GULF AIRLINES TO SNAP UP AIR SEYCHELLES CREWS AND STAFF, REDUCING JOB FEARS
Etihad and Emirates are both confirmed to be holding a job fair at the Air Seychelles headquarters at Mahe International Airport, aimed to absorb qualified cockpit and cabin crew, but also aircraft technicians, ground personnel and key office staff, following the confirmed downsizing and restructuring of the archipelagos national airline. Qatar Airways too is said to be on board for the event, which will very likely see all available crews be offered new opportunities in the Gulf, as all three carriers are flying scheduled services between their hubs in Doha, Abu Dhabi and Dubai to the Seychelles.
Said a source close to the airline: The relationship between the UAE and Seychelles is a big factor in setting up the job fair and interviews, but these airlines will also be lucky to get so many trained pilots, cabin crew and engineers in one go, with extensive job experience and plenty of flying hours. These three airlines are all expanding and all it takes for them is to give our experienced crews and technicians some conversion courses to check out on the type of aircraft they will be deployed on. None of them flies the B767 series but then the B777, or the A340 or A330 types are not too hard to learn when you already are a senior captain or senior first officer, and for the cabin crews it is really to adapt to their new aircraft type for emergency procedures and in flight service.
For us here in Seychelles it will be a sad day when our routes from Europe finally close down next year and no matter what the new Air Seychelles will look like, and we very much want to hear from management and board what direction that will be taking, at least there are job prospects now as expatriates abroad. Some in fact may keep flying back and forth to the Seychelles, especially cabin crews and coming home will never be far for the others because there are many flights now between the Gulf and here. Some of our cockpit crew may even stay and convert to the new aircraft the company will bring in, though for them it would be a step back because one not easily goes from a wide body back to a single aisle narrow body aircraft, so that might be a challenge for the management to overcome and convince some to stay.
Aviation observers are keenly speculating already what regional routes Air Seychelles intends to operate, besides the already existing route to Johannesburg, and what aircraft will be selected for this type of operation, very likely one of the B737NG series. As always, watch this space for emerging news from East Africas and the Indian Ocean Islands aviation scene.
