You will read on some of the threads that agencies are quite unnecessary and you will also read that expats can work directly for the airline because you can apply directly from their website…but the reality is that you must apply through one of the agencies.

Having said that, there are a few expats working directly for VAC, and the reason has been explained several times why this happened and why it's not going to happen to you.

D.L.

Can we move on from the cultural abuse and get back to the agency abuse.

It's more fun. And they can't answer back without revealing themselves!!

I know you read this thread over there in RAL towers.

last guys were from RAL i think.

apply to all of them and take the best offer.

Just missed out on the screenings 19/20th May - Does anybody know if there will be screenings June/July for 320 FOs? BTW, its thru Rishworth

Cheers CJ

Base differences
 

All new pilots will have Hanoi for a base, more Western in HCM, yes probably so, the weather is a bit dreary in the winter months, but Hanoi has a lot to offer.

Most expats in Hanoi are living near the Sheraton Hotel on West Lake, this is where they catch their transport to the airport, it's a very nice area, but prices are bound to go up with the influx of flight crews.

If you enjoy riding a motorcycle, Hanoi is much better with a variety of highways in the area.

Cheers, D.L.

When is VNA going to increase the pay? It's way lower than a year ago for new pilots.

There has been talks with the airline with both Rishworth/Parc - no info yet.

They better get on it before more CPTs leave for China etc. :ugh:

Are VNA losing guys to Emirates/EY etc?

some are going to the desert, but also some are coming from there.

etihad has a roadshow at the sheraton in saigon on june 21st at 3 pm,

let's see what they have to offer. :}

Lots of people changing just for the sake of change, some times even taking a pay cut!!!! the pursuit of the greener grass I guess. :hmm:

Cheers for info.
Does anybody know if VNA are screening for F/Os through Rishworth June/July? Is it ongoing?

Cheers
Chai

Making up my mind
 

Hi all:
I'm a A320 cpt flying in a semi-major airline that could be closing in the near future. Getting a job over here is not easy and less if a bunch of some hundred get in the same situation.
Of all the big places to get a job I like Vietnam the most. I don't like very stiff working atmosphere nor a very relaxed one. I don't like dessert countries policies. Just forget about Japan (gotto do all your training from scrach). Korea can get interesting as well as China but I feel more like VAL for a start.
I'm not looking for the buck but for a way of living, as long as I get enough to live well over there and send around 2.000€ back home I would be happy. Of course I would't say no to much more, but not at any cost.
Having said this I read all the last posts about the different brokers. It's a shame that our lovely profesion has to live with this brokers thing but it is how things work nowadays :( It's not clear to me wich one is better, I usually don't pay much credit for the first advice because it could be interested but this attacks against RAL worry me because we are talking about our money, our health and our lives, and these are no things to play with. If I had to make a decision within the next 2 minutes I woul go with Parc but I want to ask these guys who talk bad about RAL; I can understand anyone can have a bad experience with anything and talk subsequently bad about it, but do you think the RAL pilots are living such experience as you did today?
Thaks all for reading.

We are all equal once here. You have to go with who offers you the job at the end of the day.

In reality its not hugely different. You can buy extra insurance to make up the difference. The other issues are not life threatening, just annoying.

If you're happy enough to leave your home country, family and friends, and just send 2000 Euro home a month then good for you. It would bankrupt some of us. Financially and emotionally.

Well, I guess I did not made the point clear, 2000€ to cover my fix expenses back home (maybe some more, didn't really calculate it) the rest to spend nicely in my everyday enjoyment.
And that brings me another question...how much can I spend every month in living? I have no children so no school is needed. Housing is a little expensive (maybe around 2000€/month, rent, expenses and maid?) but the rest is ok, isn't it?
I'm trying to read as much as I can about the country, just starting to know a couple of things.
Another question. I see all the jobs are for the Hanoi base, any chance for HMC? Which place is better for a nice country-style living? Is this possible in Vietnam living reasonably close to the airport (whichever city I'm base at?)
thanks for taking the time to read and respond :ok:

Taildragger, well of course we can't sit over here and answer a lot of your inquiries about the agency differences in a couple of sentances, let's just say that conditions have gotten better over here due to competition.

Agencies aside, it's impossible to predict which people will enjoy the atmosphere here without really knowing them well. All pilots now go to Hanoi, that is the policy, some negative opinions have been posted, I can tell you that after living in Vietnam for over six years, that Hanoi is a great city and I could be just as happy there, but now my roots are in HCM.

I feel your description of what kind of operation you'd like describes life here, laid back in comparison to Western operations, yes, not too laid back, yes again, and improving by the day.

Management is slowly improving all aspects of the operation, equipment, training, maintenance all are making improvements each year.

No need to do a lot of studying about the culture here, that is the best part of the experience.

You seem a bit interested in a rural setting, and near the airport, well you are in luck, since the airport is in the country side, most others live in the nearby neighborhoods of the Hanoi Sheraton West Lake. I think you would get a bit bored out there, but you could live there very cheap.

And as far as your budget goes, you could easily send that kind of income back and live a great lifestyle.

Cheers, D.L.

What do you mean by country style living?

Mostly, everybody lives in apartments. Or they share a house.

Hanoi is fine, but it's 45mins to an hour by crew bus to the airport. Which isn't counted for rest requirements. And during tet its a major headache. 2 hours?

I'm not sure you could live by the airport. There's nothing there. And where would you park? It's not really an option.

You don't actually get much time off to enjoy country style living even if you could get it.

Are you employed at the moment? If you are in a good job i'd seriously recommend coming out to have a look before you jump ship.

Just my two pence worth.

Any chance of getting upgraded if one is a P2 on ATR?

Someone here who knows the e-mail of the office-recruiters? I want to send my resume to them for an internship.

Internships handled through Rishworth Aviation.

Rishworth Aviation is only accepting maintanence crew applications, they don't have any office crew possibilities. Can't find it at the site of Vietnam Airlines either. Do you have to be a Vietnamese to apply for these kind of jobs at Vietnam Airlines?