Conair Career...it's a good time to get on.

[matt foley]

Conair is about to cash in on MASSIVE investments made over the past few years. Mostly in fleet renewal(R&D), contract acquisition and training facilities but also in the boring stuff like SMS, SOPs and HR. Getting in today will put you at the front of the next wave.

Here is a recent article featuring one pilot and also the link to Conair Careers.

https://conair.ca/careers

https://fireaviation.com

PM me any questions and I will attempt to find the most accurate answers.

MF

[Tbayer2021]

Conair is about to cash in on MASSIVE investments made over the past few years. Mostly in fleet renewal(R&D), contract acquisition and training facilities but also in the boring stuff like SMS, SOPs and HR. Getting in today will put you at the front of the next wave.

Here is a recent article featuring one pilot and also the link to Conair Careers.

https://conair.ca/careers

https://fireaviation.com

PM me any questions and I will attempt to find the most accurate answers.

MF

What is the salary range and how long does it take to reach the top? Are contracts/salary negotiable or is it a union shop?

[Daniel Cooper]

None of that stuff really interests me. Please post if they ever increase salaries and improve schedules.

[Bede]

Getting in today will put you at the front of the next wave.

What are the advantages to being "at the front of the next wave"? Is everything seniority driven?

[CL-Skadoo!]

This is easily some of the toughest flying to be had in the business and the people I know that do it find it quite fulfilling, but we all know they are undervalued for the demanding schedule, lifestyle and skillset required to do their jobs safely.

I've always dreamed of doing it but the pay is a tough sale. Is that going to change?

[Rudy]

FOMO is an interesting recruiting strategy. I haven't seen that one before. But where is this next wave of pilots going to come from exactly? To get people to quit their nice safe airline jobs you're going to have to make it make more financial sense.

[‘Bob’]

FOMO is an interesting recruiting strategy. I haven't seen that one before. But where is this next wave of pilots going to come from exactly? To get people to quit their nice safe airline jobs you're going to have to make it make more financial sense.

Really!?

Isn’t this the exact strategy flight schools and airlines use? Why you still have people scrambling to make $30k a year regional or $50k a year mainline in hopes that either attrition or expansion will eventually get them to the golden carrot on top?

Seniority is EVERYTHING!! Get there first with [insert flight school name here]

[Daniel Cooper]

Really!?

Isn’t this the exact strategy flight schools and airlines use? Why you still have people scrambling to make $30k a year regional or $50k a year mainline in hopes that either attrition or expansion will eventually get them to the golden carrot on top?

Seniority is EVERYTHING!! Get there first with [insert flight school name here]

No, seniority is a union thing. I'm sure companies would love to layoff their highest earning employees first.

[‘Bob’]

How would they attract their lowest paid employees then?

Why would anyone work for Jazz for $30 or Air Canada for $50 when WJ Flair Lnyx Porter pay (a little bit) more? It’s a numbers game. I’m sure that the few $300 captains that survived up the ranks are more than offset by the slaves below decks. It’s a numbers game.

[Daniel Cooper]

Perhaps you're talking about higher pay? That's not what OP is offering.

[Mr. North]

Conair is about to cash in on MASSIVE investments made over the past few years. Mostly in fleet renewal(R&D), contract acquisition and training facilities but also in the boring stuff like SMS, SOPs and HR. Getting in today will put you at the front of the next wave.

Here is a recent article featuring one pilot and also the link to Conair Careers.

https://conair.ca/careers

https://fireaviation.com

PM me any questions and I will attempt to find the most accurate answers.

MF

LOL

There is no "wave" of pilots going into aerial suppression. Your minimums have been dropping for a while and new pilots are skipping the bush route altogether and going straight to the regionals. Take a good hard look around, 703 operators are paying 1,500 hour King Air drivers $100-200K. If you want to attract and retain experienced pilots and avoid turning into some high risk regional puppy mill, stop with the "new airplane" bullsh*t and pay up!!

