Hope it works out 4 U.
They are needing at leats another 100 copilots by next year
they claim, there are more new A320s coming, at least another
5 new B767-300ERs plus at least 5 B787 are due for delivery by the end of 2012 of a total or 32 Dreamliners to join the fleet.
Lan would be a good place to start from scratch an upgrade to captain in about 5 years.
Good luck.

[arvida]

There is any chances to be hired if you don't speak perfectly spanish? I can have a conversation in this language but no more.

Is is better to go apply directly in person? I have an university degree, can it help?

thanx

[chock2chock]

It looks like their site has ben updated in the last few days:ooh:

[captain.weird]

Does no one has a answer on post #30?

[AlphaFloor27]

I don't see why they would not hire someone, provided that person has the minimum qualifications. Give it a shot.

[PACO GARCIA]

DO YOU KNOW ANY NEWS ABOUT LAN?THANKS