Well, thank you TP, and of course I have the white hair to prove my "experience".
Ah, L'speed, er grasshopper, I hate to say it, but your posts seem a bit naive about the world of expat flying and the experience you may undergo if you make it to KAL. TP is so on the money when it comes to training and its expectations. It is a different world out there for all us "foreign legion" pilots.
What we are all trying to say, BUYER BEWARE. I will repeat, please do not go out and buy your rating to get in the door at KAL. It is very likely to end up as a 360degree revolving door. Much of their training is demeaning and insulting. I hope you know that this isn't the best training method to use with highly highly experienced pilots.
If you have done your homework, you should know that KAL has in the past, had one of the worst safety records of any international airline. And much of it had to do with the culture within flight operations. It took a retired pilot VP from Delta to straighten things out. And they were for a while. But the culture of intimidation continues. I can't imagine a copilot telling a national captain that he is doing something wrong. Read a chapter in the new best seller "Outliers" about culture and safety within the airline industry. It gives some wonderful examples of what was going on at KAL. It appears from all aspects that this culture is starting to creep its way back into things-starting with training. YOU WILL NOT BE EVALUATED ON PUBLISHED SOP, BUT RATHER WHAT THAT PARTICULAR L.I.P.'s TECHNIQUES ARE. And you better know them before hand. That, sir, is straight from a current 777 captain I just spoke with yesterday.
Wow, your assesment of fit......TP, make sure I ground myself for not being fit. Let's see, I need a knee replacement, arthritis starting to creep in, a bit too many deserts are starting to show, etc. etc. I think it's called aging. If one is sick or injured, absolutely sick out. But FIT? We better put the age limit down to about 35 then, 'cause that about when it all starts. And when was the last time I pulled more than 1.5 gs in an airliner. If I'm going up in the shuttle, pulling 9 gs in ACM, or making a case two recovery aboard the boat at night-oh hell yeah, I'm not fit.
Take all my banter above and throw it out of the window. I will ask the question again. KAL probably has one of the best, if not the best, expat contracts going. Commute anywhere they fly twice a week. Outstanding pay. Positive space biz class, upgradable to first for commuting, 13 days in a row off every month-man that's all very good. Then why after 5-8 years of advertising this contract with every hiring agency out there, are they still looking for pilots on all their fleets? Why is it they have not filled their quota of pilots? Certainly plenty of qualified pilots on the streets right now from forced early retirement to furloughs. The devil is the details.
I think we have beaten this bad boy to death. Have at it L'speed. And truely, good luck to you. I wish no ill will towards anyone looking for a job. But go in with both round eyes wide open, be prepared to be humiliated as a professional, and even with glowing training reports, you just might not make it. And if I were without a job right now, I would be begging at their door; bad knees and all.
