Pegasus Airlines Turkey
 

Does anyone have any information about the 737 line- training programme that Pegasus out in Turkey operates? Has anybody undertaken the scheme, did you get a job afterwards? Thank you in advance. O.k. this will not doubt kick off the debate of self sponsored type ratings etc, lets not start another slaging match!

Im interested in that scheme too.Could you please provide us with more details?(How do we apply,requirements,cost,salary after completion,base,bond period...)

So do I. >Thanks for the info.

Regards,

flaps 15 % :cool:

Pegasus
 

Hi European champion,
Here is what little information I know. I went to their website www.pegasusairlines.com and under training their is an e-mail address where I sent a copy of my C.V. So far I am waiting to hear back from them. As far as costs, entry requirements, salary after the course, I can’t help you. They appear to do self sponsored in house type rating courses, so a bond would not come into the equation. As for bases, I believe their head office is in Istanbul now if they other bases, once again I don’t know

Next course is planned to be held in May.
80-ish pilots in line, waiting........

Good luck!

Thank you Maverisk777 for your effort!

What a pity no longer summer contracts are offered!!

will turkish locals have bigger chances of jobs in pegasus?

A word of caution,

At the moment there are many foreign F/O's 'working' for Pegasus. They completed their TR last year/recently.Pegasus told them that to complete 200 hours linetraining would take aproximately 3 months after the TR.
In fact, it will take them much longer, hence they can expect their first salaries at least 4 months later than expected.

So, if you are planning to do the typerating at Pegasus and fly hours subsequently, please take into a account a much longer timespan than will be 'promised' to you.


@Özcan,
It seems they prefer Turkish nationals for the long term. The yabancis are just sort of backup.
I believe there are classes starting this year only for Turkish nationals.

For the ones already rated elsewhere and looking to do linetraining with them there will be no courses this year .. first they expected a course for May then I was told August/September and now no course this year... :bored:

I just received the following e-mail below from the training dept. of Pegasus Airlines. I must remind you that I am a non-typed applicant. Honestly, sounds like a :mad: to me. If you add up the costs, it comes out to be 28,000 Euros +. And I also condemn the people who are willing to pay all this money upfront.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I can inform you that the costs involved in participating in our course are approximately as follows (cost may change at the time of training):
Type Rating Training Course (Groundschool, Simulator, Base Training): 20,500 Euro
First 100 hours line training: 7000 Euro
Totals 27,500 Euro
Any hours thereafter: 50 Euro per hour

I must remind you that there may be additional expenses up to 500 Euro for headsets, manuals and uniform.

At this stage I must inform you that there are no job guarantees attached to this course.
The training dept. has advised me that the next course will not be before September.
There is however a waiting list for the next course. Once the next course becomes available I will be contacting applicants in order of date apllied.


Best Regards,

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

So the course for september is full isn´t it? So if you apply right now you will start the TR in september or months latter???

Diverine

I agree the ethics of buying your own type rating are wrong but the airlines are in a no loose situation.

...and regardless of ethics. If the course starts in September, expect to fly during the winter season which means that you will fly an avarage '30-something' hours a month (even that can't be guaranteed). They will probably tell you something more promissing however.

quote: "....There is however a waiting list for the next course..."

Either 'sales talk' or there must be a waiting list for desperate and unfortunate wannabees.

During the last meeting the yabancis were told that some have to leave, either during the summer season or after their initial contract. So, please; do yourself a favour by not having any illusions that Pegasus will need you but your money.

Have they ever rejected anybody to do the TR and then Line Training with them because of any reason? Or does everybody who apply get admited?

