Straits Times reported that SIA pilots’ salaries were revealed in the pay dispute court case between SIA and its pilots’ union.
Captains flying Boeing 777 planes take in a median of $271,888 per annum, which excludes allowances. Their First Officers receive a median income of $149,258. First Officers are “junior captains” – they become Captains upon promotion.
According to AskCaptainLim.com, a national airline pilot in the US commands up to US$250,000 per year. According to the same website, a Captain with the Malaysia Airlines (MAS) receives a gross pay of up to RM35,000/mth including allowances.
191 Comments
I would feel a pilot’s life to be more fulfilling than a bankers.
Thanks to the money that keeps our national carriers flying however, every flight is different and i feel that when you take off to the skies, you get a real deal of what life is.
Life should not be measured by the amount of time you spend making money to enjoy it as in the case of looking at making more money constantly but life should be measured by the moments which draws your breathe away in which case i would definitely vouch for every flight into the sky.
Come on bankers, earn more money so you can enjoy life more. Come on pilots, continue to fly high and think to yourselves, they actually pay me to do this?-fly into the skies and bask again in the breath-taking moment.
Btw, in the case of 2012(movie) it was the pilot who got the fat arse of a russian billionaire out in the first place. Talk about the real stuff and not just printed papers. Get real.
Scorpio: your views are obviously from a 3rd party’s perspective. Go interview some of the pilots in SIA and you will find them complaining about their job as well.
rsm870, military pilots do not get paid less than SIA pilots. In fact, the ones you cited like F16 are paid far far more than the average SIA pilot in their 1st 10 years of their careers.
FYI SIA pilots get really $hit pay until they hit a certain seniority of Captain and most SIA pilots make Captain in their late 30s, whereas military pilots are very well paid right at the start, and their pay can most certainly match that of senior SIA pilots who make Captain.
Military pilots have a rank, so of course their pay is partially determined by their rank. In any case, I’m very sure the Chief of Air Force who’s a 2 star general is paid more than any SIA pilot.
Dear lucky,
Are you currently working in the RSAF or did u work there before? You said that pilots in the RSAF are paid better than SIA pilots and that this only apply to the fighter pilots? I thought that SIA pilots earn more with the allowances and per diem payments?
Or is it SIA pilots USED TO EARN more and now the trend is the opposite?
Do military pilots who fly cargo/transport get paid more than SIA pilots? (comapre a LTA with a degree against a FO with degree both fly same class of a/c)
I have been hearing rumours that now RSAF pilots are paid better than SIA pilots. But then again maybe this is only in thier first 10 years of service.
Hope you can clear my doubts.
Thanks you
Andrew
can we have a pay scale for both RSAF and SIA pilots? that should clear things up
What I said was it’s a fallacy that SQ pilots are paid more than military pilots.
Military pilots are very well-paid. In general, their salaries are benchmarked against commercial pilots because majority of military pilots go to SIA after their retirement. It was previously set at 45 for COL and above and extended to 50. When they go to SIA, the hours they clocked as military pilots are taken into account to derive their payscale and rank. That is why they don’t move over as FO. Both military and commercial pilots are paid and their careers assessed by flying hours.
Second, it’s only commonsensical that SAF pilots are not paid less than SQ pilots. The payscales of occupations are determined by market forces and all about supply and demand. If they are paid much less, they are be emptied of their pilots. Its that simple. if SIA pays its pilots or stewardesses much less than other airlines, the same result will happen. This is just common sense.
Since the pay is competitive all round, the pay of fighter pilots would most definitely be competitive, if not surpassing FOs.
Military pilots are paid full salaries while studying, while the converse happens for commercial pilots who are paid a little allowance during their training of almost two years, not to mention that Singaporeans may only apply to SIA pilot at 26 years and up, which means when they finish training they’re 29.
BTW there was an ST news report some time ago about the strikes and negotiations between SIA and its pilot union that reported the salaries of its highest paid and top pilots. based on that figure, they’re paid at most like a full colonel air force pilot.