[‘Bob’]

Perhaps you're talking about higher pay? That's not what OP is offering.

That’s not what anyone is offering in Canada.

[mmm...bacon]

Ouch, tough crowd in here today!

But, the underlying theme is the same across the industry…money talks, bullshit (fleet renewal, SOPs) walks..


At the beginning of the summer (just after tax time, so i knew exactly how much money I’d made last year) I had a chat with a Cl2/415 operator about potentially coming to work for them. After everything was totalled up, it was for about $15k *less* that what I’d earned the year before. Hmmm…gig in YVR, riding my bike, camping, hanging out with friends on my days off, or take a pay cut to live in hotels, miss summer bbqs, etc… tough choice to be made there…

[mmm...bacon]

AirSpray, Conair, Ontario and Quebec have to ask themselves why they lost so many guys over the last few years to Bridger…

[Canadaflyer46]

That’s a long time to be gone so must be decent pay to keep guys around. What would a new hire be paid for the four month or so contract? I’m guessing 100k?

[pelmet]

AirSpray, Conair, Ontario and Quebec have to ask themselves why they lost so many guys over the last few years to Bridger…

Bridger is American, so I can't see too many Canadians going there.

[digits_]

AirSpray, Conair, Ontario and Quebec have to ask themselves why they lost so many guys over the last few years to Bridger…

Bridger is American, so I can't see too many Canadians going there.

Then you'd be wrong. Even people living at firebases are leaving for Bridger. The 2 week on, 2 week off is very appealing. People are getting their summers back.

And of course the double/triple salary helps as well!

[pelmet]

AirSpray, Conair, Ontario and Quebec have to ask themselves why they lost so many guys over the last few years to Bridger…

Bridger is American, so I can't see too many Canadians going there.

Then you'd be wrong. Even people living at firebases are leaving for Bridger. The 2 week on, 2 week off is very appealing. People are getting their summers back.

And of course the double/triple salary helps as well!

I am basing my assumption on the inability for most Canadian pilots to be allowed to work in the U.S. Is it any different with Bridger than an American airline?

[digits_]

Bridger is American, so I can't see too many Canadians going there.

Then you'd be wrong. Even people living at firebases are leaving for Bridger. The 2 week on, 2 week off is very appealing. People are getting their summers back.

And of course the double/triple salary helps as well!

I am basing my assumption on the inability for most Canadian pilots to be allowed to work in the U.S. Is it any different with Bridger than an American airline?

I believe so. Some specialty stuff and emergency regulations could apply. I don't know the details, but I think it boils down to it being hard(er) for the government to justify denying work permits to firefighters if a couple of your states are burning to the ground.

[wingmonkey]

I applied several times a short while back with military and extensive true low-level experience. Never even got a call back. Not sure where else you were scooping up people with that kind of equivalent experience. Perhaps time to check your algos and filters?
Not crying over it anymore, landed a great # at a solid 705 and have way more reliable time off now than I would've had anyways with the air attack route. But definitely a missed opportunity on both ends.
I'd echo what others are saying though, in this market you'll definitely need to rethink your pay scales. DynCorp (or whatever they're called now) that runs CalFire fixed wing pays everyone the same by position right out the gate to get the right people. Seniority only matters for your basing and contract bidding. Just food for thought. Good luck.

[‘Bob’]

This is going well…

[Dry Guy]

This is going well…

Don't worry, they're investing in more HR.

[Tedhitchcock]

Matt, couple questions..
Roughly how many retirements are coming up over the next 10 years?
What is the retirement age if any?
How much time is left on the contracts with various agencies?
When is contract renewal for the pilots with Conair?

Thanks, I tried to send a PM but I think I’m restricted because I’m new.

[Scudrunner703]

Are they firm on the ATPL for the 802/Fireboss?

[sounder]

Yes. It's a contract requirement.