Confused

Is it stated as fact about this 40% stake somewhere. I was under the impression skywest had ZERO stake but was simply being asked for help by a massive company in vietnam that is starting up this airline.

If it is a 40% stake can you post something somewhere on here to show that?

nigelcobalt

Vietnam? No I haven't been there, so you are right. I have however lived in Korea, hong kong and the Philippines for a little over 2 years of my life. That's all I'm basing my opinion on. I'm sure Vietnam is different.

Btw, I loved all those places, but they're not home for me.

AirWillie

No kidding Sherlock. He or she said average pay for Vietnamese people is 500 dollars. then he says so we're not undercutting them by taking over their flying jobs. That's when I asked 500 dollars to fly a jet? because he or she failed to specify if pilots in Vietnam make the same amount as average people in Vietnam to which if true would validate his or her statement.

John Pennekamp

My point was that considering SKW seems to be calling the shots in this thing, your worst fear of contract pilots working for regional wages is extremely likely to come true.

John Pennekamp

This looks to be the kind of challenge that someone in management throws up when they know it's correct, and know that the proof is hidden and confidential, and it wasn't supposed to have been leaked. You made a similar comment earlier to someone else, so I'm guessing you're in management?

No, I can't produce a document, for obvious reasons. Can you? But I do know what I've been told by people who would know, and I trust them. They really would have no motivation to tell me that if it wasn't true. It's amazing what people will brag about at cocktail parties, you know...

dontsurf

nice try at jingoism there. disgusting. fact is, english is now the second almost official language there, and french is third. anyone with enough money to actually fly in vietnam as a passenger almost always speaks english, and probably some french too. the flight attendants definitely speak english (they do now, so why wouldn't they for this operation?). clean water is easy to get (it's in bottles). food is wonderful, but go cheap and you might end up with dog and/or cat...doesn't mean it doesn't taste good.

weather...well, the united states has the worst dangerous weather in the world on a consistent basis (thunderstorms, tornados, winter storms with icing, etc.) vietnam certainly has weather, but it's a lot better than here most of the time.

work rules? well, i'd listen to the guys on here with actual experience overseas...sounds like work rules will be a serious problem, hence the extra pay...is it worth it? that's a decision for everyone to make individually.

now i see you lived in different parts of asia. why the heavy bias against the vietnamese people then?

JustAnotherPLT

John,

When this pans out, when would we start to see movement towards training and announcements for the position? Do you think training would be longer than normal due to international operations?

winglet

Sounds like Dulles...

This whole Asia/CRJ scenario sounds very similar to the Mesa/Kunpeng venture. Once the Chinese learned the ropes they showed Mesa the door. I don't think Mesa provided a quality service though, so maybe this will work.

winglet

B757CA

I operated into Hanoi about 2 weeks after 9/11. At that time our Vietnamese handlers at the airport told us we were the first American airliner to have landed there since the war. Who knows if that was true? The controllers were pretty easy to understand, their ATC radar worked fine, and the terminal was brand new if memory serves me correctly. I have done ALOT of overseas flying over the last 15 years and expected the worst and was pleasantly surprised.

Vietnam has been growing quickly. The people were very friendly and it is quite apparent that they want folks to visit! While conversing in English with the locals on the street was challenging, it wasn't a problem in restaurants, shops, etc. This shouldn't be surprising as most countries are very proactive in promoting English with their populations all over the planet.

That being said, the city has a typical 3rd world feel but change and modernization is afoot there.
And it is CHEAP......For example, I ate at one of the best places in town and paid like 5 bucks for a massive meal.

I agree with the salary expectations from everyone else. Don't go for less. Don't open the door by agreeing to anything REMOTELY like USA regional pay. That would have TERRIBLE ramifications for all of us down the road. There should be excellent pay, perdiem AND HOUSING.....just like all of the overseas contracts work.

If you go...enjoy.

PSACFI

So they have to assume the role of captain and CFI? I hope they get paid more for that!