Pilot Jobs

Pilot jobs

Airlines, aviation recruitment consultants, agencies, message boards and related.

The first table below is mainly European sites, the second mainly American/Worldwide airline homepages.

At the bottom of the page, find some scam warnings.

Agency/consultants sites:

Please note that most of these companies are asking for money by the time you get down to business - of course, everyone has got to make a living, the question is, who is to pay?

As with type ratings, it should always be the company who pays all costs, in turn the pilot ties up with a training bond, possible with a slightly reduced salary during this period. The same goes for recruitment. If the company wants to let other companies (recruitment agencies) do the hiring for them, fine, as long as they pay for that service. In the real world it is another game, and many pilots have tried to pay for a type rating. If you have just spent a fortune for a license and a type rating will get you a job, why not put in that little extra and get that job before the pilot next to you? Fortunately, there are many recruitment agencies where you can list your CV/resume for free. Of those I have come across, they are listed in the tables below.

AS LONG AS there are more pilots than jobs AND there is a substantial training expense when changing to a new type, pilots will be tricked into many things (see also SCAM WARNINGS below). On the internet there are hundreds and hundreds of pilot recruitment agencies. There are way to many of them, and the very same jobs often appear on many sites. Some of the job listings even refer from one agency to another. If all these sites asked for the pilots money, just to be able to submit their CV or search for a job, each pilot would have to use a lot of time and a lot of money to fill out all those forms of information and paying fee after fee - for nothing. If you are already rated on a Boeing, Airbus or other larger aircraft, you most often do not need these sites, you might even be able to charge THEM to let them pass on your CV to a company (like if you are 747 TRE/TRI or something). The pilots who really need the agencies are the pilots who cannot get a job there anyway, because their experience and/or ratings do not meet current market demands. And these pilots feel their chances better when registering (and paying) at more places.

THERE WILL NOT BE MORE JOBS OUT THERE, JUST BECAUSE THERE ARE MORE COMPANIES WANTING TO MAKE A LIVING OF YOU FINDING IT!

The recruiters/agencies will often state something along the song of "Now that you have finally found us, the definitive recruiter with the largest job database, just pay us a fee, submit your CV and we will get back to you with the right job". Yeah right! So, which one to choose, when they all say this?

FORTUNATELY, there are recruiters out there who will let pilots register for free, and the employer looking for pilots pay either to search or for each hit. This would be the optimal solution. Recruiters, when you read this PLEASE stop these endless forms of gathering tons of information into the smallest details. Contact, hours, ratings, licenses should do, drop all the details that only matters at an interview or after hiring. PLEASE!

UNFORTUNATELY, some of the companies who feel it is OK for each pilot to pay a fee to them, as well as to each of their endless list of like competitors, does this in a filthy way. First, they put a link "Enter your CV - click here" which brings you to a lengthy submission form. Sometimes you even have to register with a name, password and email first, confirm email, then fill out the form. After all the time spent entering flying time and other details, you end up on the "MasterCard/VISA?" page (click here for an example). One thing is they want to rip you off for nothing, but they will not tell you until after you have done all the work, hoping you will then accept to pay. Sites I know of with this practice are either removed from my list or directly warned about, name mentioned. How low can you get?

THE BEST WAY to find a job is often through networking your way in, looking at companies websites on their careers page or simply listening to the grapevine. Not one of the jobs Have held have I found through a recruiter, but I still enlist no when my last contract has expired.

Many people involved in this business run various scams, taking money from desperate and usually unemployed pilots. Don't be naive, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn't true. See SCAM WARNINGS - at the bottom of this page

Be prepared that especially "short term contracts" are not always just to fill training gaps. It could be for a company that has been hit by a strike, check it out yourself, get third part information.

Be careful with your money out there and good luck !

