AIR Jamaica pilots, rated among the best in the world, are being wooed by at least eight overseas airlines, mostly in the Middle East and Asia, the Sunday Observer has learnt.

Interest in the national carrier's pilots increased after it became clear that the Jamaican Government had no interest in a bid by the Jamaican Airline Pilots' Association (JALPA) to acquire Air Jamaica, which the administration must divest or close down before June in keeping with a loan agreement signed with the International Monetary Fund.

According to one Air Jamaica pilot, who opted not to be named, offers are being made from airlines based in China, Dubai, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. He also said that well over 50 former Air Jamaica pilots are now flying in the Gulf, and at least two have already taken positions in India and Nigeria.

The Sunday Observer obtained a copy of an e-mail from Direct Personnel International, a recruiting agency for Vietnam Airlines, saying that that carrier has a number of positions available for Airbus A320 Captains, TREs (supervisors) and First Officers.

"I would appreciate it if you can advise your members of this excellent opportunity with Vietnam Airlines via Direct Personnel International," said the e-mail sent to JALPA from Barbara Kelly, team leader crew resources. "Screenings have been confirmed for Singapore for March and April."

According to Kelly's e-mail, Vietnam Airlines is offering:

* Commuting contract (six weeks on, followed by two weeks off);

* Excellent basic salary;

* Monthly per diem and accommodation allowance;

* Excellent route network;

* Base in Ho Chi Minh City; and

* Tickets to travel home by Vietnam Airlines.

The e-mail also listed a number of international aviation qualifications required for the job, and stipulated that applicants "hold no history of accidents or incidents -- to include any disciplinary breaches within their former employers". Applicants should also be under age 55 years when starting the contract.

"We would also be in a position to travel to meet with you and your members to discuss all positions further," Kelly said.

Yesterday, the Air Jamaica pilot who spoke with the Sunday Observer said that just last week a representative of a headhunting firm from the United Arab Emirates was here in Jamaica and met with about 27 pilots.

"The type of planes that we fly here -- the Airbuses -- are the ones they fly in those regions," he gave as one of the reasons for the interest in Air Jamaica pilots. "There's tremendous expansion going on there and they need people."

The Sunday Observer was also told Virgin America was among the carriers courting Air Jamaica pilots.

Yesterday, another former Air Jamaica manager credited the impeccable safety record of Air Jamaica pilots, as well as the introduction of Airbus aircraft by Gordon 'Butch' Stewart when he operated the airline as two other reasons for the push by overseas carriers to employ Air Jamaica pilots.

Earlier this month, Air Jamaica president and CEO Bruce Nobles told the airline's staff that their jobs would be made redundant on April 12, the 'target' date for Trinidad-owned Caribbean Airlines to take over Air Jamaica's operations.

Nobles' memo to the staff was the clearest indication for months that the divestment to Caribbean Airlines was a done deal and that the attempt by JALPA to acquire the airline on behalf of the staff was not going to be entertained by the Government.

Last October, the Daily Observer broke the story that JALPA, which comprises Air Jamaica's 140 pilots, had submitted a bid, on behalf of the airline's staff, to acquire the carrier.

"We have proposed that we acquire the airline, and this is coming on the heels of the Government stating that the cost of divesting the airline was expensive," Captain Russell Capleton had told the Observer at the time.

Captain Capleton's reference was to a disclosure by Prime Minister Bruce Golding last August that it would cost his administration close to US$200 million to divest Air Jamaica, which is reported to have lost more than US$1 billion over its more than 40 years of existence.

Included in that cost would be US$30 million in redundancy payments in addition to bills owed by the carrier.

Captain Capleton had said that JALPA submitted its bid after first informing the Government of its interest in writing in August and receiving "a kind response" to put in a proposal.

But the pilots became concerned after hearing Dennis Lalor, chairman of the Air Jamaica Privatisation Committee, saying in a television interview in October that the committee had eliminated all bidders except Indigo Partners, owners of Spirit Airlines, and that the committee would submit its recommendation to the Government within two weeks.

"What is of particular concern to us is that we are hearing that there is no other expression of interest or proposal," Captain Capleton had told the Observer.

But a Government source close to the divestment negotiations described the JALPA submission as "an expression of interest" and not a formal bid.