I will try to explain why all this is happening at Pegasus. At least that's what I came up with :8!
MNG (Cargo) Airlines ceased their passanger operations last Jan. They used to fly B737's. Following that the MNG pilots got hired by Pegasus. As you can figure out Pega currently filled their quota for the summer season.
Now they are fishing for the fall season, because they fear that a big number of their f/o's might transfer - again - to Turkish Airlines in the upcoming months.
For those who are not familiar with the Turkish Aviation, Turkish airlines have been growing rapidly for the past couple of years - especially this year. By August '06 they will have a total of 100+ A/C and not nearly the number of flight crew to fly them.
Btw. Turkish Airlines only hires Turkish nationals...
Pegasus used to sponsor F/O's B737 type ratings in the past (like all other Charter Airlines) with a 3 year, $18,000 bond. Don't forget this agreement is valid for Turkish nationals. -- I don't believe they sign 3 year agreements with foreigners.--
Anyway, more than 50+ f/o's left Pegasus for Turkish Airlines last year. And some of the f/o's still face legal issues due to this past agreement.
The moral of the story is that Pegasus is sick of pilots leaving the company after sponsoring type-ratings. Now, they started with this training b.s! I still think it's wrong and I will try to explain the situation further...
It's the same story with AtlasJet, Onur Air and others at the moment. Last month approx. 50+ f/o's left Atlasjet & Onur for TK. And the private companies went to the government to freeze the transfers. And the talks are still ongoing.
The next quesiton is, why do the Turkish F/O's transfer to Turkish Airlines?
- 1.5 to 2x the monthly salary + overtime (I believe over 75h/month)
- 4 bonuses a year.
- Not a charter airline, more time at home...
- Owned by the government, more secure...
So, what should the charter airlines do to stop these transfers?
- Increase the pay! - that's the most important step...
- No one wants to fly 100+ hours for 8+ months.
- No one wants to be based overseas (Iran, Saudi Arabia, Dubai etc.) for months in Winter.
For a foreigner flying in Turkey, people usually use the charters for time building and take off once they reach the hours. So, the charters end up a high end flight school for low houred pilots. And the charter airlines end up being in a training phase year around. And that's exactly what Pegasus is doing at the moment!
To stop this, value your flight crew, treat them with respect, pay more money to your pilots - and no one will leave every other month! :ok:
That was my $.02

well said Diverine,

And to quote you: '....To stop this, value your flight crew, treat them with respect, pay more money to your pilots - and no one will leave every other month!..', is exactly what Pegasus should do.

Needless to say, many -if not all- yabancis are looking for jobs elsewhere. It would be insane if they wouldn't. Pegasus owns this to itself.

Hi!

I'd like to speak to any Pegasus pilot. PM me if you want.

Thanks!

I noticed there may be new classes starting at Pegasus.

Please do yourself a favor and consider that it will take 6+ months to complete your first 200 hours with a high risk of having to leave the company without any warning or valid reason. This happened to several guys and it will happen again.
Looks like history is repeating itself year after year.

Many guys leaving to Ryan after 200 hrs or after their contracts by the way.

Does anybody know when is the next course starting?
Pegasus told me it wouldn't be before September, but nothing more.
Thanks!

İm working at pegasus now and the flying is great. The lifestyle doesnt suit everyone and there could be a delay in course times, however there are not going to be as many people trainning all at once this time round. My advice is to contact the company direct and ask. Also there will be people who dont come up to scratch and therefore wont be invited to stay; İts a business not a charity for under achievers

In order to balance the story a little bit, I do like to mention that indeed the flying can be pleasant although this will vary per flight as with any other company. I certainly had my share.
And,
If you don't mind the captains/crew are smoking heavily in the cockpit which happens about at least 50% of the time and if you don't mind staying out of the loop when the cpt. speaks Turkish (including briefings) with dispatch/crew/controllers which happens during every flight now and then. Then, go-ahead.

The one thing I don't like about this program is that they tell you that you will fly 90-100 hrs a month. They keep you off the roster as much as they can during your initial 200hrs, resulting in 1 flight every 1-2 weeks. If you can stay after 200 hrs, only then they will max you out.
And if you open your mouth, you will be one of the first to leave the company.

A business? It certainly is for Pegasus. A fair one?; No.

Thanks for sharing your experience not even peanuts :ok:

How many hours/month do those 1 flight every 1-2 weeks equate to?

Thanks

It took me and my mates 6 months to complete 200 hours. One month I flew as few as 10 hours and another month as much as 40 hours.

Thanks again nep. Those 6 months idling would :ouch: my economy big time.

@ jstflyin; What happens after 200 hrs depents if you have a contract or not. But, even with a contract changes are you will be kicked out (even overnight).
There's no deal with Ryan. People who went there completely did this on their own but you will still need 100 hrs on type minimum.
TR+base+200 hrs €32500

Duration of the TR+ base training including paperwork etc roughly 2 months followed by approximately 6 months linetraining (200 hrs).

