Need CRJ200 crews, Afghanistan
 

Afghan Jet International Airlines is in need of flight crews for CRJ-200 aircraft to be flown within Afghanistan for scheduled airline service and charter.

You must be:

1. A First Officer with 1500 hours in type. You will be offered command training if you are current, or within one year or current.

2. A First Officer who has 500 hours in type, and is current or within one year current.

3. A Captain who has 1000 hours command time in type.

4. English proficient, with preference given to fluent Afghan language speakers.

5. Hold an FAA, Transport Canada, or JAA / EASA license:

Commercial
ATPL Frozen
ATP or ATPL

6. Hold a current First Class / Class 1 medical

********************

Info about the job:

Crew Base: Kabul, Afghanistan

Accommodations: provided by company in secured and armed compound

Pay: commensurate with qualifications

Schedule: 21 days consecutive duty (with required crew rest), 10 days off.

Office location: near Dubai, U.A.E.

Training: all paid by company with 6 month bond

*******************

Respond with your CV / resume by email only to:

[email protected]

AFGHAN JET INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

Need CRJ200 crews, Afghanistan
 

What's the pay?

[QUOTE=TonyWilliams;1597914]
Info about the job:

Crew Base: Kabul, Afghanistan

Accommodations: provided by company in secured and armed compound

Schedule: 21 days consecutive duty (with required crew rest), 10 days off.

Office location: near Dubai, U.A.E.

*******************

So your employees "accommodations" need to be protected by an armed compound? Unless this is a Marriot with armed guards, it sounds like prison.... And 21 consecutive days? yeah no thanks.

According to the website, its a start up airline. I quote from flyaji.com

"Afghan Jet International Airlines will be operating with two 50-seater Bombardier CRJ-200 aircraft and plans to induct Bombardier Q400s with 74 seats that will connect Kabul even to airports having non-paved runways.

The future acquisition of AJI includes the acquisition of navigation single isle twin jets such as the B737 NGs of the equivalent A320 airplanes.

With an increment in fleet, operations will be expanded to other regional destinations in South Asia, central Asia and Europe."

[QUOTE=Aviator89;1598475]Agreed. It would take no less than $400,000/yr for me to do that, with a first class ticket anywhere I want on those 10 days. Maybe.

There are like three paved runways in that entire country. It's also the poorest country on the planet. Even the best paid make $200/month (excluding the few corrupt). Who exactly are you thinking you're going to fly, and to where?

You would probably be kidnapped within a month and held for ransom.

[QUOTE=Aviator89;1598475]Have you ever been to the Middle East? Have you ever been off 'the Island of America'? Do you even own a passport?

Accommodations in a secured, armed compound would be a prerequisite for any job in Afghanistan. And most other places at that latitude west of Bangladesh. 21 days on is not a deal breaker. Most Asian commuting contracts are longer. 10 days off could be. How much paid leave is there in addition to the 10 unpaid days a month? Are tickets provided for days off? Business or better? Worldwide?

What is the pay? "commensurate with qualifications" is fine for an East Asian contract. For West Asia it had better be ridiculous. That $400,000 figure is damn close. Flying the Hajj, based in JED, they were paying $15k/$9k a month. And the risk factor/comfort level ratio in Jeddah is considerably better than in Kabul.

I'm guessing you haven't been there...OAKB, OAKN, OAHR, OAJL, OAMS, OAUZ, OABT, OAZI just to name a few. There is scheduled airline service all over the country using 1900's and 737's. As for the armed compound in Kabul, all the westerners live behind armed walls. 21 days on and 10 days off with the opportunity to see the World sounds a whole lot better that a Stateside regional.

don't worry, there will be no "pilot shortage" of applicants even at this place

No effin way is living under constant fear of danger better than a regional. I had a friend do one of these contract jobs in Yemen a few years ago. It was a complete screw job. They promised in a signed contract X amount of $$ and X amount of days off. What he actually got was waaay less $$ than agreed upon and absolutely screwed on his days off. He ended getting stuck there for 6 months straight before he ended up quitting and buying his own ticket home.

This job sounds eerily similar. Buyer beware. These so called contract jobs to start up airlines in 3rd world countries are extremely shady at best.

