Euroview wrote:
I have read with interest over the last couple of months these forums and what seems like an almost one Pilot vendetta.
Thank for that message. How refreshing. It's a welcome change from the posse they let loose on me these past few days. I no longer bother to reply to them, it's futile.
I think that what you just wrote on me is mostly based on you reading what my detractors have to say about me and not on what I actually wrote. Here is my real position, and I know that a lot has been written but if you search on this forum you will see that this has been my position all along:
I think that Sunwing's aircraft and pilot swap with European airlines is brilliant and that my employer, who briefly toyed with the idea 10 years ago (the aircraft swap at least) should do the same, both aircraft and pilots swaps to survive. The 310s and 330s, while they can do some southern flights, are not well adapted to those flights which is the main reason that Sunwing's cost per seal mile is so much lower than ours.
I have no problem with what aircraft are registered in what country and who flies what, as long as the rules are respected. They are not.
I have no problem with Sunwing sending x number of aircraft to your company or any number of companies on wet lease if in exchange the same company sent an equal number of aircraft on wet-leases to Canada.
This being said, I have researched all of Sunwings foreign deployments since they were founded in 2005. At the risk of making this email too long, I will list them here, for unless I do so, people will contest what I say and call me a liar. They always do so. You will take note that unlike most people here, I write under my real name, am openly an Air Transat 330 captain and that if I was in the business of writing false or derogatory information, Sunwing's legal department would have already brought me in front of the courts.
In 2006, Sunwing sent 3 aircraft to Europe, all three to Excel Airways, C-FTAE, C-FTAE and C-FTAH
In 2007, Sunwing sent 3 aircraft to Europe, 2 to Excel, C-FTAE and C-FTAH, and one to XL Airways, C-GOAF
In 2008, Sunwing sent 4 aircraft to Europe, same aircraft and companies as in 2007 plus C-GLBW to EuroCypriot (it changed hands that summer).
In 2009, Sunwing sent 4 aircraft to Europe, 2 to Viking Airways, C-FEAK and C-FYLC, one to Travel Service, C-FTDW and LBW to EuroCypriot.
In 2010, Sunwing sent 4 aircraft to Europe, 3 to Viking Airways, TDW, EAK and YLC and 1 to EuroCypriot, LBW
In 2011, Sunwing sent 3 aircraft to Europe, 2 to to Thomson, YLC and and C-FLZR and one to Travel Service, TDW
In 2012, Sunwing sent 4 aircraft to Europe, 3 to Thomson, C-FTLK, YLC and LZR and one to Travel Service, TDW.
For a grand total of 25 aircraft with crew.
They also sometimes sent crews to Europe to fly European aircraft. In 2011 they sent 12 pilots to Europe to various companies.
In the other direction, Sunwing has been making use of temporary foreign aircraft and crews since the winter 2006-2007.
In 2006 they brought in 2 aircraft C-GDBX and C-GLWB from EuroCypria
In 2007, they brought in 3 aircraft, C-FEAG from XL Airways, and 2 from EuroCypria, C-GDBX and C-GLBW
In 2008, they brought in 8 aircraft, C-FXLD from XL Germany, C-GDBX and C-GLBW from Eurocypria, and C-GHZC, C-GKZA, PH-HZE, PH-HZK and PH-HZL from Transavia.
In 2009, they brought in 4 aircraft, C-FYLD from XL Germany, C-GDBX and C-GLBW from EuroCypria and SE-RHS from Viking.
In 2010, they brought in 6 aircraft, all from Thomson : C-FRZG, C-FRZJ, C-FRZB, C-FDZD, C-FDZE and C-FDZF.
In 2011, the explosion, they brought in 18 aircraft. I will spare you the registrations.
This year, they are bringing in 21 aircraft.
Since it was founded, Sunwing imported a grand total of 62 temporary aircraft and crew.
If doing 1:1 swaps, regardless of registration, was what their intention was, I would be fine with that. But the above numbers speak for themselves.
This year I asked Immigration Canada to send me the number of work permits that had been provided to Sunwing since 2005. The actual number of pilots is actually lower than those statistics, since some of those who were provided with work permits did not stay, failed their tests, or for whatever reason did not stay, but they still provide a good indication and the fluctuations match the number of aircraft posted above. It is also possible that a few of the pilots here were not for Sunwing, there was some confusion in my correspondence with CIC, but I am certain that the vast majority, if not all, are for Sunwing
"Permits Issued at Port of Entry Offices* for Temporary Foreign Workers
by National Occupation Code (NOC):
(22710: Air Pilots & Flight Engineers + NOC 22711: Pilots)
with C20 Exemption: Reciprocal Employment** "
Calendar Year NOC 22711 - Pilots Total
2005 69
2006 65
2007 60
2008 79
2009 48
2010 78
2011 224
*Permits issued at a port of entry office (airport and border).
**Reciprocal Employment (C20) exemption is used for seasonal workers.
Notes:
All of the work permits issued in the above table have been exempted under Reciprocal Employment (C20)* (R205 of IRPA). R205(b) allows foreign workers to take up employment when reciprocal opportunities are provided for Canadian citizens to take temporary employment abroad. Exchange programs offer the opportunity of gaining international experience and allow the cultural exchange of both foreign and Canadian participants and their employers.
Requestor: Gilles Hudicourt (cost recovery)
Data source: nim_foss_workperm_e as of Oct. 02, 2012
Data compiled by: OPS-Stats
Request # OPS-2012-1974
RDIMS #2980514
The above numbers are only those foreign pilots granted work permits under the reciprocal regulations of Immigration Canada, called R205(b), and do not include those who came under a Labour Market Oppinion (very few, I found only 4) and those who came to fly wet-leased aircraft. I estimate the wet-lease pilots to be in the order of at least 120 for there were at least 10 aircraft. Wet lease pilots do not require work permits to come to Canada
Need I comment these figures or do they speak for themselves ?
But all these figures were not necessary to explain the hard truth. Sunwing has nothing but 10 full time aircraft. How can a company claiming to do 1:1 reciprocity with wet-leases, import 21 aircraft into Canada on 6 month contracts in 2012 alone, if in exchange it only sent 4 of its aircraft on a six month contract to Europe ?
Sunwing claims that the number of aircraft it sent in the past provided them with a a large credit that they have been using up these past two years, but I'm afraid the numbers I have provided you with here show that this is far from the truth.
I hope you enjoy your time in Canada. Unlike what others here want you to believe, I have nothing against foreigners flying in Canada and would gladly go have a beer with you should you come by Montreal. PM me and I will give you my phone number. Its to prove that point that I did the little poll above about people's feelings toward the foreign pilots issue. It has nothing to do with the foreign pilots themselves (except those that failed the simulator rides and flew for Sunwing anyway).
PS I later edited this post to include the 3 EuroCypriot deployments. It was not clear, for originally that aircraft was a Cypriot aircraft registered 5B-BDW, on temporary dry-lease to Sunwing. After 2 winters of that, it then changed hands and became a Canadian wet-Lease to EuroCypriot.