Would you leave your current job for AC?

[Meatservo]

I have never understood the complete lack of interest by pilots in senior management before they get hired. Because all they do, after they get hired, is continually bitch about it.

I think it's because most of us don't really understand a lot about them, or what they are there for. Many pilots, or even people in general, have naive, old fashioned ideas about the relationship between a corporation and its employees. More and more, we have to protect ourselves from corporations as well as work for them. Many people still see themselves as being in a "partnership" of some kind with the executive team. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The senior management are not "employees" of the corporation in the same way you are. You aren't a "person" in the same way as you think about the word "person". This is hard to grasp when you are born thinking the world is basically a benign place, and if you work hard and act in the company's best interest, they will feel the need to reciprocate in kind. This isn't true. I wouldn't even know what to ask at an interview to try and determine what "kind of guys" senior management are. There should be a discussion about this.

[cj555]

Very interesting thread!

I am currently considering a career change to pursue aviation at age 30.

As I'm sure many of your careers started, I have my eye on AC. However I hear alot of people talk about chasing a certain "lifestyle" and that AC isn't their "type" of flying."

Besides the AC line flying, what other kinds of flying jobs are out there? What do you guys do that gives you the lifestyle you love?

Can anyone elabourate on the different types of flying, and how that impacts your lifestyle?

Cheers!

[ea306]

I too have never applied. Got too late a start maybe, could not justify more poverty for a few more years while still raising children... No regrets. Tried team Teal for over two years and left that too. Not because it was bad, but because it conflicted with raising my kids at the time.

Kids are grown up now and I live a very different life. I love my job and enjoy the variety and travel and living in Europe for half the year. Make a very good living and just like everyone else in this crazy business, hope it all lasts at least long enough to afford a comfortable retirement while I enjoy the adventures along the way.

[Expat]

Generally, it is very uncommon to find a great work place, as well as a salary that keeps us grinning until the next pay cheque. A job is a job, and it cannot always be expected to fulfill all of our aspirations. A bad employer that pays well is not such a bad employer.
I should know, having spent 7 and half years in hell.

[hnl]

Hells NO, but I've heard AC is a good stepping stone into Westjet.

I don't know one AC pilot that has gone to WJ but I know many WJ that have come to AC. My career has been at AC and I would not have done anything different. I fly the best equipment around the planet. I would have been totally bored at WJ or Jazz. This is still the best gig if you want to be an international airline pilot...

[Colonel Sanders]

A bad employer that pays well is not such a bad employer.

A very young person might think this, but as you get older, you realize how important the people you work for (and with) are.

Don't reside in Hell - at any price. Your unhappiness just isn't worth it.

[CJ3PILOT]

For every one person that will not go to aircanada theres a thousand that will.so the only loser is the one that said no. When I start flying 35 years ago AC was the place to be and will be until the day we all die.Wake up you guys you'll only have one chance so take it.you'll be very sorry if you don,t

[Northern Flyer]

For every one person that will not go to aircanada theres a thousand that will.so the only loser is the one that said no. When I start flying 35 years ago AC was the place to be and will be until the day we all die.Wake up you guys you'll only have one chance so take it.you'll be very sorry if you don,t

Haha, pull your head out of your ass..... You sir are a retard!

[Meatservo]

so the only loser is the one that said no.

Good thing there are at least a few of us losers in the world to bomb fires, fly helicopters, twin otters, cargo planes, search and rescue, training, medevac, survey, &c. Or would Air Canada be willing to take on these roles if only they could find some more people who were clever enough to avoid a lifetime of sorrow and apply for a job with them?

Also, your punctuation and grammar are terrible, Captain.

[BverLuver]

CJ3,

The informal poll at the top of this thread tells a very different story. I am one of those "losers" who turned down the opportunity to fly for Air Canada many moons ago and it has proven to be the very best decision I have ever made in my life. I have so much more in my life because of not ever setting foot in an AC cockpit. But thank you for again showing the complete ignorance and arrogance of AC pilots, you guys sure are a class act and continue to prove it every day!

BL

[CJ3PILOT]

For every one person that will not go to aircanada theres a thousand that will.so the only loser is the one that said no. When I start flying 35 years ago AC was the place to be and will be until the day we all die.Wake up you guys you'll only have one chance so take it.you'll be very sorry if you don,t

Haha, pull your head out of your ass..... You sir are a retard!

So you,re one of the losers I take it wake up loser

[mbav8r]

So you,re one of the losers I take it wake up loser

So, thanks for proving Norhtern flyers point...
BTW, Use the apostrophe with contractions. The apostrophe is always placed at the spot where the letter(s) has been removed.

Examples:
don't, isn't
You're right.
She's a great teacher.
Comma Rule 1
To avoid confusion, use commas to separate words and word groups with a series of three or more.

Example:
My $10 million estate is to be split among my husband, daughter, son, and nephew.
Omitting the comma after son would indicate that the son and nephew would have to split one-third of the estate.

