Sunwing Airlines Bringing Foreign Pilots This Winter

[safetyfirst123]

Sunwing needs to hire approximately 150 pilots to crew for the winter season. This doesn't take into account the fact that many at Sunwing are leaving for Air Canada, Flair, and other opportunities. Significantly, the recent upgrade process at Sunwing for 20 spots magically went all the way to the bottom of the seniority list, whereby well over 30 qualified applicants were bypassed for generic reasons. Clearly Sunwing did this in order to show the government that there is a pilot shortage and they need foreign pilots.

But there is a pilot shortage.....you just made that clear. It's not just Sunwing who's short - it's all the airlines. The entire airline system in Canada is in chaos.

Yea - The upgrade thing sure makes you wonder - but if they did upgrade the 20 FO's to captains - then you just need 20 more FO's - it doesn't change the fact you still need over 150 pilots. We go from 16 of our own A/C to over 40 (all leases). Who's going to fly them? In short - if they can't hire and train them fast enough to replace those that have left (or are leaving) then you still have a business to run and have to do what you can.

You can't blame everything on the company.

But there isn't a pilot shortage yet. There is a shortage of experienced pilots willing to work for substandard wages especially at a company with an undefined future. There are plenty of expats who would gladly come back to Canada, but it would require reevaluating the pay scale. Sunwing has fallen far behind industry standard, and Canada in general is far behind international standards.

I certainly blame the company when their focus from the beginning seems to be finding loopholes for getting foreign pilots rather than attracting experienced pilots. If and when we start to see Canadians successfully get the US Visas and find employment down south, maybe then we will see a pilot shortage in Canada, and I won't hesitate to blame Canadian companies when pilots leave for better opportunities.

[daedalusx]

Somehow Sunwing had no problem in 2018-2019 attracting 705 Capts, experienced pilots with jet experience when the T&C weren't absolute dog shit.

[ads-b]

You just offended dog shit…

[fruz]

The strange case of Transport Canada and their use of Foreign Licence Validation Certificates (FLVC) for Sunwing Airlines in Canada

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strange- ... Lc1w%3D%3D

[mmm..bacon]

because of the specialized nature of Sunwing...

What 'specialized nature' would that be, the rum 'n sun vacations from northern climates, or the most popular shorthaul jetliner in existence?

[daedalusx]

The strange case of Transport Canada and their use of Foreign Licence Validation Certificates (FLVC) for Sunwing Airlines in Canada

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strange- ... Lc1w%3D%3D

Nice to see that Gilles is still in the fight.

[rooster]

The strange case of Transport Canada and their use of Foreign Licence Validation Certificates (FLVC) for Sunwing Airlines in Canada

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/strange- ... Lc1w%3D%3D

Nice to see that Gilles is still in the fight.

Here here!

[homesick]

Sunwing needs to hire approximately 150 pilots to crew for the winter season. This doesn't take into account the fact that many at Sunwing are leaving for Air Canada, Flair, and other opportunities. Significantly, the recent upgrade process at Sunwing for 20 spots magically went all the way to the bottom of the seniority list, whereby well over 30 qualified applicants were bypassed for generic reasons. Clearly Sunwing did this in order to show the government that there is a pilot shortage and they need foreign pilots.

But there is a pilot shortage.....you just made that clear. It's not just Sunwing who's short - it's all the airlines. The entire airline system in Canada is in chaos.

Yea - The upgrade thing sure makes you wonder - but if they did upgrade the 20 FO's to captains - then you just need 20 more FO's - it doesn't change the fact you still need over 150 pilots. We go from 16 of our own A/C to over 40 (all leases). Who's going to fly them? In short - if they can't hire and train them fast enough to replace those that have left (or are leaving) then you still have a business to run and have to do what you can.

You can't blame everything on the company.

But there isn't a pilot shortage yet. There is a shortage of experienced pilots willing to work for substandard wages especially at a company with an undefined future. There are plenty of expats who would gladly come back to Canada, but it would require reevaluating the pay scale. Sunwing has fallen far behind industry standard, and Canada in general is far behind international standards.

I certainly blame the company when their focus from the beginning seems to be finding loopholes for getting foreign pilots rather than attracting experienced pilots. If and when we start to see Canadians successfully get the US Visas and find employment down south, maybe then we will see a pilot shortage in Canada, and I won't hesitate to blame Canadian companies when pilots leave for better opportunities.