European job sources. Updated February 2003

Name and WWW	Origin	Resume accepted	Search jobs online	Comment
Aerospace Div. Int'l www.corporateservices.co.uk	UK (US)	?	-	Do they do pilot jobs any more? "The Corporate Services Group", 54-56 Bridge Street, Manchester, England M3 3BW, tel +44 161 819 1389 fax -1590 Mother company of http://www.bluearrow.co.uk/ (uk) and http://www.corestaff.com/ (usa) ???
Aerospacemedia	F	Free	Free	French magazine with job listings and pilot avbl bulletin board. In French!
Aerotimes	USA	Free	Free	Have registered for free. Seems to be mainly North American jobs
Airlineappointments	UK	Free	Free	Airline Appointments, Aviation Personnel Recruitment, 6, The Office Village Romford Road, London E15 4EA This company uses exactly the same software/forms as Contractair (see below)
ANPE	F	?	?	French. Link to "search jobs online" does not work any more.
APC Aviation Personnel Consulting	IS	?	-	Do they still exist ??? Vidimelur 35, Box 147, 121 Reykjavik, Iceland Tel +354 552 0981 fax -0998
ARS international	F	?	?	English/French site, employment link doesn't work: http://www.ars-staffair.com/ says "Liste du répertoire refusé. Le listage du contenu n'est pas autorisé pour ce répertoire virtuel."
Aviationjobsearch	UK	Free	Free	Employers pay £95.00 for each job posting
BeCA	B		Not free anymore	Belgian Cockpit Association. Need to register now, I suppose, to be a member. Site is in English
ContractAir	UK	Free	Free	Cannot link directly, go via main page. This company uses exactly the same software/forms as Airlineappointments (see above)
DirectPersonnel	IE	free	free	Cannot link directly to resume, use main page. Why do they want to know "emergency contact details" when you register for a job???
EAC Crewsearch (closed)	CH (formerly UK)	£30 to register	-	This site has closed. All those pilots who paid GBP30, what happened to them?
Euro-Pacific Aviation	UK+AU ?	Free	Free	Euro-Pacific Aviation Ltd Melbourne Office 5/132 Albert Road South Melbourne, Vic 3205, Australia
Flight Deck Online (IAC)	UK	Online form	Listed on main page	Send in the online form for free. Quite extensive crew database, can be searched for free by employer (I assume for a fee to get in contact)
flightdeckrecruitment	UK	Free (use menu)	Free	Register for free. Pay GBP 50 a year for extra services, like uploading your own CV etc. Seems quite a good site, even when not paying extra. INTERESTING: Go to the bottom of the vacant jobs list, there is a link to open recruitment sites, however, this list is of course for club members only.
FlightInt'l job page	UK	No	Free	Updated weekly. Most adds from Flight Int'l are here. Quite good, free, check it often.
IAP (closed)	UK	Via email	Free	CLOSED. No home page anyway.
Interscaldes	NL	-	-	Used to be searchable. All I find today is contact information.
Jet Personnel	UK	Via Email	-	Mainly for Corporate/private/VIP. PO Box 84, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 6DQ, Tel +44 1491 638 378 fax -764. NOTE, there is also a company called jetpersonnel in Australia (see the table below)
Job Air BV	NL	Free	Free	Airport Plaza Building, PO Box 3154, NL-2130 KD Hoofddorp. Tel +31 23 565 1630 Fax -1632. jobair@compuserve.com
Parc Aviation	IE	Free	Via main page	Free to enter resume. Many details, like passport number, what is it good for? Anyway, site seems OK, especially if they find me a job!
PPRuNe forum	UK	PPRuNe forum	PPRuNe forum	Professional Pilot Rumour Network. Read (and write) rumours about flight deck jobs, recruiting, jokes and more ...
PPJN	?	-	-	Professional Pilot Job Network - links to aircraft operators, job hints etc. Good site, added may 2003
Strongfield Aviation (Closed)	UK	?	-	This company must have closed, as it is listed on http://www.creditman.co.uk/news/0205.html under 04/05/99 * Forthcoming Creditors Meetings *

For TAF/METER via SMS:

