Avion Express
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Join Date: Nov 2007
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Avion Express
Good Afternoon,
I am due to attend an assessment in Vilnius shortly for a 320 Captain position with Avion Express.Is there anyone who has recently attended who would be willing to provide information about whats involved,particularly with the sim assessment.Many Thanks.
I am due to attend an assessment in Vilnius shortly for a 320 Captain position with Avion Express.Is there anyone who has recently attended who would be willing to provide information about whats involved,particularly with the sim assessment.Many Thanks.
Last edited by mags38; 28th May 2019 at 12:24. Reason: grammar and spelling
Only half a speed-brake
It depends on what type of bogus employment is their agency running. Similar to Ryanair, there are some arrangements where you legally keep the deductions small. Individual countries' tax legislations differ.
Last edited by FlightDetent; 1st Jan 2020 at 12:01.
Join Date: Aug 2005
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Avion Express Assessment
Hi all,
Yes I've been invited for assessment as First Officer in Vilnius in Feb. Anyone else as well? I'd really like to hear from those who did their assessments this month, especially what the sim involved?
Really appreciate any feedback.
Anyone else going in February too?
Good luck everyone.
Yes I've been invited for assessment as First Officer in Vilnius in Feb. Anyone else as well? I'd really like to hear from those who did their assessments this month, especially what the sim involved?
Really appreciate any feedback.
Anyone else going in February too?
Good luck everyone.
Join Date: Feb 2020
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Just received an update:
Dear Pilots,
Hopefully this email finds you well.
This is to update you that your documents have already been submitted to our client airline Avion Express and we have accordingly requested to reserve your preferred screening date in March.
Due to a big amount of applicants, it may take some time to get the confirmation but we will keep you updated. In case your requested assessment date isn't available any more, we will get back to you with other options available.
Meanwhile, thank you for your patience and wishing you have a nice day ahead!
Dear Pilots,
Hopefully this email finds you well.
This is to update you that your documents have already been submitted to our client airline Avion Express and we have accordingly requested to reserve your preferred screening date in March.
Due to a big amount of applicants, it may take some time to get the confirmation but we will keep you updated. In case your requested assessment date isn't available any more, we will get back to you with other options available.
Meanwhile, thank you for your patience and wishing you have a nice day ahead!
Join Date: Feb 2020
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still waiting...Wednesday has been holiday there, hope to get a response within the day. It’s been a while now.
also heard of the salary cut. Being offered a job these days would be like a jackpot though, no matter the temporary payment cut. Obviously their aircrafts are mostly not operating thus pilots not working. If that lasts until their high season - they’re facing a lot of trouble.
also heard of the salary cut. Being offered a job these days would be like a jackpot though, no matter the temporary payment cut. Obviously their aircrafts are mostly not operating thus pilots not working. If that lasts until their high season - they’re facing a lot of trouble.
Join Date: Mar 2020
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Dont expect anything from Avion Express, currently everything is frozen, even the pilot salaries, unpaid pilots still waiting for the february salary.
New term contracts: 220 euros per diem every day you are at the base plus 50 euros per flight hour for captains and 110 euros per diem for FOs and 25 euros per flight hour.
No social insurance and no benefits, an average of 15 days per month at the base with around 50 block hours, so guys do your maths.
New term contracts: 220 euros per diem every day you are at the base plus 50 euros per flight hour for captains and 110 euros per diem for FOs and 25 euros per flight hour.
No social insurance and no benefits, an average of 15 days per month at the base with around 50 block hours, so guys do your maths.
Join Date: Sep 2021
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Avion Express through the Covid-19 Pandemic
At Avion Express, crews (flight deck & cabin) are working as freelancers, with no benefits, nor taxes paid, nor mutual assistance from any State (especially from ex-soviet Lithuania).
Avion Express is an ACMI belonging to Avia Solution Group (ASG), meaning that profit is everything and that the real workers are just meaningless numbers.
Before the crisis, crew members received basic pay for a living and Block Hours pay was a well accepted extra.
When the pandemic first hit on March 2020, some crews where in different bases and were sent home with no future plan ahead, like many other companies did.