[Tubthumper]

Bummer, I thought this was going to be poll and was looking forward to clicking in the "Why?" spot.

[Brantford Beech Boy]

Nope. Not my kind of flying. Even back when they had DEC's I hadn't considered it.
I wore a tie last week for a few hours. My previous wearing of a tie was when I got married. No thanks.

What is it? This thing you call a "tie"?

Symbolic oppresive corporate yoke. and any musher will tell you the dogs pull better when they can breath.....

BBB

[I WAS Birddog]

Nope. Not my kind of flying. Even back when they had DEC's I hadn't considered it.
I wore a tie last week for a few hours. My previous wearing of a tie was when I got married. No thanks.

What is it? This thing you call a "tie"?

Symbolic oppresive corporate yoke. and any musher will tell you the dogs pull better when they can breath.....

BBB

Brilliant BBB....brilliant

[loopa]

Got an interview call, turned it down. Couple days later, completely pulled my application from AC.

No thanks..

Great to see people standing up for themselves. I wish every one who got a call for interview at A/C would decline it to really send them a message. If they don't hire new guys, they are going to have to provide what their current pilot's are asking. It's way too easy to replace the crew with a younger crowd whose priorities might be to fly an Embraer jet rather than preventing a lifestyle surrounding kraft dinner - so long as the young lad gets to wear a hat and 3 bar's on his shoulder.

Good Job Fly Babe!

This is still the best gig if you want to be an international airline pilot...

What part of your job describes it to be the best flying gig as an international airline pilot, especially since you would be comparing Air Canada to the likes of Lufthansa, Klm, Cathay, SAS when speaking about international airline flying?

I'm just curious because the general vibe I get is that pilot's in the aforementioned airlines are amongst one of the best treated airline pilot's in the business while A/C is currently looking to get rid Strachan for showing management's true colours to the public.

Totally not trying to get underneath your skin about this, rather understand where you are coming from when you call it the best flying gig for an international airline pilot.

My 2 cents.

[hnl]

This is still the best gig if you want to be an international airline pilot...

What part of your job describes it to be the best flying gig as an international airline pilot, especially since you would be comparing Air Canada to the likes of Lufthansa, Klm, Cathay, SAS when speaking about international airline flying?

I'm just curious because the general vibe I get is that pilot's in the aforementioned airlines are amongst one of the best treated airline pilot's in the business while A/C is currently looking to get rid Strachan for showing management's true colours to the public.

Totally not trying to get underneath your skin about this, rather understand where you are coming from when you call it the best flying gig for an international airline pilot.

My 2 cents.[/quote]


I've lived it for 38 years and stand by my statement. Your "general vibes" are incorrect. For instance re Cathay. That whole paragraph is amusing to say the least. Enough said.....

[loopa]

I think being a 38 year guy at A/C may have it's tolls on why you think it is the best flying gig. It's also amusing to see the statue of leadership in finding a legitimate question hilarious. All I wanted to know is why you feel flying for A/C is the best flying gig for an international airline pilot.

Hopefully it all works out for every one on the line, not just the senior boys.

Cheers

[hnl]

I think being a 38 year guy at A/C may have it's tolls on why you think it is the best flying gig. It's also amusing to see the statue of leadership in finding a legitimate question hilarious. All I wanted to know is why you feel flying for A/C is the best flying gig for an international airline pilot.

Hopefully it all works out for every one on the line, not just the senior boys.

Cheers

An individual was stating that AC's pax were put in danger due to maintenance shortfalls and that is totally not true. Sensationalism at its worst. It was ironic that you for example mentioned Cathay as a shining example when they indeed fired 49 pilots out of spite. It cost them millions......And yes I have confidence that it will work out for everyone here . As for why it's the best flying gig. Try flying another Canadian airline to Sydney or HK as an example...

[BverLuver]

An individual was stating that AC's pax were put in danger due to maintenance shortfalls and that is totally not true. Sensationalism at its worst.

If it's not true then he made a slanderous statement and a letter of reprimand completely legit and in my opinion very lenient. There is no doubt this statement was released by the reprimanded party or his representatives in order to again try and garner support from the public. So, why the rush to protect him and his position if its simply not true? You guys are going in circles. Whoever is in charge of handling the Union public relations is the one that should be finding new work. This is bordering on comical now.

BL

[pilotidentity]

I think the posters who said NO are more inclined to respond to this survey than others.

I voted No as I never have applied. This has nothing to do with the recent AC problems. I think it still could be a great place to work if that is what you want and I wish AC types the best.

Myself, I like to let it be know that I've never applied there as I couldn't stomach the job (don't like wearing suits, I love looking out the window and the joy of hands on flying) and I see there are others out there like me. This survey gave us a chance to explain ourselves as it is so hard for airline types to understand why we never "made it" to Big Red or Westjet.

