http://spirit.vietnamairlines.com/vi...OMTBXnlFHx0Ubs

"The pandemic came suddenly, so I decided to make a surprise for VNA"

01/04/2020 17:54 19.322 14
I thought to myself "why not fly"? I understand that the decision to give employees a period of unpaid respite is a difficult decision for Vietnam Airlines, but a necessary short-term decision for the long-term benefits. I thought and realized that for me, flying without pay is much better than being on the ground

Hello Steven! Would you please give us a brief introduction about yourself?
Hello! My name is Stevenson Archille, I am an American from New York City. I have been an Airbus A321 Captain for Vietnam Airlines

Would you give us some details about your reasons for choosing Vietnam and Vietnam Airlines?

There are two main reasons I chose Vietnam and Vietnam Airlines

#1, I have always loved the culture and people of Vietnam and Asia since I was a young boy (I had some Vietnamese friends while growing up in NYC),

and #2, Vietnam Airlines flies the Boeing 787 and my dream since I was young, was to fly a Boeing widebody aircraft. I hope to make my "Dreamliner" dreams come true at Vietnam Airlines in the future.

Recently, we have received news that you are one of the expatriate pilots to request to fly without pay for Vietnam Airlines. Would you be so kind to tell us about your reasons behind your decision?

The Coronavirus has impacted the entire world and the Vietnam Airlines family in so many ways. We all hope for the day when life as we knew it will return to normal. When Vietnam Airlines announced that pilots would be on unpaid leave for April, May and June to help cope with the Coronavirus outbreak, I decided to do my part to help the airline I love so much.


With the Vietnam Airlines unpaid leave, since I wasn't going to be paid anyway (a difficult but unfortunately necessary short-term step Vietnam Airlines had to make for long-term survival), I thought that it would be better to fly for no pay, as opposed to staying on the ground...for no pay.

Since age seven, being an airline pilot has been my dream, so I wrote an email to Vietnam Airlines and asked to fly a few hours during each month of the unpaid leave, and because I really love and miss flying. The Coronavirus pandemic is unprecedented, so I decided to do something unprecedented to help Vietnam Airlines through this difficult time: fly for free!

Would you also happen to know if there are any other expatriate Vietnam Airlines pilots with the same decision you made?

I don't know of anyone else who has made this decision. I only told my family in New York City and my Vietnamese girlfriend here in HCMC about it, and they are all supportive...and a little surprised!

One of my favorite things about living in Vietnam is that people don't address each other as you, me, him or her. EVERYONE you meet here is your family; Anh, or Chị or Ông Bà, or Cô or Chú. We are all one family in Vietnam and at Vietnam Airlines and I feel so welcomed and proud to be a small part of that family. We WILL fight and we will win over this pandemic...

 

Now we have Charley really confused.

 

LOL

I guess we really did lose the war. Don't tell my dad...

 

Oh, and, Steven, there's a guy named Frank on the phone for you.

 

What.......a............TOOL!!!!!

 

I think we found EXPAT1s actual name!

 

“I thought that it would be better to fly for no pay, as opposed to staying on the ground...for no pay.”

That makes one of us

 

Probably needs an excuse to see his other “girlfriends” Around the system

 

That was the first thought that came to my mind.