Pilot Shortage

Charliedelta11 · Post by **Charliedelta11** » Wed Aug 23, 2006 6:46 pm

I've heard that out fo the total 5 T7's in PIA's fleet..every day one is doing a sizeable amount of ground time because of a shortage of crew...the year is about to end and PIA is nearing the date to take delivery of its 773's and one 772 , a total of 3 new aircraft .
If this shortage remains , the T7's will be severely under utilized . The only pilots being promoted onto the 777's are captains from the A310's who are taking up their next and final command on the 777's , no F/o's are being sent there as the F/os are being given command on the ATR and the 737 ( btw..the 737 and ATR have been equated ) , which brings me to my next point..does PIA have any idea about the looming shortfall ? With trans atlantic flights doing very well , they need to increase frequencies , how can they do that if they dont have pilots ?
This is something which should have been looked into years go , hiring cadet pilots now will not help in anyway , except in the long run , cadet pilots too need atleast 2 years on turbo props as f/o's to be sent on jets ..

does anyone see PIA hiring foreign pilots ? provided any apply...

Amaad Lone · Post by **Amaad Lone** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 4:08 am

This is a professional matter and I am sure non of us know enough to comment on such an issue.

But I am sure the 777 fleet can get first officers from the A310s, as the captains on the ATR42 and 737-300 can also come from the pool of first officers from the retiring 747 fleet.

Plus the large pool of F.27 captains who are sitting at home doing nothing.

What is better, a first officer on a 777 or a captain on the ATR42, I mean money wise???

cheetah · Post by **cheetah** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 7:09 am

Both having the same seniority will be entitled to the same basic salary and the hour rate. However, the T7 gives the opportunity to fly more hours, which is 70 to 80 hours compared to an average of 50 for ATRs. At the rate of Rs 1500/ Hour this adds up to an additional Rs30,000. Long haul flying also rakes an extra $1000/ month in International Layover allownaces. A T7 rating also adds value to the Pilot, making him/her more marketable to other airlines.