Australian Flying Jobs?
 

Hey all


I am currently flying regional jets in the US and looking to fulfill my dream of living and flying in Australia. Can anyone offer any advice? I know Rex had a hiring event in Houston a year or so ago to recruit US pilots, but unfortunately I wasn't qualified at the time. It sounded like they were willing to sponsor you and help with all the paperwork and transitioning the license, etc. Is anyone doing that right now? Hopefully this doesn't spark some kind of war on here. I'm not looking to take Australian pilots' jobs, I know Qantas seems to be hurting. But surely somebody must be hiring? Airlines in the US, Asia, and the Middle East seem to be spooling up hiring really quickly. Is anything happening down under? I really appreciate any advice!

Very interesting. Do you happen to have citizenship or the ability to get permanent resident status would be the first question?

Next is how desperately do you want to commit to moving. This is assuming you do not have 500 hours of Saab time. One suggestion I have is that you could make yourself eligible for Rex to sponsor you (for citizenship) by getting at least 500 hours PIC in the Saab...so in the USA that would mean go work for Silver Airways until you have the 500 hours command specified on their website. The reasoning for saying how desperately is I see you are driving an RJ. You could quit your current job, get hired at Silver, potentially as a direct entry captain (although it seems they have stopped that scheme). Otherwise you would have to fly as an FO on the Saab until an upgrade comes.
Another option is to find yourself an Aussie Sheila to get citizenship that way.

Yes QANTAS is hurting, and as you say there are other outfits hiring. As you pointed out Asia and the Middle East are where the real opportunities are. Some QF pilots went to AirJapan, and there are many Aussies working for CX.

In short, you can definitely make the dream come true, it is just what is living in a certain location worth to you (giving up seniority at your current RJ outfit/ income because you need 500 command in a Saab). Silver Airways first year pay on the 1900 is $21/hr or if you get the Saab it is $25/hr.

I don't have citizenship down there, which is why that Rex thing was looking so good- it looked like they would sponsor people for their visas. I don't have any Saab time, and while I'm 100% committed and devoted to moving and flying down there, it's not feasible for me to quit my current job to fly for Silver in the hope that Rex might hire me.....so I guess that makes me 99% committed to moving down there. I guess my question is, are there any places down there that have/had a scheme similar to Rex? I don't know how important the Saab time is to coming over there...I meet the total time requirement, and I'd be willing to come over on the right seat (I think they were interviewing in Houston for direct entry captains).

Short answer mate is no (well not that I know of). There are a tone of guys down here with the right to live and work who can't get on the right seat of a decent machine. Command time on type would be your only way to get sponsored as far as I know.

FormerCRJdriver, I sent you a couple PMs

There are a few N registered business jets flying US part 91 based around Australasia. The challenger/global series might even be a common rating with a CRJ if that's what you fly. Why don't you go through the FAA register of types and see if any of them are listed to an Australian address if that's how it works?

We have Australian Pilots out of work here and I don't think we have a need to recruit from overseas yet.........

Australia thanks you for your interest and wishes you all the best for your future career in the USA.

Given the amount of hiring the majors in the USA are going to do over the next 5 years, why aren't you applying there?

You are always going to make more (net) money in a USA major than you ever will in Australia.

A captain's salary at REX based in Sydney and all that entails would hardly pay the bills, unless to wanted to drive 1.5 hours a day to work.

I didn't know very much about Rex's pay scale/work rules, they were just the only ones that I saw that were recruiting here. Majors are slowly ramping up hiring here, but the industry has been so stagnant there are thousands of guys with thousands and thousands of PIC hours that are all going to get hired first. The short answer basically is my dream has always been to live and fly in Australia, I like it a lot better down there. In terms of money, I'm not sure about that. Regional first officers here start off at roughly $25,000/year and I'd say regional captain pay usually tops out at say $85,000/year. The cost of living in Australia, for argument's sake, is about twice as expensive as it is here. FOs there, from my understanding, make a lot more than A$50,000.

Australian majors pay a lot better than US ones, there's no doubt about that. I know you've got the higher taxes and costs of living in Australia, but I'm still doubtful whether you are always going to be better off in the US.

With that being said, I wouldn't be too excited about moving to fly in Australia though, it's not like the Australian aviation industry is exactly booming.

If you compare the house price of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane (within 1 hour drive of the airport), to the house price in the USA and the cost to by a car in the USA, financially, working for a major airline in the USA would win hands down.

I'm lucky as I don't have to worry about paying off my home loan, but it's a worry when an old house full of asbestos a hour's drive south of Sydney Airport is 6 times a Qantas/Virgin 737 FO yearly income.