[Colonel Sanders]

Ugh.

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/ ... ke-action/

Rogue Air Canada pilots threaten illegal ‘sick-out’ strike action

Both Air Canada and the union representing its pilots moved to prevent a rogue group of pilots from conducting an illegal job action slated for Friday.

While there is little evidence a significant job action will occur, it was clear Thursday that the group of pilots are angry about the airline’s threats to fire the union’s president and its chairman.

The country’s largest carrier said it had received several reports from pilots who had been receiving calls from other pilots — identifying themselves as “Pilot X” — encouraging them to call in sick, or not come to work.

The airline sent a request to the Air Canada Pilots Association late Wednesday asking the union’s chairman, Capt. Jean-Marc Belanger, to step in to prevent a potential illegal job action.

“Given the number of reports received, this has obviously raised some concern,” said Captain Ed Doyle, Air Canada director of flying operations, in the memo to the pilots Thursday. “A ‘sick-out’, whether organized by the association or not, is considered to be a concerted job action, which is illegal.”

The size and identity of the rogue pilots was not known. If they were to conduct a sick-out Friday it would be the second such illegal job action at the airline in the aftermath of a back-to-work bill from Ottawa. The legislation removed the right of the airline to lock out its workers and ACPA and the union representing mechanics and ground crews from striking.

Members of the union representing Air Canada’s mechanics and ground crews held a wildcat strike in March. Air Canada also accused its pilots of a small-scale sick-out on March 17, which has been denied by ACPA.

In one of the emails sent to the pilots this week, obtained by the Financial Post, the rogue pilots encouraged their colleagues to act in response to the threats by the airline to fire both Capt. Belanger and ACPA president Paul Strachan for remarks they made in two separate television interviews. The airline accused them of openly questioning the safety of the airline while in uniform following the collapse of the airline’s former maintenance unit, Aveos Fleet Performance Inc., last month.

The rogue group of pilots said the illegal job action was necessary because of the back-to-work bill prevents a legal strike.

“The Government and the Corporation have largely handcuffed our leaders. Our MEC Chair Jean-Marc Belanger and our President Paul Strachan, giants in defending your rights, are having their careers threatened. You attack one of us you attack us all,” reads the email, which was also posted on a private Facebook page.

“The government and the corporation have only symbolically removed our leverage; they possess a false sense of security, an illusion of labour peace.

The union responded immediately to the request by Air Canada to quell the unrest. Capt. Belanger sent a letter the union’s members Thursday reminding them that any such job action would not be sanctioned by the union, and could result in fines for the association, its officers and individual Air Canada employees.

“If the allegations are accurate, they have not been initiated or sanctioned by ACPA,” Capt. Belanger said.

Under the Canadian Aviation Regulations, pilots are required to self-assess prior to any flight, and if they feel they are unfit to fly, even in the case of stress, they are required not to fly.

“ACPA has not and will not condone using the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARS), which spell out the rights and obligations governing pilots who are not fit to fly, for industrial action,” Capt. Belanger said.

He encouraged the pilots to wait for the outcome of a charter challenge launched by Air Canada’s unions of the back-to-work bill.

Tensions between Air Canada and its pilots have been mounting in recent weeks. Last week, Air Canada sent letters to both Capt. Belanger and Capt. Strachan warning them not to wear their uniforms in future interviews, demanded they retract their statements, and have the offending interviews removed from the media outlets websites.

Both Capt. Belanger and Capt. Strachan denied those allegations in letters from their lawyers Tuesday characterizing the accusations at attempts to “intimidate, punish and silence ACPA’s leaders.”

“We are not surprised by your strong responses to the corporation’s recent correspondence. We are, like you, incredibly frustrated by management’s refusal to negotiate,” Capt. Belanger said in the memo to members Thursday.

If you look up "dysfunctional" in the dictionary ...

[CanadianEh]

This is what management gets when they try to kill the goose that lays the golden egg.

[station60]

I got PFO'd in 2005. I went to work for an airline in the north and have never looked back since and am quite satisfied with my decision. Air Canada is broken. It's a dead-gig. I wouldn't recommend the place to my worst enemy. I have had a handful of friends go there in the past couple years and all but one absolutely hates it, and Im pretty sure he's just trying to save-face.

A quote from one of them just last week

"I work more and get paid less. Any perk that was good about air canada is systematically being taken away."

My 2 cents. Don't reply if you're a party-pooper, I dont really want to hear it.

[x15]

I got offered an interview and declined. I told them I did not want to be angry for the next 30 years of my career or until they go bankrupt.

I know several people at Air Canada that were happy guys until they got there. They love what they do still; between brakes off and brakes set; but all the other stuff is making steam come out of their ears.

I got a really late start in aviation and see it more as having a good time and making a decent buck. I love where I work and what I do and all the people I work with. I don't think I could work in an environment very long where the culture was as caustic as it is at AC.