Spicejet - India

[Darkhorse]

The new low cost airline of India called Spicejet is looking for Dash-8-400 Captains.

They are using a few different contracting companies in order to recruit. The experience so far has been complete chaos. The contracting companies are interested in getting you signed on. After that you are on your own. Any questions you may have in regards to the contract are never answered.

The contract itself from Spicejet is not ideal.

There is a rotation of either 10wks on / 2 wks off or 12 wks on / 3 wks off. Your choice.
You are not paid for your time off.
The first group of expats that have gone there were told by management not to get their first rotation off due to Spicejet being too busy.

The contract states that you will be paid in U.S. dollars. Not true. A bank account is created in India and you are paid in Rupes.

All your training is paid by yourself. You must pay for your Q400 conversion course and you must have a Dash-8 PPC with 4 months currency on it.

If you do not have this you could find yourself returning home in order to complete this at your expense.

You must pay for your work visa. ($400.00)

Once you arrive in India you must complete a Medical, Air law exam and an oral exam in front of the DGCA.

DGCA will decide if you meet the criteria in order to work in India.

You could still be refused and sent back to your home and probably at your own expense.

[Hoov]

Where does one sign up for such a splendid deal? Is there any company I can pay, that will help see my resume to the top?

[Darkhorse]

More fun in the sun from India

Hotel not provided - A crew house is provided for the Dash-8 pilots. Crew house consists of an apartment building. Meals provided, laundry, internet (when working).

Hotel provided to Jet crew as Jet crew (737,a320, etc) are superior in airmanship and based on the cast system deserve to have a hotel room....

[BeechjetYKZ]

Does the crew housing serve beef? I can't send a successfully day of landing on 3000 foot strips without a new sirloin steak.

[Darkhorse]

It only gets better.
New Captains arriving in India are told they will be put into a crew house. Basically a commercial building with rooms, couple of cooks and internet. This is below standard of any decent hotel.

The more interesting part to this is that the first officers of Indian descent were originally put into these crew house and the Captains originally hired were in proper 4+ star hotels. The first officers have complained. #2 The company is looking for ways to cut costs all the time. Seems like the Xpats get the short end of the stick and the people with influence get what they want

Result: company is quietly putting the nationals (first officers) into hotels while at the same time moving Captains to crew houses. This is being done in some of the cities and is being implemented slowly from one base to another...

Another reason not to trust the recruiting companies or the end user.

[Turbofan]

Incredible India !

or

I.N.D.I.A. = I'll Never Do It Again !

[Darkhorse]

latest rumour - pay issues at Spicejet....

[Panama Jack]

It can't be all that bad. 1.115 Billion people can't be wrong!

[homesick]

Stay away like the plague. I've been here for just about 5 years and finally moving to jet. They will screw you out of every penny. HR has no idea how to handle pilots. All of the above is true. They are losing NG guys by the droves and can barely keep that fleet flying and now they have their grubby little hands filled with 2 fleets now.
These guys take low cost to the extreme and it has been a constant battle to maintain standards in this company.
If you are desperate give it a shot or else stay away. You have been warned.

[Slappy the Squirrel]

Stay away like the plague. I've been here for just about 5 years and finally moving to jet. They will screw you out of every penny. HR has no idea how to handle pilots. All of the above is true. They are losing NG guys by the droves and can barely keep that fleet flying and now they have their grubby little hands filled with 2 fleets now.
These guys take low cost to the extreme and it has been a constant battle to maintain standards in this company.
If you are desperate give it a shot or else stay away. You have been warned.

Somebody's going to ask it, so might as well be me. Why exactly have you stayed there for 5 years if it is so bad?

[Darkhorse]

bla

[homesick]

5 year bond. I am quitting on the very date the bond expires. A lot of guys have done a .. No matter how bad the conditions are burning bridges not my thing.
The flight ops team is half decent, it's the rest of the company, HR, engineering, commercial, bean counters that are running this airline down.

[Beefitarian]

Hmm do the airlines there run like their railways?

[Darkhorse]

Currently:
Avionco, Sigma, Proctor Aviation, Storm McGinley, and another Canadian company are advertising for Spicejet.

Sigma advertises a rotation of 2 months on 4 weeks off. This is not correct. The contract is either 10 weeks on 2 weeks off or 12 weeks on 3 weeks off.

Whatever contract you sign before you go to India will be changed or not recognized after you arrive in India. They will get you to sign a new contract once you arrive and they will also change details in the contract.

If you refuse to pay for your type rating or conversion and ask for Spice to pay for it, the contracting company will write a letter to you saying that you agreed to a contract and that you signed it.. Remember this contract is the one you sign before you leave for India.. It is also the contract they don't recognize after you arrive.

promises of good conditions and everything is in order changes once you leave your home country and are now in a foreign country.

People have been told by the contracting companies that the planes are in India and that they need you to be in India right away. This is a blatant lie. The aircraft have not even left Canada!! Yes they are painted and sitting in Toronto - It can be seen from the security fence... But they have not left...

[homesick]

They WILL renege on any and all commitments they make to you. That is a given. Chances are you will be shunted into a ghetto like accommodation with no recourse. The admin department decides your standard of living with no input from flight ops. Let me reiterate that they do not know what a bare minimum western standard is. The company is on a SERIOUS cost cutting mode and the 'pampered' pilots are bearing the brunt of this drive. You will have to compromise on this when you come here. The a/c are once again delayed and there seems to be no end in sight for this uncertainty. They have started posting local guys to the bases but as usual the left hand doesn't know what the right is doing.
All your issues are channeled through flight ops management and they really have no say in the current corporate set up. So be prepared to have all your issues fall on deaf ears. Admin and HR, the ones who really call the shots, don't really care where and how you rot. Just drive the damn plane. The current lot of expats are frustrated and just biding their time till they hit 65. I have seen the Q400 expat contract and there are enough loop holes in it to ensure you get nothing but the basic, which is a fraction of your total pay. They will give you a smorgasbord of excuses as to why you won't get any particular portion of your pay.The company is supposed to handle the costs and logistics of your paperwork (and believe me there is a lot here). But they have transferred the cost and burden onto you and you will get cursory support from the company which is definitely inadequate as an expat.
You can view all of this with scepticism, but the fact is I have seen and borne the brunt of their arbitrariness first hand for over five years and what you are getting here are cold hard facts. If you are desperate, give it a shot. Otherwise leaving your home shores for this gig is definitely not worth it. Good luck.

Beefy.
We have had instances where kids with full fare tickets have sat on parents' laps. They got caught and punished. I have been asked to permit full fare paying passengers to occupy jump seats... cabin and deck: you can guess my reply to that. The fact is these guys try to cut corners, break the rules, lie and manipulate to get their job done. Ultimately, it is your license on the line and they will push you at every possible instance to compromise your SOP's to get in managements good books. You have to be extremely vigilant with the paperwork here as it rarely reflects the reality on the ground. In India, it's always the pilots fault. Systemic flaws are never investigated and rectified. Case in point the AI Express crash last year: read up the reports and you will be shocked at the gross violation of standard norms which are a given anywhere else in the world.

[homesick]

http://www.hindustantimes.com/business- ... -form-area

[Darkhorse]

The article is very correct.. This is not a serious company. The small things get done and the important things get overlooked. They do not take their future seriously.

[Darkhorse]

Captain Captain!! Come to India and work for Spicejet. The new LoCost airline that saves money by screwing its staff.

Neil Mills: wake up and smell the coffee