I doubt they make as much as a BG.
Dear lucky,
Thank you for your replies. Who do you think has better welfare? SIA or RSAF haha. My bet is actually on RSAF since its governement service so cant be too bad. (like every year must clear leave) haha.
Another question for you lucky, are you sure that Singaporean males can only apply at a min age of 26? I last heard it was 24. Where did you get this information?
Thanks
to anti-pilot: i may not earn as much as you CLAIM to earn..but at least I earned something that no one can take away from me…that is my happiness..my happiness that i followed my dream & passion. My happpiness that I DO NOT DREAD each and every time i travel on the ecp towards the airport FOR WORK.My happiness that I am doing something that I had wanted since I was a kid. My happiness that i am able to provide a so called service to my pssengers(bringing them to their destination).
I am happy. are you? you can rebut me with all a long list of what you are happy with about your job..what what I am really asking is.. ARE YOU REALLY HAPPY INSIDE? just ask yourself, thats good enough.
cheers
Happy at FL320: good for you. i am happy being a banker too because i love servicing people and i love the returns. Most importantly, i love my aston martin and landed property. I may not achieve my dreams of a ferrari or lambo yet but i am well on my way there.
Dear Anti-pilot,
Why you so rude… you call people arrogant then you yourself hao lian say got landed property got aston martin then want to buy ferrari. Dont you think by doing that you area also being arrogant? hiaz… I know you earn alot but dont shoot down other people dream lar. I also like you all banker alot I want to know how you guys make money and how you guys study stocks. I am going to get my Privot pilot licence soon and working towards my Commercial Pilot Licence. Next time if I can make it to SIA earn alot of money I sure ask you how to invest one since you know how to make money. So all pilots out there please dont hate anti pilot too… sometime people in the heat of things then say wrong stuff. We all can sing the purple paedophillic dinosaur anthem “i love you you love me…” haha. Anyway anti pilot do you like helpe people invest money? I dont really know hwat a banker does.
Thanks
Just a clarification, bulge bracket banks defo pay more then the figures quoted in this thread for DBS or citi or watever. Unless you are talking about Citigroup. And I am referring to the so called ‘back office’ roles as well.
To Anti-pilot, wow bro you seem like to bare a deep grudge against pilots in general. Whether you are a real banker or not. Whether you are really making that much. Only yourself will know. You can lie but you cannot bluff god. Seriously, what makes you think that pilots don own fast cars or landed property. I am flying corporate and personally know someone from a humble beginning to his present position of a senior captain in one of the local carrier. This humble chap bought a floor of The Sail condo and at least 20 units of condos stretching from Tanjong Rhu to Bayshore area. Has a nice 20 footer boat for recreation. I am just wondering are u able to achieve that in this lifetime. Be happy with yourself don be a sour grape and sound like Ronaldo. Cheers
if you link anti-pilot’s IP address to his web surfing record you will find him most likely to be … .. ..
…. a flight steward!!! haha…. no wonder so bitter
nice one, kacau kacau…
Dear David Seah,
Hi I am Andrew. Can I have the email address of your senior captain freind? I am taking my Commercial pilot licence and I would like to get some advice on what it really takes to be a pilot. I would be very grateful to you.
Thanks
Dear Andrew, post yr question here.I am sure many other aviators here can assist u or drop u any link for follow up. If you are really taking your Cpl. I am sure you already get to feel the exciting career that awaits you. Good luck
Yup I am REALLY taking my CPL haha.. But this website is more for talking about salary than it is about flying though… Oh well its ok if you cant give me his email address. Thought I can try haha. Just trying to get to know more pilots to get a feel of what is it really to fly for big airlines. I have already flown alomst 50 hours and every hour of it has been exciting especially cross country in australia.
