Sunwing/Canjet fleet and foreign pilots winter 2012-2013

[Rogerdodger2]

+1! No disrespect Gilles, but it's too bad you work for Transat. Motives might not be questioned then.

[Gilles Hudicourt]

3 different posters question my "motives" inside of 24 hours: Trey Kule, OPEC6 and Rogerdodger2

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Sunwing added aircraft #22 and 23 yesterday and today.

C-FTZD arrived from Thomson Airways and C-FUAA arrived from Jetairfly

The core fleet of 10 aircraft
10 short term dry-leases and 3 wet-leases.

Canjet's fleet is at 9 aircraft. Its core 5, plus 2 short-term dry-leases from XL Germany and 2 short term dry-leases Transavia France.

Although the two French aircraft are still on French Registry, they are dry-leases under CAR 203.

As things stand, Canjet has about 32 foreign pilots in Canada on LMOs. Sunwing has roughly 42 foreign pilots in Canada flying the 3 wet-leased aircraft and probably around 70 foreign pilots flying the dry-leases. Around another 75 foreign pilots should arrive shortly with the last of the aircraft.

[fasken]

3 different posters question my "motives" inside of 24 hours: Trey Kule, OPEC6 and Rogerdodger2

I will go further than “questioning” your motives.

First Gilles sends a letter to the CTA questioning whether Sunwing is controlled by Canadians. If he is successful, Sunwing is effectively shut down and Sunwing’s 170 pilots (as well as the rest of its 1,400 employees) are out of work. Yes, that is correct, if the CTA agrees with Gilles, then they must revoke Sunwing’s license to operate in Canada. This is how Gilles tries to help Canadian pilots. He tries to shut Sunwing Airlines down and prevent it from operating, putting everyone out of work. What a nice guy. The CTA reviews the situation and decides that Sunwing is controlled by Canadians. They even comment that Sunwing pays market rate for aircraft and pilots, contrary to what Gilles would like you to think. Gilles and his followers state that the CTA must not have done a good job with their review. The reality is, Gilles, you are just wrong. Sunwing is Canadian. This is how you deal with a perceived imbalance of pilot movements between Canada and Europe? You should not be pretending to be helping Canadian pilots, while at the same time trying to shut down a competitor and putting a whole bunch of pilots out of work.

Gilles then gets a form letter posted on The Coalition of Canadian Pilots (COCAP) website. He encourages Canadian pilots to write a letter to the PM complaining about foreign pilots working in Canada. Do they mention Canjet? No. WestJet? No. Even after the CTA has confirmed Sunwing is Canadian, Gilles and his buddies ask all the pilots to complain about a certain “Canadian” airline. They put “Canadian” in brackets to let you know that this airline is not really Canadian. They don’t mention Sunwing by name because someone must have told them they could get sued if they did. Why are you worried about getting sued Gilles? Providing the PM with more misinformation about Sunwing so that if you use their name you get sued? This letter is a targeted attack on my employer, not a letter complaining about foreign pilots working in Canada.

Then, Gilles questions the safety of fellow pilots with the regulator in order to try and stop Sunwing’s wet leases from operating. I guess it is okay in Gilles mind to question the safety of a fellow pilot as long as they are “foreign”. Even a good airline can have bad things happen to it and even the best pilots can make a mistake. Remember that Gilles. Criticizing other professional pilots and suggesting that it is unsafe for them to fly Canadians around just to try to stop them operating in Canada for Sunwing is pathetic. Imagine a Canadian Doctor making these kinds of statements about a European Doctor to try and make a point, without any evidence regarding how the Doctor performs his duties? Just because he heard that the Doctor had trouble understanding a new way to perform a surgical procedure that was explained to him in English, which is not his mother tongue? They would be brought up in front of the College of Physicians and Surgeons for being a discredit to their profession. But Gilles thinks that it is right to do this. He is on a mission to hurt Sunwing and if a few pilots get thrown under the bus in the process, so be it. The regulator realizes that a pilot with an EASA license, working for an airline that has an EASA AOC and a Transport Canada FAOC has been screened, trained and tested to a really good standard and should be allowed to fly Canadians around. What a surprise.

And you really wonder why people question your approach and your motives, Gilles?

[Scuba_Steve]

I'm pretty sure Westjet, Air Canada and yes....Air Transat questioned the CTA decision.

Not to mention many pilots from many company's including Sunwing....

Continue questioning Gilles motives if you like, it's a free country after all... For my part I'll continue to question yours Fasken..

Cheers

[fasken]

I'm pretty sure Westjet, Air Canada and yes....Air Transat questioned the CTA decision.

Not to mention many pilots from many company's including Sunwing....

Continue questioning Gilles motives if you like, it's a free country after all... For my part I'll continue to question yours Fasken..

Cheers

Your first two comments relate to the wet lease application, which I did not mention in my post. So I can't really comment on them.

I am not sure what there is to question about my motives. I am clearly trying to express my opinion and let people know what Gilles has done in his effort to promote reciprocity.

