Better Job

I'm wondering about working conditions at various internatinal Arilines that hire American Expats. The airlines I'm interested in are Singapore, Korean, and Emirates. I'm wondering about number of days worked per month, pay, and general working conditions... generally a pleasant place to work or not.
Thanks

Typhoonpilot

The three ( or four ) mentioned are vastly different in style and environment. I say four because Singapore mainline and Singapore Cargo should be considered as separate for comparitive purposes as their contracts have significant differences. Hopefully Phil Squares will come along and fill you in on Singapore Cargo. Korean should also be considered in a completely different light as it is a commuting job while the other three are not.

I can speak authoritatively on Emirates, since I work there.

EK pay as Captain includes:

Monthly basic pay $7000
Provident Fund $840
Per Diem $350

One could add overtime and annual bonus into the mix and come up with an average of another $1000 per month, but that isn't guaranteed. Instructor pay would be another $1500 per month.

Tax Free, Free Housing, Free Utilities, Free ride to and from work. 42 days of annual vacation with ticket paid to annual leave destination. Subsidized schooling for children. Medical at $50 per month for a family ( no co-pay ). Membership at health clubs and beach clubs in town for $30 per month. Golf membership ( one year waiting list now ) at $1100 per year.

The work schedule is going to be busy over the next two years. I would say an average of 10 days off per month in base. As an instructor I'm home 25 nights per month

Most trips have layovers of 24 hours with a few of 48 or 72+. Europe trips take three roster days. Generally leave at 0800 and return midnight the second day. Asia trips generally leave at 0300 and return 0500 on the last day. Longest trips are currently 9 days to Australia. Some night turn-arounds to India and Pakistan on the 777. Rotating preferential bid system that has you in top bid group once every 5 months. Top two bid groups generally get very good rosters. That means you can have 4 to 5 very good rosters per year. Good bidding can get you stretches of 7 to 10 days off in a row during top months. Bottom bid months are not so good. One period of 35 days reserve per year, generally coinciding with bottom bid group.

Crews are multi-cultural. Over 100 nationalities in back and about 70 on the flight deck. Majority of pilots are English (210 ), Australian (162) , Canadian (150), Kiwi (73), South African (69), Swedish, Swiss, German, and USA (48). There are 169 pilots from the UAE. The flight deck atmosphere is generally very professional yet relaxed. I find it quite enjoyable. Crews do go out together on overnights some of the time, but not all the time. It really depends where you are.

Training is a bit hit and miss. Some issues of checking versus training and lack of standardization in what is being taught. It can be frustrating at times, but nobody is trying to fail you. You really have to self study a lot of stuff.

One of my long time best friends has been at Korean for 8 years. Korean is a commuting job where you have a minumum of 9 days off per month at home ( home being any Korean destination ). Add in 2 vacation days per month and you can average 11 days off per month at home. B777 pay is about $11,000 per month plus $1000 per diem. Almost exclusively Korean crews who do not really socialize on overnights. You stay at a hotel in Inchon while not flying. Check in - check out for every trip. If you don't mind a trans-Pacific commute every month and being away from your family for 20 to 30 days at a stretch it is a great gig.

I like Singapore as a city. I'm there right now. Had a great seafood dinner out at the East Coast Seafood Center last night. Night time meals sitting outside by the sea or river are a nice feature of Singapore living.


Typhoonpilot

phil squares

Are we talking Capt or FO?

Typhoonpilot

I assumed Captain since Korean only hires Captains.

TP

phil squares

For SIA Cargo http://www.siacargo.com/First%20Offi...0positions.pdf

For SIA http://www.singaporeair.com/saa/en_U...ew.jsp#Header3

As far as SQ is concerned, be it Cargo or Pax, it really depends on what you consider important.

Since I'm with Cargo, I can really only address those issues. For me, the Cargo side is great. First of all, living in Singapore is very nice, great place, no crime, extremely clean, excellent public transportation...

The 744F flies to varied locations and the trips can be fairly long. I would say on average, I have 12-14 days off/month. For the most the longest legs are around 7 hours, although there are a few AMS-SIN, ORD-NGO, LAX-HKG that are over that, but there are only a few of those each month. The layovers generally are atleast 24 hours, I'm on a trip right now that has 3 days in DUB! Again, it depends on what you consider good.

For me the 345 is a very limited aircraft. It really only goes to EWR and LAX, lots of time off though. The 777 is too much work, for me. Lots of turns and way too many trips to the airport in a month.

Hope that helps.

captjns

You will be happier with Singapore, or Cathay. Dollar for dollar, more diverse routes, and layovers. You can pretty much be home based too as you can commute to.

Typhoonpilot

I think you mean Cathay Cargo when you say home based. I don't think it is even remotely possible to commute with Singapore, although they have constant rumours of Australia basings, Phil ?.


TP

phil squares

SQ has bases in SYD, PER, LAX, LHR. However, there are no more hires to those bases and the company had stated they will close the bases through attrition.

Realistically, commuting isn't an option. However, there are people who commute from KL and Bali, but that's about it.

Better Job

Thanks everyone for some great info. Singapore would probably be my first choice, if I could get hired there. Only problem is, I don't want to live in Singapore for the long term. My family is happy in San Diego. We'd love an International living experience, but we'd want to get back to CA after several years. I had heard that Singapore had US bases, but sounds like that's becoming a thing of the past. KAL seemed like a good option for that reason, but I've got three small kids and 20 consecutive day absences aren't an option. ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS???

duffrick

Try Cathay Pacific. They have US basing (LAX, JFK, ANC, ORD, ATL)with good pay and benefits. Also, don't overlook carriers such as Nippon Cargo Airlines and JALWays. They have US basing (NCA; LAX, SFO. JALWays; HNL)as well with above average pay and benefits. Check'em out at www.hawaiiaviation.com

Good luck.