Thanks for your reply david
Best regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
It’s ok not to worry and also not doubting about your CPL course. Just that aviation in Singapore is somewhat limited. Either you are selected and sponsored as a cadet for national carrier or choose the RSAF career path. It’s limited corporate jet world here and also budget carriers opportunity. Even with your Aussie licence, you might need to get validation from CAAS or even do some papers here to qualify to fly 9V planes.
Flying for a big airline obviously has got it’s perks such as relatively good base salary, top up with all the other allowances. You get to enjoy a decent and comfortable lifestyle for sure than many other Singaporeans if you do not get in big ticket items and luxury.
Work wise it’s almost the same with bi annual basechecks and an annual medical examination. Airlines have got good insurance for their pilots in case of a loss of licence whereas corporate world, u are covered limited and have to purchase outside for a more comfortable sum payout in case of loss of licence.
All the best to your flying career choice and company. Cheers
David
Yeah I agree with you that aviation is limited in singapore. Its either RSAF or SIA. ITs not like australia where they have so many different kind of piloting jobs. Do you know whats the min age for SIA is it still 26? I hate that rule. Coz when i get my degree and licence i will be 24. Thats a 2 year gap. And if i dont fly i am going to lose my motor skills. I hope that rule is taken away. Its not fair I already have serve my time in the army as an officer so I feel i have already given my best and shouldnt be hindered by this. Our malaysian freinds are becoming captains by 30 while we can only be captains by 36. Werid how our country system is sometime. Serve your country but lose out to others in the corporate world… Its a good country though and I DONT HATE MALAYSIANS 😀 serious. HAIZ sibei sian… Finding job in Australia also not easy, dont even talk about flying jobs. Anybody know of any flying job please POST HERE haha.
Once again thank you david for your reply.
hmmm seems like quite a while since we heard from anti pilot… haha
Best regards
Andrew
hope i don’t get flamed, but i kind of agree with anti-pilot.
from the requirements on the SIA website, it doesn’t take much to become one. on the eq side of things, pilots aren’t required to have any inter-personal skills either.
but pilots are still well paid, maybe because demand exceeds supply, or because it is considered a risky job.
of course, pilots have a huge responsibility to safeguard the lives of passengers on board… but essentially they just perform the role of bus drivers. put aside the perceived ‘glamour’ of the profession, and i wonder how much job satisfaction there can be from just transporting people around.
ok i retract the low requirements point that i made earlier… read that SIA only take in candidates with good degrees.
and singaporean SIA pilots essentially only start their careers at 28. so the salary somewhat compensates for this.
still, my point is, it’s just a job transporting people around.
Dear Jeremy, you will be surprised to know that many other walks of profession chaps have left their old profession for good and embraced flying as a long term career in Singapore. Just to name of a few former engineers, lawyers, doctors, financial consultant, business owners even oil traders. If you think that being a pilot is just another( high class bus driver). Then you have very wrong perception on this career. Potential candidates these days applying with the national carrier as a pilot have outstanding results and credentials like double degrees, Masters and even Phd holders are applying. If you think so lowly of pilots why are all these high flyers in their respective jobs quit to become a pilot ? I don have to explain further if you are matured and educated enough to think it over. Happy weekend
Hi Andrew, I am not too sure about that criteria yet to be confirm with my crew friends in SIA.
Actually if you love flying as a career, you could have sign up as a professional RSAF pilot during your full time Ns. It will definitely be more marketable on your CPL credential if you have an instructor rating as well but again of cos when you apply, it’s up to them to decide if you are the one whom they willing to groom towards your Captaincy eventually.
All the best.
i do not disagree that a number of engineers, lawyers, doctors and bankers changed their professions to become pilots. but this in itself does not tell us anything.
what are the real motivations behind their change in profession? is it because they think transporting people around is more important than savings lives or fighting for justice etc? or is it really because they feel that being a pilot is an easier job with good pay and perceived glamour?
of course i do not deny that pilots have the responsibility of an expensive machine and many lives on board. but the inescapable fact is that pilots do only transport people around, isn’t it?
