A day in the life of a long haul pilot. I pack my suitcase (this trip is 6 days long), check any notices that have been issued in my week off, ensure all my apps are up to date on my iPad and the iPad is fully charged along with my battery pack (Our mature jumbo jets do not have power available in the flight deck). Embark on an exciting career as a Pilot with us and you’ll be flying one of the most modern aircraft and fuel-efficient fleets in the skies. This message is conveyed initially by each crew member stationed at the doors on the left hand side of the aircraft over the phone to the senior crew member who then instructs the crew to take seats for take off, she then presses a button on her panel and we get an electronic message in the flight deck stating the ‘cabin is ready’. In pre-Covid times, he would make about S$14,000 a month on average, including allowances. But at the same time, because it's a lifelong dream, I think most of us would quit our jobs and return to flying,” he said. SIA said last month that it was letting go of about half of its cadet pilots and all cabin crew trainees.. Read more at straitstimes.com. The pilot flying will normally choose which break they would like to have. We call flight management and tell them this information so they can start planning to issue jump seat boarding cards to allow some of our staff colleagues on the flight. Pilots don’t make as much money as you think. And if we fly with more than 2 pilots we have time to rest in the bunk. With the PA our company requires us to state several items as mandatory requirements including introducing the flight crew team and my companies policy on safety and security which includes the recommendation for customers to keep their seat belts fastened whilst seated even when the seat belt sign is off. To celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday, the Singapore Airlines A380 was part of the aerial flypast during the National Day Parade. At cruising altitude we start our paperwork, monitor the aircraft systems and discuss contingency planning, we will look at the weather and notams for en-route airfields, our first available one is Shannon in Ireland so we plot that on our navigational displays and have a quick look at the ILS chart for the approach in use which is onto runway 24. In the U.S., senior (experienced) captains, who fly the larger planes at major airlines, typically make more than USD $15,500 per month or $186,000 per year, according to FltOps.com. “I tried to get into the Air Force before and after National Service because I always had this curiosity and passion for flying. We have a contract with a facility called Medlink. The cabin crew (unless we have said otherwise) automatically release themselves to commence their duties. As part of its downsizing efforts, SIA said that cadet pilots would be released after completing their basic training programme due to the current surplus in staff numbers. Our flight today operates from Terminal 3 so we have to catch a bus across to the aircraft. Pilots hate delays for two reasons: First, as stated above, downtime is at a minimum at the destination already. And that is not good news. Extra fuel costs a lot of money, for every extra 1,000kgs of fuel we take we use about 1/3 of it just to carry it! A Typical Day For a Long Haul Pilot Operating The B747-400. “I'm already 59 and looking at the situation, it’s not going to improve drastically in the next two or three years,” he said. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site. Ltd. (SCFT) joint venture for pilot training in Singapore next month. We do a mini-brief update to see if any conditions or parameters have changed for take off and revise the crucial parts, we run the before take off checklist and receive a message from the cabin crew that they are secure for departure in the cabin. These cookies collect information that is used either in aggregate form to help us understand how our website is being used or how effective our marketing campaigns are, or to help us customize our website and application for you in order to enhance your experience. Our bunk area on the 747 is great, it can only be accessed from the flight deck and is very quiet and dark so really helps us get some rest. Unfortunately it doesn’t happen every day. SINGAPORE, Sept 19 — Singapore Airlines (SIA) pilots will be taking pay cuts ranging from 10 to 60 per cent, after the union representing them agreed with their employers on a deal that could save about 400 jobs. The lifestyle of a long haul pilot. After this we proceed to security and go through as a whole crew together. “Most importantly, we are making space for the younger pilots to continue because they have many more years to go and families that need their support.” — TODAY, Cheras LHDN branch to resume operations tomorrow, Glove maker Laglove ordered to close Kajang plant for Covid violations after HR minister sees workers’ living conditions, US stocks open lower on UK Covid-19 spike despite US stimulus. But SIA's regional arm, SilkAir, has been hiring women pilots … Although none of the information in your web site aided me in the interviews, I gain much confidence in facing the barrage of questions from the 7 interviewers. It is a good way of picking up on an issues as we cannot see their body language when we speak on the phone. As of May 2014, the average pilot income was $75,000. By 27, this individual should be earning a comfortable salary of $108,000 annually through the standard annual increments, increase in Cat allowance and LTA Grade … They have specialist aviation doctors available to talk to. “We are the first ones to go perhaps because we are not Singaporeans or permanent residents. Do long haul pilots get time off down route? “Flying is my forte. We check visually for traffic on approach and also check our navigation displays for TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System) traffic. Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refuseing them will have impact how our site functions. All pilots should receive their pilot licence back and they have an order from Taiwan not to infringe any laws in Taiwan for one year (I think) A Malaysian-born pilot who angered Singapore's founding father, Lee Kuan Yew, has begun a new life in Australia after the government ordered him to leave by May 1. One pilot then sleeps for a short while in the pilot seat, while the other pilot takes control of the flight and communication. Story Continues Below Advertisement He is among the cadet pilots from the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group who will have to leave the company after completing his third of four phases of training, which lasts about three to four months. The Jumbo can actually hold 173000kgs of fuel which is actually the weight of approx 2, maybe 3 fully loaded medium size aircraft and that’s just our fuel load. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. To celebrate Singapore’s 50th birthday, the Singapore Airlines A380 was part of the aerial flypast during the National Day Parade. You are however bonded to SIA for 7 years after you become a Line Pilot. We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. Thanks for sharing Jim! This a facility where we can call them up on our satellite phone and obtain advice and direction on how to proceed. In the U.S., senior (experienced) captains, who fly the larger planes at major airlines, typically make more than USD $15,500 per month or $186,000 per year, according to FltOps.com. Once out of the briefing room we decide what order (if any) we would like staff to be on loaded into the jump seats, this is always the Captains authority. Its important to lower the nose gently as the nose wheel is not designed to support large forces unlike the main gear, first class is also directly above the nose wheel!!! © Copyright FlightDeckFriend.com 2011-2020 All Rights Reserved. as his brother and wife are on our flight and he wanted us to try and ensure they get on (they are on standby). Today, we also have thunderstorms and forecast severe turbulence en-route. “ALPA-S is also working with different agencies to assist our pilots in looking for alternate job employments to supplement their loss of income during this trying time.”. On average, he used to earn S$23,000 a month compared to S$13,000 these days. They will also give a recommendation on continuing or diverting the flight. We use reverse thrust to save brake wear and if it is a short turnaround it stops the brakes getting overheated. There is no time wasted with one pilot thinking ‘I wonder if he is going to do that, or ask for this’. The airlines cover your hotel costs down route as well as giving you a subsistence allowance to buy your food and drink. After the briefing and PA has been completed I give control to the Captain who will fly the approach for my landing. — TODAY pic. In our uncorporate jobs series, we speak with Raghuvamshi Surikuchi, a first officer with Indigo airlines and get the lowdown on the fascinating and inspiring life of a commercial pilot in India. Don't ever count your allowances because you never know there would be a day where suddenly there’s no more flights and you have to survive on your basic pay,” he said. “He's most anxious about going back home. We then move onto the briefing, looking at the significant weather charts across our whole route which would highlight any issues, we look at departure, destination and alternate airports weather and notams in detail, we look at en-route alternates, en-route airspace notams and sigmets, we perform a check to ensure we will not be too heavy to land at the destination and alternate airport. Stepping into the unknown, especially at this age, with a lack of experience in other areas, is quite scary,” he said, adding that he will return to Malaysia in three weeks to avoid further racking up his expenses here. He said he is not the only pilot who has turned to doing deliveries. The company as a whole looks after its employees and invests in many training opportunities. Lots of things to consider. In response to TODAY’s queries, the Air Line Pilots Association–Singapore (ALPA-S) said some pilots have had to take up secondary jobs to supplement their income, especially those with children. If I have spoken about various threats and what I will do to avoid them and one of the threats actually occurs then everyone knows what the other person has said they will do and if they don’t do it then they can verbalise it straight away without hesitation. But SIA's regional arm, SilkAir, has been hiring women pilots since 2001. The captain turns off all the external lights and we have a discussion regarding whether it is safe to switch the seat belt signs off. I am woken up to the ‘ding dong’ that means the end of my rest, like any alarm clock its not a popular noise. We have got to the hotel at just before midnight UK time, but it is only 2pm here in Vegas. However, flying is not all fantasy and cool views but involves enormous hard work, persistence and struggle before one embarks on the high life. • Safety training like fire-fighting and life raft boarding drills are also administered for pilots and cabin crew. There looks to be some weather we may need to fly through so we hold off on the seatbelt signs until we get higher. He only embarked on the idea after a friend of his had become a pilot for the airline and he learned more about what the role entailed. The tracks are planned to avoid any weather if possible whilst taking advantage of the wind as best as possible, flying towards the US and Canada you can expect to have headwinds so we pick routes where the headwinds are least outside of the jet streams and on the way back we pick tracks that are in the jet streams to take advantage of the tailwind. Pilot salaries at Singapore Airlines can range from $6,500 - $20,000. SINGAPORE - Singapore Airlines (SIA) has let go of about half of its cadet pilots and cabin crew trainees as it continues to downsize its workforce.. We have made up some time but are till going to arrive late into Las Vegas my next job is to speak to our ground teams at Vegas and make a plan for some of our connecting customers. Even more so on larger aircraft it is so important to land at the right place and at the right speed more so than the actual touchdown feel, however every pilot will also tell you we would like to