New destination
 

New destination for the 777 is MLE. And with a 48H lay over. Ok expats forget it. It will be like CMN .Locals with the high seniority will bid for that and will get it

Current Batch
 

We have 39 Pilots in the current batch. 8-777 capts 15-777 FOs 3-330 Capts 5-330 FOs 7-320 pilots(2-FO)

We are the last B777 batch starting Jan 16 for some time. As they have just 1 B777 coming in 2016. 4 787s are to added in Dec 15 n 4 more in 2016. They have frozen recruitment on A320 too. It will take some time for the next induction I guess as they struggling with our batch due to huge numbers. But expect a lot of recruitment in 2016 and onwards with joining in late 2016 n 2017. Company is growing and I hope the upgrade time reduces.

And do comein with at least 2000 USD to spend in for food, transports and Iqamas(work permit). As you have to wait for next pay date and allowances/reimbursements take their own sweet time :)

Latest guys to get assessed for upgrade have 10 years seniority. The Saudi FO's are extremely annoyed with direct hires as they are obviously filling slots that they believe should be theirs, therefore the company will stop direct hires as soon as possible.

The first company sponsored university graduate pilots should start to return from the USA next summer, they are the start of the long term solution.

But right now, rather than worrying about your upgrade, you should really be concentrating on passing your present training.

I'm not worrying about the upgrade Mutt. I said I hope it reduces.

Will they be hiring expatriates into the 787?

Yes if you are type rated with experience.

Flyboy SG
 

I've received an email saying that i have passed the medical and simulator check. They asked for my joining date, I've replied to it about three weeks ago and since then nothing. Do you know how long it will take for the visa and job offer. Thanks

Depends on case to case basis. Better call up and speak to the guy who sent you the mail. They keep quiet when they dont have training schedule on your joining date usually.

Flyboy SG
 

That's what I thought, will call him. Thanks a lot

Sounds like another 2 777 guys have failed their training in the last month or so. One in the sim and another in IOE.....

Buyer beware!

Only 2 that's a major improvement.....

Were the two 777 guys captains or FOs?

Captains I heard.

Captains, one with EASA 777 rating and major airline experience, I don't believe that he got out of simulator training. The other failed in IOE.

But as Polax52 said, this is better than last year :)

777 or 787
 

@ Flyboy
Quick question.
T7 Skipper, does the assessment and clears. What might he be expected to be offered. 777 or 787 ?
Thanks.
And I heard that there is still a requirement of at least 40-45 t7 skippers. Is that anywhere close to the truth. Thanks again.

If you're type rated they will not turn you away. There will be ongoing demand but on the Boeing fleets it will slow down significantly compared to the recruitment over the last couple of years. The real demand over the next 5 years will be Airbus.

Is the atmosphere in the right seat B777 really that bad?

Yes, for this year they need T7 skippers badly. Future is Airbus, lot of them joining us. Captains are given priority in training due to shortage.

King, you'll be assigned on T7 and may be pulled out for 787 later. Or you can request them for 787. With previous command experience on T7 they will consider your request. But expect to make less money on 78, and some turn around flights. Also expect a training time of not less than 6-7 months(or longer) for FO and more than 7 for captains(even if rated and current). As of now too many of us in training and no sim slots. Soon guys will be sent to IST
also for initial sims, apart from CAI & DXB.

Mutt, the long term solution is too far from reality. And the solution will happen only in long term aka far future. Good for us !

Many thanks Flyboy.
Has anybody done the pre employment medicals. What are they like. Any specials there?
And any info on the screening simulator session would really be appreciated.
Thanks again in advance.

Nothing to worry. Everything is straight fwd. prepare for non precision approach into jeddah. VOR/LOC.

Training
 

50 % of success in training in Saudia is attitude. I know 2-3 people who failed just because of their ego. And I can assure you they are excellent Captains.and I know some others less talented but smart enough to put aside their egos and they had a smooth ride. On the 320 things are a bit more difficult cause lots of the instructors are captains with 4-5 years on the left seat and it's quite hard for a very experience captain to tolerate bad attitude.On the T7 things are more balanced as all of the training department has extensive experience
Hiring on the T7 stops by end of January.