Andrew: Reason why i kept quiet is because i have been busy with my clients lately and i dont see a point in arguing further since most of you who opposed to what i said here are pilots or pilots-wannabe. 🙂 I still stand by my own points and views and i believe that it would be fairer to listen to someone from a neutral standpoint instead of getting current pilots to voice out their own perspectives.
Jeremy: i dont think you need to retract your statement on the low requirements to become a SIA pilot. My colleague’s brother got into SIA as a pilot as well and he is only a diploma holder from TP. 🙂 Have spoken to him before and he cannot even speak in proper english (let alone fluently). If you read the earlier messages carefully, you would have noticed similarities here as well (except for David who has a good command of english but i guess that is because he is a corporate pilot and not a SIA pilot). So i guess i dont need to prove my point any further.
Hi Jeremy, what I can say is that you got be at the controls of a multi million us dollars jet plane to feel the exhilarating sensation at every take off n landings. To you and people who have different individual opinions about piloting career or pilots in general, all I have to say is you will sincerely appreciate the guys flying you and your family on holiday to your destination safe n sound. I will always give the utmost respect to my friends in the airline industry Such as the hero airbus Capt in Hudson river for if not for their professionalism and skills in piloting planes, many groups of people would have turn into widows or widowers, suffer theloss of their love ones.
To lucky, your statement that rsaf pilot rank such as COL don join the airline industry as FO. I think you must be kidding! I have friends who are ex squadron commanders all starting out as 2nd officers together with ab initio cadets if u know what I mean. Yes they do suffer massive paycuts compared to airforce time. But in the long run when they get their captaincy, they get to enjoy the best lifestyle many would yearn to sample. One excellent privilage I learn is captain and his family will get to enjoy First Class travel whenever seats are available. Do rsaf pilots get that ? Cheers
Dear david and antipilot.
Nice to hear from you all again. First is anti pilot. How come TP only can get in ? He must be like super super lucky haha. Did he do his own licecne before signing up? or he has like NO FLIGHT EXPERIENCE. Coz if its the latter then his really damn lucky. Is he still in the running of getting his wings? You didnt really speicfy right? all you said was he got into SIA as a pilot. I mean cadet also cadet pilot right? Dont worry not shooting you down. Just really find it interesting that Diploma holder got in. MAybe he knows his aeroplanes really well. And EVERYBODY PLEASE DONT BURN ME but anti pilot is right about one thing har, pilot need to be good with spoken english. Coz there was crash between saudi arabian 747 and a kazastan plane exactly because of that. However anti pilot can you dont be so anti pilot? haha I mean lets take for example those sports player. They would most probably fall into the low academic requirement catagory but they earn alot right? then like that you also dont respect them lar? I guess for pilot its more of skill i think than the risk. There is a pilot saying its safer to fly than have unprotected sex haha dont know heard this from where. I know there is AUTOPILOT. But like david said about the hudson river if not for his skill everybody can go to heaven. Sports player i think also are like that. You see REAL MADRID buy C.Ronaldo sp $$$$$. Only good at kicking free kick. But he kick most of hte time score, good enough what. So decisive player so he can command such a pay. But looking at it he only got ONE SKILL. SOCCER!. PILOT also only one SKILL = FLY! yeah.. so was hoping maybe you could soften your views abit. Anyway I also feel other pilots out there shouldnt hate anti pilot. Why? Who knows one day you go to anti pilot as a client need to invest your money then how? So ironic right? Well I would haha if he anti pilot so good at making money no harm learning right? Eh anti pilot cannot cheat my money yeah 😀
David thanks for your replies again. Its always nice to see people typing stuff here cna learn more things. Such as ex squaron commander start as 2nd officer. Quite sad leh… Serve your country then like that at least should start as FO mah. Can I ask your freinds who went over to SIA after RSAF was this recently? And yeah I did try to take teh RSAF computer test I FAILED!!! So have to wait 2.5 years before cna take again. By that time also ORD arleady. Go australia study so might as well learn here. Oh yeah and are you really coporate pilot? Can tell me how to get in?
