Off to the Maldives Thanks Everyone!

[572]

You either love or hate the place. Mr. Holmes is one of the latter. Great place to build time. Good work on getting over there! As for the early days, yes, they are early. All you have to do though is drag your rear to the boat, and the company (whoever you work for), will get you the rest of the way there. Beats the 2 hour drive in rush hour traffic to get to Pearson on YVR, not including the gas it will cost you, the insurance to keep that car on the road, and tickets you will have to pay for parking, or for speeding those mornings you are late. Keep that in mind when you start whining about the salaries over there for an f/o. It really ain't that bad, and don't let pessimistic fools tell you otherwise. Lots of us have had nothing but great experiences over there. Make the most of it, take lots of photos, and don't listen to the naysayers who prey on this site.

[johnholmes]

Anyone who comes on here and says that $1700/month is not that bad should have their head examined. It is horrbile money in this day and age, never mind the fact you won't see your family or friends in 6 months and you are 7000 miles away from home. No wonder companies get away with paying such shitty wages in this country.

[Cat Driver]

Conversely people pay a small fortune to go there for a holiday.

For a young person trying to get a start in aviation at least they get to see another different world while getting flying experience.....

....and learning from some of these captains is worth a lot.....

Would you rather dig shi.holes in Northern Canada or see the tropics?

[Rudder Bug]

John,

The most important thing, that too many people oversee in this life, is that you are totally free to do what you want. What the heck are you doing in the Maldives if you're not happy there? Come back home and find something else, there are other jobs for you.

As Cat is saying above, plenty of our entry level jobs in our good old Canada involve digging shithouses and fly much less for the same money you are making right now.

Think twice. I don't know how old you are and for how long you've been in the industry but there are hundreds of others who would love your job.

You are the only master of your life. You only should decide what you do and where you do it. You certainly don't have to be in a place you don't like, it's that simple.

I will never take a job in the Maldives or anywhere in the tropics because I don't like it, period. There is no money to put me around the equator all year round.

Get out of there or adjust to it, cause you can't change it. It's your life, not theirs.

[Blue Side Down]

Amen

[av8tor_assrope]

don't listen to john...i worked with him and he's a bit of a momma's boy. you'll have fun. Borek and MAT are great companies, the twotters just awesome to fly and you'll learn from some of the best float guys around...especially come monsoon season!

ohhh..and if your game is tight, you just might be able to pick up some of those bikini's you see when you're taxing by the resort beaches!

[Rudder Bug]

Amen

Yes but Blue Side Down, I was just trying to sound like a good daddy in a language which is not mine!

[SQ]

Well maybe you should ask anyone there then Rowdy. If you think you day starts when the sun comes up you are completely wrong. The only tax free money you get is the $700 US which isn't even worth $700 Canadian anymore. And by the way there are deductions of that for things like health coverage. The rest is taxed. A 2000 hour F/O will barely break $2000./month. Food is not as cheap as you think it is. A half descent meal is $10 so basically $30/day. A beer there costs $5 US. So if you think you are going to be living like a king think again. My point here is quit with the double standards sticking up for Borek is like sticking up for the company out of YVR. They are both shitty companies and those wages should not be tolerated. Period.

did you ask your moma to send you some 5$ notes sewed in your pants ?

You have to get up at 4am to get ready then walk 20 minutes to the dhoni, catch the 5am dhoni over to the airport take a 10 minute bus ride from one side of the airport island to the float base and be airborne at 6am. Oh and you get to do it all over again after 14 hours to get home. You will do this 5 days a week.

it might have been the first time you worked in your life, and you'd better get prepare to this because that's waht you gonna do as a big iron pilot and even worth. this morning at 4oo am in the bus I saw 3 Jazz pilots. even the bests get the worst bud...

[johnholmes]

Cat, going there on a holiday with some nice arm candy is one thing working there is another. It maybe ok if you have fresh ink on your liscence but they pay those wages right up until captain.

Rudder I do not work there anymore and never will again I have moved on to a much better place, just trying prevent people from making the same mistake I did.

Assrope I don't have a f'n clue who you are and am sure we have never worked together.

SQ congratulations, I heard you did your first solo flight last week. Now go and fly some more circuits.....

Don't you guys think with all of those poeple paying a small fortune for a vacation that MAT could increase there wages just a little.

