typhoonpilot
Daddy
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2002
- Posts
- 1,381
There seems to be some confusion here. China Airlines is NOT a mainland Chinese carrier. The original post referred to the People's Republic of China ( Communist China ) as the place that is opening up to foreigners. China Airlines in Taiwan has hired expats for decades. It used to be they only hired Captains, lately they have hired First Officers. You can go to Pprune and see my posts telling people to avoid going there as F.O.s, much like my friend AA717 said. You could never pay me enough money to be an F.O. for an Asian carrier, excepting Cathay, Dragonair, or others that have a more western culture.
Bjammin makes a good point about Cathay, but it again is not a mainland Chinese carrier.
I have trained China Northern Airlines pilots in the MD-90. Some are good, actually very good, others are shockingly bad. I honestly wasn't able to figure out much of a common thread in what made the difference. Some of the younger Captains with good English skills were the best, while other young ones who were civilian trained were very bad. They were also relatively low time. Some of the older guys, who had very high time, were very bad and others were okay. The Chief pilot was dual rated on the MD-90 and A300 and was very sharp.
China is a huge country and the flying would be very interesting, especially as a domestic narrow body captain. They fly in QFE still and their controllers speak in Chinese most of the time. It helps tremendously to have a working knowledge of the language for situational awareness. It would also help in your daily life as not many Chinese speak English. Maybe today the younger generations do, but when you are trying to buy fruits and vegetables at the corner market or trying to take a taxi somewhere you had better know some Chinese.
The pay and accomodation would be the key points for me. What city would they base you in ? What type of housing would they provide ? or would they provide an allowance ? Would they pay you in dollars or renminbi ? Would they direct deposit that to any account of your choice anywhere in the world ? How many days off per month ? how many days of vacation per year ? Will they be responsible for handling any taxes you might owe in China ? If not, how much is it ? Are there any schools for my kids and how much do they cost ? What kind of discounted or free travel do they provide ?
As you can see there are lots of questions that need to be answered. The Chinese have a nasty habit of eroding your contract terms and conditions over the years. They would probably entice people over with some some deals and then cut them as the years go by. Your contract will never get better than the day you sign it. If you can live with a 10% reduction in terms and conditions per year then it might be worth looking at. I wouldn't go there for any contract that didn't allow me to save at least $5000 per month. That is after taxes, after school fees, after housing costs, after food and entertainment, etc. Life as an expat is hard and unless you can justify it with the cash you are making it just isn't worth leaving the States. Some guys might do it to get some good experience and that is okay, but you need to have a long term exit strategy or a goal that it will help you achieve. Once you leave the U.S. borders you are a mercenary pilot for hire and you will succeed or fail purely on your talent as an individual. There is no union protection; seniority lists don't mean much; contracts don't mean much; it isn't an easy life.
All that said, if you think you can handle it, going overseas is a great adventure.
Typhoonpilot
Mercenary pilot for hire.
Bjammin makes a good point about Cathay, but it again is not a mainland Chinese carrier.
I have trained China Northern Airlines pilots in the MD-90. Some are good, actually very good, others are shockingly bad. I honestly wasn't able to figure out much of a common thread in what made the difference. Some of the younger Captains with good English skills were the best, while other young ones who were civilian trained were very bad. They were also relatively low time. Some of the older guys, who had very high time, were very bad and others were okay. The Chief pilot was dual rated on the MD-90 and A300 and was very sharp.
China is a huge country and the flying would be very interesting, especially as a domestic narrow body captain. They fly in QFE still and their controllers speak in Chinese most of the time. It helps tremendously to have a working knowledge of the language for situational awareness. It would also help in your daily life as not many Chinese speak English. Maybe today the younger generations do, but when you are trying to buy fruits and vegetables at the corner market or trying to take a taxi somewhere you had better know some Chinese.
The pay and accomodation would be the key points for me. What city would they base you in ? What type of housing would they provide ? or would they provide an allowance ? Would they pay you in dollars or renminbi ? Would they direct deposit that to any account of your choice anywhere in the world ? How many days off per month ? how many days of vacation per year ? Will they be responsible for handling any taxes you might owe in China ? If not, how much is it ? Are there any schools for my kids and how much do they cost ? What kind of discounted or free travel do they provide ?
As you can see there are lots of questions that need to be answered. The Chinese have a nasty habit of eroding your contract terms and conditions over the years. They would probably entice people over with some some deals and then cut them as the years go by. Your contract will never get better than the day you sign it. If you can live with a 10% reduction in terms and conditions per year then it might be worth looking at. I wouldn't go there for any contract that didn't allow me to save at least $5000 per month. That is after taxes, after school fees, after housing costs, after food and entertainment, etc. Life as an expat is hard and unless you can justify it with the cash you are making it just isn't worth leaving the States. Some guys might do it to get some good experience and that is okay, but you need to have a long term exit strategy or a goal that it will help you achieve. Once you leave the U.S. borders you are a mercenary pilot for hire and you will succeed or fail purely on your talent as an individual. There is no union protection; seniority lists don't mean much; contracts don't mean much; it isn't an easy life.
All that said, if you think you can handle it, going overseas is a great adventure.
Typhoonpilot
Mercenary pilot for hire.