oh yeah anti pilot eh I am taking my Commerical Pilot licence I know my english isnt super but i choose to talk like this here in this forum coz i guess its a singapore one right. So can relax realx singlish singlish a litte yeah? haha. Dont worry when I talk to control tower very perfect one haha accent also must fake if not hte aussie dont understand me
From my contacts….there’s currently an ex-BG doing his pilot training in Seletar. YES!!! This guy wears a star on his shoulder and commands armies in the RSAF and yet he’s starting off as a cadet pilot.
This fact can easily be verified by dropping by the Flying College to take a peep
Andrew: Nope, no licence. What i heard and understood was that the guy joined SIA as cadet pilot. Fresh from the oven after working for a few years. He applied straight away at the age of 26 years old as a DIPLOMA holder. Got it? Infact, i HEARD that it is not uncommon to have diploma holders in SIA as cadet pilots or pilots. He is currently undergoing his cadet pilot training in Perth so i guess he is STILL in the running. Were you from a local polytechnic as well? 🙂
it is true that i’ve never flown a plane before. but as exhilarating the joys of taking off and landing, surely they will run out. and not to mention the mundanity that could occur in between these 2 events. as for life-threatening scenarios, surely that is also a rarity.
thing is, as passengers we expect to land safely at our destination. it is the least the pilot should do. as for appreciation, all i can say is that pilots are being well-paid. and we passengers are the ones indirectly paying them.
to me, pilots don’t seem to be well-paid because they are smart or talented. it’s just that airplanes need pilots and pilots have the control of an expensive machine and many lives on board. in the end, all that is needed to be a pilot is a couple of years in flight school. and from the discussion here, it is not even difficult to get in.
Hi Kacau, You are very well informed indeed. Yes one can be as high as his rank in the force in the past but flying for an airline is totally different ball game. Got to learn from the basics.
Hi Jeremy, maybe you don share the passion of flying hence you will never really understand the joy and personal satisfaction of being in control of a plane. All I can comment further is that no matter how rich one Can be or greatest earning power one could achieve. If You don have the cut, don have the substance to survive the flying training and regulatory tests. One will never get the chance to earn the licence to fly a real airliner, not simulated ones like the flight experience at the Singapore flyer. Nevertheless, all the best to your choice of career. Cheers
Hello Andrew, getting employed locally with a corporate job is limited. Firstly it is a small niche Market, lucrative in it’s own sense for eg. One could be flying for a billionaire or a CEO who owns a multi million dollars private jet. You will be his personal pilot for all his business or recreation travel.
You could be flying world wide on long range gulfstream with some big name private jet company eg netjets from the states. Other area of corporate job is air ambulance with SOS international. But most of these jobs requires trained crew who have vast experience in worldwide operations.
yeah, i suppose i don’t have the passion to be seated at the cockpit for hours doing nothing much the whole time. i prefer doing something more than just transporting people around.
from what i gather, flight school passing rates are very high. i suppose if one can’t make it as a doctor/lawyer/banker, then being a pilot is a great choice. don’t need very high qualifications but still well paid.
Hi Jeremy, I am very happy for you that you have found a career doing much better things than just transporting people around if that’s how you still perceive pilots.
Flight school passing rate high I assume you are refering about self sponsored candidates only. If you can obtain validated satistics on rsaf trainees and airline ab initio cadets, you will find that not many make the cut and got terminated.
Have fun
Hi anitipilot, hey nice to hear from you again. Wahliew that freind of yours with the diploma i think last life do alot of good deeds so now so lucky! Or maybe like I said before he DID HEAPS OF RESEARCH ON SIA haha. I am from Singapore Poly. now studying in Australia. Quick question for Antipilot. I guess you are some really good bnaker right. Do you think the economy is going to brust again in like 5 years time? Heard some rumour running around it will.
