Sunwing Pilot Licensing

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1000islander
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Sunwing Pilot Licensing

Post by 1000islander »

This has probably been discussed before, but what training do the FLVC pilots and wet lease pilots undergo before they start flying in Canadian airspace with Canadian passengers?? Do they have ground school, simulator training and a validation ride with Transport Canada? I am curious wrt to SMS and Transport Canada oversight.
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Gilles Hudicourt
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Re: Sunwing Pilot Licensing

Post by Gilles Hudicourt »

1000islander wrote:This has probably been discussed before, but what training do the FLVC pilots and wet lease pilots undergo before they start flying in Canadian airspace with Canadian passengers?? Do they have ground school, simulator training and a validation ride with Transport Canada? I am curious wrt to SMS and Transport Canada oversight.
Thanks
Wet lease pilots are not required to undergo any training whatsoever. They come to Canada with the same status as a pilot of a Foreign Airline Operating in Canada from their country(ie KLM pilot). They fly their own aircraft under their own OC.
They do no require an FLVC, they do not require a work permit, they are not required to declare Canadian income to Revenue Canada.
Those foreign pilots that come to Canada to fly Canadian registered aircraft are a different beast. They take the place of a Canadian pilot in the Canadian workplace. They require a Work Permit from Immigration Canada and are required to declare Canadian revenue to Revenue Canada. They also require a Canadian pilots licence.
There are people who think that an FLVC qualifies as a Canadian licence. When they arrive, they must submit to all the ground courses and exams that are done annually by Sunwing pilots plus they must renew their PPC, probably a couple sessions of training followed by a check ride. When that is completed, they must do some Line Indoctrination and a Route Check, probably 25 hours. ....
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1000islander
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Re: Sunwing Pilot Licensing

Post by 1000islander »

I know, here we go again, but if the training for the FLVC is the same as a Canadian guy off the street, what is the advantage for Sunwing?? Is the pay for the FLVC pilots that much cheaper than the regular line guys??
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Gilles Hudicourt
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Re: Sunwing Pilot Licensing

Post by Gilles Hudicourt »

The training is the same as hiring a current type rated guy from another Canadian airline.

Some of the Foreign pilots earn a higher salary than Canadian Sunwing pilots, others, the Czechs for example, earn much less. But that is what these pilots' employers pay these pilots in their home country. What Sunwing actually pays to the foreign airlines for the use of their pilots is a closely guarded secret.

Why does Sunwing hire those foreign pilots?

1) They do not want to pay initial courses for Canadians for if they do, they will be forced to pay these Canadian pilots year round to retain them, something they do not want to do. So although a foreign pilot may cost more in salary and expenses over a 6 month period, Sunwing thinks its less than paying an initial course and then having to pay the Canadian year round to retain him.
2) Sunwing enters into short term leases for aircraft for the winter, not necessarily from leasing companies, but from Airlines. The main difference is that those airlines employ full time year round pilots to fly these aircraft, pilots that would remain idle and and unproductive during the time their aircraft was leased to Sunwing. So the prefered method is to lease the aircraft with the pilots, a form of leasing that is illegal in the USA, called a sham dry lease. Its sort of a wet lease disguised as a dry lease since the aircrafts' lease is related to and is sourced at the same place as the pilots' contract.
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Last edited by Gilles Hudicourt on Mon Dec 15, 2014 8:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
1000islander
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Re: Sunwing Pilot Licensing

Post by 1000islander »

So the foreign guys are already type rated and do a short course for Sunwing's operation. Sunwing could hire Canadian pilots and train them but it is cheaper because the foreign guys are already endorsed on the specific aircraft type. I am not sure how this complies with the TFW program [supposedly a short term solution] since it Sunwing has been doing this for what, 5 or more years??
Thanks Gilles.
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