Matthew Xuereb
Job agencies target pilots at Air Malta
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.
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Carl Debono
Mar 26th 2011, 09:05
SO each flight has to have 2 pilots and a crew compliment of 3 to 5 cabin crew. So let's take an average of 4 cabin crew for each flight. How come there are almost 150 pilots and just 210 cabin crew? No wonder pilots are working just 3 flights a month.
C Gauci
Mar 26th 2011, 13:33
That is because Air Malta was supposed to be running a 12 aircraft fleet. The industry standard for crewing a narrow body jet is 12 pilots per plane. That makes if 144 pilots, pretty much spot on, you must consider Vacation leave, off days and non-flying duties and variables such as sick-leave.
R.Zammit
Mar 26th 2011, 18:07
Air Malta employ temporary staff in the busy summer to work as cabin crew *steward/stewardesses), many being 6th formers or university students. Not quite possible with the pilots I'm afraid!
N.Farrugia
Mar 25th 2011, 13:02
Although one understands the Maltese pilots' concern about their future, one has to realise that to earn 'far above' than 50,000 euro a year, one has to make some sacrifices!! They should also consider the good conditions one gets with such a job!!
N.Grima
Mar 25th 2011, 16:31
I think you've missed the point that they would rather stay here with their current pay than move abroad. I myself can move to a foreign country for a similar post at three times my current pay but chose not to... I'm sure most of these pilots went through a similar reasoning!
l fenech
Mar 25th 2011, 12:25
Any requests for parliamentarians?
Joseph Vella
Mar 25th 2011, 12:22
Veru li mhux pjaċir ta' ħadd li jara nies tant kapaċi fil-professjoni taġħhom ikollom jitilqu l-boġħod min pajjiżna w l-familji taġħhom, iżda la f'pajjiżna m'humiex apprezati wieħed ma' jistax ħlief jawguralom futur isbaħ u li-Mulej iżomm idejħ fuqhom u familji taġħhom.
Joe Grech
Mar 25th 2011, 12:06
''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.''
Apparently the administration, which has much to answer for in the problems Air Malta is facing, is now realizing that consultants Ernst & Young may possibly not be as efficacious, innocent and impartial as they would like their clients to believe.
Victor Scicluna
Mar 25th 2011, 09:15
When ever a company goes through a restructuring excersice a great deal of uncertainity is created. Airmalta needs to make clear who and when will be fired and as soon as possible as the problem lies in the fact when when such moves are announcing the good and experienced people are the first ones to freely leave as they are easily head hunted by other companies.
The result being that the company is often left with people it had intended to fire as the ones it had intended to keep have gone.
I see this happeníng here in Germay with the German Telekom. They need lots of good experienced computer people but these are the first ones to leave to jion the new private telecoms sector, this leaves the company in a very sad position of having to try to survive in a very competitive market with persons who are perhaps not the best hands on the job.
Its a pity if Airmalta pilots leave for other companies when one thinks how much it costs to trian them .. one cannot buy years of experience or it is too expensive to pay for.