Mountain Air
 

Anyone on Pprune work for these guys, or have in the recent past? or know someone.
What is the company really like? They must be good, they have been around for a while and seem to do a crap load of work.

I know of people working for them out of Auckland, from what ive heard, it's a typical GA op, High workload, low pay...... but its all part of paying you dues i guess....

The work is hard. The pay is low and the shrinks says the nightmares should stop soon. If you do your two years and don't step on any toes then the experience is well worth it.

I never want to go to that island again.......... I brake out in a cold sweat just thinking about it..........:{

I knew a guy who owned a dog and he worked for them. When I was speaking to him he had been there for 18 months of his 2 year contract and was still based down at the Chateau. He had got his C206 rating and done 0.6 hours in the Islander.

I would hope that if you had been there that long and were bonded for $8,000 for your first year and $5,000 for your second year that you had a bit more than 0.6 hrs in a Islander to show for it.

But hey thats NZ GA for you!!!!!

I hear the AA base is worth your while though. Plenty of flying but still crap pay. Your life is THEIRS for two years!!!

ARP

Yes ARP there are some out there that get the short end of the stick. But some of them do seal their own fate by doing dumb things, not being straight up with the boss or basicly sitting on their butt and waiting to be handed an airline interview.

On the other hand I know of some who did 20 months at the mountain, went to AA and got interveiws with stuff all multi with the link operators. It all comes down to your work ethic.

Agreed Bongo Bus Driver!!!

I have heard of guys who did their time at the Auckland base then got straight into Mt Cook. Now you couldn't turn your nose up at something like that!

You roll your dice and you takes your chances, just a pity they take your soul while working there and only give half it back when you leave :p

Work Ethic
 

From what I hear, just to have worked there means you have a pretty good work ethic. They just can't be lazy because they get their arse's worked off regardless. I've watched them from the comfort of my 'office'.

Yes I had heard the McKenzies were the nicest people in GA to work for.:ouch:

There are certainly a top bunch of guys who work or have worked there (bar the occasional one).

(bar the occasional one).

...that wouldnt be you?,...would it cloud...:} :p

I suppose I had better offer up some infofor the original poster....

They are not to bad, I certainly think there are worse companies in NZ GA to do your time with, they have their good points and some bad points.

You can do your own reseacrh on Aircraft, bases, etc by looking at their website so I wont repeat it here.
The pay is 23,000pa and they make sure they get their moneys worth outta you, in the auckland base you will do approx 600 multi p.a. so its only a year or so till your'e a gone burger. The flying is mainly out to the Barrier and a freight run to whangarei, with the odd charter thrown in, and of course the scenic flying down at the mountain (which is a great job but unfortunatly lacks the multi). The boss seems to have developed a bit of a relationshiop with Air Nsn over the last little while, and if he puts your name forward then it looks like your a shoe in for the job, if your on the wrong side of him, then things might be a little tougher, like I said before, you rolls your dice and you takes your chances.
The bond is another contentious issue however you are given a chance to look at the contract before you sign it, and for most people its a no brainer.... till you get the call up and youre inside your two years... ouch.
The money is difficult to live on in Auckland, and you will go backwards financially in the time that you spend there(unless you have a girlfriend with a good job :) ).
The job can be difficult at times and loading heavy bags in the rain is no fun for anyone. I think it is called character building, personally I think you can have too much character.
They have had a LOT of employment issues in the past, however, all the good b@stards seem to be able just to get on with the job, do their time and get a turbo job in no time, funny how that happens.
If you like an ale or fifteen you should have no troubles getting on with the boss, and he never has any problems with dishing out the company supplied stuff to the troops when the boys have had a long day:ok: .

Really? Not too sure about about that.

There was only one, and that was a LONG time ago...

Bongo Bus Driver
 

And how far you can get your nose up old McKenzie's chuff, Bongo. Lets face it, they all move on. How fast just depends on whether they can stomach his crotch or not. The guys that earn the most points sitting next to me are the straight up ones not the greezy little butt kissers. I cant stand that!
Head down, work hard, do your time, don't pay them any money!

PB, na mate, but only cause I never worked there ;)

Who and where do you go to beg for a job?

yeah, cause with that invisible contract that doesnt have your name on it, you owe them all your unwavering loyalty :rolleyes:

The Absolute
 

I'll tell you about them. You will work your arse off for them. You will bend over backwards to make that crappy little operation work. You will take untold amounts of abuse from insect pasengers who don't understand why you can't get there 200kgs of luggage on the plane. Then you will take some more from nice pax when they can't get their 15kgs on because your clever managers have overbooked the flight. You will be out there rain, hail or snow. You will get wet outside the plane standing in the rain. You will get wet inside the plane because they all leak. You will have the luxury of a roster that comes out two weeks in advance then watch as every shift on your roster gets changed. You will be expected to attend staff meetings in your own time, out of the goodness of your own heart. You will also be expected to come in on your one or two days off and wash aeroplanes, out of the goodness of your own heart, and not get paid. Because you like working for free, and you don't like money. You will be expected to do the office persons work for her sometimes, because she flys the planes for you sometimes. You will be expected to complete 12 hours work in 11 hours because thats all the duty your allowed to log. You will have no life outside work, cause if you get called in on your day off you can't have been at the trots on the turp the night before! You will be sometimes expected to pay for company equipment or petrol out of your own pocket because they pay you so much. They will reimburse you some months later after you have missed rent (and a few meals). You wont be able to hold down a relationship and if you are married your wife will leave you for a Kitchen Hand. You will take a 3.3% pay cut every year. Dont expect a reference when you leave because they are too busy to write one, but they will gladly write a letter to Air Nelson for you explaining how you are not available for a groundcourse because you have only been there 16 months. To them your scum, an hour Wh0re as McKenzie once put it. You will however at the end of it come out with a fantastic job flying big jets around the sky one day and getting paid to do it, there is a few of us there now. Because you will have endured the hardest flying, the most pressure, and the least amount of money in your career. That place will mould you into a Hard mother so you will be able to handle anything that comes your way. No one hands it to you, you get there yourself, you do the flying, you deal with the s*#t, you make it work. All they do is give you an opportunity, but hey, the world is full of those. I made it, and it's worth it!:sad: :eek: :oh: :ouch: :E

P.S. Could write 10 pages on the Chateau Royal. The Brotherhood.

Good bio. Works for a few other outfits too with minor modifications:}