It is certainly true that it had been stated in the contract that when one doesn't meet the standards, he/she has to leave the company.
However, even before the first person was kicked out, it was already determinded by the management that a certain amount of newbies had to leave. Logically, they took out some troublemakers first and perhaps some persons who -for whatever reasons- were 'underachieving'. Remember, all 30 persons had their employment contracts before starting training.

That having said, my greatest concern is that Pegasus management told/write the group that linetraining would take an x amount of time but in reality it took much, much longer. Resulting in monetary problems with a lot of the guys and most of all, loss of income for everyone. Imagine that your montly income would be around €2500,- and that your linetraining would take 4 months extra; that means a loss of income of €10.000,- Some guys grouped together and others wrote on their individual behalf a letter to PGS management to inquire about the duration of the linetraining. Pegasus systematically denied that there have been any promises or gentlemens agreement in the past regarding the duration of linetraining. For me this fact had been a serious breach of mutual thrust...But anyway, some nationalities where receiving funds from their homecountry so it didn't hurt that much.

Another issue that was not appreciated by a small group is that Pegasus changed the employment contracts. The interesting part was a salary increase but this only would take effect after the initial employment contract while the 'notice period' to leave the company was increased from 1 to 3 months. Now tell me, does this make sense? It is a well known fact that only a handfull of people are allowed to stay after the initial contract which ends at the 31st of october this year.

İts all very well complaining about the time it took for the initial hours, but you cant fly hours that arent there. there was a vast reduction in travellers to Turkey this year and as a result the number of flights was less; and once again İ must state Pegasus is a business. Presictions for trainning times are just that PREDİCTİONS! there will be a number of variables that will change in any period be it the time it takes the government to ıssue permits or trainnees taking 60, 80, or over 100 hours to get released. which in turn can put a backlog in the system. Finally to put this to bed read your contract there was nothing in there about times etc. İf you signed it you should have read it and at the end of the day delays included ıt was still in my opinion the best deal by far.

Pegasus
 

I have sent an email to pegasus for more information, I have read on the forum pilots have done 200h but now in the webpage there offer only TR and 100h, did they change it??

thanks

good afternoon everybody,I am not new in the forum but this is my first post.Replying to tali..yes they changed and not only the the hours for the line training but even the price that now is 30500€ plus 500€(uniform and manual).A friend of mine told me it was 28500€.Anyway does anybody know if the line check is included?.thanks in advance mate:ok:

I like how you talk about "achieving" and "under achievers". I would argue that anybody paying to work effectively labels himself an underachiever. If you have a lack of faith in your own skills or worth it may be an option to pay for an opportunity, otherwise why would you?? Is money going out of fashion??

I bet the majority of the posters here will likely post about unsatisfactory t & c later on.

I have an assesment within 12 days with Pegasus!
Any comments about the assesment day?
Do you get paid at all during the line training?
any more people in the same situation, or with feedback please contact me via PM or in this tthread. Thanks!
Ramon

They are starting assessment for their course to start Nov 6.
I was invited to take the tests late this month.

Info from Pegasus:

After the interview there is a SIM check (assessment) It's in Istanbul It's free and we pay for the transportation and 1 night at the hotel.

estimated times:

Nov 6 it starts with groundschool for 3 weeks SIM for 3 weeks Company conversion groundschool almost 2 weeks etc.

For line trn:

It differs. It's up to you and the season. If you are successful you finish it early. If it is the high season you may fly more and finish faster. It may be 2-3-4 months I can inform you that the costs involved in participating in our course are approximately as follows (cost may change at the time of training due to the rise in fuel costs):

Type Rating Training Course (Groundschool, Simulator, Base Training): 22,500 Euro First 100 hours line training: 8000 Euro Totals 30,500 Euro Any hours thereafter: 50 Euro per hour

I must remind you that there may be additional expenses up to 500 Euro for headsets, manuals and uniform

Good luck to everyone going to Turkey ;)

Thanks Dankershoe!
I knew that bit.....

Anyone knows how is the 737 sim assesment? and interview? and psicomotor tests?

just that.... and well, any more info will be wellcome!!

thanks, and see you in Istambul within 12 days!!! ???

