Air Malta entices pilots to leave airline and join competitors

It is eerie that this same scenario was played out at BWIA 5 years ago. 66 years of fatality free operation. Rumours of Government nepotism. Constant losses. Several attempts at privatisation, re-branding, etc. Usual scapegoats; "state mentality employees", greedy/unreasonable unions, corruption- especially in tickets, staff travel, etc. Govt ministers abuse of travel, empty flights to political destinations. Peripheral suppliers leeching the company. In the end it was decided to close the airline, pay off all employees with generous redundancy packages, and rehire some, without unions, call it Caribbean Airlines, and pretend it was not a sucessor company. Despite the fact that up to now the "BW" ICAO and IATA designators lead to Caribbean Airlines. They even had the Emirates roadshow in town. Many BWIA pilots are now very happy at Emirates and Etihad. Plus ca change.

Jiraiya.....or you're one of them............................. or else utterly stupid with blinders..

It's all about sour grapes. So long!!!!!!

Dear Jiraiya Sama, yes..im in to it....and no.. i was never refused either... when you spend thousands of euro (working 7 days a week for that and not having a stipend like many mummys boys on this island) on something you love and aspire to do one day, and then you find an insider and tells you what i said before....then come and speak to me and i'll let you know how you feel especially when you know you're not part of the circle.....not that I want to mind you.....

AH – A new Air Malta crusader! Jiraiya Sama if you’re going to raise your fists you better be as well prepared as Urizen. I have some new found respect for Urizen. But you Jiraiya Sama… you are a pistol! 1. In 35 years you’ve never heard of an incident? - 19 JAN 2004 Air Malta A.320 collides with pylon while taxiing. "An Air Malta Airbus A.320 (9H-ABQ) was damaged when the right wing hit a pylon on the apron while it was taxiing prior to take-off. The incident happened at Luqa airport as the aircraft was preparing for the evening flight KM642 to Catania. None of the 27 passengers and six crew members on board was injured." (The Times of Malta)…. Now remember, this is not Chicago O’Hare that we’re talking about but Luqa airport! One of the least busy airports in the world. 2. Emirates rated the Best Airline… Best airline for what? Fuel efficiency and passenger comfort. Not for hiring the best pilots in the world! That is purely your assumption. Let’s make a few things clear here. The nepotism I talk about is not restricted to pilots (and yes Urizen, not all pilots have been given a shoe-in by some influential individual) but it is at every level, from management down to the janitorial staff. I recall Formula 1 racing legend Michael Schumacher once saying during an interview that Ferrari was so successful because they hire the best people for the job, whether it’s an engineering or cleaning job. It is very clear that the issues at AirMalta were brought on by bad managerial decisions. For instance, when the fleet was updated AirMalta also had a proposal from Boeing. Did Air Malta go with an Airbus fleet simply to please the EU or because it really was the best return on investment? Are these A319/320 cheaper to run and maintain than say a 737-800? Did no one at Air Malta think about leveraging our relationship with Libya to fuel hedge? Southwest Airlines in the United States was able to significantly minimize the pain of the recent airline industry downturn because of its tendency to aggressively fuel hedge. So no, I am not only targeting the pilots. The pilots whether they were hired based on merit or not all had to undergo training and get licensed. Air Malta might be irresponsibly run but it is not insane. All of the pilots are fully qualified to fly, and that’s why it’s pilots are able to work elsewhere. Not as Jiraiya Sama tried to insinuate! Jiraiya Sama gives you the impression that Emitates HR melts when they see Air Malta on someone’s resume. The truth is that Emirates cannot hire enough pilots because while every for-proffitt airline is implementing cost-cutting measures, Dubai doesn’t care about it’s airline’s proffitablility. Dubai simply wants to flash all of its oil money in our faces. That’s how it rolls! With its indoor skiing facilities, and man made islands, and formula 1 circuit. It all revolves back to their oil and the fact that they want everyone to know that Abu Dhabi is not just about sand, but it also has a ton of money. Finally my dear Jiraiya Sama if you cannot admit that there is, at least some, nepotism with the hiring of Air Malta’s pilots, you must be living on a different planet. Unless you are mixing up Air Malta with Kemmuna Airways!