land at the right place, the right speed and make the wheels just kiss the ground! TODAY spoke to 12 pilots, some of whom have been retrenched while there are those who have taken on delivery jobs to make up for lost income. The company, however, said that it would be open to hiring them should the demand for air travel return to pre-Covid levels. Now comes one of the best parts of the job, this bit never gets boring! So effectively the heavy first officer will cover our breaks as he/she takes the first rest, we have an alarm that wakes him up in the bunk area and he would come out and sit in the Captains seat and my seat to cover each of our breaks in turn. Once we have secured the aircraft, all the passengers are off and the cabin crew have completed their checks we all get off the aircraft together handing authority over to the engineering team. This means although I am not the Captain, the Captain will delegate most of the decisions to me, I will conduct the take off and landing and lead all the briefings. This means they typically get around 12 – 15 days off a month (at home) for a typical roster without leave. We will also expect to be cut in very tight for a short final approach as ATC cannot vector us further than 6NM north due to Nellis Air Force Base being on the extended centre line. If you thinking of Becoming a Pilot or you’re a short haul pilot thinking of making the switch, you probably want to get a feeling of what a typical day for a long haul pilot is like. I started to evaluate my achievements and targets in life after having worked for about a year. Pilots Leave Entitlement Captains and First Officers of SIA on national terms have 36 and 32 days of annual leave respectively, while expatriates enjoy 42 days annual leave. Do not even hope to gauge the interviewers’ facial expressions or body language when you … The 53-year-old pilot is one of the over 50 pilots under the SIA Group — whom TODAY understands are all Employment Pass (EP) holders — who received the news of their retrenchments on September 14. ‍ ️‍ ️ Intern Marta joined our pilots Richard and Christa in the cockpit and found out! We head to immigration, which, yes it can take us just as long as the normal passengers to navigate through. I communicate this to our ground crew that are waiting on the tarmac to push us back. We are one of the few airlines to fly monitored approach procedures, most airlines operate this way in low visibility procedures but we do it all of the time. Life in Squadron is hard work. Now, I’m able to get by more comfortably,” said Brian, who declined to reveal his real name. We check the wind direction and speed, ATC will read us the wind with the take off clearance but there are also wind socks we can use. 5. Yes. Pilots can often also earn more: a productivity allowance of as much as S$3,800 is available for pilots flying 70 hours a month. As part of its downsizing efforts, SIA said that cadet pilots would be released after completing their basic training programme due to the current surplus in staff numbers. In the US this means we are free to descend at our own discretion but must meet all of the restrictions on the arrival. Through the years in Squadron, an RSAF Pilot will be upgraded from a non-operational pilot (CAT D) to an operationally ready pilot (CAT A). Lu will begin a part-time Masters of Business Administration programme at the National University of Singapore in January. If you do not want that we track your visit to our site you can disable tracking in your browser here: We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. I stumbled upon the SIA website and was attracted to this job opening; Cadet Pilot. Today we get the call from downstairs in the cabin from the cabin crew member in charge stating that there are customers missing at the boarding gate and the TRM has instructed the ramp team to start looking for their bags so that they can be offloaded. An example would be turning the aircraft or stopping straight ahead in the event of an RTO (rejected take-off) with an engine fire warning. He easily works 60-100 hours a week, but sees the bigger cause and works hard at work. Our TRM changes our TOBT (this is a target off blocks time which enables ATC to better plan ground movements). Also, your upgrade from a First Officer to a Captain will take at least 15 years (as compared to 3-5 years in a Low-Cost Carrier like Jetstar Asia and Scoot). Last week, we received a huge response from readers when we posed the question of whether or not pilots hop in bed with flight attendants regularly while flying together. If you are really interested, brush up your knowledge and go for it. The typical Singapore Airlines Pilot salary is $10,000. I visually check we have met all of the stable approach criteria and call ‘stable, visual, I have control’. Life of an Indian pilot: Extra hours, high EMIs and a fat salary that's often delayed Despite a huge demand for them, pilots in India are in a sorry state. The lifestyle of a long haul pilot. On long haul we always recommend that customers fasten their seat belt over their duvets or blankets to avoid being disturbed by the crew if the we have to put the seat belt sign on at short notice. They advise they believe the customers will still make their connections with some assistance so we arrange ground staff to meet some of our customers at the top of the airbridge on arrival and we pass this information on to the CSM who passes on the information to the customers. The gear provides a lot of drag so as soon as it can be retracted the better as we can improve our climb performance. It represents a typical day for a long haul pilot. Read more at The Business Times. • It also houses a … Inevitably you may get chatting to some customers, I also quite like to grab some chocolate to keep the energy levels up (Ha! If we had a choice we would rather divert to an airfield that a nearby full facility hospital where our customer can receive the care they require very quickly. Nevertheless, the career … Continue Reading → Pilot training in the military. Gently pull back on the tarmac to push us back find out more must ensure we alert! 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