Kingfisher ATR expat contract

[arctic atr driver]

Hey folks,

I am considering a contract with Kingfisher on the ATR-72. That would be very nice if some of you guys over there could share some genuine information about the working conditions and life in India. I did a search and it looks like the information is dated. Thanks everyone.

Blue side up and keep greasing it!

[josesilvajs]

I'm also very curious about that.

Things like salary (in USD), flight roster, positioning back to the pilot's country and life in India would be very nice to know.

Does anybody can give us some help?

[123567]

Hi -

I can't speak for KF etc. but i see a lot of ATR's in my travels throughout India and they are mostly captained by ex pats. The rumour is; because the Locals all want to go straight to the jets etc. so they can't get locals qualified.

Be warned - India is a THIRD world country. I have been here one year sofar - Get EVERYTHING in WRITING!!!!!!!

No Recession here

[josesilvajs]

Hi "1234567"! How's it going?

So, what do you fly out there in India? Where are you from? Was it easy to be addapted to the Indian way of life?

I ask that because I'm from Brazil and India looks way too much different than things in my country.

[flankerpilot]

India is a THIRD world country

Then why come here if it is so bad , nobody forced you or is forcing you to stay?

Is it so difficult to respect other nationalities/races for you western expats ?

[yanafrica]

hey Flanker
123... never said it was so bad ....he just mention that india is part of the third world country. which looks to me like a pretty accurate statement.
cheerio

[josesilvajs]

Ok ladies, you can argue some other time and elsewhere. I think the focus here is to know the conditions on flying at Kingfisher and life in India.

Again, can anybody tell us about salary (in USD), flight roster, positioning back to the pilot's country and life in India?

[Chazbird]

KF ATR ex-pat captain here:

ATR line captain: 8500 USD dollars a month 1800 -1500 a month for living expenses, depending on the city. 6000 1 year bonus. 10 weeks on, 21 off. or 12 on 30 off. I didn't go through an agency. I get paid, sometimes a few days late, but I get paid. KF has done an amazing job getting 85 air planes going in 4 years. Things run on time, good passenger service, its not perfect, they try, but at times it can be frustrating. Training and a lot of things seem to be disorganized, but that seems to be India in general. Frequently what you think should have happened will happen at the very last minute. You have to get involved and stay tuned with what's going on to make sure everything that is supposed to happen with your status happens. It pays hugely to be nice and professional, they will, eventually, reciprocate in kind.

Rostering on the ATR, until recently, was the worst aspect - everyone would agree, including management. Apparently they now have a 15 day schedule, but I haven't yet seen mine (my base is one aircraft, so its easy to roster).

Tickets home, where ever, are economy, but you can make the routing.

There's no place like India, amazing, maybe not for everyone. At first much will be difficult, but you get used to it, and it is always interesting. Indians, when you make friends with them, are really great.

[123567]

Hi "1234567"! How's it going?

So, what do you fly out there in India? Where are you from? Was it easy to be addapted to the Indian way of life?

I ask that because I'm from Brazil and India looks way too much different than things in my country.

Hi - it's going well.

I am on a corporate gig here for a big company.

It really depends on you as to how you adapt to the Indian way of life. I can only comment on my own experiences. [see above].

I have met some very friendly people here, but anyone who claims it is anything other than a third word country is kidding themselves.

My best advice to anyone is to come here first and have a look arround.

[kiwilad]

Can anyone update if KFA still need ATR Captains? I have been trying to track down their recruitment people on email with out luck. If someone has a phone number please PM me.
Cheers

[viking320]

Indian aviation in airline

working in India was a good experience .Its a wonderful place to work .The most important thing you need is PATIENCE,RESPECT,OPEN MINDED,people are very friendly,Life goes on in India no matter what happens . I would say its a once in a life time experience for Expats to live and work. Time runs on indian time so as i said earlier dont worry things will work out at the end.Be prepared for things at DGCA changes day by day but dont worry you are in safe hands with any airline as they find a way to fix the problem.There are lot of good young smart pilot First officers with many airlines.They are very willing to learn and fly .as you know they all have maybe 300 hrs total time before they got in the Jet.This is where they start learning to fly the Jets so you have to be patient and have an open herat to teach them to be safe pilots and bulid confidence. So far in India i have only met 1 FO who has got the Shiny new jet syndrome that is out of may be around 200 so as anywhere in the world .If you are say 58+ or so and going to India it would be good for you to pass on the valuable experience you have to the younger pilots .i would say as an aviator thats the best thing to do for safe flying for everyone.
good luck to all.
Viking

