PNG Airlink job problem
 

G'Day every one

could some one please shed some light on the way in which Airlink do their recruiting.

My storie so far is :

Early 2001 I got sent a contract from them (Airlink) filled it out sent it back rang them got told it would be maybey to months untill i was up there but to go ahead and get ready e.g. spent about $300 on x-rays injections police checks etc etc .About a week later I rang to ask some questions and check on how everything was going to be told i was now placed on a hold file . No big deal i thought just kept on ringing every month to check .Then in Dec of 2002 I get a phone call from the CP asking if i was still interested ,I was so I got a new contract sent to me sent it back and was told that they were very short on pilots and that I should be up there within 6 weeks , Being a little sick of the job I had I took my anual leave ( 6 weeks ) and put in my resignation leaving on good terms . After numerous phone calls saying that everything is going fine but it might just be 2 longer (it has now been almost 3 months), today I ring up again and find out i have been put back on hold, my old company as expected has already replaced me and could offer me only casual work .

All im after is a straight answer . Do I have a job or Not ?:(

This is about as good a heads up as you'll see to the ****house state PNG is in of late. If you still want the job I take my hat off to you. Don't forget to take a fishing rod, a stubby cooler and a sense of humour, you'll need the humour bit most days you go to work.

CDT4

I know exactly what you are going through. I too was promised a job with a certain company in PNG a number of years ago. They told me my start date was going to be in six weeks. Based on this I left my full time flying job in Aus. Eight months later I was still waiting for my work permit. As it turned out the PNG immigration department and my employer had some disagreement as to the acceptable fee a Work Visa should cost. What really stuffed me was the fact I couldn’t get Unemployment Benefits because in the eyes of Centrelink or what ever they call themselves these days, I left my previous job voluntarily. Go figure.
:mad:

Had the same problem with Airlink in 1999/2000.

Had mates works with Airlink and they say it's about as bad as it gets. I would not waste anymore time on them.

Try Regional Air, they're one of the better operators in PNG and Pete McGrew wont jurk you around.

All the best........;)

Thanks guys at least I dont feel as alone any more

could any one from the company give me some idea as to why they keep doing this , Do they need ten pilots so they ask ten ozzies then 5 local boys walk in and they just dont tell the other guys I mean what is the go how ca the Chief Pilot ring me and want to rush it all through then no one will talk to me and next my job has gone .

Could that guy who put the post on here trying to recriiut pilots for airlink give us an insite into the way your company operates.

Mad Dog McGrew
 

Does anyone have a contact for Pete?

zippyz... Pete McGrew, Chief Pilot of Regional Air.
Phone Nr +675 323 6761
Fax Nr +675 323 6762

He's probably also got an e-mail address but I don't have a note of it.

Ta OzExpat
 

Mate, Thanks,
I will give him a bell. I am back from Europe and have been catching up with a few wantoks.

Zip

Im in PNG at present, in regard to Airlink & recruiting its hard to tell. They seem to panic & try to recruit in a mad rush without thinking.
I do believe that the requirements have changed since the last post was put on here. I m not certain on that however. I do know that a guy who was supposed to be in country now never was informed by the CP that his application was turned down (after initially being accepted & offered a job) due to lack of experience!! I think this guy was around 1000hrs TT not much twin time. This bloke waited 3 months thinking that all was underway, only to be informed by a mate working with Airlink that his application was on the GMs desk all that time & eventually rejected.

This should give you an insight as to the antics that go on there!!I feel sorry for those who applied of the post that was on this forum, but I think that you might be better off giving them a wide berth!!!!!!:}

Who owns Airlink these days anyway? When I was in PNG it was a very competant company owned by Col Bubner for whom I had a great deal of respect.
Something has changed it seems.:confused:

Pinky, I think you'll find that Col is still the managing director, but is no longer the owner of the company. From memory, it is owned by overseas interests.

