SE Asia - advice for low hours & big plans?

[Charlie82]

Howdy all,

I'm looking for help. My bf is a 20-something pilot with his CPL, currently doing instrument & night rating & sitting on about 200 hrs. Most of his time has been in Mooneys & Cessnas. He plans on heading to SE Asia to rack up experience, once he has gained his ratings and more hours here. The end goal being, as with so many of you guys, to score an ATPL job with a major airline a few years down the track.

The sights are set on Susi Air at this stage - and there's a lot of conflicting info around that makes me nervous about them! So I'm wondering, can anyone please give some genuine insight on which other airlines/companies to look at in the SE Asia region for low-hours flying jobs? I've heard of Lionair but no others. What other companies are worth a look? Any comparisons on how the conditions etc stack up? Any in particular to stay the hell away from?

I know there are heaps of threads in the forums about this, just hoping to find the right details all in the one spot. I'd love to get some good information, that will at least leave him with more choices for the next step, after working his butt off & paying a fortune to get himself to here.

If you can share please do Cheers!

[Fonz121]

Hey Charlie,

I don't know a whole lot about the Asian scene but I'm pretty sure to get a gig with Lionair with low hours you need to shell out for a 737 rating beforehand.

[Charlie82]

Thanks for the heads up Fonz - shows how much I still have to learn about requirements!

If anyone else can shed light on companies in the region I'm all ears

[polair911]

just sign up for one of those cadetship, at least Cathay is not charging a cent for it

[Forward CofG]

polair911,

Cathay don't charge upfront for the the cadetship. But they do bond and make you stay on a substandard package for the rest of your career with them.

Save a little now, lose a lot over the next 5, 10, 15, 20 years.

Very shortsighted career move.

[tail wheel]

Another thing you need to learn Charlie, is that parts of Indonesia and particularly the mountains of West Irian are no place for a 200 hour pilot. Inclement tropical weather patterns, extreme mountainous terrain, sub standard air strips and parlous air traffic services is no place for a 20 something year old 200 hour pilot.

He needs to learn to walk before he can run. A couple of hundred hours in a C206/C210 in remote parts of Australia will give him the command and decision making experience that he needs at this very early stage in his career.

[The Green Goblin]

He needs to learn to walk before he can run. A couple of hundred hours in a C206/C210 in remote parts of Australia will give him the command and decision making experience that he needs at this very early stage in his career.

Won't that taint him?

I thought the best way to learn was as an A320 First Officer with a couple of hundred punters up the back

[tail wheel]

Won't that taint him?

Probably. It will put him in what appears to be an ever diminishing minority of pilots that actually have real flying and command decision making experience.

Who puts these ludicrous ideas into kids heads? The flying schools?

[Charlie82]

Cheers tail wheel - he's been given all the positives and promises about going to indonesia, but not so much the warnings about the challenges / very real risks with such low hours. Thanks for the perspective!

Plans include another year or so of gaining hours and stretching boundaries here first, and I definitely wouldn't complain if he chose to stay on home soil for a while longer instead haha!

[Biggles78]

Don't forget that Susi Air operates 2 pilot crews so he will get a 1,000 or so co-pilot SE turbine hours in the Inclement tropical weather patterns, extreme mountainous terrain, sub standard air strips and parlous air traffic services environment before getting the 2½ foot move to the left.

[melbourneuniboy]

The flying schools?

Yup told recently the airlines aren't look for lots of experience anymore, they want to train you there way, when you are fresh. When pushed admitted GA was still relevant but not if you wanted a 'short cut'

The best thing about aviation is it's the only thing in the world that involves a free lunch! And mum told me there was no such thing!

[kolob666]

Truth is, no one respects a cadet, not even themselves. Do it right, get some real experience, you will be glad for it in the long run.

[flyboy_nz]

Give Susi Air a go, got a couple of mates working for them. There's a joke that goes around in aviation, "what's the difference between a pilot and a jet engine?, the jet engine stops whining at the gate".