Some crews were stuck in bases such as in the Middle East and in Vilnius, when the company informed everyone via a simple email that the salary from the PREVIOUS month was going to be cut by a 30% from the gross total. Some crews lost valuable money that could have helped them and their families to have some more financial base to get through the pandemic. This 30% of cut was, moreover, taken from money earned from already flown hours and sacrificed lifetime spent in places like Vietnam (5 planes with pages-long MELs were based in Saigon at that time).
Not happy yet, the management took the decision to remove the basic pay from all crews (without unemployment assistance from any State). Everyone was put on a Pay per Block Hour (PBH) contract. Since there were almost no flights, zero was the amount of money to be expected each month from Avion. The only exemptions were crews based in the Middle East (the client did not accept that the crews stuck there were irregularly underpaid) and the ones stuck in Vilnius (those were receiving Per Diems).
Any of the attempts to restore the previous salaries by founding a Union between crew members was shut down by sending firing letters to the ones involved.
On May 2020, many chosen pilots and CCs (depending on their relationship with the management and absolutely not per meritocracy, seniority or performance) were fired. Some of them received a firing letter even while performing flights. Only around 60 pilots out of 220 "survived" the massacre.
At the beginning of Summer 2020, the management informed the crews that the Per Diems of the PBH contracts were going to have a further 40% cut from the gross Per Diems.
The Summer and Autumn went along with almost no flights due to the restrictions across Europe. The base in Middle East moved to Africa, those crews were rotated with others after being absent from home for more than 6 months. Many Crew members were infected by the Covid-19 virus and no special interest, compensation or help towards them was offered by the Company during their stay in African hospitals.
A new contract started on October 2020 with only a few planes, and in November a further Per Diems cut of 40% was announced. The reason behind that was that the Commercial Department had dealt such a low price with the client, that the crews had to pay out the difference. Profits for the shareholders were kept at the same percentage.
On December 2020 a new contract was announced, with charter flights and planes based in Vilnius starting from Spring 2021. The conditions proposed by the management were absolutely insane and unworthy but, since still in the middle of the Pandemic, several crews accepted that contract as well. The choice was between flying a bit and gaining recency, or sitting at home on a couch.
Crews moved to Vilnius without accommodation; taxes, and transport to/from work not supported by the company. Captains would be able to go even with the money earned and spent, first officers would have to put some of their own savings in order to work and survive.
The P2F scheme for Cadets was started again, so experienced first officers and normal captains (non-LTCs) would see their block hours shrink to the lowest bottom again.
Summer 2021 started, some crews were sent to new bases with the same low salary. The Company started hiring back some Pilots, based on old favours and friendships to training department and management people. The Company that during meetings was assuring "Seniority above-all selection criteria", started sending new guys (but old friends) to the more desired bases, where salaries were still untouched from prior the Pandemic.
In the bases the mood is low as the salaries, pilots started being even more frustrated and stressed due to lack of money to feed their families. Flight performances and flight safety is extremely jeopardised by keeping pilots depressed. Nobody cares anymore about SOPs (unless during Line Checks), since everyone is looking for a new Company. Many worthy people will leave and be replaced by others, who will be just keen to get back their recency in order to apply elsewhere.
Looks like training people and losing them at record speeds has become a new hobby of Avion Express. Training has a high cost, and it’s currently mostly wasted money.
The PBH contract pushes pilots and CCs to hide their health status, so many were found taking pills in order to fly with Covid-19 symptoms. The “calling sick rate” is the lowest ever recorded by the company.
Rotations are endless, sometimes longer than 2 months, spent in cheap hotels.
Winter is coming, so let's see how many more interesting decisions will be taken by the management within the next months.
Hope this post helped to understand the behaviour of Avion Express, and have an objective idea about if applying or not for a job there.
Avion Express is an ACMI belonging to Avia Solution Group (ASG), meaning that profit is everything and that the real workers are just meaningless numbers.
Before the crisis, crew members received basic pay for a living and Block Hours pay was a well accepted extra.
When the pandemic first hit on March 2020, some crews where in different bases and were sent home with no future plan ahead, like many other companies did.
Some crews were stuck in bases such as in the Middle East and in Vilnius, when the company informed everyone via a simple email that the salary from the PREVIOUS month was going to be cut by a 30% from the gross total. Some crews lost valuable money that could have helped them and their families to have some more financial base to get through the pandemic. This 30% of cut was, moreover, taken from money earned from already flown hours and sacrificed lifetime spent in places like Vietnam (5 planes with pages-long MELs were based in Saigon at that time).
