Blockbuster deal: Airbus' record jet order to get even bigger

[Dumb Pilot]

How's the job market for Airbus pilots between age 60 and 65? Are their lucrative two year contracts out there?

Right now there are some contract packages in China running at 17 to 18 G's a month on the Air b's and that is bound to increase since the are having problems as it is right now finding qualified crews, even here in Japan they are having trouble filling up classes, they were supposed to run 4 classes of 8 pilots each for this fiscal year and already one class was canceled and one of the guys that just finished training was doing his first observation flight with me yesterday, they had only 3 pilots on his class and the one behind his has only two. Business in S.E. Asia is booming (specially freight) even the natural disaster here in Japan didn't turn out to be the economical disaster the pundits were predicting, it is so good in fact that we are doing freighter flights in passenger A/C's just using the belly on the 76, go figure

 

[Dan Roman]

Right now there are some contract packages in China running at 17 to 18 G's a month on the Air b's and that is bound to increase since the are having problems as it is right now finding qualified crews, even here in Japan they are having trouble filling up classes, they were supposed to run 4 classes of 8 pilots each for this fiscal year and already one class was canceled and one of the guys that just finished training was doing his first observation flight with me yesterday, they had only 3 pilots on his class and the one behind his has only two. Business in S.E. Asia is booming (specially freight) even the natural disaster here in Japan didn't turn out to be the economical disaster the pundits were predicting, it is so good in fact that we are doing freighter flights in passenger A/C's just using the belly on the 76, go figure

Thanks, I just bid the AirBus here at Hawaiian and am thinking it would be an interesting adventure for my wife and I to live overseas for a couple years as I can retire here at 60. Along with what you said, our HND to HNL flight is back to running full. Seems like there will be a lot of opportunity in Asia in the near future. I heard what Skymark is offering and was blown away.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Your timing just could not have been better for what you want to do, I am of the opinion that the next decade will be great for contract work (reason that prompted me to make the jump to this kind of work and not start over at the bottom of the pile with the offer I had) most of the companies that employ foreign crews are improving their pay packages (Emirates, Cathay, Qatar, here at Air Japan although they haven't increase the pay package now they are offering the option of 14 days off in a row, and many of the Chinese carriers) to attract qualified crews, those companies that decided to lower their contract packages late in the game (they should have done it right when the world economy took a dive and not a couple of years into it) Like NCA, or Singapore Airlines are paying now for their lack of foresight, at NCA for example they thought that they would have an unlimited supply of cheap crews with the displaced JAL pilots and it didn't turn out to be that way, first not as many pilots came from JAL as they thought and they have had a steady stream of resignations as pilots are taking their heavy wide body command time elsewhere for higher pay and conditions, the same thing at Singapore, they are having a lot of trouble right now to crew their flights with many cancellations due to lack of crews according to some friends I have working there. There are some new projects starting as well, Peach airlines is the new LCC from ANA that will start operations early next year and for what I hear they already have hired the pilots from JAL that they wanted and there will be opportunities in the future for ex pats, Jetstar (LLC from Qantas) will start a base here in Japan and they are hiring continuously for their Jetstar Asia base in Singapore, use the next couple of years before you retire there to study the market and watch what is going on, I believe you will have a few choices when you are ready. The only thing that I want to make point to tell you is to also take the next couple of years to bring all your physical numbers in order (cholesterol, blood pressure, weight) because the medical checks are NASA like out here.

Good luck with your future plans

 

[runwayjockey]

Shows what can happen when NLRB dictates production locations in order to destroy US companies and their associated jobs.

Total B.S.

Boeing has no plans no commitment to replacing the 737. They have their hands full cleaning up the OUTSOURCED 787 mess.

 

[runwayjockey]

Your correct, but I'm trying to figure out how he thinks an airline in Asia ordering a ton of Airbus's is killing American jobs????

He is claiming that Government intervention from the NLRB has restricted Boeing from starting up non union shops in other states hurting their ability to make money.


The equivalent of your airline telling you that your contract is worthless and we are going to have other non union pilots fly your jets.

 

[Dumb Pilot]

Total B.S.

Boeing has no plans no commitment to replacing the 737. They have their hands full cleaning up the OUTSOURCED 787 mess.

Which one of the outsource parts of the 787 you recon was the cause for the delay? As far as I know the major cause for the delay was structural (center fuselage section if I remember reading correctly) and the learning curve associated with building structural components from a new material and such, but I don't know and haven't read of any problems with the wings and tail components (made in Japan) that had any production problems. You could very well be right, I just don't remember reading about it

 

[runwayjockey]

Which one of the outsource parts of the 787 you recon was the cause for the delay? As far as I know the major cause for the delay was structural (center fuselage section if I remember reading correctly) and the learning curve associated with building structural components from a new material and such, but I don't know and haven't read of any problems with the wings and tail components (made in Japan) that had any production problems. You could very well be right, I just don't remember reading about it

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/feb/15/business/la-fi-hiltzik-20110215

http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/article.aspx?articleID=071208_5_E1_spanc30513

http://www.smh.com.au/travel/travel...ere-is-boeing-going-wrong-20110121-19z6z.html

 

[Dumb Pilot]

I have family members working on the 787 program, most of it was caused by Boeing themselves (I'm not going into details because it is irrelevant) but If you think that they will bring production back to the US because of this experience you are kidding yourself, they will just learn to order parts with more accurate blueprints next time, the next generation of Boeing A/C's will have a 50% of parts made abroad instead of a 30 or 40%

 

[runwayjockey]

I have family members working on the 787 program, most of it was caused by Boeing themselves (I'm not going into details because it is irrelevant) but If you think that they will bring production back to the US because of this experience you are kidding yourself, they will just learn to order parts with more accurate blueprints next time, the next generation of Boeing A/C's will have a 50% of parts made abroad instead of a 30 or 40%

I agree. Unfortunately when these jobs go so does our middle class.

 

[pilotyip]

I agree. Unfortunately when these jobs go so does our middle class.

Except for the union members who still have jobs