Also BIG HI to David Seah. You got any tips like how to get into Private Jet flying? Like how to sign up for that netjet and those Air SOS companies? You know what are the minimum requirements? How long have you been a corporate pilot?
Third Hi to jeremy. I just finish one navigation lesson yesterday. As everyone will know landing and take of is the busiest time true. But once at cruising height after engaging the autopilot. I have many checks to run through. Its called CLEAROF
Compass
Log flight
Engine Tempt and Pressure
Altitude
Radio right frequency and what the next frequency
Oreintation on the map
Fuel enough left and when is time to change tanks
(Engine one the most jialat got a few guages to look at haha but hey better to find a problem earlier than later right?)
I know it looks like 7 steps only but hey, try doing it every 15min. For like a 6 hour flight. Can be quite tiring leh. And you cant do it without auto pilot coz once you disengage it yoru plane dont know fly onto what heading arleady. ALL PILOTS OUT THERE PLEASE DONT HATE ME. But at first i also thought that autopilot is like how a cheat code is to a computer game. Unitl I starting to learn how to navigate cross country. I tell you seriously no autopilot is damn hard to fly far. Before you can log down your position and how much fuel you have and other stuff you need to re adjust the plane again. And dont forget at different altitudes wind direction is different. So yeah it gets really hard. I know jumbo jets are huge and fly very high so maybe checking altitude isnt that important as i dotn think there are any mountain ranges 32000ft high haha. And its so heavy so you need really strong winds but sometimes it happens that winds are strong enough. I am sure its not EXACTLY the same with coporate jets and commercial airlines. But I bet they got lots of systems to monitor. And they always have to plan one step ahead. To all professional Pilots out there who see this if i say something wrong dont get angry ok? I still learning only so far did only 4 navigation exercise.
I hope by saying this jeremy you wont feel like we are that free in the air haha. And you have a good point that flight school passing rate is very high. One thing is because they want to haolian. Second thing is usually its self sponsered by the students. So well its like if the student LOUSY or not so good then pay more learn the lesson again until pass lor. So you could say somebody with NO SKILL can train until got skill but it would take HEAPS LOAD OF MONEY AND TIME. I kena this before narbei cant get my landing right at first haha. Had to do 2 more lesson si bei pai seh… Also once a south african captain that i met at the airfield I train at he said you could teach a monkey to fly if you had enough tiem and resources. (PILOTS PLEASE DONT HATE ME FOR SAYING THIS! :D) maybe thats a bit extreme lar seriously.. But yeah with enough money and time you could teach anyone to fly its not that hard. But its hard once you go long distance. Commercial and private flights are pretty long and you have to sit there and just keep monitoring instruments from tiem to time and do it day in day out regardless on your sleep pattern is really becoems hard. So pilots have to be concentrated for long periods of time to be able to detect problems early on before it spirals out of control. Like goal keepers sometiems the whole match really zuo bo lan one but has to react quickly to just one or 2 shots in the game that can be the equilser which will then spur the opposition team on to win. He maybe just stand in between the post for alomst 1 hour plus nothing to do but then suddenly wah! diving safe. I am not saying pilots do nothing after take off I arleady told you about the checks. Yes after you become seasoned the checks dont seem so difficult but you still MUST DO THEM. AND BE ALERT ENOUGH NOT TO DO THEM BLINDLY AND DETECT ERRORS IF THERE ARE EARLY ON. And another thing dont forget to check the place you are landing at has REFUELING SERVICES and a hotel for your passenger to rest haha. I alsmot forget to call for refueling services one HAHAHA.