[aditya104]

To be honest, its not a good time to go to India, because companies are only going to downsize this year.
And for expats already working in India, they have to be phased out to accomodate Indian Pilots. This is the government policy.
life in India-for people who have grown up in developed countries will need some time to get used to this country.
If u come to India, be prepared to change. U will need to be patient, respectful, polite and yeah u will get more than this in return.

All the best to u. I hope Kingfisher HR replies to u.

[hoover1]

why should line captains also be flight instructors. isn't that what the training dept. is for. the fo should be able to manage and operate the aircraft independent of the captain. what would happen if the captain became incompastiated? i am not saying that captains are not willing to help those learn the tricks of the trade but they should not be responsible for the fo entire learning experience. i am not talking about india but all fo that think that the captain will show them how to do it and think that they are qualified at 250 hrs. the biggest part of being in command is being able to make good decisions and have good judgement. anyone can fly the plane but being able to do both at the same time is what makes you a captain. how can you learn this when someone is always telling you what to do. at some point you need to take responsibility for yourself and possibly make some bad decisions but learn from them and become a better pilot for it. most can learn from watching someone else but it is a way different experience to actually make the decisions yourself and be right while being responsible for the passengers and the guy sitting to the right of you. i am not saying that these 250 hr fo cannot make it to captain but don't expect the captain to teach you how to do it.

[weido_salt]

I keep reading that all expats will be booted out next year to make way for the Indian pilots. So if you do come to India to work expect quite a short stay.

[asvsu]

For ATR expat captains , life in India may be little longer than any other type expat pilots..there are very few Indian ATR captains .. for Expat ATR Trainers (TRE/TRI) possibility of living in Inida is more than line capts..there are not many senior FOs to replace the expats..even if there are few..they do not want to fly turbo's..most of them want to move to Jets only..ATR Indian FOs will take 3 to 4 years to get the experince to occupy the left seats....So,ATR expats can plan atleast for 3 years..unless any ATR operator go for bankrupt..

[kiwilad]

I hear that Kingfisher have closed down a base?

On the Rishworth Website the Kingfisher ATR Positions are on hold currently.

So anyone currently flying on the ATR for Kingfisher got any information?

Thanks.

[Schumi - Red Baron]

KF requires ATR Expats.....

Expat Pilots - ATR 72 - TRE, TRI, TLC, TFO

Minimum requirement :

TRE (Type Rated Examiner) - 5000 hours of total flying experience including 2000 hours on type as PIC with a minimum of 500 hours instructional experience on type.


TRI (Type Rated Instructor) - 4500 hours of total flying experience including 1000 hours on type as PIC with a minimum of 250 hours instructional experience on type.


TLC (Type Rated Line Captain) - 4000 hours of total flying experience including 2000 PIC & 500 hours on type as PIC.
TFO (Type Rated First Officer) – 1000 of total flying experience including 200 hours on type

Expat Pilots -ATR | Careerjet

[kiwilad]

I see that Rishworth are taking expressions of interest again for ATR Capts for Kingfisher.

Has anyone heard from an agency or KFA directly of late?

I see on the KFA website it has schedules going upto the 29March09 only.

Anyone heard anything recently would be good to hear from you.

Cheers

[peterporker]

For the moment Kingfisher has stopped recruiting Expat ATR Capts. I have several friends who were promised jobs with KFA but are now receiving no communication from KFA. They've all received their security clearance but KFA won't send them the required documents for getting work visa. From what I can tell we are basically fully staffed and aren't getting any new planes for growth.

[kiwilad]

Thanks for that PP.
Has the flying hours slowed down as well?
Cheers