Airlink suffer from many of the same problems as most of the other smaller operators in PNG. One of the main ones that affects primarily people who are trying to communicate/liaise from Australia, is that many of the staff of these companies have spent most of their lives in PNG. As a result, things tend to move in a totally different timeframe than the rest of us are accustomed to. In dealing with anything in PNG, it is well advised to (generally) expect long delays, poor service & very little feedback. Unfortunately, this is a systemic problem throughout the whole country, and there is very little that can be done about it... :confused:

I think Cleatus is probably fairly close to the mark in his comments below. The company does seem to rush into recruiting, and then seemingly sit around doing very little. Plus, there seems to be a tendency for members of staff to reverse previous decisions for no apparent reason. Work visas are also a huge factor in this equation, and are largely out of the control of anyone at Airlink. However, letting you know what was going on might be a better idea than simply ignoring the problem until it goes away.

I am fully aware that it is their perogative to do so at their will, due to their positions in management. However, I would suggest that this might just be responsible for various staffing problems at Airlink in the past. To suggest any other method will no doubt bring out the classic response of "...when I was at Talair..." - but that's a different story. (By the way, I'm not having a go at Talair by any means - just suggesting that some people might still be living in the gloriy of their past.)

Pressure gradient is the guy to talk to, as he is fairly up to speed with the current situation (although I'd suggest that management might take a 'keen' interest in anything negative he has to post here...):(

Just my two cents worth...

I believe that Airlink is now largely or wholly owned by Mal Smith , who also owns Pacific Helicopters and is the present Governor of the Eastern Highlands Province .

Thanks for the input guys ,at least I know what could be happening now.

Cheers CDT4

Who owns Airlink?
 

Col Bubner never 'owned' Airlink. He did hold shares however.

Airlink was started by a long term successful PNG businessman who had a Baron for his own use and expanded into some charter. As Talair wound down in Rabaul an opportunity arose and he successfully exploited it. Mr Bubbles was offered MD position and there was also a silent partner to keep Mr Bubbles from running amok... didn't really work though.

The volcano struck them a hard blow but to Mr B's credit they kept flying and indeed did recover.

Needless to say Mal S got it for a song. Good on him.

As related in the post above if Mr B kept his bloody hands off matters to do with pilots, operations etc and just negotiated business matters it may not have ended up in the parlous state it did before Mal stepped in. Chris T was a bit 'antipilot' in the true Talair fashion too but knew when to leave a good operator alone. Pilot selection should be left up to the Chief Pilot. (Where is Shags these days?)

Mr B suffers from imagining himself to be another RDB.

These days Airlink is in trouble becuase of the corruption, Governement refusal to pay bills and terrible exchange rate. Otherwise it would be a great place to workif Mr B kept his fingers out of day to day matters.

air link png
 

Having worked for airlink for nearly 3 years,all,can say that it was great experence to do the flying thoughtout the country,unfortunately to add tp Airlinks problems is the type of pilots they some time recruit,some come to PNG thinking this is payback time for them being in aviation, some come up to work and work hard they do.The Training I got was first class and the pilots all were good bunch of blokes.
In every company there is people that are going to get angry with staff and conditions, this happens here and o/s, all I can say is take as it comes.
Keep intouch with the cp and annoy them as much as you can, Management will always interfere but thats management.
Bubner was always trying to do the right thing, other people tried to to do others.

info on airlink
 

Hey, I just got a message from the cheif pilot that I would be up for a job with Airlink. He did say that I might have to pay for some of my travel to PNG because of the fact I live in Canada, and most of the people he hires come from Austrailia. I am going to call him back soon and would like any infromation that anyone who works there, or who has worked there can offer. As in maintenence, working conditions, movement, and pay. Thanks in advance for any help.

Chris T is with Tropic Air in POM.

Here's a useful (maybe) email address. [email protected]

For ex Territorians, it's the email address of the infamous J Moresby B. :}

Torres, "Moresby" does not answer emails to that address any more............are you sure he is still there? I heard that Col b had taken over the reins again...............I thought Mal was smarter than that!

J Moresby B is GM Ops - Col is GM - this has been the way since late 2000

Bushbum, email me on : [email protected]
for any information that you still need on Airlink.

For those that have been waiting for some joy with a job slot at Airlink, good luck!

I'm afraid that I have no knowledge as to the goings on with the recruiting situation in Madang these days! Just enjoying my last couple of weeks before heading home, hopefully to bigger & better things.

Hope that I can manage to dodge the remaining bullets...:p