I wouldnt be surprised if they stopped it before then as the training backlog is crazy, plus lots of griping going on out on the line.

Let's put that into perspective, it is definitely possible for a good Pilot simply to fail because of ego but then is he a good Pilot if he can't hide his ego? In the modern era, I don't think so.

In my experience however most have failed for very good reason. Examples have been such as basic decision making repetitively poor e.g. making a go-around on a cat 2 due to an engine fire. On the line there have been Captains who simply cannot manually fly from the right seat. Another situation has been that if GACA need to re-check you, that seems to put you on a slippery slope. Any check after that failure you need to be pretty damn good.

777 hiring stopped
 

Just got to know from the HR, Saudia has stopped hiring 777 fo's, so then why are they conducting screening's on Dec 16?

The way that I understand it is that they conduct screening generally and not for any specific fleet. I would imagine that F/O's who are accepted will be offered the A330. The A330 will be the expanding fleet.

The A320ceo will replace present leased aircraft, but the A330 fleet will increase from 12 to 32.

As for the B777, I believe that AK74 and AK30 are the last of the present orders and they are due early 2016.

Also 3 high level executives resigned in the last few days which is very unusual for this place as people tend to stay until they are forced out!

et's put that into perspective, it is definitely possible for a good Pilot simply to fail because of ego but then is he a good Pilot if he can't hide his ego? In the modern era, I don't think so.

still very possible and probable...a good "stick" doesn't mean a good fit into company ops.....

At Saudia you need to be a good stick and a good fit.


Or at least be able to act.

No more FO interviews.

Got my QR call.
Will let you know how it goes.

787-900
 

The arrival of aircrafts postponed until February. Don't know the reason but it's confirmed.the first of them stopped the test flights in Paine field almost 10 days ago

Story is that they have cancelled at least 4 of the 787's.

FO interviews stopped?
 

Are they stopping all FO interviews or just for the 777?

Correct Mutt & Alloha.
Wrong engines chosen for 787 & range not long enough for Totonto & CAN etc.
Three Seniour management sackings/forced resignations too it seems, prob in part to this.
A Malaysian breeze starting right now with 450+ arriving ex MAS.
Order for 777x imminent... on top of huge Airbus 320/21/330 order arriving shortly, + 773's & 787s coming. More airframes than the airport or training system can handle.

And where exactly are they going to live?

787
 

@chocks away

Wrong engines?? Ok YYZ is 12h but CAN is roughly 9. What kind of engines did they choose that can not cover a 9h flight? Doesn't make any sense since the company has experience on this kind of things. I heard that GACA still in the process of approval for the EFB as Boeing does not accept manual calculations for the b787.
465 Malaysians?? Well i know for 150 but 465 sounds beyond reality.and housing is only one issue apart from others

Could it be that the expats who were involved in the previous aircraft assessments/purchases are gone?

Well mutt I don't know if the 787-900 comes with medium range engines or some modifications on the fuel tanks (as the A330) . Even an amateur or an av geek can place the correct order . It's easier than ordering pizza for a family of 5-6 ppl with different tastes :8. I mean how difficult is to tick the appropriate boxes ? Sorry it's hard to buy it:)

Alloha - I don't know. I do know the MAS 777 fleet is being canned and that 460 of them have completed medicals here and being processed.
Housing? Yes lets see :) What's the status of this new Compound to the North of the Airport? Still large areas of empty Units, tucked away (N.E. & NC)
Flight times? London was 7.45 hrs a few days ago so alot longer across the Atlantic over winter.
Possibly they have it (787) targeted for new West Coast USA ports?

The aircraft has at least two engine choices and the options of additional fuel tanks, they initially took the correct configuration but later changed to the smaller engine option and no additional tanks!

With these engines it will be climb limited from Riyadh during the summer, so its like going back to the Classic days.

But now that the House of Donuts is closed, its difficult to get real facts anymore :):)