I post it here from another thread:
Aeroflot pilot pay has come up significantly; just a little while ago wasn’t good at all.
Captains: $10-11K
AFL A330 Captains make close to $14K, but fly worldwide ops (exp. USA) with 2 men crews regardless of flight time. No typo.
FO's: $4-7K
Everyone flies very close to 92 hours of block time/month for that pay, which is Russian legal monthly limit. Everyone is flight planned for M.81 in cruise. If you manage to fly your schedule and still are legal for an extra trip - they will assign it to you at the very end of the month.
The fleet is new, but they run it like they are in the 80's - no acars, no cpdlc, yes you will have to get atis over the radio, no comms with dispatch in flight in fact many airlines still don't have dispatchers at all. Once you get in the cockpit – you are on your own.
Flying deep inside Russia could be very challenging. The weather can be the worst on the planet. Very few people speak English, including the crew members.
Very inexperienced FO’s – 80 hours TT in cessnas or Yak-18T for a new pilot is a norm, many are returning to flying after 10-15 years totally out of the industry.
Moscow looks very European now and is one of the most expensive cities in the world. Traffic is bad. Currently Aeroflot is providing the housing to the pilots that are not from Moscow area. They shuttle people from SVO to a hotel in the nearby town. Nothing to write home about, but it is ok. The common complaint is that there is nowhere to eat around the hotel espessially after 19:00.
Terrible to non-existant healthcare system. If you do go there you will oppose social medicine for the rest of your life.
No seniority system. Whoever is connected gets to upgrade, whoever brings wine to scheds flies better trips.
For connected guys there is an upgrade program designed for pilots with less than 800 hours total time. 24-25 year old captains is a norm now, but you will also see 50+ y.o. FO’s.
8 days off per month is max, 4-5 average. Lots of red eyes. They do have good vacations - 30-40 days per year. Training is on days off.
Very long IOE's - up to 6 months. Aeroflot has ground school programs up to 2 years. Pay in training - ~$800/month.
Russian mentality is to cut the corners. If you are not comfortable with it you will not last long.
Last edited by Lifeisgood; 11-20-2012 at 11:13 AM.