Well it seems you know a lot crystal. Fly with Ryan Air and the rest, hopefully you'll feel safer flying with low hour pilots. So long.

.......well i was even told by an airmalta pilot that 'trid tkun taf lil xi hadd x hin tasal ghal interview' ..... I sympathise sooo much with sipahi......some of you ppl dnt knw what you're saying with all due respect...

Sipahi, "Inferior talent leads to bad decisions. Bad decisions lead to failure", Can you kindly elaborate. In 35 years I never heard of incidents and accidents within Air Malta. And if these inferior talents, are looking to join other airlines, "Big" airlines, and they get the job, I doubt if they're actually inferior as you say. And just to open further your mind, between 2004-2008, 30 pilots joined Emirates, and a few more joined Etihad. But it seems these Airlines, by the way they've been voted Best Airline year in year out, only employ inferior talents. Could you be so Superior in talent that these airlines look at you as wasted, had you joined them? Have you tried NASA?

Urizen - I wish you luck and hopefully it will all work out for you.

Sipahi there is no need to show me evidence of nepotism. I said it happens and that includes pilot recruitment. Claiming that most pilots are in due to nepotism is unfair though. There is no need for me to back up my figures, they can easily be checked. In 1994 they had selected 24 pilots as ab initios. 13 are still with Air Malta. In 2001 a group of 10 ab initios were selected and another 16 in recent years. That is 50 in total, 35 of which are still with Air Malta. More than 65 have at the same time joined as CPL/ATPL holders. What I took issue with is your claims that we have it better than most, telling us to be on our way and to stop complaining. Pilots, like everyone else, have their own lives, families and lifestyle here in Malta. A job on the line means moving country, something which is never easy and which some might actually be averse too. You moved country, and I am sure that through experience you know that all is not rosy in another country.

Urizen - I hope that you are not one of those who will have to move to another country to continue your career because you sure don't sound too keen about it. Unfortunately I cannot divulge evidence of nepotism on a blog. It is not right, but if you are willing to give me your email address I can be a lot more specific. I am not going to challenge your details on how many got a free ride and how many did not. I should not have thrown that out here without being 100% sure on those #s. Perhaps you can provide me with evidence confirming those #s when we correspond. But I am certainly not mouthing off on the nepotism, and you know it! It is very hard to identify nepotism after the fact. But... sometimes not impossible. Urizen - If you have a clean conscience and might get affected by these AirMalta changes, I feel bad for you. If not, don't please don't make me feel less sympathetic.

@ Sipahi "Inferior talent leads to bad decisions. Bad decisions lead to failure." You couldn't have said it better Sipahi. I see it and touch it everyday, but cannot do anything.

Sipahi, no one is accepting nepotism, I am just stating that nepotism is there. To however state that most pilots entered Air Malta due to nepotism is not true. Remember, a pilot's job is a specialised one, so it is not that easy to get the one you want in there. Some have tried and failed. Also out of the near 100 pilots currently in Air Malta's employment who joined post 1992, only approx 35 got what you define a free ride, that is joined as ab initios. The rest, 65 paid for their own licence. Also, out of the 35 near 1/3 have had to pay Air Malta for part of their training. You packed your bags and left a long time ago. Seems like you took the national pastime of mouthing off inaccuracies and having a go at people on a good wage with you.

