Expat Pilots

[inducedrag]

All the private Airlines have quite a few Expats pilots both captain and first officers for more than One year CAA should put a restriction as so many Local unemployed pilots should be hired and trained as F/O and experienced upgraded to Capt at the earliest

[Shershah Ahmed]

You forgot to mention they're being paid international dollar rates too, which are higher than the other local employed pilots in the same airline.

Expecting CAA to look out for the interests of our local cadets and unemployed pilots is like asking for it to rain gold. Pakistan has the most unfriendly setup for civilian pilots. The airlines are equally to blame.

One only needs to look at India and how they've got mandates for cadet programmes for every airline, and then see why they're so ahead of us in aviation.

[Tuti Fruiti]

Main issue is lack of aircrafts in Pakistan both planes and helicopters..

Pakistan has 35 commercial planes and business jets & helicopters combined will make total of something like 60 or 70...lets say there are 4 pilots plane aircraft...then at maximum the number is 200!! so Pakistan has capacity of 200 pilot jobs both for commercial and business aviation...this is super low number for a country of 26 crore.. additionally, pilots retiring from PAF also take up slots..so young cadets have even lesser options

[faisal-777]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

[inducedrag]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

Less than 15% Pakistani passport are being hired by middle East airlines lot of failure then visa restrictions for Pakistani

[b78709]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

Local airlines should pay local pilots competitive rates to begin with. Seth mentality must be discouraged in the corporate by CAA and other regulators including SECP.

[Shershah Ahmed]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

I disagree. Locals will leave for greener pastures regardless. It isn't a blood oath that once you join an airline you are there for life. Pilots leaving for jobs abroad isn't something new, it's always been the case.

If airlines can pay expat pilots upwards of 9000 dollars, yet tell their local crew that they can't raise salaries, it breeds resentment. They are effectively telling local Captains they're worth half their expat counterparts. The expats are also paid slip allowances and their living is taken care of.

Not to mention it is hypocritical of airline management to use pilot shortage as an excuse to hire expats.

[Shershah Ahmed]

Main issue is lack of aircrafts in Pakistan both planes and helicopters..

Pakistan has 35 commercial planes and business jets & helicopters combined will make total of something like 60 or 70...lets say there are 4 pilots plane aircraft...then at maximum the number is 200!! so Pakistan has capacity of 200 pilot jobs both for commercial and business aviation...this is super low number for a country of 26 crore.. additionally, pilots retiring from PAF also take up slots..so young cadets have even lesser options

Which again boils down to ridiculous CAA taxation, rules and a million hoops to jump through before airlines can expand. So airlines think it's okay to just have 5 narrowbody planes to fly internationally, and they never grow beyond that mindset. Open skies doesn't help either.

[xulfiswag]

End of the day it's penny wise pound foolish

[faisal-777]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

Less than 15% Pakistani passport are being hired by middle East airlines lot of failure then visa restrictions for Pakistani

but why should cockpit crew nationality matter. Arent they allowed without any further immigration to countries they fly to?

[inducedrag]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

Less than 15% Pakistani passport are being hired by middle East airlines lot of failure then visa restrictions for Pakistani

but why should cockpit crew nationality matter. Arent they allowed without any further immigration to countries they fly to?

A Pakistani can oprated a flight but cannot have a layover in India for USA crew visa is sometimes not issued so on

[contrails]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

Incorrect assumption.

Tax free salary of a foreign captain - 8000 USD to 9500 USD.
For a foreign F/O - 5000 USD to 7000 USD.

If you pay that well to Pakistani pilots - Most would never leave.

[contrails]

End of the day it's penny wise pound foolish

Agreed.

[contrails]

You are right but you are also missing one aspect here. If local pilots are hired and paid local competitive salaries, after sometime those pilots will leave to Gulf where salaries would be higher and PK airlines will again have to hire. So they are probably trying to sustain their operation by having pilots who are well paid and wont leave.

I disagree. Locals will leave for greener pastures regardless. It isn't a blood oath that once you join an airline you are there for life. Pilots leaving for jobs abroad isn't something new, it's always been the case.

If airlines can pay expat pilots upwards of 9000 dollars, yet tell their local crew that they can't raise salaries, it breeds resentment. They are effectively telling local Captains they're worth half their expat counterparts. The expats are also paid slip allowances and their living is taken care of.

Not to mention it is hypocritical of airline management to use pilot shortage as an excuse to hire expats.

Couldn't have put it better.