Count me as one. I would love to come back home but the wages are horribly below what I make right now. I would have to accept a 60% cut in my take home pay if I ever decided to make the move. At my age that's akin to financial hara-kiri.
Year after year these bottom feeding scoundrels shaft the pilots with zero consequences. And I'm sad to say, the pilots accept it without a whimper.

[fruz]

Sunwing union opposes Canadian carrier's plans to hire foreign pilots
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 022-09-25/

Sept 25 (Reuters) - The union for Sunwing Airlines pilots said it is urging Canada's government to stop a plan by the Ontario-based leisure carrier to hire foreign pilots this winter to help cope with an expected holiday travel surge.

Airline industry use of foreign pilots as aviation rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic is sensitive for unions in Canada and the United States. Those unions want greater efforts to hire pilots from the airlines' home countries despite complaints of shortages. read more

"It's a punch in the face," Barret Armann, president of the union local that represents Sunwing pilots, said of the plan to hire non-Canadian pilots, adding that Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan "needs to step in and stop this."

Sunwing will apply with the government to bring in 65 pilots this winter as temporary foreign workers due partly to a "staffing issue" in the summer, according to a Unifor union local memo to pilots citing a meeting last week with airline management.

Sunwing is in the midst of being acquired by Canada's second-largest carrier WestJet Airlines, owned by private equity firm Onex Corp . read more

It was not clear whether Sunwing has started a formal process to hire foreign pilots. Sunwing did not reply to requests for comment.

The memo described a job ad from Czech carrier SmartWings that said "foreign pilots will indeed work (in Canada) under our contract but be paid more than 75% of our pilots." The memo said Sunwing has available pilots in Canada.

SmartWings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Holiday air travel is forecast to boom after a pandemic-induced slump the past two years. Canadian airlines are bracing for a busy Christmas season, with Canada expected to further ease COVID-19 travel restrictions. read more

Carriers in the United States and Canada cut thousands of flights this summer as a rebound in travel demand ran into labor shortages.

The use of pilots as temporary foreign workers is rare compared with other sectors. In the first half of 2022, Canadian employers were granted permission to fill 32 pilot positions with temporary foreign workers, according to government data. By comparison, 48,485 temporary farm worker permits were issued over the same period.

O'Regan met this month with Unifor and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which has a separate complaint about Sunwing giving work to foreigners. A spokeswoman for O'Regan said it was up to an employer to meet requirements to bring in temporary foreign workers.

Air Canada's (AC.TO) CEO has said pilots are not an issue for the country's biggest airline.

[tbaylx]

But there is a pilot shortage.....you just made that clear. It's not just Sunwing who's short - it's all the airlines. The entire airline system in Canada is in chaos.

Yea - The upgrade thing sure makes you wonder - but if they did upgrade the 20 FO's to captains - then you just need 20 more FO's - it doesn't change the fact you still need over 150 pilots. We go from 16 of our own A/C to over 40 (all leases). Who's going to fly them? In short - if they can't hire and train them fast enough to replace those that have left (or are leaving) then you still have a business to run and have to do what you can.

You can't blame everything on the company.

But there isn't a pilot shortage yet. There is a shortage of experienced pilots willing to work for substandard wages especially at a company with an undefined future. There are plenty of expats who would gladly come back to Canada, but it would require reevaluating the pay scale. Sunwing has fallen far behind industry standard, and Canada in general is far behind international standards.

I certainly blame the company when their focus from the beginning seems to be finding loopholes for getting foreign pilots rather than attracting experienced pilots. If and when we start to see Canadians successfully get the US Visas and find employment down south, maybe then we will see a pilot shortage in Canada, and I won't hesitate to blame Canadian companies when pilots leave for better opportunities.

Count me as one. I would love to come back home but the wages are horribly below what I make right now. I would have to accept a 60% cut in my take home pay if I ever decided to make the move. At my age that's akin to financial hara-kiri.
Year after year these bottom feeding scoundrels shaft the pilots with zero consequences. And I'm sad to say, the pilots accept it without a whimper.

