Any "Latest & Greatest" about Delta?
08-25-2013, 03:00 PM
Da Hudge
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: Poodle Whisperer
Posts: 17,473
08-25-2013, 03:29 PM
No longer cares
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: 767er Captain
Posts: 12,109
08-25-2013, 03:31 PM
No longer cares
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: 767er Captain
Posts: 12,109
08-25-2013, 03:33 PM
Moderator
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: B757/767
Posts: 13,088
In well over 20 years I was never called questioning the veracity of a sick call.
As I type this I am at home recovering from surgery. Prior to the surgery I called my Chief Pilot and discussed the upcoming surgery, told him the date it was scheduled and the lengthy period of recovery. In short; it was fully disclosed ahead of time and no surprise.
But under the new sick leave program I got a call roughly 15 days after my first day out. "...we're calling everyone, it's the new policy..."
Maybe it's because I'm a former military officer, but I don't like it one bit.
I tend to be naive and trusting. I try to do a good job, genuinely. I've never considered myself to be one of the few "problem children" within the pilot group. With that one phone call Flight Operations squandered a lot of goodwill.
As I type this I am at home recovering from surgery. Prior to the surgery I called my Chief Pilot and discussed the upcoming surgery, told him the date it was scheduled and the lengthy period of recovery. In short; it was fully disclosed ahead of time and no surprise.
But under the new sick leave program I got a call roughly 15 days after my first day out. "...we're calling everyone, it's the new policy..."
Maybe it's because I'm a former military officer, but I don't like it one bit.
I tend to be naive and trusting. I try to do a good job, genuinely. I've never considered myself to be one of the few "problem children" within the pilot group. With that one phone call Flight Operations squandered a lot of goodwill.
And I think most of the calls are the 4th floor adjusting to the new policy. The union and company are communicating on the matter. A friend of mine is in a situation similar to yours. He was proactive and spoke with the CP. The very next day the CP called him to get his usage verified as he had exceeded 15 days. My friend reminded him that they just spoke the day before, & he said "Oh man. I'm sorry. I'm just having a senior moment."
08-25-2013, 04:01 PM
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Feb 2009
Position: right for a long, long time
Posts: 2,642
I know what you're up to t, and I'm not falling for the bait.......
08-25-2013, 04:37 PM
veut gagner à la loterie
Joined APC: Apr 2008
Position: Light Chop
Posts: 23,286
Oh Tsquare.....
08-25-2013, 05:37 PM
On Reserve
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: MSP7ERB
Posts: 1,886
Chinese Airlines Lure Pilots With Double Pay
August 23, 2013, 6:54 p.m. ET
The Wall Street Journal
Chinese Airlines Lure Pilots With Double the Pay of U.S. Captains
Carriers Boost Salaries to Hire Seasoned Crews, Causing Shortage Across Asia
By JEFFREY NG
HONG KONG—China is snapping up the world's supply of senior pilots, contributing to a global shortage and creating headwinds for Asia's fast-expanding airlines.
China is among the world's fastest-growing air-travel markets, with domestic passenger traffic second only to the U.S., with the market expanding 14.7% in June compared with a year earlier, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The rising middle class in China means millions more people are taking to the skies. Beijing plans soon to allow even more growth in its tightly controlled sector by encouraging the development of budget airlines, which are already booming across Asia.
Chinese carriers have more than 800 commercial airliners on order, on top of 2,088 now flying. Each plane requires about six two-person flight crews, creating demand for thousands of new pilots. Chinese airlines lack sufficient locally trained candidates.
The shortage illustrates an endemic problem in China's rapidly expanding economy, where the development of infrastructure and professional skills hasn't kept pace with surging demand. The country also struggles to retain expatriate talent amid worsening pollution concerns and rising consumer prices.
China isn't alone in its need. Boeing Co. estimates that the broader Asian-Pacific region will require 185,600 new pilots between 2012 and 2031, accounting for 40% of global pilot demand. The region today has 56,000 pilots, or roughly 26% of the global total, according to Boeing.
Chinese airlines are wooing experienced foreign pilots by upping the pay for captains. Some carriers are advertising annual salaries and benefits of up to $270,000, or roughly double the average wage of a U.S. airline captain.