HA! Quickly we jump to the conclussion that it is a matter of sour grapes. No I've never had any interest in becoming a pilot and I've never applied for a job with AirMalta. Perhaps you are misinformed because most of the pilots got a free ride. AirMalta paid for the majority of their training. Only the latest batch of pilots had to go through their personal coffers in a significant manner. & Those pilots should have never been hired. They were all political favors and were hired at a time when the company was already hurting. I can name a couple of young pilots for instance that knew before even completing their Private Pilot License training that they would be working for AirMalta. Two brothers! They just happen to have a very strong connection to a prominent figure. That's how the entire show is run. I happen to be lucky enough to have worked somewhere where I could see a lot of it happen. And yes I agree with The Alchemist...the PN ran this thing to the ground. Who else? they've been in power since 1987...It is their sponsored nepotism! No, it is not sour grapes. It is a fact and I simply despise nepotism and I cannot merely accept it like Urizen. That's why I packed my bags a long time ago and left the country. I tried to do something about it, failed, and I just could not live with it. I don't believe in the saying 'if you can't beat them join them'. No sir!

Any chance of a road show advertising our government cabinet maybe we can get rid of these ineffectuals before their time? @Sipahi The wrong decissions were made during the decades of PN/gonziPN premiership.

I mean, when you get people like EFA, GONZI, GATT. TONIO FENECH, turning every Maltese asset into a toxic medusa, and impovrishing us, with debts,deficits, nepotism,and stains of sleaze, isn.t it about time for people to think of change, and a new beginning? Its not about ideology either; its about common sense! Do Air Malta employees, whether Labour or Nationalists, have any of this sense left?

For Sipahi it is a matter of sour grapes! For the last quarter of a century this country has been run by the PN. It was the PN who HAND picked the successive chairmen and directors to sit on its Board of directors. Its purely the SOLE responsibility of the chairman and his Board and the top executives to ensure that the entity under their wings is run effectively, efficiently and with the highest possible return for the entity. Actions and decisions have to be taken at the right moment and acted upon. If this does not mater then the fingers have to be pointed to no other but these persons. Now you can to your own conclusions why our Airmalta is in the sorry state it is in today.

Sipahi did you by any chance fail in your attempt to join Air Malta as a pilot? Sour grapes maybe? There is nepotism in Malta, but the vast majority of Air Malta pilots worked hard and spent a lot of personal money to undergo the training necessary to be qualified for the job. Another sad fact is that many of these will have to move to another country to continue their career, something not all are keen on doing.

issa il-gvern inqeda bijkhom biex iggibulu in nies mill Libya, anke ippopa sidru quddiem il-barranin . imma issa qed jarmikhom, gie jidilkhom prosett Tonio Fenech,, mhux biex jitnejjek bikhom. hemm bzonn li nahseb anke hawn malta nibdew naghmlu id demostrazzjonijiet.forsi jigi xi bully bhal l-amerikani u jithajjar jindahal.jien hbieb nissimpatizza maghkhom. nemmen li il union ghanda taghmel xi haga ukoll.

It is never pleasing to see someone’s job on the line. On the contrary it is quite upsetting and in this particular situation the affected individuals (the pilots) might have to pick up their memories and emigrate. It will be hard on them and their families but they will have to bite the bullet and try their luck elsewhere. Having said that, most of these pilots currently fly with AirMalta simply because of outright nepotism. Nepotism in my opinion is the main culprit for bringing down AirMalta to its knees. It is incredible that the Ernst and Young report makes no mention of this. A corporation must employ the best talent to be successfully in any market. Failure to do so can only lead to failure. Especially in the airline industry! For decades AirMalta has been hiring people based on connections and not merit. For decades it’s been making bad decisions. Is it surprising? No! Inferior talent leads to bad decisions. Bad decisions lead to failure. So while it is unpleasant to see downsizing at AirMalta, I feel somewhat avenged for all those who were rejected by AirMalta over the years due to the despicable act of nepotism. Several of those rejected were pilots. Pilots that had to look elsewhere for an opportunity! People who had their dreams shattered not because they were not talented or the best candidate for the job, but because of a lack of connections. So, AirMalta pilots, stop complaining and be on your way. You still have it easier than most!