T&C‘s for a G650 Captain in SA?
 

Gents, sorry for this maybe silly question but I’ve never flown a bizjet. I’ve been offered a captains position on a G650 in South Africa and the owner asked me to come up with a package that suits me. Obviously I don’t want to price myself out but also don’t want to shortchange myself either.
So anyone able to give me some hints what’s the going rate? Either freelance or employed.
My background: German, 53 years, presently Cpt on a 777 in the ME, more than 20.000 hours, experience on 737, 757, 767, 330, 340. Absolutely tired of ME and the treatment here. We want to move to SA anyways, so that would be a big step in the right direction.
Thanks a lot, guys and girls!

WS,

Awesome name - should work well in the dark continent. ;-)

Gulfstream G650 Captain package.

First of all, I'd admit to not knowing what's specific for South Africa, but I'll chip in from a more universal perspective. The actual CoS would heavily depending on whether it's a rotational job or not, where's a solid rotation of, say 3wks/on/off or 2wks/on/off would demand less pay than a non-rotational type (on demand, standby, schedule) employment.

1. Salary range; 12-15000 euro gross / month
2. Annual leave 28-42 days
3. Hotel accommodation 4 stars+
4. Per diem range; 100-160 usd/night away
5. Personal travel insurance
6. Positioning flights Eco<5H>Biz class
7. Yearly recurrent sponsored by employer (expect 2-3 year training bond on initial type rating)

PS; take that bloody opportunity, almost no matter what, and get the type rating. Get time on type - you'll never look back at the airlines - EVER! Been there, done that.

PM me for further details.

I'm guessing pay in general is slightly lower in SA than in Europe for these type of positions?

In Europe I think you'd be struggling to get much more than €13-14.000 / month plus per diem, some type of emergency medical insurance covering you while on duty, standard state pension and 15/15 rotations if you'd be working under one of the bigger AOCs. Will you be 4 pilots or only 3? 2? That's also an important factor when deciding what to ask for.

There might be private ops paying more and still offering full private medical insurance, private pension etc but that, unfortunately, is becoming more and more the exception these days.

Sounds like a great deal for someone with no prior exec experience and where the job is actually taking you where you'd like to be anyway.

Good luck and enjoy!

CP

Thanks a lot for your very useful replies, I appreciate. In a few days I should know more, hopefully. Let’s hope it’s gonna work out, I too think that I won’t miss airline flying, especially not the slavery where I am right now...
PS: Klimax, the white sausage works wonders in Africa...

I can't comment on what package to expect, however where you may battle, is if you need to apply for a work permit for SA. Perhaps it can be worked around, if the aircraft isn't ZS registered and the owner can employ you ''off-shore''.

A few colleagues of mine, with work permits had their renewals rejected and had to move back to their home countries recently.

Make sure you have international medical insurance like BUPA or something similar just in case. Otherwise what Klimax said was pretty much spot on although USD100 per diem does cover most places and is an overkill for SA but worth suggesting. Would try avoid company paid accommodation instead of hotels for security reasons if it came up. Good luck, sounds like a keeper.

Must be some real slavery, if you're willing to go fly an airplane you've never flown before, for a corporate department, and not in the super ideal part of the world to boot.

It's a G650 mate. It's not the space shuttle. It's a beauty. SA is not the worst place in Africa (just in case you don't know).

Bizarre comment.

I’ve been here nearly 18 years, it’s getting worse every day. Lots of people bailing. I’ve flown airplanes I’ve never flown before, see my initial post, no big deal. And it’s for a private owner.
For us, it’s in a super ideal and beautiful part of the world where we want to live and retire due to personal circumstances. So all in all if it works out it’ll be a no brainer

S'pose so...Just sounds risky to me, that's all.

And best of luck to you. Do you have a backup plan for if/when the owner no longer likes/can afford the airplane or you?


Then again, if it's basically a retirement gig, that changes things a bit...

GA is risky even in the 'secure jobs', third redundancy in just a 23 year career from a very large multi national! If you get a great type from the onset, you at least leave with an advantage. So enjoy the great weather, people and food! Sounds like a good one. And give me a call is they need another Captain!

Backup plan? How many airlines in Europe and the US went bust over the past 5-10 years? You never know what happens more than 6 months forward in time.

With a G650 rating and 100 plus hours on type you’ll never be unemployed again.

CP

The whole world is risky with the mad people in control of it now. I'd say a G650 rating and a job in South Africa would be safer than many jobs....

Gents, thanks a lot for all your valuable input yet. I hope to find out soon how serious this guy is and if it’s gonna work for us. Will keep you posted...

Perhaps so.

If you can get those terms and conditions in SA then go for it. Its better than any European based salaries on the 650 I know off...

Isn't South Africa getting a bit hot for white people? In recent months you can read a lot about deteriorating security. Now, with the new president, they want to bring in a new law to force out white farmers from their land. It may go just like in Zimbabwe and this would be a catastrophe in many aspects.

I'm starting to get the sense this was more of a hypothetical question. At any rate, if the OP is not sure "how serious this guy is", I wonder if this job and/or this airplane even exist(s).

Even without such bleak prospects, I can't help but think that someone with 18+ years of widebody command has better options. He seems pretty fixated on SA. I wonder what's really going on.

I can tell you what’s going on: We’d like to retire in Cape Town due to various reasons. This gig would fit our lifestyle perfectly. We got friends, family and property there, so there you go. Nothing sinister at all.
And as for being serious: Yes, I am serious and my initial post was serious as well. I’m just a bit careful because if it sounds too good to be true usually it is too good to be true, ain’t it? Hence, I only believe it once the plane is there and I can check it out. It’s called due diligence...

I meant it wasn't clear if the "prospective aircraft owner" was serious. Sounds like it still isn't.

So, @White Sausage , did you end up taking the job or did it turn out to be unattractive. Cheers.

I’m still waiting to meet him personally to see if it’s a go or no go. I got this offer through a mutual friend, so I don’t know this guy personally yet. But if this gentleman is serious and everything checks out for sure I will take it up, the conditions are very attractive for me. Please bear with me, as soon as I know something I’ll let y’all know :ok:

I've found the really good jobs don't happen quickly, good luck.

G650 friends of mine in Nigeria get about USD400k per year on 6/6 contracts with business class travel between home bases in Europe or RSA. Obviously there is a premium in there for having to put up with Nigeria, but maybe that helps.

Do they need another pilot???

Thank you GLF, I’m waiting...

That’s sounds incredible! Where can I sign? I don’t mind Nigeria either, it’s not that far from SA...