"You've got a shrinking supply [of experienced pilots], so the answer is to increase pay," said Mark East, managing director at New Zealand-based Rishworth Aviation, the largest airline-pilot recruiting firm in Asia, with 600 contract pilots in the region. He said Chinese airlines have raised their pay offers to foreign pilots by up to 30% in the past 18 months to cope with the growing shortage.
Chinese airlines account for more than 60% of the recruitment postings for captains on the careers website of Flightglobal, an industry publication.
While China is training more local crews, pilots still need roughly a decade of experience before they can be promoted to captain. The air-travel boom has outpaced that maturation. Today, nearly all Chinese airlines employ foreign crews. Americans represent the largest proportion.
Chinese carriers started hiring foreign pilots in 2003. They now account for roughly 6% of the commercial-pilot workforce, with 1,778 foreign-pilot licenses issued as of last year, according to China's aviation regulator.
Among the Chinese airlines offering top salaries are Hainan Airlines Co., which is promoting net annual packages of up to $270,000, and Shenzhen Airlines Co., with packages valued at up to $231,600, according to the Flightglobal listings.
These salaries are on par with what the most senior captains at premium airlines make and well above world standards. Average captain's pay at a major U.S. airline is $135,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Rich Chinese compensation comes with heavy work loads, however. Paul Schneider, an Australian who worked as a Boeing 737 captain with a major Chinese airline in 2010 and 2011, said the duty times for foreign pilots in China were among the longest he's ever seen, particularly for those working short domestic flights.
China's appetite for senior pilots is hurting many smaller Asian upstarts, which too are eager to expand but must compete for crews.
"We are the ones feeling the pinch of the pilot shortage…the smaller carriers are in a battle to attract quality pilots," said David Wilmot, acting director of flight operations at Jet Asia Airways Co., a Thailand-based charter airline with six Boeing 767s that employs mostly foreign pilots.
Mr. Wilt says the exorbitant salaries some of the Chinese airlines are willing to pay are "just putting us out of the market" for pilots. Many airlines in Southeast Asia pay expat captains around half of some of the Chinese carriers' best recent offers.
Worsening the captain shortage: aging veterans, particularly in the U.S. "There is a tsunami of retirement which is now under way in the airline industry," said John Bent, a consultant to the International Air Transport Association, a global industry group. "We've got potentially the first big pilot supply problem" in years, he said.
The improving U.S. airline market is further aggravating Asia's problems because overseas American pilots are heading home, Asian airline executives say. Hiring foreign pilots was much easier three years ago, they say, but the supply has recently flattened out.
—Joanne Chiu contributed to this article.
Write to Jeffrey Ng at [email protected]
A version of this article appeared August 23, 2013, on page B3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: China Lures World's Pilots.
The Wall Street Journal
Chinese Airlines Lure Pilots With Double the Pay of U.S. Captains
Carriers Boost Salaries to Hire Seasoned Crews, Causing Shortage Across Asia
By JEFFREY NG
HONG KONG—China is snapping up the world's supply of senior pilots, contributing to a global shortage and creating headwinds for Asia's fast-expanding airlines.
China is among the world's fastest-growing air-travel markets, with domestic passenger traffic second only to the U.S., with the market expanding 14.7% in June compared with a year earlier, according to the International Air Transport Association.
The rising middle class in China means millions more people are taking to the skies. Beijing plans soon to allow even more growth in its tightly controlled sector by encouraging the development of budget airlines, which are already booming across Asia.
Chinese carriers have more than 800 commercial airliners on order, on top of 2,088 now flying. Each plane requires about six two-person flight crews, creating demand for thousands of new pilots. Chinese airlines lack sufficient locally trained candidates.
The shortage illustrates an endemic problem in China's rapidly expanding economy, where the development of infrastructure and professional skills hasn't kept pace with surging demand. The country also struggles to retain expatriate talent amid worsening pollution concerns and rising consumer prices.
China isn't alone in its need. Boeing Co. estimates that the broader Asian-Pacific region will require 185,600 new pilots between 2012 and 2031, accounting for 40% of global pilot demand. The region today has 56,000 pilots, or roughly 26% of the global total, according to Boeing.
