Pilot recruitment agencies are targeting Air Malta cockpit crew who may be willing to leave the beleaguered national airline.
Sources close to the industry said agencies’ representatives were visiting the island to promote jobs with Air Malta’s competitors, particularly with companies based outside Europe.
Salaries on offer are far above the €50,000 average earned by Air Malta pilots, with sources saying the national airline pays only 30 per cent of what is being offered by other airlines.
While pilots are looking favourably at the possibility of advancing their careers within larger airlines, many are not pleased they would have to relocate their family too.
One pilot said he could not be blamed for looking elsewhere.
According to the restructuring report compiled by consultants Ernst and Young, the airline must shed half of its 1,200-strong workforce if it is to remain competitive.
The company employs 147 pilots and 210 cabin crew. It costs about €85,000 to train a pilot.
“I have a family and loans to pay. With all this uncertainty about my future and the future of Air Malta, I feel my job security is at ground level right now. Do you blame me? My family comes first,” the pilot said on condition of anonymity.
Etihad and Emirates airlines, both based in the United Arab Emirates, have already launched recruitment drives in Malta. A spokesman for Emirates said the company held recruitment drives here every three months and applications were not handled by the Malta office.
A link to an advert for pilot vacancies was even posted on Air Malta’s intranet website, available only to flight operations staff members. Sources close to the airline said the posting had not been authorised by management but was uploaded by someone who had access to the site. By yesterday it had not yet been removed.
Some staff members saw this as positive, saying it was in their interest. But others said the airline could be losing an opportunity to “lease” its pilots and make money in the process.
A recruitment agency is expected in Malta next week looking for pilots for several airlines, including big names such as Easyjet and Singapore Airlines as well as for airlines based in China.
Meanwhile, the steering committee set up to oversee Air Malta’s restructuring is expected to meet again this morning to discuss the controversial report compiled by the consultants.
The original report was not what everyone, including the government, was expecting so the Finance Ministry asked Ernst & Young to revisit its plan and make substantial changes to it.