Fly Dubai and Copa Airlines
 

Greetings hope all is well .
Looking for some advice please ; I’m currently a regional Turboprop pilot ( ATR - 72-600) I have 1800 hrs . I would like to apply to fly Dubai but they request 2500 hrs minimum . My monthly roster in my current airline is 55- 60 hours a month. I was thinking about applying to Copa Airlines, ( 2 years minimum ) and continue to build my flight hours then later on apply to fly Dubai . I’ve been in my current regional airline for 5 years now and I’m just not happy anymore . Feels like I’m suffocating. So I was thinking apply to Copa fly with them for a while then apply to fly Dubai . But I’ve heard mixed reviews about Copa , is it worth it for a minimum of 2 years or should I just hold on a little longer at my current airline ? Thanks

I’ve heard mixed reviews about Fly Dubai as well. What’s drawing you there? I take it you live in South America?

I live in Central America I fly with AVIANCA . Central America and panama . Also here in AVIANCA is regional pilots have zero chances of upgrading to jet . Well the pay is a major plus 8000+ US with fly Dubai and also the Benefits from what I’ve seen on their website. What have you heard about Flydubai?

I live in Central America I fly with AVIANCA . Central America and panama . Also here in AVIANCA is regional pilots have zero chances of upgrading to jet . Well the pay is a major plus 8000+ US with fly Dubai and also the Benefits from what I’ve seen on their website. What have you heard about Flydubai?

This forum is primarily for pilots of USA-based airlines.
You might want to try pprune, or at least the "Foreign" sub forum of this site. Good luck with your decision.

I flew for Copa as an Expat pilot for 5 years and just recently made it back to the US. You can search for some of my reviews of Copa but here they are in a nutshell.

1. Training is horrendously laughable in the fact that you are under constant pressure and the threat of termination is outlined day 1.

2. Yea, lets keep that fact going. Termination is a constant threat.

3. As an FO, youre expected to do your job and not interject much with Panamanian captains. Boy did they love us expats from the US and Europe...

4. Management, your Chief Pilot and anyone else with a desk job is absolutely useless and will never answer an email or advocate for you at all. You are ALWAYS on your own. Remember that, accept it and watch your back.

5. UNPAC *the Panamanian Union*, is one of the most corrupt organizations I have ever seen. And they flaunt it. You will pay union dues as an Expat however you cannot vote at all. The union reps are on the company dime. Whenever a contract passes, the union reps are promised cushy jobs in the headquarters if they promise to just push for little gains with the pilots.

I loved living in Panama. I loved the flying and the maintenance on the airplanes was superb. It could be a dream job but its just not. The pay is FAR substandard for the type of hard flying we did in Central and South America for all the redeyes.

I got in, got the experience I needed and got out. Took longer than I wanted but thats how this industry works. PM for more details.

Good luck out there.

I am flying for Copa at the moment, to me it is worth, specially when you think about the fact of the amount of money you win here and the position, flying B737 all over the americas, upgrade to Captain position in few years, really fast. Here is a good place to work, get a lot of experience, go to a Captain position and then think about what you are going to do until retirement.

if PJN is right, pay is really substandard for 737

What is the pay at Copa?

Don't bother with FlyDubai. The pay is decent, but you'll spend it all on housing and the cost of living in Dubai which is really high. They also fly quite a bit of backside of the clock (redeyes) and to some really bad places. Also, I will promise you this... you will have never been as tired in your life as you will be with either Emirates or FlyDubai.

Fatigue is a real concern there, but their GCAA (authority) attitude towards it is something that will leave you scratching your head and wonder if these people are in the same century as the rest of the world. For example, if you call in fatigued, their rules require the company to give you 48 hours off (good)... but then you have to go see your aviation doctor to root out why you were fatigued (really bad). In other words, you can't just say "these rosters are killing me" because the answer will be "... but it's legal 'captain'..."