1. Try to have Sunwing shut down because they are not "Canadian" thereby having all Sunwing employees lose their jobs.
2. Encourage all pilots to write a letter to the Prime Minister that specifically targets Sunwing and only Sunwing about their use of foreign pilots. Even though he says that this is not a personal vendetta against Sunwing.
3. Questions the safety of foreign pilots who he has never met and who he knows nothing about in order to try and stop them operating for Sunwing this winter.

I do not condone any of these actions in the name of reciprocity.

[snowball]

Fasken:
Here is the solution to it all. HIRE CANADIAN PILOTS. Problem solved. Until then I think SWG should get ridiculed until they do.

[confuzed]

1. Try to have Sunwing shut down because they are not "Canadian" thereby having all Sunwing employees lose their jobs.

So explain to me please why Sunwing would have to shutdown operations just because they don't get all these contract (be it dry or wet lease). Can they not be successful with what their permanent fleet consists of? Are you implying that they are incapable of succeeding? Whose fault is that again if this is the case?

[fasken]

1. Try to have Sunwing shut down because they are not "Canadian" thereby having all Sunwing employees lose their jobs.

So explain to me please why Sunwing would have to shutdown operations just because they don't get all these contract (be it dry or wet lease). Can they not be successful with what their permanent fleet consists of? Are you implying that they are incapable of succeeding? Whose fault is that again if this is the case?

Confuzed, the letter that Gilles sent to the CTA had nothing to do with foreign pilots (dry or wet) or reciprocity. Gilles sent a letter to the CTA complaining that Sunwing is not a Canadian company. If the CTA agreed with Gilles, then they would have had to revoked Sunwing's license to operate, because in order to operate an airline in Canada, the company has to be majority owned and controlled by Canadians. Everyone at Sunwing would have lost their job if the CTA took away Sunwing's right to operate. Whether Sunwing is Canadian or not has nothing to do with reciprocity.

Fasken

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Fasken, so Gilles Hudicourt is the Sunwing bogeyman ?
You made a bunch of false assumptions there, and accusations based on them.
And if I wrote that Sunwing is unsafe or anything to that nature, please either quote me or retract that statement (I know you won't do either). Unlike me, you can write what you want, you're anonymous.

The letter to the PM, it wasn't my idea, it wasn't my initiative, I didn't write it, I played no role in it, so obviously, the choice of wording has absolutely nothing to do with me. I merely copied it off the internet where it had been for a week and posted it on Avcanada and COCAP to give it more coverage. Personally, I would have worded it much different, but hey, I can't knock other people who take good initiatives.....

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Confuzed, the letter that Gilles sent to the CTA had nothing to do with foreign pilots (dry or wet) or reciprocity. Gilles sent a letter to the CTA complaining that Sunwing is not a Canadian company. If the CTA agreed with Gilles, then they would have had to revoked Sunwing's license to operate, because in order to operate an airline in Canada, the company has to be majority owned and controlled by Canadians. Everyone at Sunwing would have lost their job if the CTA took away Sunwing's right to operate. Whether Sunwing is Canadian or not has nothing to do with reciprocity.

Fasken

Again, what you say is false. I can post my whole un-edited letter to the CTA if you want me to, right here and right now. All you have to do is ask me to. And everyone will see how related it is to foreign pilots.

And if the CTA had determined that on account of my letter that Sunwing was not Canadian and closed it, would it have been Gilles Hudicourt's fault, or the fault of those Sunwing administrators who persist in using more foreign pilots than they employ Canadian pilots ?

Like I said before: I have no problem with Sunwing the competitor. I have problems with those that prefer to employ foreign pilots: Sunwing and Canjet

[OPEC6-Heavy]

First of all Fasken,
don't stop posting your views. This is what this forum is all about, differing perspectives that create conversation.

Gilles,

Gilles Hudicourt is the Sunwing bogeyman ?

Not even close my friend (least of their worries). The real bogeyman around Sunwing is a year of under-performance.

Confuzed,

Are you implying that they are incapable of succeeding? Whose fault is that again if this is the case?

That sounds like a confusing statement, Anyways Sunwing did extremely well in it's first 4 years of operation before we even relied on European pilots. For 10 years now (7 years Airline) Sunwing has done extremely well and by all accounts remains that way. I would also add that it's largest and strongest percentage growth was during that first 4 year period (with out reliance of Foreign pilots).

Snowball,

Here is the solution to it all. HIRE CANADIAN PILOTS. Problem solved.

That's an extremely simplistic answer to solve this cyclical business problem. The economics are that you can't have 80+ extra pilots sitting on your roster doing nothing. There has to be work for them on the down cycle (Summer). This is what we are working towards so we can balance the ratio's. Then we can HIRE CANADIAN PILOTS....

[ea306]

Agreed OPEC6- HEAVY

I have mentioned before that Sunwing have taken initiatives to increase flying in the slow season and also introduce seasonal positions in the winter to increase Canadian hiring. A year ago I said "Time will tell".

Today we are seeing changes and improvement over last year and going forward there is no reason to expect that this trend will not continue towards a balancing of the numbers.

