Jobs in Canada for DEC

[Sagar320]

Do Canadian Airlines entertain direct entry captains if one has a work permit or a PR? I have seen not many options and giving the cost of living and low salaries in Canada is it worth?

[+TSRA]

Yes. If you have the legal right to work, then you're good to go. Legal right means you have the work permit/PR and the applicable licenses and rating before you apply.

With that said:

Flair, Lynx, and Porter are the only ones doing so right now, but be prepared to sit at the bottom of the seniority list getting a crap schedule until your number increases to above the most junior FO on the property.
Sunwing has the ability to, but they're merging with WestJet, and my uneducated, gut feeling is that anyone who upgraded after the acquisition date (at either WJ or SWG) may find they're back to the right seat once the two lists are merged. Short term issue for a guy like me with 8 years in, but could be a LONG wait for a guy just starting out.
Jazz has done so in the past and they might still be doing it. Encore has entertained the idea in the past, but last I heard they were not headed down the DEC route anytime soon - but that can always change.
AC and WJ do not.


Now, as for the cost of living and low salaries, that's up to you. Canadian pilots are paid significantly less than our American and other international compatriots. Enough so that if I were in a position to choose, say, the US and Canada, and I had the option of obtaining a green card, it would be a no-brainer to head south. However, if that is not an option, then Canada is still an OK place to live and work. Pilots are typically paid well above the national average and I find that with two incomes, I can live an old-school, solidly middle-class lifestyle in my position. Sure, I don't have the boat, the plane, the bike, the cars, the lifestyle block, and take all my vacations in far-flung locations, but I do make enough to have a nice house, a newish car, I take nice vacations, and I ride a bike without thinking about the cost.

But if you're looking to make $500k a year and work 10 days a month or less, you had better go elsewhere.

[Sagar320]

Thanks a ton for the valuable inputs. I will finish the the PR work shortly. Hopefully can find a DEC position after I convert my ATPL.