Canadian pilot desperate to leave
axiom87,
I'm starting to see mention of Spirit Airlines taking expats on time-limited visas (so far Aussies and E3s). But they're taking those with time-limited visas. So, apply there and see what happens. Can't win if you don't enter.
You'll likely need an FAA ATP but the conversion from Canada to US is pretty easy (OK, sort of easy) so you can do that while pondering other things. I haven't seen any chatter saying they'll provide one.
OK, update: See post #1962 in this thread re Spirit and visa pilots. I'm not on LinkedIn so didn't see this:
Australian pilots can work for US regionals.
I'm starting to see mention of Spirit Airlines taking expats on time-limited visas (so far Aussies and E3s). But they're taking those with time-limited visas. So, apply there and see what happens. Can't win if you don't enter.
You'll likely need an FAA ATP but the conversion from Canada to US is pretty easy (OK, sort of easy) so you can do that while pondering other things. I haven't seen any chatter saying they'll provide one.
OK, update: See post #1962 in this thread re Spirit and visa pilots. I'm not on LinkedIn so didn't see this:
Australian pilots can work for US regionals.
Last edited by bafanguy; 7th Apr 2022 at 22:51. Reason: more stuff
Join Date: Apr 2022
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Seems like Frontier (they’ve replied to me) and Spirit are considering time-limited visas!
I am indeed in the process of converting the ATP, hopefully done within the next 1-2 months. I’ll do whatever I can within my control I suppose and then hope for the best.
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Curious why you want to leave Canada. Is US just better for pilot careers, not happy with the political climate (out of the frying pan, into the fire, LOL), or just want warmer weather?
My parents are Canadian, but moved to the US before I was born. I thank them every winter.
My parents are Canadian, but moved to the US before I was born. I thank them every winter.
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Australia is roughly the same cost of living/real estate/industry wise. We have one big boy national airline and a middling business/leisure carrier which is doing pretty damn well post-bankruptcy plus said national airline's low cost carrier. I guess you could think of them as Air Canada, WestJet and Sunwing/Air Transat respectively.
I guess the difference is our one Legacy carrier does actually pay pretty well typically - but you might be stuck in the back seat (being a Second Officer that is - only in a control seat from FL200 and above) doing SFA for a loooong long time depending on when you join. At least it's lucrative for some and they love it. Our other airlines pay pretty alright too, but they're all wanting cuts at this stage.
As Australians we're able to access E3 visas, can Canadians go for those too? I note CommutAir, Atlas, Frontier and a few others are wanting to hire E3s so could be the go!
EDIT: Sorry axiom87, meant to mention, I'm only quoting this post as mine is directed at you. Not because of whatever you've written in this post specifically.
I guess the difference is our one Legacy carrier does actually pay pretty well typically - but you might be stuck in the back seat (being a Second Officer that is - only in a control seat from FL200 and above) doing SFA for a loooong long time depending on when you join. At least it's lucrative for some and they love it. Our other airlines pay pretty alright too, but they're all wanting cuts at this stage.
As Australians we're able to access E3 visas, can Canadians go for those too? I note CommutAir, Atlas, Frontier and a few others are wanting to hire E3s so could be the go!
EDIT: Sorry axiom87, meant to mention, I'm only quoting this post as mine is directed at you. Not because of whatever you've written in this post specifically.
E3s are an Aussie-only deal (so far). Not sure what other visa are available to non-Aussies or what US airlines might be accepting visas other than E3.