Chinese airlines are wooing experienced foreign pilots by upping the pay for captains. Some carriers are advertising annual salaries and benefits of up to $270,000, or roughly double the average wage of a U.S. airline captain.
"You've got a shrinking supply [of experienced pilots], so the answer is to increase pay," said Mark East, managing director at New Zealand-based Rishworth Aviation, the largest airline-pilot recruiting firm in Asia, with 600 contract pilots in the region. He said Chinese airlines have raised their pay offers to foreign pilots by up to 30% in the past 18 months to cope with the growing shortage.
Chinese airlines account for more than 60% of the recruitment postings for captains on the careers website of Flightglobal, an industry publication.
While China is training more local crews, pilots still need roughly a decade of experience before they can be promoted to captain. The air-travel boom has outpaced that maturation. Today, nearly all Chinese airlines employ foreign crews. Americans represent the largest proportion.
Chinese carriers started hiring foreign pilots in 2003. They now account for roughly 6% of the commercial-pilot workforce, with 1,778 foreign-pilot licenses issued as of last year, according to China's aviation regulator.
Among the Chinese airlines offering top salaries are Hainan Airlines Co., which is promoting net annual packages of up to $270,000, and Shenzhen Airlines Co., with packages valued at up to $231,600, according to the Flightglobal listings.
These salaries are on par with what the most senior captains at premium airlines make and well above world standards. Average captain's pay at a major U.S. airline is $135,000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Rich Chinese compensation comes with heavy work loads, however. Paul Schneider, an Australian who worked as a Boeing 737 captain with a major Chinese airline in 2010 and 2011, said the duty times for foreign pilots in China were among the longest he's ever seen, particularly for those working short domestic flights.
China's appetite for senior pilots is hurting many smaller Asian upstarts, which too are eager to expand but must compete for crews.
"We are the ones feeling the pinch of the pilot shortage…the smaller carriers are in a battle to attract quality pilots," said David Wilmot, acting director of flight operations at Jet Asia Airways Co., a Thailand-based charter airline with six Boeing 767s that employs mostly foreign pilots.
Mr. Wilt says the exorbitant salaries some of the Chinese airlines are willing to pay are "just putting us out of the market" for pilots. Many airlines in Southeast Asia pay expat captains around half of some of the Chinese carriers' best recent offers.
Worsening the captain shortage: aging veterans, particularly in the U.S. "There is a tsunami of retirement which is now under way in the airline industry," said John Bent, a consultant to the International Air Transport Association, a global industry group. "We've got potentially the first big pilot supply problem" in years, he said.
The improving U.S. airline market is further aggravating Asia's problems because overseas American pilots are heading home, Asian airline executives say. Hiring foreign pilots was much easier three years ago, they say, but the supply has recently flattened out.
—Joanne Chiu contributed to this article.
Write to Jeffrey Ng at [email protected]
A version of this article appeared August 23, 2013, on page B3 in the U.S. edition of The Wall Street Journal, with the headline: China Lures World's Pilots.
Last edited by Elvis90; 08-25-2013 at 05:49 PM.
08-25-2013, 05:45 PM
On Reserve
Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: MSP7ERB
Posts: 1,886
I think Richard is paying attention to the economics of pilot retention globally with respect to the next contract. The fear has always been losing seniority by moving to another airline. Direct hire captains to these Chinese carriers don't have to deal with that given an advertised starting pay of $270K.
08-25-2013, 06:50 PM
veut gagner à la loterie
Joined APC: Apr 2008
Position: Light Chop
Posts: 23,286
solution? offer $270k plus an american domicile. just do 12 day trips out of lax, sfo, jfk... fly 773s, 744s, 380s, etc and be a Captain right away...while your friends wallow for years on narrowbody reserve...
/posting on a Chinese made smartphone monitored by the NSA but not Delta until this fall
/posting on a Chinese made smartphone monitored by the NSA but not Delta until this fall
08-25-2013, 06:55 PM
veut gagner à la loterie
Joined APC: Apr 2008
Position: Light Chop
Posts: 23,286
thoughts on 16-18 hr long call reserve lines paying reserve guarantee and 12 days off vs short call lines covering everything < 16 hours with 15... no wait... 16 days off.
poking around for pros and cons
poking around for pros and cons
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