I think you are missing my point. $1700 (around $1300 clear) is an ok wage if you are working the drivethru. Not if you have 1000+ hours and are flying an airplane. And hey if it's good money in your mind, eat your heart out.

[av8tor_assrope]

john...i know who YOU are.....and quit slaggin' your old company on here. this industry is small buddy. you never know......

anyways, as of a few months ago it was $1700 if you're a low time guy or if you got no turbine or float time. usually a couple hundred dollar raises every 6 months. all clean and tax free if you're smart with your money. if you got some time you don't start at that. if you got your ATPL they'll almost max you out on the FO salary down there which i can't remember what it is right now, but certainly a lot more than $1700.

[CLguy]

Well I just spent 4 months there and in that time I saw, 2 Maldivians who started as 200 hour wonders get upgraded to the left seat, 3 Canadians get upgraded, 1 Australian and 1 American as well. Out of the 7 only 1 of them had any previous multi time or turbine time. He had some right seat T/O time from Canada! There is also another Canadian who will be starting his upgrade as soon as he returns from leave. He also had no turbine time but does have some multi command time from Canada. You will fly a 100 hours a month and in the busy times up to a 120 hours per month. You will be sitting on a platform in the Indian Ocean bobbing in the waves waiting for daylight so you can depart and you will be sitting on a boat heading into the resorts some nights after dark as well. You will also get the days where your first departure is 1500 hrs leaving a resort or the days when you leave the resort at 0600 and are done for the day at 0730. Of course this all depends on which company you elect to work for. Apparently we had all the easy flying and only flew to the easy resorts! This straight from the mouth of a 250 hour wonder from the competition who had been in country for 3 weeks!! The one thing to remember is you only have so much flight and duty time and it is monitored very closely so if you get worked hard for a couple of weeks then there will be a pay back coming in the form of some late starts and early shutdowns.

Sure the pay sucks when you start as a copilot but where doesn't it for a young pilot but you don't really have anything to spend it on either as pretty much everything is provided for you! Not sure where else in the world you can sit in the coffee shop waiting for some kid to track you down to sign the manifest after your aircraft has been loaded and fueled for you and the passengers have been rounded up and are waiting to step on board. During the busy periods Xmas to mid April you will be tired but the flying conditions are fantastic. Other times of the year it will be the most demanding flying you will ever do. As you can tell by this thread some people really like it and others really hate it. It is not for everyone as you are a long ways from home and living in a backwards Muslim country can be very trying if you let it get to you. Go and enjoy it, meet some great friends, keep your head down, work hard and use your time there to your advantage. Build your hours and get out!!!

[johnholmes]

Well if you know who I am then you should also have some idea as to why I slagg this company. Sorry for telling it like it is.

[KenoraPilot]

Just passed the PPC ride and am off to Male on Monday! Cheers everyone!

[xsbank]

Congratulations KP!!

[Walker]

Borek does runs to the south pole too don't they?
whats the story on getting into a gig like that?

[just curious]

Dunno, they just send me each year.

Once you are a pilot in the company, you can ask to go wherever you want. Generally, the FO's in the Antarctic are from the northern bases, and are going to the Ice to prepare for being captains.

One contract has no minimal hours requirement, one has a substantial requirement, and one requires you to look good in red.

[Gards]

When did FO's in the Maldives take a pay cut? I was there last year as a brand new captain and while I was FO the previous 6 months I was making more the 700 bucks a month (obviously not including the base in CDN). The CP at Borek was always more then fair to me, got raises when they were due, circled the world on their dime in 9 days, and met lots of friends for life. In fact if it were not for Borek and the Maldives I would not have found my current job as a B767 FO here in Asia!

It sounds to me like this Mr. John Holmes made some poor decisions due to a lack of research before taking the job in the Dives. Then to go and say that you are trying to influence people to not make the same mistakes you did....I think the only mistake you are making is not letting people make their own informed decision. Your opinion is valid, as is everyone elses, but its only just an opinion!!

Expat lifestyle is not for everyone, but if you are open minded and like being adventurous then give it a shot and don't look back at it as a mistake!

Cheers!!

[Bronco Billy]

Very well said there fella!
I must admit that good information is rough to have, it all depends of whom you are talking to. Even more for maldive issues.

Anyway i appreciated that positive approach of this all!

[gianthammer]

"Classic" post CLGuy that about sums it all up in a nut shell for anyone looking to go there!!!

GH