Sorry, there have been no updates on that. The only thing I read a few days ago in the worker's council circular is that the first non-Dutch speakers are expected to join in the second half of the year. And they're first being sent to a language institute after joining :} At the moment (referring to the now somewhat uncertain economic environment) there's no indication that recruitment in general is slowing down, they still have shortages in the coming years. It will depend on flight school cadet availability and such..

Complaining
 

Guys, It pains me to read people are complaining about things that are really not happening. HV is a great company, and its coming from a foreigner who belongs to different ethnicity that is outside of Eu... Not because I am friends with office or having dinner with people. Its just relaxed, if you find the atmosphere loose in HV or KLM then go fly for locos with maxed hours and tea and buscuit visits in DUB. Or anywhere that "rumores" say its excellent training.

I hear this or that happens during training and so what ? What are you comparing to what ? Have you not seen enough in your career that any thing can happen to anyone given the right circumstances. At least HV or KLM do not have consequences that could keep you awake at night.

Again, there are Dutch guys just across the border that are not even applying to KLM.

I guess they're not flying to DUB enough or really love to fly 900 hrs every year...but I guess BUD (not a typo) was nice enough for you.

Oh +1 on that. Not every Dutch is interested in. I myself had drinks with a few when I was in love with "BUD"... Their consern was cost of living at that time I dont know what is the new status for now. Its even a problem for me and By all means make a choice appropriate to your situation. I am just saying if you avoid these companies make sure its because of the right reason. Not training... not the ambiance... at least this is my experience.

I heard someone saying in a group chat on Telegram they stopped hiring and stopped hiring non-Dutch speakers.

any word on that?

I heard from a friend of mine that applied and he got told that recruitment of non-dutch speaking is on hold for the time being in order to revise internal procedures, no specific reason provided..
He already received the invitation for the Grading that got cancelled few days prior, whatever that means simulator or computer tests I don't know..
Another guy mentioned few months back about some internal frictions with the unions, maybe it is related?

The "Experienced Pilots" Application Site is no longer available...

KLM has closed its window for non-dutch speakers. I got a word from Pilot recruitment.

They said they MIGHT open again in a later stage.

What about people who’ve already got planned assessments?

I have no clue in this case. You better contact Pilot recruitment. They always reply to emails.

Hi,

FYI I have been invited to Amsterdam for the in-place assessment. I haven’t received any email nor official info about it.
As said earlier, the demand is still forecast to be very high within the next few years.

Are there any reasons for that? I mean, first they go all in searching for non Dutch speakers (which is quite a big step) - and suddenly everything stopped? Sounds a little bit haphazard…

I think information is not correct. As one colleague wrote above, I recently receive e-mail to start recruitment process. I was also invited for health check and so. So it is not correct they stop process for non-Dutch, non-Dutch speakers.

The fact that they close the vacancy application for non-Dutch speakers (for now, according to Pilot Recruitment) doesn’t mean they will not call people who applied before, who meet the minimums and are non-Dutch speakers. I think who were in the pool before, they will call.

It’s just for now (I honestly hope) non-Dutch speakers can not apply.

but it’s great to hear you guys got called. If you don’t mind to get back here and tell us how is the process interview as a whole and post the outcome of it, would be great.

Best of Luck for you all!

So they just put out an update. They had about 750 applications in total, two-thirds German and Scandinavian, mostly youngerish people above and below 30 with a career ahead of them (remember: EU right-to-work was a requirement). They're now putting the suitably qualified ones through the selection (psych and grading) and expecting the first final interviews in June. First joiners would be around end of the year, maybe going into next year.

They reiterated they're also expecting LPE-6 English level from the candidates and the Dutch language course will be mandatory (A2 level). They'll also help everyone with a buddy system and digital learning. They're happy for these pilots to join and the focus will be on making them feel welcome. But also on integrating them into the airline, and to avoid situations where these persons end up socially isolating themselves or KLM losing its Dutch identity/culture (which was a concern raised by the worker's council and generally by employees. Again; not for chauvinistic reasons, but because it's part of the branding and culture of how we approach and do things for passengers).