The source, who requested anonymity, pointed out that there were rules associated with the divestment process and the committee had to ensure that every bidder goes through the proper channel in the interest of fairness. He also said that the JALPA bid was not submitted to the privatisation committee.

However, Captain Capleton rejected that claim and insisted that the JALPA submission was a formal bid.

"We submitted it to the prime minister, the minister of finance, the chairman of the privatisation committee and the chairman of Air Jamaica," he told the Observer at the time.

Since then, the negotiations with Indigo Partners collapsed and the Government turned to Caribbean Airlines, a decision that has triggered controversy, with Air Jamaica staff and informal commercial importers -- one of the airline's most loyal block of passengers -- staging demonstrations in protest against the sale.

In February this year, Prime Minister Golding said that the proposal submitted by JALPA offered little evidence that the association "is or will be able to" sustain the services currently being provided by the national carrier.

According to Golding, the proposal "is based on key assumptions that are factually incorrect".

"JALPA has not up to now presented any credible evidence of its ability to secure the financing required to operate the airline, which it estimates to be US$100 million," Golding said in a statement. "US$40 million of that amount is to come from redundancy payments to which the workers will be entitled. It has submitted the names of two overseas private equity firms that it claims have offered to source the remaining US$60 million.

"In its letter to the prime minister dated January 26th, JALPA admits that these private equity firms have not yet reviewed its business plan. It is therefore a gross exaggeration to suggest that it has identified sources of financing if this is to mean anything more than identifying sources that it hopes will seek to identify sources of financing. All of this is subject to a review of its Business Plan and the necessary due diligence, neither of which has yet been done," Golding said, adding that he was yet to receive a promised letter from an investor who JALPA said had indicated an interest in partnering with them.

Golding also said that JALPA's estimation that redundancy payment to staff -- the majority of which it expects to be pumped back into the airline -- would amount to some US$47 million was flawed.

"The estimated cost of redundancy payments is US$27 million, not US$47 million," he said. "Even with an 85 per cent participation rate, there would be a cash shortfall of US$17 million, which would severely undermine the viability of its operational plan."

However, JALPA has insisted that under its leadership Air Jamaica can break even within the first year and start making a profit by the second year.

"When Air Jamaica was cutting back some of the routes last year, including Miami, we ran the numbers and found that if we right-size the fleet, the turnaround would have gone from a $2.5-million loss to a $1.5-million profit," said Captain John Eyre, a member of the JALPA Acquisition Team.

The pilots had also expressed an interest in starting their own airline if they failed to acquire Air Jamaica. But that option, JALPA said, would not be exercised until all avenues have been exhausted to take over the national airline.

However, the association admitted that if Caribbean Airlines is granted national carrier status for Jamaica, that could affect JALPA's plan.

At a news conference last month, Captain Eyre described the proposed sale as one of the biggest mistakes ever made by the Jamaican Government, as Caribbean Airlines, he said, was seeking to operate in and out of Jamaica and not for Jamaica.

Yesterday, the Air Jamaica pilot who spoke to the Sunday Observer suggested that some of his colleagues were exploring their options with the overseas suitors as they had no assurances from Caribbean Airlines.

"There's no guarantee that Caribbean Airlines is going to take you, or that it will pay you what you want, or that it will even last," he said.

The pilot said that while those jobs being offered overseas pay well, the conditions may not be suitable for some people.

"These places pay more money, but that doesn't always matter. The guys who have gone there are doing more work," he said, explaining that in most cases they are flying across time zones. "That takes a toll on your body over two/three years."

"One guy got a job in India and he comes home every six weeks for two weeks. Now, when you come home for two weeks the most you can do is just sleep," he said, adding that another former Air Jamaica pilot who went to Nigeria has the same experience.

"To just get up and go to Vietnam is not an easy thing to do," he said of the offer from Vietnam Airlines. "However, it depends on which contract suits you."

He said that most Air Jamaica pilots would prefer to stay here, as they regarded flying the Love Bird a premier job, given Jamaica's proximity to the United States and the fact that their families live here.

He speculated that the pilots who are under age 58 years would be among those more likely to take up the overseas offers, while those in the 58-60 age group may opt to stay here.

In his case, he said that he may consider going to China, as that country is fast developing as the next world power and there's the possibility of working there without having to fly across time zones.

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