Hi all. First post here.. I'm a Canadian/American living in FLA and currently flying the Emb 145 for Expressjet in ORD under the UA umbrella. I have my Canadian and US ATPL with e-145 and B737 types. I sent a resume to Sunwing and now have an interview with them next week. I am very concearned about commuting from FLA as I cannot find ANY reciprical jumpseat agreements.. Any info on this would be great! Also any info on SG would be great too.. I dont want to leave my exciting regional pilot life for any old place... Also concearned about taxes. living here and working there...

Here are some answers for your questions...
We have jumpseat agreements with a lot of airlines, but of interest for your commute are: Air Canada, United and US Airways. It may not be an easy commute though, everything here is seniority based, so with a low number you won't get everything you ask for.
As far as taxes - you are required to pay them in the country of your permanent residency, so USA for you. Tell an HR girl at your interview about your residency and tax situation. I am not sure they will be willing to do anything for you if it means extra cost to them. Usually, the follow the path of least resistance, plus, they have 200+ applications for ten times less positions.
If you have any specific questions ask here or pm me, I don't mind.
Good Luck.

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Patience is the virtue there friend....give it a few days, not a few hours and I am sure you will get all the info you need and probably a lot of s&@t you didnt ask for

Thanks cmd a.. I figure the commute would be brutal. 2 legs for sure. UA is tough even with my passes and ability to sit up front as it is. Is that the only US carriers available?

Alaska as well, but I don't think it's relevant in your case.
I think you have a lot of questions to figure out at your interview.

whipline wrote:First year pay is low 50's, second year is low 60's. Tops out at yr 5 in the low 80's. There is definately bases in Europe and the UK for the summer. As a junior FO you would most likely not be able to go. Its a bid based on seniority. Generally it goes senior but you never know. When I deploy I spend roughly half the time in Canada. At the bottom of the list expect to fly roughly 15-16 days a month. Top of the list 10 days.

Compared to CanJet where pay starts in the low 50's and tops out in the low 70's. Senior pilots have 10 days off and junior pilots have 15-20 days off.....

Guest 737, not true. Not sure where you are getting that from...about the days off. And no, the wages aren't as high for the FO's, but CanJet dosen't stall upgrades (which equals pay raises) by bringing in foreign Captains for the busy season like Sunwing. 100% of the Captains at CanJet are CanJeters.

Wait... Sunwing does what? NO upgrades? bring in foreign Capt? please explain...

There are upgrades. Pilots hired with intent for year round employment. Recip with foreign pilots and work in Europe in the summer. There is growth for the summer flying...thus the hiring.

Good luck

FO forever wrote:Wait... Sunwing does what? NO upgrades? bring in foreign Capt? please explain...

Knowing someone that works there I'm hearing that they're going to have more foreign pilots at Sunwing this winter than Canadian pilots

that's because the pilot shortage is localized entirely within Canada...

There is no justification for any Canadian carrier 'having' to hire foreign pilots any more than there is justification for European carriers to hire Canadians.
There are sufficient numbers of Canadian pilots with the hours and ratings necessary to fly a B737NG. Using the term 'shortage' is simply bull***t.
Now, wet leasing is an entirely different kettle of fish and an industry practice that has been with us for decades.
However, claiming to have no Canadian pilots that meet the requirements is a stretch because that simply isn't true. To allow foreign type rated pilots into Canada even seasonally, is disgusting on many levels and to issue those pilots with validations to fly Canadian registered aircraft elevates the disgust to an entirely new level.
Since very few posters seem to agree with that point of view, what's all the fuss?

Job opportunity?

Gino Under

I would be so mad if I had foreign pilots come into the left seat ahead of me. I guess they have no union whatsoever.. I am not getting a real warm and fuzzy from this place.. Maybe if I still lived in YUL or YYZ...

FO forever wrote:I would be so mad if I had foreign pilots come into the left seat ahead of me. I guess they have no union whatsoever.. I am not getting a real warm and fuzzy from this place.. Maybe if I still lived in YUL or YYZ...

Well you'd be pretty mad then every season before getting upgraded, because it DOES happen.

FO forever wrote:I would be so mad if I had foreign pilots come into the left seat ahead of me. I guess they have no union whatsoever.. I am not getting a real warm and fuzzy from this place.. Maybe if I still lived in YUL or YYZ...

I would assume that this means that you've decided not to take the job as posting your unique qualifications, your interview date and then bashing the company might have an impact on your chances of getting hired. I don't think people realize how often those involved with hiring at the various airlines browse Avcanada for topics concerning their company.... Dave P at Westjet is probably the best example of this. Just some food for thought....

I never bashed them. and yes I decided not to take the job.

Understand that the pilot group is against all this foreign pilots coming over...The FO's should get the upgrade, and more canadian pilots getting hired!
It's the management that is pushing for this as a means for cheap training, and a ready supply of seasoned pilots. They've "hired" 8 pilots, but have ceased all other hiring...(and there's still 200+ foreign pilots at Sunwing right now)!

Dirty pool!

Word is that Sunwing's pilot association was turned down by ALPA When they tried to merge. What up with that? Were they not deemed to be Airline pilots, or is the temporary foreign worker issue becoming too much even for ALPA to bear?

Too much for ALPA....