PeezDog

Oooo airprane!

BobSakamano

Wow that landing was sick! You mean they pay you $4,000 per month, plus a generous crash pad allowance? I'd pay them to fly the 9!

so jealous

mmaviator

you guys/gals are funny.

I rearry rove to wok on airprane too!

vaxoffair

Ha Ha Ha, Funny. So why all of the hostility and anger? It is a free world. Everyone is doing things out of their own free will. If you are happy with your current job then stay. Why be so nasty and hostile toward others. If the ASA pilots wants to try out something new and joint Air Mekong for a year or so then why not? People on this thread seems to fear that by accepting this pay rate, the Air Mekong pilots may affect the international pay rate.

No worries be happy guys. happy flying

BoilerUP

...because it will.

T&Cs for expat flying are what they are because of a lack of qualified locals causing a need to import qualified foreigners to fly aircraft. Its a classic 100-level economics supply & demand curve problem.

What ASA pilots did by accepting the comparatively poor T&Cs for Air Mekong was lower the price point at which pilots were willing to work halfway around the world...which increases the supply of pilots willing to do the work which will lower the "market value" of everybody else.

In terms folks might better understand, the impact of Air Mekong's T&Cs on pilot wages can be compared to the impact Mesa's 2003 contract had on every other regional airline's pilot wages.

I shouldn't be able to make more $$$ flying a 12,500lb airplane in Asia than a CRJ-900 pilot, but under those terms, I easily could.

The Dominican

"Once upon a time" proud pilots of the greatest and best paid aviation industry on the planet and now undercutting third world country salaries by 40% this is a shameful new low

TonyWilliams

which increases the supply of pilots ???

BoilerUP

Yes, I meant "supply of pilots"...thank you for the correction Tony.

I was still working on my first cup of coffee when I posted that...

atlmsl

Bob and Tony,

This is a serious question as I don't know anything about expat flying.

I understand economics enough to realize that an expat pilot flying for well below market value lowers that market value for the other guys. But does the fact that this is a joint venture with Skywest Inc. change that at all? These ASA pilots didn't just drop everything to go fly for cheap. It's roughly the same pay as ASA while keeping ASA seniority and longevity. It wasn't as if Air Mekong posted openings for expat pilots and these ASA guys came running. It was all set up through an ASA pilot who lives in Vietnam. Without the job protection from ASA I doubt these pilots would have left. If another international operator needs pilots and offers these same wages without the protection of the joint venture I doubt they'll get many takers. Doesn't this leave the open market for expat flying alone?

Am I way off base? If so, why? Once again, this is a serious question. I'm not trying to stir the pot.

BobSakamano

No offense taken, and you'll get my serious answer. The fact that it's a joint venture with Skywest, Inc only makes it worse. Your fine management has found a way to make a HUGE profit on the backs of naive young regional pilots. Make no mistake. Air Mekong has a budget to pay for the services Skywest is rendering. There were other players in this before Skywest came in to the picture. My guess is that Skywest undercut the others with a nice, turn-key regional airline package by 5-10% net. However, the HUGE haircut they are taking on the pilot salaries is what allows them to make more than other established legitimate contractors. So Skywest takes advantage of YOU as a pilot group and, in turn, makes a killing. Yeah, great company. Now those fine, upstanding LDS boys can afford to pay more in tithing. How about a 2 for 1? Instead of 10 speeds, they can use CRJ's for missionaries. The BOM is printed in Vietnamese after all.

Air Mekong had negotiated other contracts before this low-ball Skywest/ASA charade. So, is not losing (loosing for you FI guys) longevity/seniority an excuse to go overseas for an adventure that undercuts expats? I have been shopping CRJ contracts for a long time now and this definitely has had an impact on what others are offering. Other factors, including low time wonders from Europe, are also working in force to drive them down too. However, the Air Mememekong is a contributing factor.

I don't wholly blame ASA pilots for going to Air Mememekong. Your fine management put Lancome lipstick on this pig. How could you not want to give it a kiss? If you don't know and haven't experienced expat flying, it sounds glamorous. Work rules, or lack thereof, license risks and other risks have all been discussed ad nauseam to no avail. After a nice case of malaria, losing 25 pounds from dysentery and a few unpleasant close calls - I suggest that working for regional airline wages and sharing a crash pad with other dudes in a third world country might just lose it's luster. Just sayin'

Hell, if I were to start an airline, I'd just advertise for European and Middle East pilots with 200 hours, frozen ATPL and fresh type ratings. Simply pay me $20,000, nah make it $25,000, and you can fly 500 hours in the right seat of my jet. Brilliant strategy. There are plenty of turds in the aviation punchbowl.

So in my humble, yet educated, opinion - this does not leave the open expat market alone.

I won't discuss my current contract terms other than to say they are just slightly better and I'll get to see my kids before they hit puberty. However, I'm betting my terms won't last long. Thanks. Thanks for everything.

Bob Sakamano, Kramerica