Not happy yet, the management took the decision to remove the basic pay from all crews (without unemployment assistance from any State). Everyone was put on a Pay per Block Hour (PBH) contract. Since there were almost no flights, zero was the amount of money to be expected each month from Avion. The only exemptions were crews based in the Middle East (the client did not accept that the crews stuck there were irregularly underpaid) and the ones stuck in Vilnius (those were receiving Per Diems).
Any of the attempts to restore the previous salaries by founding a Union between crew members was shut down by sending firing letters to the ones involved.
On May 2020, many chosen pilots and CCs (depending on their relationship with the management and absolutely not per meritocracy, seniority or performance) were fired. Some of them received a firing letter even while performing flights. Only around 60 pilots out of 220 "survived" the massacre.
At the beginning of Summer 2020, the management informed the crews that the Per Diems of the PBH contracts were going to have a further 40% cut from the gross Per Diems.
The Summer and Autumn went along with almost no flights due to the restrictions across Europe. The base in Middle East moved to Africa, those crews were rotated with others after being absent from home for more than 6 months. Many Crew members were infected by the Covid-19 virus and no special interest, compensation or help towards them was offered by the Company during their stay in African hospitals.
A new contract started on October 2020 with only a few planes, and in November a further Per Diems cut of 40% was announced. The reason behind that was that the Commercial Department had dealt such a low price with the client, that the crews had to pay out the difference. Profits for the shareholders were kept at the same percentage.
On December 2020 a new contract was announced, with charter flights and planes based in Vilnius starting from Spring 2021. The conditions proposed by the management were absolutely insane and unworthy but, since still in the middle of the Pandemic, several crews accepted that contract as well. The choice was between flying a bit and gaining recency, or sitting at home on a couch.
Crews moved to Vilnius without accommodation; taxes, and transport to/from work not supported by the company. Captains would be able to go even with the money earned and spent, first officers would have to put some of their own savings in order to work and survive.
The P2F scheme for Cadets was started again, so experienced first officers and normal captains (non-LTCs) would see their block hours shrink to the lowest bottom again.
Summer 2021 started, some crews were sent to new bases with the same low salary. The Company started hiring back some Pilots, based on old favours and friendships to training department and management people. The Company that during meetings was assuring "Seniority above-all selection criteria", started sending new guys (but old friends) to the more desired bases, where salaries were still untouched from prior the Pandemic.
In the bases the mood is low as the salaries, pilots started being even more frustrated and stressed due to lack of money to feed their families. Flight performances and flight safety is extremely jeopardised by keeping pilots depressed. Nobody cares anymore about SOPs (unless during Line Checks), since everyone is looking for a new Company. Many worthy people will leave and be replaced by others, who will be just keen to get back their recency in order to apply elsewhere.
Looks like training people and losing them at record speeds has become a new hobby of Avion Express. Training has a high cost, and it’s currently mostly wasted money.
The PBH contract pushes pilots and CCs to hide their health status, so many were found taking pills in order to fly with Covid-19 symptoms. The “calling sick rate” is the lowest ever recorded by the company.
Rotations are endless, sometimes longer than 2 months, spent in cheap hotels.
Winter is coming, so let's see how many more interesting decisions will be taken by the management within the next months.
Hope this post helped to understand the behaviour of Avion Express, and have an objective idea about if applying or not for a job there.
Join Date: Dec 2008
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Not condoning it, but what did you expect?
And do think its going to get better, or even return to pre-covid T&C's.?
You'd be better off driving a truck.
The race to the bottom has stepped up a gear and found that the bottom was, in fact, just a passing level.
And do think its going to get better, or even return to pre-covid T&C's.?
You'd be better off driving a truck.
The race to the bottom has stepped up a gear and found that the bottom was, in fact, just a passing level.
Only half a speed-brake
Perhaps a thank you to the man for taking his time to share this in detail is due. He even managed to be reasonably polite about them, despite the content which is rather clear. That's no easy emotional task.
People will soon be able to choose where to apply, reviews such as this one are invaluable.
If we can afford it, which is the greatest dilemma, the question: What did you do to your crew during the pandemic should resonate the interview rooms.
People will soon be able to choose where to apply, reviews such as this one are invaluable.
If we can afford it, which is the greatest dilemma, the question: What did you do to your crew during the pandemic should resonate the interview rooms.