High tax and a high cost of living? Try living in Ireland, I see a lot of Aer Arann jockies jumping at this

Maybe others have more specific info and numbers, but my mates from Skywest said the Recruiters were quite disappointed with the quality of the candidates in TLS.

Dont know the details if theyll invest into anyone, but from what im told they will continue to interview in EU... plenty of guys on the ATR here :)

Skywest Interview/Sim Result of
 

Intrigued as to why people have not heard anything since their sim eval/interview,someone I know did it over 2 weeks back and was told he performed very well on the sim.Strange
Know of 4 guys all top ATR drivers waiting after 2 weeks.
Maybe the recruiters were sent to get European crews,but they are reporting something else back to the company in AUS so that they can train AUS guys up.
Perhaps the recruiters are just on a freebie hols in Europe with no intension to recruit.

Skywest
 

Obvious they will train their own guys up back in AUS.
Think about it,3 interviews per day over 2 weeks,nobody taken on despite good standard,the 2 recruitment guys report back to Company" saying standard too low,then they get what they want all AUS guys,fully paid up type ratings.
The 2 guys never intended to recruit Europeans,fact

Be that as it may, does anyone know the actual details of the package they were offering? It was not on ppjn last time i looked!

I know 3 ATR pilots, europeans and even from "continental europe" that have been recruited.
2 already down under, validation and CASA exams in progress.
Third still in Europe, has started his administration process.

Rumour is the company only has approval thus far to employ 4 pilots on 457 visa's. Could be why so few got a 'yes' call.

If this is the case (and I have no idea either way) then it was a pretty expensive trip to Europe for the recruiters. They probably could have provided type ratings for 10 pilots locally for less cost. :*

You may find that they are in TLS anyway with the company picking up aircaft every month, plus they are still using the TLS sim for training.

In regard to 457 visas I think that you will find that it is the government that is going to be the sticking point not the company. Skywest would never have started out on recruiting from Europe if they didn't think it would be cheaper than training local pilots who are not rated. The problem now for them is that the government might not agree that the lack of a type rated pilots constitutes a shortage of suitable pilots and hence may not approve the visas. 457 visas have been a very contentious issue and not just in aviation. I think that there is a snowball's chance in hell of visas being approved for a large number of pilots, no matter how well they performed in their sim check or interview.

Positions available: Captain, First Officer Aircraft: ATR 72-500 and ATR 72-600
Airline Information
4 ATR72-500 and 9 ATR72-600 in command to be delivered till 2014, 1 A320, 9 F100, 8 F50
Routes flown/Type of operation
SkyWest is Western Australia’s largest regional airline, providing scheduled services throughout the state and to Darwin. The airline operates a single international service to Bali, numerous connecting services, and provides regional contract-based and ad hoc charter flights for governmental and corporate clients. SkyWest was awarded an exclusive five-year contract by the state government of Western Australia in January 2011, to operate turboprop aircraft on marginal routes within the region. The airline announced a 10-year alliance with the then Virgin Blue, in January 2011, under which it would, operate new 'Virgin Australia' branded ATR72s on a regional network, starting in October 2011
Base
Brisbane or Canberra
Planned starting date
Immediate
Screening procedure
An interview and a simulator check
Web sites
Western Australia's Leading Regional Airline - Skywest Airlines Skywest Airlines - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Canberra - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Brisbane - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Contract Terms
Contract length
Non-commuting, permanent contract.
Minimum requirements
Captain
 Must hold current and valid Pilot License JAA/FAA  Must hold Valid ATR 42/72 Type Rating  Minimum 2,500 hours of total flying experience  Minimum 500 flying hours on ATR 72-500 as PIC  Minimum ICAO English Level 5
 Valid Class 1 Medical Certificate  Age Limit : 55 years
First Officer
 Hold current and valid Pilot Licenses JAA/FAA  Valid ATR 42/72 Type Rating  Minimum 1,500 hours of total flying experience  Minimum 250 flying hours on ATR 72-500
 Minimum ICAO English Level 5  Valid Class 1 Medical Certificate  Age Limit : 55 years
Working Rotation
28 day roster period with 4 blocks of 2 Days Off (or 3 blocks of 2 Days Off + 3 single days Off)
Annual Leave
42 consecutive days + personal leave attributed according to the length of service in the airline:
Pilot Fees
 Captain 101 134 Australian $ per year
 First Officer 65 737 Australian $ per year
3% salary raise guaranteed after every year of service.
Overtime
Beyond 59 hours of flight time in any 28 day roster period an additional hourly fee shall be paid to the pilot
Length of Service
Additional days
On appointment
5
After 6 months
5
1st anniversary
10
Each year thereafter
15
Benefits
 457 work VISA provided by the airline  Uniform  Various allowances (meal allowance, transport allowance etc.) in addition to the yearly fees.
Local transportation
Provided free of charge.
Travel
ID tickets will be provided to pilots and their dependants, on domestic flights within Australia on Skywest, Qantas or Virgin. A business class ticket will be provided free of charge by the company if the pilot travels internationally for flight training requirements or simulator duties.
Renewal of license
Free of charge in accordance with the airline’s policy.
Loss of license insurance
The airline will provide very attractive loss of license insurance free of charge

FYI
 

Those contemplating these positions should be aware of the following.

For those who are not an Australian citizen (or Australian Permanent Resident), the legal basis for a foreign national being able to work in Australia is a 457 visa. This is a temporary work visa which does not confer permanent Australian residency.

Additionally, the visa is position, type and company specific. Should a person change position or type within the sponsor company the visa is subject to cancellation. Also, if a person should leave the sponsor company for any reason the visa is subject to cancellation.

A person who does not hold a valid visa to be in Australia, or whose visa has been cancelled, must leave Australia or be subject to deportation.

However:

"457 visa holders can convert to Australian permanent residency status. It is common for 457 visa holders to apply for a permanent Australia residents visa with a view to permanently settle in Australia and become Australian citizens."

Not sure about that. I hear they are contracting Southern Cross Aviation (from US) to do the delivery flights.

Shanwick

It is not accurate to imply that a 457 visa can be converted to a permanent resident visa automatically. It cannot.
A person holding a 457 visa, or indeed any person, can apply for permanent residence status and such an application is then judged on it's merits. Or otherwise.

Lots of AER ARANN capt and FOs have already resigned for going to Australia with Skywest/Virgin. :ok:

And when Virgin Australia brings the ATR operation in house, those on 457 visas with Skywest will be out of a job and unable to stay in Australia.

Skywest and the pilot group still haven't agreed on the pay for the ATR so they are still paying the pilots F50 wages. Company is asking the pilot group to give up certain things in order to get a small payrise to fly the ATR.

You only get limited Staff Travel on Virgin Australia flights and you must book a minimum of 14 days in advance.

It is rumoured that they are taking 70 pilots total and it appears that Aer Arann in Ireland are about to loose 25 (mainly captains and very experienced FOs).

It would have been interresting to have some feedbacks from pilots hired by skywest.
Apparently only ETOPS still searching for more ATR pilots, does that mean skywest recruitment policy has changed? :rolleyes: