LATAM
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: 36N 33E
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Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Greece
Age: 38
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You could commute, but you'd have to live pretty close by (MVD, EZE, LIM). Schedule at the moment is usually 8/4, rarely 10/4, and some 5/2. The 4 days off in a row per month are law, so you can expect that every month. During high season you can expect 8 days off total per month. Low season is a bit better with up to 12 days a month. Right now the best contract is offered by SKY Airline. They have MyIDTravel benefits, better pay than any other operator
provided you work 90hr/month, and 7 days off in a row per month guaranteed. In Latam change to the 787 happens at about 6-7 years, unless you luck out and are assigned directly to it, which is not very common. Time to left seat right now is approximately 10-11 years, compared to 3-4 years (provided you have no experience) in SKY and JetSmart.
hope it helps
provided you work 90hr/month, and 7 days off in a row per month guaranteed. In Latam change to the 787 happens at about 6-7 years, unless you luck out and are assigned directly to it, which is not very common. Time to left seat right now is approximately 10-11 years, compared to 3-4 years (provided you have no experience) in SKY and JetSmart.
hope it helps
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Santiago
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The company rejected 100% of the pilot union request even though management was at first willing to negotiate. Even items required by law...
JetSmart is essentially just a group of liars trying to fill quotas.. I’d try Sky or LATAM. JetSmart you will only get stuck sucking up to your boss...
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Santiago
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Here is what I got:
This company is well known by the local pilot associations and unions for its intention to prostitute the pilot work environment and market: JetSmart will do everything cheaper and have it at the cost of their employees, literally...
Additionally, in order to attract pilots, many promises are made in the past and later on are not kept, be it fast upgrades, minimum flight hours per month or days off.
In general, managers in operations are internally considered untrustworthy and a few even straight out liars, but since they were only filling their quotas to put warm bodies in planes, internally it is considered ethical...
Last week company management rejected all requested union agreement points, even the items required by law, just to show they can, demonstrating their anti-union attitude. New hires are told NOT to join the union as they are on probation and beyond that time as “their career in the company would most likely suffer”...
It is also a known fact that most pilots in JetSmart are Expats and therefore bonded to the company, to say the condition to live in this country depends on the grace of the managers... If you are lucky like me and single, you might have choices, but some of the colleagues uprooted their family to come here and are now stuck...
living expenses are high in Santiago, and even higher in the new base they intent to open in Antofagasta.
Now new Expat recruits will be required to accept ANF as base, which is not a great place to live. High crime rates, Colombian mafias, drugs and prostitution are the norm in this high income mining town.
There are no bonuses, no overtime pay; if you are not connected you won’t have a chance for days off or even upgrading...If you are a noob (no Jet time), you are trying to get your SIC type on the A320, or looking for a fast upgrade to Captain, I’d say you could try your luck; but even the fast track FO’s are by now getting annoyed: Avianca Peru is going to release 30-40 Pilots and JetSmart is already scrambling to sell them US$8000 in pocket per month (bunch of lies, too!)... so their upgrades will be postponed indefinitely...
Now, if you are desperate and out of work, sure; but if you can go somewhere else, I’d recommend not looking at this place! You’ll be happier and actually have a career in other companies like Sky... which is where most of the pilots in JetSmart want to go anyways..
Hope this helps; I left this place a while ago and made it into a professional airline...
Last edited by SuperSmart666; 12th Aug 2019 at 22:41.
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
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Wow, thank you very much for your lengthy response! Out of interest, where are you from? And how much Spanish is spoken on an average day? Only on the ground with ground staff, or do you also speak Spanish with your captain/FO and ATC?
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: South of North, West of East
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Hi Jono,
English only while using checklists/flows/QRH etc. Spanish is the language with ATC in South America except in Brazil, in which case it is english. If you were to join on the Airbus family you would be limited to this operating area. All normal and operational conversations with other crew members, ground staff, airport staff and such would be in spanish.
Saludos and good luck,
SEQU
English only while using checklists/flows/QRH etc. Spanish is the language with ATC in South America except in Brazil, in which case it is english. If you were to join on the Airbus family you would be limited to this operating area. All normal and operational conversations with other crew members, ground staff, airport staff and such would be in spanish.
Saludos and good luck,
SEQU
Last edited by sequ; 18th Aug 2019 at 19:56.
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
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Hola Sequ,
thank you for your reply. Do you yourself work for Latam or any other South American based airline?
In your opinion, what are the chances of non-native speakers (of Spanish) being hired by Latam (or generally in South and Central America)?
Kind Regards,
Jono
thank you for your reply. Do you yourself work for Latam or any other South American based airline?
In your opinion, what are the chances of non-native speakers (of Spanish) being hired by Latam (or generally in South and Central America)?
Kind Regards,
Jono
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Santiago
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Hola Sequ,
thank you for your reply. Do you yourself work for Latam or any other South American based airline?
In your opinion, what are the chances of non-native speakers (of Spanish) being hired by Latam (or generally in South and Central America)?
Kind Regards,
Jono
thank you for your reply. Do you yourself work for Latam or any other South American based airline?
In your opinion, what are the chances of non-native speakers (of Spanish) being hired by Latam (or generally in South and Central America)?
Kind Regards,
Jono
Chances are slim to none... you need to speak, read and write Spanish in order to operate in most S American companies.
In LATAM its definitely a deal breaker...
I’d try SE Asia...
Join Date: Apr 2019
Location: Santiago
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