All in all I would say; welcome to the ones that pass the selection, I wish you the best of luck (they can definitely play good cop bad cop, I say this from my own experience ;)). I think your everyday crew colleagues will do everything to make you feel at home and welcome you in a cordial, professional way. The best advice I can give is to simply go with the flow and get used the company/Dutch culture as quickly as you can, whilst staying true to yourself of course :ok:

And be prepared to be asked for their grandad’s bicycle back……😉

And a revolut request of 87 cent for the innocent portion of pasta you ate at the neighbour's

KLM losing its Dutch identity/culture - can you be more specific here, what exactly do you mean? can you give examples?
part of the branding and culture of how we approach and do things for passengers - can you be more specific here, what exactly do you mean? can you give examples?

Do you know that more than half of KLM passengers are non-dutch speaking?
Hope you can take my feedback, your post is discriminating at best and substantially supremacist.

Once again typical example where tolerance and multiculturalism are simply non existent in the Netherlands

*sigh* :uhoh:. @SimoFly, I'm not sure what your experience has been with NL, but it must have been bad. I would say; if you are bent on finding fault in something, you will find it. The discussion about tolerance and multiculturalism regarding NL I will leave for other venues, I don't think an aviation forum is the place to do that.

I will try to answer the other questions you had, because I don't mind and I think they're fair questions to ask. To be clear: they will be my personal interpretations and my personal interpretations only.

About 70% of our customers are foreign, yes. And we're happy to fly everyone around who wants to fly with us. It's good for NL because that way we have a way bigger airline and hub then would be possible considering the size of our country.



Well, if a substantial portion of the employees/company are non-Dutch, it stands to reason that the resulting culture would be reflective of that. That's just a numerical fact, I would say.
As for your other points. Does an airline (or an organization or country for that matter) not have a right to have or pursue a certain culture (culture being defined as the social norms of a group of people)?

Now, the KLM culture grew into what it is historically. This is only partly because it is a Dutch airline, the culture is also different from Transavia or TUI NL or Martinair. Just as I'm sure the culture at say Delta is distinct from United or Southwest etc. It's an organization culture in other words. And like any organization, KLM seeks to select persons who match with that culture. Not only pilots, but certainly also cabin crew, managers, groundstaff: i.e. everyone basically. If you're interested in this you can Google why organizations care about this (short version: it mostly has to do with achieving the goals they've set for themselves and having staff that can effectively communicate and cooperate).

About communication and cooperation: we work with a very low hierarchy gradient. That's Dutch culture anyway to a degree, but at KLM we are very cognizant of it. So, if you're the type that thinks the Captain's word is equivalent to a deity; you're in for a rough ride with everybody; fellow pilots, cabin crew, ground staff etc. You will always have to build support for your decisions. Which brings me to the next point.

Specifically, KLM has a few things going on which are part of the product strategy. For example: 'Creating memorable experiences'. Easy to make fun of this one when someone's luggage gets lost :}, but the point is that the cabin crew (and other uniformed staff) are expected and given the freedom to show their personality when dealing with customers. Especially when things didn't entirely go according to plan. E.g. individual cabin crew don't have to ask the purser for everything, they're encouraged to take the initiative and do this in a direct, personal way. This is partially making use of Dutch culture, but it's also specifically stimulated, unlike maybe other Dutch airlines where they're trained to be more impersonal. If you've been trained to provide a very correct and professional -yet impersonal and perhaps inflexible- service, you won't match with what the company expects.

This applies to pilots as well. So -and I've touched on this before so that people can make an informed decision if they'd be happy here- you have to match with the existing culture. KLM's employees really like working for the company generally, so of course they're a bit apprehensive if you start getting a lot of people (doesn't matter if they're Dutch or foreign) that don't do well with the 'low-hierarchy, open/direct communication' thing. Concretely: if you are hierarchical, don't like direct communication or don't delegate; your relationship with especially the cabin crew will immediately sour. And that will have an effect on how they interact with the passengers (just the way it is).

To summarize: this organization has a specific culture, and it wants employees that fit in. I would say that's any organization's right. In the end the market will decide if it's the right call.

Perhaps I've the wrong impression, but it sounds to me like the cabin crew are divas who can be quite the handful