Formercrjdriver
I moved to Australia from Canada 3yrs ago. I'm ready to move away. Aviation has gone down hill very badly in the last 12 months. But its the same world wide.
The basic cost of living in Australia is about 10% more than Canada/USA. Thats for electricity, water, food, Utility rates.
All other items are up to 10 times the price compared to Canada/USA. Thats for clothes, cars, tools, furnature, interest rates, bank fees, etc.
The work place rules are better than Canada/USA, and worker protections are better here. The safety side of the work place is much herder to adjust to, almost grinding work to a halt, but not quite yet.
Australia today is not the Australia I lived in back in the 1990's.
You and I are not the same, so that means there is a good chance that you will like it here. I suggest you take a 12 month leave of absence and come down here for a scout around.

aintsaying

I've been down there a number of times, and love it there. I would love nothing more than to run around there for 12 months, just need to find someone to hire/sponsor me. Or does anyone know a cute, single Australian girl I can marry? That seems like my best bet at this point haha. It's too bad that things are slowing down there in terms of hiring, hopefully it's just temporary and will pick back up.

As my Dad used to say about Yanks in Australia during the war: "Over paid, over sexed and over here!"

:E

Commercial Pilot is not currently in the Australian Skilled Occupations List. This means Australia does not have a skills shortage in commercial pilots and that occupation will not assist you to obtain any Australian resident working Visa.

In effect, the Australian Government considers there are enough Australian Commercial Pilots living in Australia to fill current requirements.

An Australian airline may make application to sponsor overseas pilots in a specific category/with specific qualifications and experience (e.g. for the introduction of a new aircraft type etc) if it could demonstrate an immediate skills shortage in that category of commercial pilot and it had taken steps to train Australian pilots to fill that requirement in the longer term.

There is certainly no guarantee the Dept of Immigration and Border Protection would approve the Sponsorship and Visa application.

The fact that an aircraft normally domicile in Australia has US (or another country) registration would not be justification for employing overseas pilots. Immigration would probably point out to the operator that he has two options to address his pilot needs, register the aircraft in Australia or send Australian pilots overseas to obtain their foreign licenses.

Unless a US citizen commercial pilot holds alternate qualifications, skills and experience in a skilled occupation in demand and is prepared to work in that alternate employment on arrival in Australia, the only option open to you would be to join 565,000 other US citizens that visited Australia last year as tourists for non working stays up to three months.

Working Holiday Visas are also available to US citizens but there are a number of restrictions, including age, and employment duration. You would not get commercial flying work in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa.

Australia's immigration laws are very similar to and generally a reciprocal of the US immigration laws.

The short answer, unless Australia buys the Space Shuttle, a US commercial pilot has very little chance of obtaining an Australian employer sponsorship and a work and residency Visa based upon his occupation.

You could think about marrying an Australian, however to be granted a Spouse Visa you must demonstrate a relatively long term committed relationship. A quick turn through a Las Vegas wedding chapel simply won't cut the mustard.

plenty of cute Cabramatta girls looking for a husband! Multi colour hairstyles, chew gum 24/7 and have mostly tasteful tattoos.

Problem is, you're marrying into the family..still..within a year or 2 you'll have 4 or 5 of your own!

My advice, don't do it.

I left a job in the US, in the left seat of the RJ at one of the better regionals (in terms of pay), for a right hand seat in a 737 and I regret it, big time. Financially, I'm worse off and my quality of life isn't as good as it was in the US. Do not make the mistake of simply looking at pay scales and doing a $ for $ comparison. I earn around $40k more than friends of mine on 2nd year pay at United but have less in my pocket at the end of the month after taxes and paying bills.

Professionally, the flying here is as boring as batsh!t and I won't even go into the pedantic and anal way we approach everything involved in moving an aircraft from point A to point B.

Living here is a very different animal compared to coming for a few weeks, on vacation. The cost of living is far higher than any of the other 3 continents I've lived on and it's only getting worse.

As the man from "The great white north" said, you may approach things differently but every one of our friends from the UK and the US is actively trying to leave.

Well Kenny don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out fella.....:mad:

I fully understand FormerCRJDriver and wanting to live and work in Australia. My wife and I were married in OZ (Woy Woy) and have been there about 6 times each. It is our dream to live and work there, but that unfortunantly is easier said than done. Anyway I don't have much to contribute other than there are others out there with your same dream Former. Good luck!

PS...Everything is WAY more than the US down there...EVERTHING! Still the best place on the planet in my opinion.

Nitpicker,

Don't worry I won't. I have options outside of Australia, unlike most and I plan to make full use of them. But, it's a bit sad when a very proud Australian would rather live elsewhere.