Flying for Garuda
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The assessment
Hi all,
Just got back from Singapore and Jakarta for the assessment. Impression of the company is pretty good. Some things were not organized as well as we are used to in the west (confusion about pick-up times, a representative of the company waiting for us behind passport control while we were in transit) but nothing serious.
Assessment in Singapore was pretty straightforward. They were not out to break you. Visual approach, non-precision approach, precision approach, two engines, one engine, nothing you couldn't handle. What they want to see is whether you can keep the airplane in the air, and your crm skills. Pretty much like an OPC. We received the approach charts the day before.
A Garuda captain occupied the left seat as pilot monitoring with the examiner in the back. Both seemed very professional and safety-minded indeed. Nice persons to share a cockpit with for several hours too.
Next transfer to Jakarta for medical examination. Next time I'll be sure to bring some sportswear as we had to run the threadmill while they made an e.c.g. We also visited a tailor at the Garuda HQ to fit a uniform.
Flights and ground transportation all well taken care of. Outstanding hotels.
At the end of the day a positive experience and a good first impression of the company!
Just got back from Singapore and Jakarta for the assessment. Impression of the company is pretty good. Some things were not organized as well as we are used to in the west (confusion about pick-up times, a representative of the company waiting for us behind passport control while we were in transit) but nothing serious.
Assessment in Singapore was pretty straightforward. They were not out to break you. Visual approach, non-precision approach, precision approach, two engines, one engine, nothing you couldn't handle. What they want to see is whether you can keep the airplane in the air, and your crm skills. Pretty much like an OPC. We received the approach charts the day before.
A Garuda captain occupied the left seat as pilot monitoring with the examiner in the back. Both seemed very professional and safety-minded indeed. Nice persons to share a cockpit with for several hours too.
Next transfer to Jakarta for medical examination. Next time I'll be sure to bring some sportswear as we had to run the threadmill while they made an e.c.g. We also visited a tailor at the Garuda HQ to fit a uniform.
Flights and ground transportation all well taken care of. Outstanding hotels.
At the end of the day a positive experience and a good first impression of the company!
Last edited by trlof; 10th Sep 2010 at 07:39.
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Ok not gods... but aleast Indonesian astronauts aleast.
With Garuda, as long as you're not scheduled to fly with the megalomaniac seniority madness" type... you'd do fine! (as long as you can determine which is which...)
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HAHA.... very true... I heard there is a lot of these megalomaniac seniority madness type..
the young and old capt.... never heard of the word "CRM" or any other word from the FO. Good luck to the expats..
I expect the expats will say "I will never accept that from a Capt, I will speak up and complain" to who... you will get a get response.."sorry, that how it is here, put up with it or leave" that why we are hiring... WELCOME HELL....
It will never change... it a mindset they have (always remember they are astronauts) but now anyone can be a astronaut too..
Remember it only a 1yr contract... Good Luck all and happy hunting...
the young and old capt.... never heard of the word "CRM" or any other word from the FO. Good luck to the expats.. I expect the expats will say "I will never accept that from a Capt, I will speak up and complain" to who... you will get a get response.."sorry, that how it is here, put up with it or leave" that why we are hiring... WELCOME HELL....
It will never change... it a mindset they have (always remember they are astronauts) but now anyone can be a astronaut too..
Remember it only a 1yr contract... Good Luck all and happy hunting...
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I heard there is a lot of these megalomaniac seniority madness type.. the young and old capt.... never heard of the word "CRM" or any other word from the FO. Good luck to the expats..
We don't want to go back to those days now do we?
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You need a system for copilots to request NOT to fly with a certain captain ( even Emirates do this apparently - Captains NOT allowed to do same ) and then do what my old airline did back in the 80s/90s .Once a skipper had 3 copilots blackball him , remedial action was taken . Worked a charm !
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Any further screening info on garuda
Does anyone have any further info on the Medical and sim profile for the Garuda screening that is currently ongoing in SIN & JKT....anything appreciated.....cheers CK....
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Any news about those who went for the assessment, it seems that they are stil advertising.
Do we have to understand that not so many people are interested by the offer with GA ?
Do we have to understand that not so many people are interested by the offer with GA ?
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I guess you are with Parc ? Are you all going to begin by mid october or just the first group and did you receive your contract ?
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I have been contacted by Garuda directly, in response of my application few weeks ago. I am a 737NG FO. I wished Parc contacted me but garuda was quicker, any comments on it?
Should i go to Parc and make them take me under their wing or stick to the garuda direct process i started?
i didnt send the documents yet so i may have a choice.
Should i go to Parc and make them take me under their wing or stick to the garuda direct process i started?
i didnt send the documents yet so i may have a choice.
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I guess Garuda will contact a lot of people.. direct hire, than let people go through PARC, Rishworth etc... It cheaper this way. than giving you approx 5k usd a month etc... work three month and two weeks off, I guess the Garuda pilot union wont be too happy about this arrangement.
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Update
Hi all,
Thought it'd be time for an update on my experience with this company.
I have been flying for 1,5 week now and I must say that my overall impression is good to very good. Most of my colleagues so far are very good people to work with, who take safety, crm, sop's, rules and procedures very seriously indeed. So far I have not witnessed any corner bending. If you politely point out a mistake to your captain he will more likely thank you for it. The last thing anyone wants is another Yogyakarta accident or being banned from Europe again.