It's not the wages that make it hard to come home it's the taxes. In the end, you'd have to make 400K in Canada to come close to a ex-pat wages

[elite]

It can never be good economics on the part of a government to “reward” those who work and contribute to the economy by taking more than half of their money in taxes!! Somehow it continues to elude the socialists/communists! It’s bizarre!!

[homesick]

But there isn't a pilot shortage yet. There is a shortage of experienced pilots willing to work for substandard wages especially at a company with an undefined future. There are plenty of expats who would gladly come back to Canada, but it would require reevaluating the pay scale. Sunwing has fallen far behind industry standard, and Canada in general is far behind international standards.

I certainly blame the company when their focus from the beginning seems to be finding loopholes for getting foreign pilots rather than attracting experienced pilots. If and when we start to see Canadians successfully get the US Visas and find employment down south, maybe then we will see a pilot shortage in Canada, and I won't hesitate to blame Canadian companies when pilots leave for better opportunities.

Count me as one. I would love to come back home but the wages are horribly below what I make right now. I would have to accept a 60% cut in my take home pay if I ever decided to make the move. At my age that's akin to financial hara-kiri.
Year after year these bottom feeding scoundrels shaft the pilots with zero consequences. And I'm sad to say, the pilots accept it without a whimper.

It's not the wages that make it hard to come home it's the taxes. In the end, you'd have to make 400K in Canada to come close to a ex-pat wages

Indeed. It is unrealistic to expect airlines in Canada to match expat wages. However, I am willing to take a pay cut even with taxes factored in. But the current pay standards are woefully inadequate to entice me to return home. We don't need to look far to see how out of step the current standards are. There are numerous threads highlighting the glaring disparity between Canada and the US.

I, like many other expats, made a sacrifice to be away from home and family to earn that extra money. It is but natural to sacrifice pay to come back home. Can't have it all.

[chaster]

Sunwing union opposes Canadian carrier's plans to hire foreign pilots
https://www.reuters.com/business/aerosp ... 022-09-25/

Sept 25 (Reuters) - The union for Sunwing Airlines pilots said it is urging Canada's government to stop a plan by the Ontario-based leisure carrier to hire foreign pilots this winter to help cope with an expected holiday travel surge.

Airline industry use of foreign pilots as aviation rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic is sensitive for unions in Canada and the United States. Those unions want greater efforts to hire pilots from the airlines' home countries despite complaints of shortages. read more

"It's a punch in the face," Barret Armann, president of the union local that represents Sunwing pilots, said of the plan to hire non-Canadian pilots, adding that Labor Minister Seamus O'Regan "needs to step in and stop this."

Sunwing will apply with the government to bring in 65 pilots this winter as temporary foreign workers due partly to a "staffing issue" in the summer, according to a Unifor union local memo to pilots citing a meeting last week with airline management.

Sunwing is in the midst of being acquired by Canada's second-largest carrier WestJet Airlines, owned by private equity firm Onex Corp . read more

It was not clear whether Sunwing has started a formal process to hire foreign pilots. Sunwing did not reply to requests for comment.

The memo described a job ad from Czech carrier SmartWings that said "foreign pilots will indeed work (in Canada) under our contract but be paid more than 75% of our pilots." The memo said Sunwing has available pilots in Canada.

SmartWings did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Holiday air travel is forecast to boom after a pandemic-induced slump the past two years. Canadian airlines are bracing for a busy Christmas season, with Canada expected to further ease COVID-19 travel restrictions. read more

Carriers in the United States and Canada cut thousands of flights this summer as a rebound in travel demand ran into labor shortages.

The use of pilots as temporary foreign workers is rare compared with other sectors. In the first half of 2022, Canadian employers were granted permission to fill 32 pilot positions with temporary foreign workers, according to government data. By comparison, 48,485 temporary farm worker permits were issued over the same period.

O'Regan met this month with Unifor and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (IAMAW), which has a separate complaint about Sunwing giving work to foreigners. A spokeswoman for O'Regan said it was up to an employer to meet requirements to bring in temporary foreign workers.

Air Canada's (AC.TO) CEO has said pilots are not an issue for the country's biggest airline.

Oppose It by taking a real stand SET THE BRAKE! To think that a Sunwing pilot would be paid 75% Less then a Travel Service Pilot is criminal not to mention those Being passed over for an up grade. Pilots in Canada will affect change when they put their pants on..