[QUOTE=robthree;1598585]
^^^^^^This and don't worry after a few weeks you get used to the rockets hitting the compound. Hey, and there is an awesome Thai restaurant at the ISAF base at Kabul Airport.

[QUOTE=WARich;1598610]The spring rolls are bomb diggity!!!

Flak jacket and sidearm standard issue or bring you own?

Ha! Exactly what I was thinking... bring your own MWS and flare pod as well?

Seriously though, I would highly advise those who are actually considering this to do their research. If you are not former military and haven't seen the wonders Afghanistan has to offer, I reiterate to take a good look at this. The secured compound sounds nice and all, but ISAF contractors are still being hit with IED's while enroute between the airport and said compounds in Kabul. Not to mention, who will be the armed personnel guarding this compound? The ANP or third party group? If it's the ANP, I'd google "green on blue attack" for those not in the know....

100% agree.

Double bonus if you can do your own Route Clearence.

[QUOTE=robthree;1598585]I wasnt saying it was actually dangerous or not nice. Just the way its worded makes it sound like its bad. For someone who hasnt seen one of these armed compounds, its sounds like a prison. haha Thank you for clarifying that it is not.
And yes I own a passport, and yes I have been off the cont. US. Thanks for checking.

Anyone who is going to go to the Stan to fly an RJ for a Mideast operator must be smoking crack. I have not flown over there in a few years, but don't expecting anything in the form of infrastructure. ATC...yeah right. Radios....again yeah right, have fun with them getting jammed for 2/3 of your flight. Then the Russians come blasting through the airspace not talking to anyone and fly wherever they want at whatever altitude they want. BTW, their IL-XX don't have TCAS.

It truly is/was the Wild West of flying.

So yeah, have fun with that....

Must have been awhile since you were there. ATC is almost all US, Italians at Herat and Germans at Mazar. Airways flying with vectors to the ILS is the norm. You gotta know where the hills are, other than that its not a real demanding environment to fly in.

Interesting, but believable. 2009 was a train wreck. It was improved slightly in 2010, which was the last time I was there.

Three years, and sever hundred hours flying CAS. Another year on the ground. All that lift is for coalition personnel. We're out this year, or when the money dries up, probably this year.

Very true, seems like they may be about 5 years too late getting this operation going.

Agreed. Was there in 2012, pretty tame. Most of the controllers are western.

Was there in 2013. Still a train wreck. It was safest to fly the published airway system/terminal procedures. Radar coverage was very limited.

When the Coalition Forces pulls out this place will be uber dangerous. Pay me $500,000 (with a hefty life insurance/hostage insurance policy) a year and I'll drive an RJ there. I'd imagine the people there would suffer a similar fate to this crew.

1995 Airstan incident - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I wasn't really worried about radar coverage, that was the furthest thing from my mind. :D

7. Certifiably insane.

Just to add another point:

Yes, the ATC system there is okay lately (I was there 2012-13). However, all of those western controllers are also ISAF contractors. Now I have no official information or insight, but I can only imagine that OAKN/OAKB/OAHR/OAMS will turn the towers over to locals once we leave, and so will the Brits in OAZI once they leave... at which point I believe the whole airspace will sink back to the "wild west". Total and complete Charlie Foxtrot! (more-so than it already is)

Regardless of the ATC mess, I can say with having experienced Afghanistan that this job is not worth it. I know regional FOs may be getting all perked up because the ad does mention a "command" position with 1500 hrs on type, but as WRAP said, I would only consider this with a salary in the ballpark of around $500,000. Yes, I know the regionals aren't the most desirable place to be, but neither is being based in Afghanistan flying RJ routes from Kabul to Kandahar, Herat, and Mazar, IMHO.

I don't know. I didn't really feel a big threat airborne as I did on the ground. I think it's anyone's guess on how it pans out after the troops depart.

There has to be a English subtitled version of the movie floating around somewhere. This whole story sounds incredible.

[QUOTE=Aviator89;1598475]Yes, the crews absolutely need to be protected. A Marriott with armed guards would be one of the biggest targets in the country.

It may be possible to also do 6 weeks / 20 days off.

It depends on what you bring to the table.

For a TRI / TRE that is current, clearly more money than an off the street FO.

