Asia: The Paradise of the Pilots

For those who did not read the newspaper El Mercurio last weekend, this news will please them greatly, since it is a sign of high demand that exists in these times of pilots. On Saturday April 12 of this was published in a newspaper report about the opportunities, benefits and working conditions in the East. This information was released by three testimonies from fellow pilots who are currently residing and working there.

What are the main goodies?

* Salaries reaching $ 25 thousand dollars - 3 times more than in Chile

* Payment of tuition and housing for children

* Relaxing the same time they work (6 and 6 months)

Witness No. 1 - Andres Iturriaga

Background: Worked 11 years at LAN Airlines

In China, work and relaxation can be mixed ...

Andrew was in 2005 in search of better working conditions. I had heard positive experiences from other pilots in Asia and when it began as a pilot for Air Sahara. He worked at this company until it was acquired by another two years and a half later.

Note that your experience was rewarding because he lived in a hotel which was paid by the company during all the time. I traveled to Chile every six months to get medical examinations, costs were also covered by your employer. The reasons, according to Andrew, is that "... in Asia, airlines need so many people who have to adapt to meet people from other parts of the world with their problems ...." The labor system of Andres was flying three weeks and three off. Says that "... for singles is a great option because you can enjoy a lot. When you have a family, sometimes it's more difficult .... "

It currently works in an airline China with a contract similar to that in his earlier work in India. Fly followed by cities such as Sydney, Tokyo, Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, and others.

Andres visit Chile annually but that has no intentions of returning to stay. In addition to personal reasons, the difference in salaries and that is too much to pay in Chile - 4 million pesos at most - to assimilate what he earns in the East. Mentions that "... the market is too small and the companies have not yet experienced a shortage of staff ...."

Witness No. 2 - Renato Barr�a

Background: Former pilot LAN Airlines

Copilot to captain of Vietnamese land ...

Renato Barr�a 54 years and this has not stopped him to move east to the mainland a few years ago in search of better opportunities. Renato is captain on Airbus A320 and A321 Vietnam Airlines. With regard to the critical situation in which the air is going to drain their pilots (read Air Force Pilots without!), Renato says that "... they should offer better economic conditions to the professionals ... members of the elite." Account proud that once transported to the president of the Chinese Communist Party from Hanoi to Laos. Ensures that Asia is well adapted to western cultures and there are almost no differences in lifestyle. Mentions that "... in the end we feel like at home, because the neighborhoods where we live are very similar to Chile ...."

When he arrived in Vietnam, Renato was not married but the marriage lasted and now is happy to have a new family-style Vietnamese. Has no intention of returning to Chile. Mind that there are so many benefits offered by the airline, which has the possibility of buying a house and pay it in two years. You also receive one month of vacation for each month worked, getting the final 6 months of work and other holiday 6.

According to Renato, who arrived as a pilot and was quickly promoted to captain, that "... the Chilean pilots are welcome. The school LAN is very professional .... " Account which was chosen from 4 candidates.

Testimonial No. 3 - Carlos Cofr�

Background: Former pilot LAN Airlines

Enjoying the family in Singapore ...

Charles noted that the plan was not easy either. After dismissal of a LAN of around 650 employees due to the consequences that brought the World Trade Center bombing in 2001, Carlos began to seek options that would allow him and his wife and three children later. Discovered an Australian company that recruited pilots for Vietnam. He made the difficult decision to leave and let the family would not assume that at a time while working for Vietnam Airlines. Was for two years without her because "... the country does not provide adequate standards to ensure that they were comfortable ...."

But the horizon for Carlos was cleared when it began to stabilize financially and was the big step to take his family to Singapore, where it resides today. Now working for Singapore Airlines and was very happy. Earns three times what they earn in Chile and was able to see different cultures. The work of Carlos allows you to fly to every continent at least several of the South most exclusive aircraft like the Boeing 747 and Boeing 777. Is satisfied because his family has access to a developed society and your company offers benefits that Chile was not as payment for your housing and tuition for their children. This has allowed Carlos to save big. Carlos says he does not know whether to return to Chile. Confess that you have nostalgia for his native country but is aware that the lifestyle in Singapore it is impossible to replicate in Chile. That "... it is not currently an option ...."

Interesting article and nice interviews of pilots in our country that is paying off the risk of having left their country of origin. It is estimated that about 30 pilots in Chilean Asia, especially India and China. Everything has been caused, in part, for the attack on the Twin Towers that made the airlines, including LAN, fired most of its staff. Now these pilots have been able to take new job opportunities, which has a better change to monetary gain, accompanied by new cultural and social experiences.

Source: EMOL