WWW.WXSUPPORT.COM

US/AU/ASIA job sources. Not updated for a while

Name and WWW	Origin	Resume accepted	Search jobs online	Comment
AEPS Airline Recruiting	US	Members only	Members only	Large US agency. I used to be member of AEPS. No need to pay if you are not rated on something anyway, especially if you are not located in the US..
AeroPersonnel International	CA	(Email only)	(Email only)	Mainly rated jet personnel - Canada and worldwide. AeroPersonnel International, 9325 Ryan Ave, Suite 201 Montreal International Airport Dorval, QC, Canada, H9P 1A2, Tel 514-636-3737 Fax -3388 email a.allard@aeropersonnel.com
Air Contracts Search	NZ	-	-	Links to job sites and more
Air Inc	US	Members only	N/A	From USD 144/yr. Many books for sale, about tests and more
Aviation Canada	CA	Free	Free	Free message board type site
AvCanada Jobs Employment Opportunities	CA	Members only	Free	Canadian (and some other int'l jobs) - Resume 15/20 $ (US or CA ?)
AviationEmployment	US	(WIP)	Free	Corporate no-pay positions avbl if mnm hrs. 1000 TT 200 ME
Bestweb	NZ	-	-	NZ List of links - just like this site - plus weather and more
Climbto350	US	Free ?	Free ?	Didn't try it yet. Banner sponsored I think.
Find-a-pilot	US	Members only	Free	119.88 USD/yr (9.99/mth)
FCI	US	?	Members only	USD 130.00 a year, but one free sample.
Flight Crew Jobs Online	US	?	Members only	99.00 USD/yr
IAC	AU	Free	Free
IASCO	US	Free	N/A	1633 Old Bayshore Highway, Suite 280, Burlingame, CA 94010, tel +1-650-259-8400 fax -8404
Jetpersonnel	AU	?	?	Note there is also a Jetpersonnel in the UK
Jet-Professionals	US	-	Free	Only for pilots with about 2000+ TT and TP/Jet rated
NEMSPA	US	Free	Free	Message board type - but also with vacant positions
www.pilotcareercentre.com	CA	?	?	www.pilotcareercentre.com
PilotsWanted	US	Corporate free, rest is pay	?	Books and career advice - resumes and more. Pay services, up to USD 229.00 for the full monty.
Plane Talent	AU	AU$10 / mnth	^?	^{A new site - AU$ 10 a month.}
Rishworth Aviation	NZ	Free	Free	Consultant/crew leasing
Scendtek CARE	US	Free	?	Free resumes for corporate positions
Stratobank	US	Free ?	Free ?	Looks good, seems to be free
United Pilot Application Service	US	Members only	Partly free	A few jobs can be seen by non-members USD 150.00 first year, then USD 100.00/yr
Wingsonline messageboard	Int'l	Messageboard	-	Messageboard

Useful links:

Airlines of the World EUROPE
European Airline Websites
FlyGuiden.net
SkandinaviskeFlyselskaper

Go to other links - press here.

Remember to go and check the pilot bulletin boards for rumors from other pilots:

UK: PPRuNe Scandinavia: PILOTS.DK Germany: PILOTS.DE France: RADIOCOCKPIT.COM

FRAUD and SCAMS !

Many companies will try to take money from desperate pilots, with little or no services in return. They know how desperate some pilots may be, and what reward the pilots are expecting or hoping for, in the shape of a well paid job.

In the more common, but less severe cases, a fee is taken for a service that doesn't lead to anything, i.e. a posting on a board where there is little or no chance of the CV to be seen.

In other cases (which are not really scams but I would call it not being honest up front about the conditions), a lengthy CV is entered by the applicant, and only in the end you find that after spending a long time gathering and entering information, credit card information is asked for before you can proceed any further, even though it says in the beginning you can submit it for free.

The worst cases are where a job is promised, and you "just" need to pay for your type rating before you can get the job. I have seen many examples of this. First time I heard of it was like this:

A pilot with a Danish CPL license and 400 hours total had taken a Canadian float check, and thereby he had a Canadian CPL as well. In hope of a job he put an ad in Flight International. He was contacted and told he was wanted to fly a Canadian registered Hawker 800 out of Zurich, paid apartment, a nice tax free salary, free car and so on. He was supposed to fly for a rich Greek individual, but everything happened through a box address. The reason HE was chosen (this was in the beginning of the 90'es where jobs were quite scarce) was that he happened to have a Canadian License ! (this was to clear the doubt as to why they had chosen HIM with only 400 hours for a Hawker 800 F/O position when there were plenty of rated and current pilots available). He was invited to a sim check in London, with hotels, limos and the works. Of course he passed the check on the 737. (all this to ensure him that it was a serious company, so he would be ready to be hooked). After he went back, he was told he was accepted and just had to pay for his type rating, together with his employment contract. I don't remember how much, but it was in the order of GBP 10.000 to 15.000. One of his friends, also a pilot, came across the Hawker by chance, and talked to the crew. They were completely puzzled, they didn't need any pilots, and never heard of the rich Greek individual. So he bit the bait, but got off the hook before they took his money. Happy end !