And my last hi is to Kacau. Wah i want to cry for those senior officers who cross over to SIA. Really leh how can like that one… cadet/ 2nd officer. They have so much flight experience what seriously. Somemore serve their country SO MANY YEARS. I feel the governemtn should do something about this lar. Seriously man.. haiz I really feel for them. DAMN UNFAIR!
ok lar till we meet again see you all hope to see more people posting stuff here on this forum. eh anti pilot got money making tips must share leh 😀
haha. We make money you make commision everyone happy haha 😀
hi david i do believe i’ve found a much more meaningful career, especially after this discussion. i notice that u’ve not said anything to rebut the fact that pilots only do just fly people around. in truth i do not think that u could.
but do not get me wrong. everyone one has a place in society and bus drivers, taxi drivers, they are all very important.
if my son grows up and can’t really score well in school, i’ll probably get him to be a pilot too. it’s a respectable, well-paying job. and from what i gather here, it’s really rather easy to get into flight school and graduate from it.
Hello Jeremy,
It’s alright. As professional aircrew, I am sure many of the other pilots reading this forum page echo that we do our job to the best ability, we not only fly professionally and also exercised plenty of opportunity to PR and mingle with our guests/passengers.
Off duty we enjoy life to the fullest. No need to rebut any of your view points at all as you are entitled to your own opinion. As this is a public forum, you are free to express your views unconditionally.
Have a great evening Jeremy
of cos of cos, i’m sure many of us do our jobs to the very best of our abilities. especially since the only job of the pilot is to get passengers to their destination, i certainly hope that pilots at least get this right.
as for PR, i certainly hope it is only before and after the flight. just like we won’t want bus drivers to take their eyes off the road, do we?
and from some of the remarks i’ve read here from supposed pilots, i guess its better that they do not speak so much.
and off work i agree we should all do the best we can to enjoy life. i try to lead an equally meaningful life on and off work.
jeremy: totally agree with you 🙂
Wow I’m surprised to see the requirements (or lack of it) to become a pilot. I wonder why not more people are applying to be one. Increase the publicity of the salary received by pilots and I’m sure there will be more qualified applicants. Then the standards will be raised and we won’t be left with a bunch of poly grads flying our planes.
But I agree that some of the comments from pilots here really reflect badly on them. See the comment by the MAS pilot above! Seriously I’m going to think twice about taking a MAS flight from now on.
Hi again david seah,
Could I ask which comapany your first flying job was with?
And how did you find out about it? ( i think you are not from SIA right?)
Whats the biggest con you think pilots face?
Thanks
Best regards
Andrew
Hi Andrew, at your stage of training. I strongly suggest you concentrate on getting your cpl and Atpl first. Everthing about applying for an Airline info can be found via askcaptainlim.com. As for cons for pilot, post this question on his web and wait for his reply. To me, it’s the best job in the world, just imagine a company employs you to operate their multi million$ flying machines, put you and your crew up in world class hotels during layover and best is every trip is a holiday vacation trip on of you are getting paid handsomely to do all that.
All the best to your training.
Dear Andrew (and all other readers),
Stumbled across this thread and I have to say the maturity in your posts could come from someone twice your age!
Flying is not easy, even with the automation that exists today. Most people feel that computers control flying and pilots do nothing. Personally, I feel that computers ARE useful and have allowed airlines to reduce their crew from 3 to 2. The 3rd position that was made redundant was not a pilot position. It was something called a flight engineer.
Theoretically, an aircraft can, after taking off, fly by computer to land at it’s destination. However, this is depends critically on the computers being allowed to fly exactly the route that is programmed.
If there are any changes at all to the flight (e.g. route, altitude and speed changes by ATC, which perhaps sound trivial but are difficult in execution and heavy in consequence), the workload becomes too much for the onboard computers and they actually become a burden — and pilots revert to a more basic mode of flying. In my experience, the number of times a flight goes exactly by the textbook are less than 10%. Meanwhile, the passengers sitting behind are unaware of, and do not wish to be aware of, the breadth and depth of workload going on in front.
