Definately know of one guy who's recently left a GA job in outback Aus and managed to get a gig flying jets in the U.S. (with a sponsored visa). And no, I don't know which airline.

wishiwasupthere,

I have no reason to doubt what you said about your friend...so I don't doubt it.

Without knowing the company in question, it's hard to tell if there is actually a US "airline" using that visa program to hire expats (plural) or if there was a one-time special deal by one company, under unique circumstances, to get one guy in here.

I doubt an "airline" would go to the considerable expense and bureaucratic complication to get just one guy in here.

Where is the news of others being hired ? This couldn't be kept a secret for long.

updown,

No horn blowing...just kickin' around a rumor. So far, I don't see anything concrete indicating very many Aussies will be faced with the decision by way of that visa arrangement. But, every day is a new day. :-)

Like bafan said, I don't think it's a case of horn tooting. And I don't see why anyone over there would be too excited about this, or anyone from the US br too worried about Aussies flooding the market. The US regionals aren't offering anything that's worth moving to another country for.

AxA,

As for me, I'm not at all concerned about any Aussie influx to the US regional airline world. It might ruffle some feathers but that'd just be part of the fun.

I've been watching the US pilot supply/demand issue since the mid 1960s (now from the Peanut Gallery). Just curious...

If a US carrier(s) turns to the expat market, it'd be a turning point in that supply/demand equation here. This country has always had pilots running out its ears; I say it still does even if the flow has slowed just a bit...maybe just temporarily. Some of the regionals seem to be addressing the deplorable pay scales.

This whole rumor was kicked off with a rather definitive statement about regionals recruiting expats so I'm just following it to see where it leads. So far, only bits and pieces of info with nothing public from any US carrier. If they were formally turning to that special visa to fill seats, there'd be no reason to keep it a secret.

We'll see...

Brazilians aren't Aussies but Republic Airways tried something sorta/kinda/maybe like hiring Aussies. You'll have to Google the title of the article to read it all. It didn't really say much. I excerpted the part about attempting to hire expats for Republic. I guess Mr. Bedford doesn't visit pprune or he'd have known what to do. ;-) :

Republic Airways CEO Says Labor Accord Has Halved Pilot Losses

"Mr. Bedford called the increased training requirement the “most significant headwind” to bringing in new pilots. The airline last year sought to take advantage of a slump in Brazilian air traffic to bring in foreign pilots, but was unable to get visas for them to fly in the U.S., he said."

Thread bump. Any new info on this? Are any airlines bringing in any Australian pilots, or any other countries?

Marinth,

Haven't heard anything terribly reliable.

No fresh-off-the-boat Aussies at my company.

Still no Aussie sightings at US regionals ? I'm not seeing any intel.

Nope but there's a few aussie guys flying 802 air tractors on fires at the moment on E3 visas in the USA.

"...there's a few aussie guys flying 802 air tractors on fires at the moment on E3 visas in the USA."


havick,

I assume these folks have fire fighting experience. Do they all have FAA licenses or was some exemption arranged due to circumstances ?

Yep they had FAA licenses, and yes of course they had firefighting experience otherwise the USFS wouldn't have approved them as level 1 pilots.