Will they be balanced by then? I doubt it.... however I really do not think I will have to eat my words when I say that by this time next year it will be evident that progress towards the goal of equalization will be further evident and that things will be better.

Meanwhile lets not forget that there are a lot of well paying Canadian Jobs being provided by Sunwing Airlines. A business that grosses over a Billion Dollars a year is a large contributor to the Canadian Economy.

[Scuba_Steve]

Agreed OPEC6- HEAVY

I have mentioned before that Sunwing have taken initiatives to increase flying in the slow season and also introduce seasonal positions in the winter to increase Canadian hiring. A year ago I said "Time will tell".

Today we are seeing changes and improvement over last year and going forward there is no reason to expect that this trend will not continue towards a balancing of the numbers.

Will they be balanced by then? I doubt it.... however I really do not think I will have to eat my words when I say that by this time next year it will be evident that progress towards the goal of equalization will be further evident and that things will be better.

Meanwhile lets not forget that there are a lot of well paying Canadian Jobs being provided by Sunwing Airlines. A business that grosses over a Billion Dollars a year is a large contributor to the Canadian Economy.

And perhaps with people like Gilles holding their feet to the fire they will continue to balance their reliance on Foreign Pilots in the meantime "time will tell" as you said.....

Heck with the cyclical nature of the business perhaps one day I'll spend my winters flying a 737 for Sunwing and an Airbus for TS in the summer....(sounds like a lot of studying! lol )

Cheers

[ea306]

We have one guy doing exactly that!

Pretty good gig I'd say.

Kinda jealous....lol

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Sunwing's now has 24 aircraft in Canada. C-FRZJ, a dry lease from Thomson, arrived on Dec 5th.

[whipline]

Thanks for the updates? Only 5 more to go? How's the Canjet fleet?

[morningwood]

Helluva way to spend your vacation Gilles
I had heard that you were on a Sunwing vacation down in Santa Clara Cuba, enjoying the beach and researching that famous Sunwing hospitality

[Gilles Hudicourt]

Thanks for the updates? Only 5 more to go? How's the Canjet fleet?

No change since my last update. Will let you know when there is, do not worry.

[seafeye]

if the CTA agrees with Gilles, then they must revoke Sunwing’s license to operate in Canada. This is how Gilles tries to help Canadian pilots. He tries to shut Sunwing Airlines down and prevent it from operating, putting everyone out of work. What a nice guy.

Regardless of the outcome, if sunwing or any other company isn't complying with the regulations they should be held responsible. We shouldn't allow a company to disregard regulations just to save a few jobs. Those jobs will still exist when the company reorganizes. And if they don't then another company will fill the void.

[trey kule]

Regardless of the outcome, if sunwing or any other company isn't complying with the regulations they should be held responsible. We shouldn't allow a company to disregard regulations just to save a few jobs. Those jobs will still exist when the company reorganizes. And if they don't then another company will fill the void.

....and we should be smart enough not to get swept up in someones "mandate" that might cause hundreds of Canadian pilots and aviation staff to be put out of work by pretending an attack on a competitor is all about foreign pilots taking jobs. "Mandate" was a good word...or a Freudian slip.

I hope the thousand or so of CANADIAN sunwings folks have a great winter.

[mbav8r]

Trey, I'd be interested to know if you listned to the senate committee testimony by Dan Adamus?
Thier "mandate" has been on going for 6 years, I knew it was years but I was thinking 3 or 4, 6 years and they said finally the government agrees something needs to be done, unfortunately Sunwing managed to convince them, thousands of Canadians would be stranded if they shut the program down this late in the season.
So we can expect FAIR competition next year and an equal number of Canadian pilots employed to the foriegn pilots brought in, of course that is not likely to happen if someone doesn't keep the pressure on the supposed policy "upholders". The ones who are supposed to watch out for Canadians best interest, but for some reason, didn't.

Thank you Gilles!Merci Beaucoup!

[av8tor_assrope]

Oh Gillian,

It's funny how no one here has mentioned the fact that up until a few years ago it was close to impossible to get hired by Transat unless you were a French speaking Quebecor. I can count 3 jet qualified guys off the top of my head that were passed over for less qualified Quebec residing pilots.

I'm not buying your BS. You're not doing this for Canadian pilots, your doing this for yourself. Where were you a few years ago? Suddenly Sunwing explodes into the market, Transat starts having money problems and poof....here comes Gillian on horseback, poutine and evil foreign pilot sword in hand........ galloping to the rescue of all "Canadian" pilots. Its funny how a seperatist supporting company likes to use "Canadian" when its to their advantage. This foreign pilot mask you're using is an excuse for your companies inability to stay in the black.

Start devoting more of your energy to develop a stronger business plan.

[flytarp]

Gilles should prove he gets non-QC folks jobs at Transat



Vive le Québec libre

[Rogerdodger2]

Gilles,
Are you or are you not getting paid office credit by Transat to fight this battle?

Let's see if he tells the truth here folks...

"the truth will set you free"