You cannot discount the danger; no question.

Yes, I suspect there will be folks show interest who, like myself, enjoy exploring the world.

For folks who are content doing six legs a day, stuck in the right seat at a low paying USA "regional", they should just keep on doing that. It's absolutely an easy choice for many. We wouldn't even want somebody to come here and complain all the time. Save that for this forum and your regional crew lounge.

Yes, the airline is a start up, and we will be relocating our two CRJ-200's from Dubai to Kabul in the next few weeks.

We currently have four captains and three FO's. I'm loathe to suggest that we are getting "bigger iron", but I will say that the immediate plan is to add three Boeing 737's (on a separate AOC) and possibly several CRJ-900's.

It's hard to say how long the CRJ-200's will be around, but they will accomplish the goal of launching the airline. They are former Lufthansa birds with dual IRS, dual FMS, HUD and HF. They have been painted, both gone through extensive A checks in Dubai, and hopefully will be ready soon.

Sim training is likely to be in Minneapolis, Toronto, Copenhagen or a remote possibility of Kuala Lumpur.

On your duty rest days (during the 21 days of duty), you're welcome to buy a $175 one-way ticket to Dubai and relax. Dubai is about 3.5 hours away. The company doesn't pay for that, any more than a USA regional does. The company main offices are near Dubai.

There is a flight allowance, so you can book your own tickets home for rotations. You can fly First Class, or "no class". It's up to you.

Again, for all the "sky is falling" posts, I think the message is loud and clear. This isn't a job for everybody, but it could be a rewarding opportunity for a rare few.

Ya, Felix Airlines in Yemen was a contract I turned down. I did fly the CRJ-900 in Nigeria with Arik Air.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhoQIgnF4rM

Having flown the C-17 in and out of Afghanistan for 7 years now with four beefy engines and 3 or four sets of eyes up front, I'm not sure you could convince me to do it in a CRJ with just one other guy in the cockpit. Kabul is a zoo. Herat... same. Mazar, sure, just don't hit the ridge. The hostile fire part isn't what would bother me. It's literally everything else about the airspace. That and the -200 performance on a hot day around some of those 20000 MSL peaks... meh. Maybe for someone younger and more adventurous.

I'll keep putting up and down the east coast in my RJ and be quite content. :D

Welcome to the Dash 8 world, lol!
I've personally enjoyed my time here in Afghan. Granted I live on a US Base, not a "safe house" in Kabul. Like somebody already mentioned, the threat really isn't in the air, its on the ground, ie, rockets, morters, rpg's, suicide bombs, vbieds, ect. When a 107mm rocket hits about 25 yards from where you're sleeping and knocks you out of bed, you start thinking, what the hell am I doing here!!??

As far as the infrastructure, it sucks. Within radar coverage, its ok. Out of it, strictly position reporting with barely readable coms. Know the terrain. In the Dash its nice because we can get down lower than than the heavies, enabling us to know the valleys and mountains a little better.

In all honesty, this RJ gig isn't a bad deal for the right person. The commute to and from work sucks (might get blown up) but other than that, its a challenging flying environment, ICAO/international experience, and a chance to experience a different culture.

I'd consider it for the right price, but you still haven't said what the pay is. It really does need to be near $3x,000/mo IMO for that kind of risk and schedule. Too bad it's not a 700 either. Such a better plane compared to that POS 200. Especially for any high altitude ops.

The CRJ-200 was never intended to actually be flown in the hottest weather, which is why we are looking at CRJ-900's. Actually, there are days when it physically can't fly.

Originally, they were going to be replaced by April with Airbus A320's. Then "supplemented" with three B737's. Lots of plans, but the only firm thing today is the two airplanes we have.

You're right, I haven't listed the price. I've gotten about a dozen resumes, and I made one offer today after a resume review and phone interview. He'll be going to the sim shortly with another new hire. That person is the only one, so far, that needs to know "how much".

I'll just say that the pay is a whole lot more than you're likely making at a USA regional, and far less than you'll be make flying a wide body at Emirates.

As to safety, I did stay in a crew hotel in Atlanta where a gunman came in the lobby and started blasting away. And that's not the only scary overnight I've been on in the USA. Anybody for a trip to downtown Detroit?