Hi fellows¡¡¡

I´ve just receive an e-mail from Pegasus requiring me to confirm if I would attend the TR assesment ASAP.
Just I´m curious why so urgently because a month ago i was at the hold ing pool,Nr 271:confused: .
What´s going on with them?

Regards to all

holding pool for what?? to do the assesmet?? mmhhh...
things must have changed.... in on month?
I guess lots of people back up when the time comes to put the money down...

Hello

I have spoken to a few danish pilots down there myself - I think the reason the waitinglist for the course has been long is that the last course Pegasus held is almost a year ago - people have taken their typerating elsewhere since because Pegasus couldnt give en estimate when the next course would be. A LOT went to berlin (and alot of them still dont have jobs)
This is the first time there are assesements (I´ve been told) the reason for that is that they had to kick some weirdos off the course last yr - so now they wanna see if we fit in their envoirement (as all other airlines do too)

Assesement consists of
Interview
Psychomotor/metric test
Simride

Thats all I know

Im going my self

Jannik

I have been following this post item for months, and flying myself for Pegasus (for some more weeks), it is time to write...
Jannick, your mentioning of "weirdo's" is not a very fair one, come to Turkey, try to live and work there, especially at Pegasus, and you might find yourself a weirdo as well after some time. So do not blame the guys from the last course...at least not everybody of them.

About Pegasus, I will try to speak honnest. The type rating training is not the best you can find, but Pegasus is learning as well, so next courses might be better and more professional.
Like "not even peanuts" mentioned before, it is business for Pegasus. For myself, they have sticked to the contact, however they have indeed kicked out people after 200 hours who already signed the employment contract. Pegasus told them the reason was "not achieving the pgs standard", for some of them this may be correct but the main reason is that pgs had too many pilots for the low touristic season in 2006.
So I still agree joining the tr course and line training program at pgs might be a good decision, BUT be aware that you might end up with alot of hope to fly at least 500 hours on the B737 (which you might need to be succesful in applications at other companies except Ryanair and Easyjet) and eventually be kicked out after 200 hours....or even before that.
Personally a friend of mine ended up like this, having spent 32500 euros to pgs for tr course and 200 hours line training, not having earned 1 eurocent during the indeed very long time (6 months or more) it took to gather the 200 hours (pgs estimated the line training time to max 3 months) and after 200 hours he was not issued the employment contract. He is now jobless and waiting for easyjet and ryanair which can take a long time due to the high number of candidates. In the meantime his B737/300-900 rating is almost expiring....
So make up your mind and filter the news from the above posts... there is mostly thruth in it. Pegasus keeps it promises mostly, for some pilots it turned out well, for others it became a professional and financial nightmare, and the reason was not always "not achieving the pegasus standards". For me it turned out well, I got the employment contract after the training contract, but after a long time of not knowing any decision, my contract gets bot extended for another year. Some pilots got it, others like me did not, however I am lucky to have signed a contract with another company in my own country, so it turned out well for me, but it could have been very bad as well...
If you are desperate to get a first jet job and your financial situation allows it, pgs might be a good choice. If your financial situation is already not so colourful, be very aware....

Happy landings

That was the best post ever about Pegasus, thanks Phillip!!
I finally turned down the Pegasus chance....
lot of money for 100 hours... and I can´t go and junp to the water without being sure I could get a contract....

I wish the best for the new entrants! you have been brave enought to choose.....

At the same time I am sad because I might have turned down the chance of my life....

Hi Philip737NG

I was not my intention to hurt anybody and I apologize if that was the case - the word "weirdo" was passed on by one working for PGS who was on the same course as them - I do not know these people only pass on information from a person within PGS. But again I apologize and think PGS is a good choice -

Jannik

Jannick, apologies accepted:)
Ramon, I did not want to turn down your dream. I have made the decision as well to join the pgs scheme. However I wanted to give an honnest opinion without being bitter at pegasus, this helps nobody. If you need jet hours and you can afford it, go for it...but do not rely on any number of flight hours they promise you, date of your first salary and very important the employment contract after the training contract, and especially the last (no guarantee of employment contract to fly at least more than 200 hours to be valuable on the job market) is what would make ME to decide now not to take that risk anymore...
But once again, it is a free world, filter the above posts and get the useful info out. I try to give an honnest opinion and I have been there for one year....
Good luck to all of you

Happy landings