Yeager08

Hi all,

I was wondering if there is anybody out there working for LAN right now who might have up-to-date info on the airline.
I'm looking primarily at future hiring plans (if any), requirements, certificate validation an so forth.

I know that to land a job with them, you have to basically be blood related to the CEO but what's an obstacle to a pilot, right?

Thanks,

Y.

jet320

First of all, do you have a Chilean passport? Without it forget it!

Yeager08

no but I was born in there and I could get one easily. Also, I don't know if your info is accurate since I know they have argentinians, colombian and venezuelan nationals flying for them.

jet320

South of the border only Panama allows Americans, I try to find some info and posted here in a few days

Yeager08

jet320.

Thanks. I've tried to get info/talk to someone in the past but didn't succeeded.
I called Maria Inez S. and left numerous voicemails, none of them answered. I know that's kind of the chilean way of doing things but I'm not ready to give up just yet.

Y.

RMWRIGHT

yes , its a chilean way of doing things
believe me , i lived in chile from 1988 to 2006
i now live in Argentina. why? ask the 400,000
chileans in argentina why ?
i too have applied for lan chile and they told me
"Chuta, nosotros recibimos cientos de CV cada
semana y no tenemos tiempo a contestar" in english,
come on, we recieve hundreds of resumes every
week and we dont have time to answer. hey by the way
did you know that a original 1st class medical in Chile costs
total about $600. and about $300 every year to renew
(every 6 months if over 40) only one place get it IN SANTIAGO
and the pilot licence expires that same date as medical
and they dont use calender months in chile its 180 or 360
days exact. the pilot licence costs $25 to renew with medical
exam (another foto etc). can you imagine that there was only one
place to get a medical in USA say oklahoma city and all 600,000
has to travel to okc to renew ?? GOD BLESS AMERICA

__________________
CPL SEL MEL IFR
B737
AGI IGI
MEI
ATP written test passed

Yeager08

RMWright,

I hear ya. Weired they said "chuta" and not "chucha". I guess they are getting more polite these days.
I've researched what it takes to convert my certificate to chilean. I've talked to the DGAC and flight instructors in Santiago. It's quite the mess.
I don't know if I'll go down there for 3 weeks to get my commercial (since they don't convert commercial, only private)
for basically only LAN. It's not like there are a bunch of other airlines over there.

BTW, what are you doing in Argentina, che?

Yearger.

astrojet

for those unaware...grupo LAN or lan chile airlines...is listed on the nyse....is made up of several airlines all on separate certificates and seniority lists...lan argentina, lan peru, lan ecuador, lan chile, lan colombia...lan colombia only flies freighters. i never worked for them but i worked at avianca as a second officer, and before that lived in peru and did some part 91 flying. i hate to burst your bubble but its easier to go to heaven than to get pilot jobs in latin america...you could have 30thousand hours pic 747 and the chief pilot or the head of hr wouldnt give you the time of day. red tape was invented in south america.

Yeager08

astro,

I know that a big number of pilots flying for LAN are the sons or nephews or friends to captains or management in the company with a lot less experience than many pilots looking for jobs but the fact remains, LAN is acquiring a lot of airplanes starting in 2010 and there are not enough pilots in Chile to fill those spots. There are plenty of private pilots but enough guys who have the financial means nor the time to put themselves through commercial training. I already have the right to work in Chile, something that LAN requires and doesn't sponsor you for.
So, for now, I'll keep researching the possibilities down there, but you're right, red tape was invented there.

Y.

astrojet

well, best of luck...aviation is all about being at the right place at the right time...with the exorbitant cost of 100LL avgas, tightened credit markets, economy etc. I'm sure flight school enrollment is at an all time low in south america. during the 40's and 50's a great number of pilots at avianca were from the USA, due to a pilot shortage...ironically that's where they got experience to move on to eastern or panam.