The example above was back in the beginning of the 90'ies. This one is from April 2002:

Flexjet Europe which I worked was closed down, while outsourcing. Tough luck for me and my colleagues ! Several adds had been placed in Flight International by Flexjet, and one of the companies that responded was asking for a G-IV pilot. Pilots from Flexjet looking for a job had to take a better deal, so it was suited likewise by the scammer. This is what I received from my company (my comments in brackets [] ):

Just been contacted by a private company based in Rio de Janeiro [exotic, right ?] regarding 2 First Officer positions on a GIV. Type-rating preferred but not essential [meaning, come on suckers, take my bait !], they also prefer if you have an FAA license, if not then a JAR license is fine [= almost anything will do !].They prefer to have First Officers who are under 32 years old, but are flexible [= anyone will do !]. They pay for accommodation etc, and would consider pilots who had families [= pilots with or without family, we will be equally happy to take your money ] etc. They employ on a 3 year contract and pay $6,200 per month (tax-free) [Ah, tax-free salary, especially for corporate pilots, really touch the emotional button hard. USD 6200 tax free for a GIV copilot ?]. They are a private company called Alpha Tankers Inc [= does not exist], and they operate as Alpha Aviation ltd.[= does not exist either] These are immediate vacancies [come on, suckers, we are ready to take your money NOW] so they want to move quickly [before they discover it is a scam]. I haven't been able to find out information on them from the Web etc[= does not exist], so I can't give you any other information regarding them.

Too good to be true, right ? It IS too good to be true ! Some of our colleagues contacted them, and finally found that the company wanted something like a USD 7150 payment for the type rating. If you want to pay a pilot USD 6200 tax free a month and all the benefits, it doesn't make sense to ask him for about a months payment up front ??? To my knowledge, no-one took the bait ...

What is their ways ? Basically in all these scams, they

1) Want to make sure they include a large group of pilots (i.e.. "prefer FAA, but JAA is fine", "would consider pilots with families" etc)

2) Sweet talk you with tax free salary, paid accommodation, nice aircraft, rich owners etc

3) Make you feel special and lucky, why YOU were chosen (i.e., you flew for Flexjet, you have a Canadian License or anything else particular about YOU)

4) Hide, i.e. behind a mail box or hotmail as well as mobile phones

5) Often start of with spending money in you (airfare, hotel, limo, sim etc), before asking for a down payment, type rating fee or whatever they call it. It must be like catching fish! "Funny" enough, they can't accept a bank guarantee, only a down payment bank transferal.

6) Usually it is a job to be filled ASAP, so you don't have the time to discover it is a scam.

BE WARNED, DON'T FALL FOR THESE SCAMS !

In my eyes, the only acceptable means of paying for an employer/employee match is this:

1. In a no-cure-no-pay contract, the employER (not employee) pays the job agency/hunter an agreed fee. Or the employer finds his pilots without a job agency

2. IF a recruitment company should insist on wanting money from a pilot to find him a job, let them find the job first, THEN ask for the money. If someone found me the right job, I would gladly pay a reasonable fee, after I have the job. I will not pay anything nor submit any credit card information until I have the job and can see it is real and no scam.

3. On certain conditions, paying for a type rating is OK, considering the cost you are incurring on the company, but the only acceptable way is with a contract and a paycheck deduction, where the pilot after a certain agreed period goes up to full salary, or full salary all the way, and a fee to be paid by the pilot if leaving early. I agree that it is the company that has to pay for the type rating. But there are pilots who get a type rating "for free" by a company and then go to another company the day after, and that is not reasonable towards the first company. From the pilots viewpoint, it is important to consider in a deal like this whether the money for the type rating goes to the company directly, or to an independent training organization like FlightSafety, Simuflite etc.

If you consider to buy a type rating, hoping to get any job afterwards, note that many companies will require hours on type, and not just a type rating. Your type rating will eventually expire, so only do it if you are desperate enough! In rare cases, like when simulator slots are hard to get (but you get one), it could be a good investment, though still a risky investment.

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