I could go much further about the difficulties and proficiencies required to fly an aeroplane when the onboard systems fail, or the judgment required to make difficult decisions where the correct decision is far from clear. But I am running low on the reader’s indulgence 🙂
I would like to wish Andrew all the best in his flying career. You have the passion for flying and that is the only thing that will sustain you in today’s aviation climate. (I would also like to encourage you to keep sharpening your aviation skills. For Singapore cadets, CLEAROFF checks are routine and our Cessnas don’t have autopilots 🙂 )
Karl.
Hi Karl,
Thank you for your comment i see arleady shy leh… haha.
Are you a commercial pilot? Or you work with aeroplanes really closely? e.g. air traffic control or youre the engineer.
I didnt know that aeroplanes could fly by computer all the way from take off until landing.(but of course it has to go EXACTLY TO PLAN which is NOT POSSIBLE) New thing learnt haha thanks for that.
I have a question I want to post here hopefuly David Seah and other experience pilots can see and guide me.
Right now I am coming to cross road in my CPL training. First a little background information. I have my ratings for Diamond DA20 C-1, Piper Archer and soon the Cirrus SR20.
Later in my course I will have the option to get a rating for another plane the CESSNA 206 and flying the remaining quarter of my CPL course in it. Its really expensive. And the chief instructor said if i dont want to I can fly the reminig part of my course in teh Archer or Cirrus. He said this because he knows that I want to try to get into SIA so he said if i am goign to find a flying job back in Singapore no point me doing the CESSNA package.
So my dilema is should I spend more money to get the extra rating or save it?
With the extra rating I can fly more planes that would make me more employable right?
But then whats the use of an extra rating if I dont have the oppurtunity to use it?
Or should i save the money and go to malaysia and get a CESSNA rating? haha
I hope to receive some advice on this.
Once again thank you Karl for the comments and info.
THanks
Andrew
Hello Everyone,
Is it true that SIA only recruits cadets who have obtained a degree?
I am a local poly grad working as engineer in a refinery and taking up my partime degree in engineering.
I wanted to try for the pilot cadet programme before attaining my degree as i am hitting 30 this year.
Seriously will quit my degree programe if i get into the programme.
Reading the comments posted is it really true that SIA only gives preference for guys with degree?
Please advice.
thanks
Jay
Hi Jay,
Andrew here well i dont think the right word to use is preference. Coz think about it if you go for the interview and the other has a degree and you dont then if the both of you are on par on all other factors then i guess its only right that they pick the degree holder right? If everyone is a poly then ok lor have to use some other way of segrating people.
You dont need a degree to fly, you need a licence. So I guess if i was diploma holder but if I have a commercial pilot licence(non expired) and have been flying recently i think i would have a really bigger chance of being accepted than someone who maybe even has a masters.
But i would continue to get my degree coz well you know sometimes shit happens? Somemore for commercial pilot you need Class 1 medical so like your whole body better be tok kong (healthy) haha. Next time older already if got any sickness, choi lar of course! then how? they take away your class 1 medical then you can suck thumb arleady.
Anyone out there read my post before this one? anyone got advice for me about the ratings? I more than happy to hear from experienced people 😀
Best regards
Andrew
Andrew: Are you sure that you are a degree holder? I am just a diploma holder but i think i can speak much better than you~
Helo OMG,
Eh i dont have a degree not yet anyway haha. working my way towards one dont worry its not an english degree or some major in enlgish literature. By the way I thought this was kinda like a Singaporean forum where you can speak singlish…
Oh well everyone is entitled to an opinion I guess. Anyway I guess you might be right too since I also used some (actually quite a bit some not too clean ones haha) hokkein words in my comments. So guess that might have made it incoherent.
Anyway I do admit that my english isnt perfect queen’s english but i guess the people in australia have no real problems with understanding me. And also the control tower where I fly at doesnt seem to have problems undersatnd me or me understanding them. My flight instructors are fine with my radio calls and english conversation.
But hey I am always open to anyone who can help me further improve my english and other traits.
Thanks
Andrew