That would be me.
I sent you a PM, but I'll post the info for others.
I loved working the JALways contract. The only reason I left is because I had to take care of family matters on the mainland, and commuting is VERY difficult. I'll get back to that, later.
IASCO is the contractor I worked for as a pilot. The PFE's are mostly HACS guys. IASCO is a good employer, and pays on time. There is a 401K plan, which I still belong to. The company rules didn't have a provision to contribute, but that may have changed becasue the Japanese were concerned that we have a better retirement.
Starting pay is good. I'm not current, but around $110/hr. Pay is 80% for the first 90 days of training, then full pay in training. A pay raise was being negotiated when I left in Sep 01. Per diem on the road varies from city. When I left, Tokyo was $88 a day.
Training is about seven months in Tokyo and Moses Lake, WA, then one month on line. The Moses Lake part was the most fun. You get to fly the actual airplane in the pattern. We were authorized to circle, so we practiced it at Moses Lake. It's cool to see these giant airplanes circling at 300 feet agl, and with two of them in the pattern at the same time, looks like an airshow. Your contract starts upon completion of the line check.
You get two two week visits to the US during training. Coach class travel to the US and your home is paid by the company. Once I got to LA, I was on DAL, so I used my Skymiles to upgrade.
The interview will be in the US. The sim eval is in a B747 in Tokyo. Plan on five days for the sim eval. The profile is easy, and they give you a practice session the day before the actual eval. The profile is to takeoff from Tokyo Haneda RWY 34R, right turn at 500' AGL to a heading of 100' to intercept the Sakura Departure. There is an intial level off at 2,000', then a climb to 12,000. At 10,000, accelerate to 280 KIAS. At 12,000' a steep turn (always start with a right turn, Japanese way). It will take about 69 - 70 % N1 to be level at 280 KIAS, so increase N1 to 73% and hold the attitude indicator to 41/2' nose up to maintain 280 KIAS. After the steep turn, ILS to Haneda, usually RWY 34R (of course this may have changed a little, but knowing the Japanese, not by much).
The physical is an astronaut physical with a psych test and a visit to a shrink. Most of the washouts are from the physical. Don't jog for about five days prior to the physical because traces of blood will be found in your urine. If you are athletic, be sure to jog in place prior to the resting EKG to get you pulse over 60. Mine is usually 48 at rest, so I had to run in place for a minute for EVERY physical.
Training is a test of will and patience. All of the Boeing and training manuals are translated from English to Japanese, back to English. A few things get lost in the training material, but you can get through with help from each other in class. If you don't drink or smoke going into training, you will at the end of training because of stress and boredom.
You are put up in a very nice hotel in training. It just seems like you are in a jail cell, though, because you are in the same room for so long. You get sort of bored, at times. Did you know there are 97 characters in Kanji to tell you to pull up the knob for shower? That's how bored you get at times.
Working on line is great. It's a little intense during the OJT (IOE) because it is done the Japanese way, with a Japanese checker. The HNL crews, however, are mostly US and Canadian, some Brits, a New Zealander (great guy), and a few Iranians (great gentlemen). When I left the CP was Jamaican, Mon. There's another Jamaican guy who is a real hoot to fly with, and funny as hell.
Any deadheading between Tokyo and Honolulu is business class for FO's and PFE's, and first (if available) for CA's. Domestic (Japan) deadheading is coach, and can be uncomfortable. I'm Japanese sized, and I got uncomfortable. We had a few really tall guys, and I know they were hurting.
When I was there, upgrade was a minimum of three years with the company, and not necessarily by senioity. There is a merit system, and an upgrade checkride.
The contract is officially a non commuting contract. They expect you to live in Hawaii. There are some guys who pay for the travel to the mainland because jumpseats went away with 9/11. There was talk about an allownace at one time, but don't know if that went through. ID 90's available on DAL, UAL, CAL, and ID75 on AAL. I used CAL a lot to Texas. But be aware, non-rev travel is hard to/from Hawaii. I bought full fare tickets to travel through
www.Cheaptickets.com. I used my DAL Skymiles to send my wife home twice a year.
Would I do it again? Hell, yes! I loved it there, but family problems were putting an incredible amount of pressure on me, at the time. I had to put my mother in a nursing home while I was out there, and it was getting hard as hell to travel to/from Texas, keep up my military and family obligations. When the family problem no longer exists, and I retire from the Army, I may apply again, even with the loss of senioity (provided I can pass the physical, then).