It's still another country though where things don't go the way we are used to in the west, which is why it took so long before I started flying. Only after I got to Indonesia HRM realised that I in fact need a working visa to work here. You guessed it, you can't get those in Indonesia. So off I went to Singapore to get one. It turned out I needed a license verification too, which took nearly two weeks to obtain. Then I got three days notice to study Indonesian air law and do an exam at the DGCA (Indonesian CAA) office.
Flying in Indonesia is great fun and the airports and ATC service are generally pretty good. Most airports have a runway of at least 2.200 meters and very often 2.500 meters or more, and an ILS. CGK (Jakarta) is busier than I expected. ATC can be a little hard to understand every once in a while but you get used to it.
The city of Jakarta is not the most interesting city to live in but there are enough things to see and do. Accommodation provided by the company is excellent.
As a contractor, you will be eligible to extend your contract one year at a time for a maximum of five years. There are no fleet upgrades. The company is desperate for pilots though, so they are trying to get an approval from the union and the government to change that. If this will be the case in the future, I reckon it will be a reasonable career option.
Overall I am very happy that I took the time off from my company in Holland to do this and have a great experience. I was very concerned about working with an Indonesian company and Indonesian captains as a copilot from the west, but all has turned out very well.
I get many questions from colleagues by pm which I am happy to answer. Consider asking them in this thread though, so others can read them too. However, I spend a lot of time on the road nowadays and I don't always bring my laptop along.
Cheers,
Timon
Thought it'd be time for an update on my experience with this company.
I have been flying for 1,5 week now and I must say that my overall impression is good to very good. Most of my colleagues so far are very good people to work with, who take safety, crm, sop's, rules and procedures very seriously indeed. So far I have not witnessed any corner bending. If you politely point out a mistake to your captain he will more likely thank you for it. The last thing anyone wants is another Yogyakarta accident or being banned from Europe again.
It's still another country though where things don't go the way we are used to in the west, which is why it took so long before I started flying. Only after I got to Indonesia HRM realised that I in fact need a working visa to work here. You guessed it, you can't get those in Indonesia. So off I went to Singapore to get one. It turned out I needed a license verification too, which took nearly two weeks to obtain. Then I got three days notice to study Indonesian air law and do an exam at the DGCA (Indonesian CAA) office.
Flying in Indonesia is great fun and the airports and ATC service are generally pretty good. Most airports have a runway of at least 2.200 meters and very often 2.500 meters or more, and an ILS. CGK (Jakarta) is busier than I expected. ATC can be a little hard to understand every once in a while but you get used to it.
The city of Jakarta is not the most interesting city to live in but there are enough things to see and do. Accommodation provided by the company is excellent.
As a contractor, you will be eligible to extend your contract one year at a time for a maximum of five years. There are no fleet upgrades. The company is desperate for pilots though, so they are trying to get an approval from the union and the government to change that. If this will be the case in the future, I reckon it will be a reasonable career option.
Overall I am very happy that I took the time off from my company in Holland to do this and have a great experience. I was very concerned about working with an Indonesian company and Indonesian captains as a copilot from the west, but all has turned out very well.
I get many questions from colleagues by pm which I am happy to answer. Consider asking them in this thread though, so others can read them too. However, I spend a lot of time on the road nowadays and I don't always bring my laptop along.
Cheers,
Timon
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For the last couple of weeks I have had five flying days, one day off and one day standby (either 0000-1200 or 1200-2400) every week. Haven't been called out of standby yet. But we are set to work six days a week so it may just as well be six flying days.
Remember that including travel time to and from the airport, and signing in 1,5 hour before departure, your day will be gone completely if you are flying. Also on layovers you will do nothing but fly, eat, sleep and travel to and from the airport on a working day... six days a week.
The accommodation is very good and quite luxurious. The apartment is roomy with one bedroom. Breakfast (not great but okay) and laundry (five pieces a day) are provided. (yes a pair of socks is considered one piece)
Jakarta doesn't have a well-defined central district but the location is well connected and close to the well known places and shopping malls. Travel to the airport is provided by the company and takes half an hour in the early morning, longer during the day, especially around peak time.
Early morning flight can depart as early as 5:40 am. Pick-up is 3 hours before departure so this can mean leaving the house at 2:40. It is the only time when traffic is smooth in this town, but it can be a nightmare during the day!
I get my schedules only a few days in advance every week, so planning is next to impossible.
Flying is great fun in Indonesia and as with any other company, you will work with colleagues of all shapes and sizes.
Remember that including travel time to and from the airport, and signing in 1,5 hour before departure, your day will be gone completely if you are flying. Also on layovers you will do nothing but fly, eat, sleep and travel to and from the airport on a working day... six days a week.
The accommodation is very good and quite luxurious. The apartment is roomy with one bedroom. Breakfast (not great but okay) and laundry (five pieces a day) are provided. (yes a pair of socks is considered one piece)
Jakarta doesn't have a well-defined central district but the location is well connected and close to the well known places and shopping malls. Travel to the airport is provided by the company and takes half an hour in the early morning, longer during the day, especially around peak time.
Early morning flight can depart as early as 5:40 am. Pick-up is 3 hours before departure so this can mean leaving the house at 2:40. It is the only time when traffic is smooth in this town, but it can be a nightmare during the day!
I get my schedules only a few days in advance every week, so planning is next to impossible.
Flying is great fun in Indonesia and as with any other company, you will work with colleagues of all shapes and sizes.
Last edited by trlof; 5th Dec 2010 at 14:33.