Foreign airline hiring?

[spongebob]

Does anyone have any current info on guys like China Air, ANA cargo, SIA, etc.?

Just wondering how the situation looks out there beyond our borders.

Thanks for the help,
SB

 

[typhoonpilot]

SIA Cargo was advertising for pilots very recently. There is a thread on pprune about it and the joke of a package they are offering. China Airlines is hiring, also see the thread on pprune about them. Go to the Hawaii Aviation or World Airline Services websites for the Japanese contracts.

Adding to your list, Emirates is still hiring as well as Gulf Air, Qatar Airways, Etihad, Air Arabia, and Cathay Pacific. Possibles would be Lion Air ( MD-80 ), Dragonair, Sri Lankan, Falcon Express ( extra money for Baghdad flights ), and Vietnam Airlines.

Note that some of these require type ratings in the kind of equipment they have, as well as time in type.

Good Luck,

Typhoonpilot

 

[General Lee]

Typhoonpilot,


Without giving away who you fly for---where are you based? I see that you fly the 777---are you in the ME? Are you in SE Asia?

Just curious....

Bye Bye--General Lee

 

[typhoonpilot]

No secret General. I work for Emirates, based in Dubai.

Typhoonpilot

 

[ShangriLa]

How do I???

Anyone have any idea on how a 4000 hour, part 135 Lear pilot with 1100 total jet time an NO jet PIC time (2400 pic but none of it is jet....450 turbo-prop) gets a job flying overseas flying the heavy iron?

I know that I may be dreaming but you never know! The skies are the limit right!

Thanks.

 

[typhoonpilot]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. As somebody who has done both, the best airline job you can ever get is as a pilot for a major airline in the United States. That can even include some of the larger national airlines nowadays, like jetBlue, Airtran, Aloha, and ATA.

There are only two airlines overseas that hire people without widebody experience to fly widebodys and then give them a reasonable chance to upgrade to captain, they are Cathay Pacific and Emirates. Dragonair would be a third but they seem to lean heavily towards British/Australian pilots with Airbus type ratings. China Airlines and Eva Air of Taiwan have hired guys onto widebodys in the past but the chance to upgrade is illusionary. SIA Cargo might also, but again their contract is a joke. If you would like to live in poverty in Singapore and sign your life away with a bank guarantee by all means apply there. The Japanese carriers also do contracts throughs previosly mentioned contractors but it really isn't living overseas as you are either based in Hawaii or the west coast.

So that leads us back to Emirates and Cathay. Not sure what Cathay's minimums are but somebody on the board should come along and answer in time. Emirates new minimums are 4000 total with 2000 jet. To be competitive you would need 5000 total with 2000 jet in either an Airbus, 737,747,757,767, or 777. Hopefully that will change soon as the pool with people in that category is drying up.

Hope that helps,


Typhoonpilot

 

[Midnight Mike]

website for the NCA/JAL jobs:

http://hawaiiaviation.com/index.htm

 

[acbarney]

"That can even include some of the larger national airlines nowadays, like jetBlue, Airtran, Aloha, and ATA. "

ATA is a major

 

[Cpt. Underpants]

Cathay’s minimums for S/O are 1000 TT, Multi, IFR, "Frozen ICAO ATPL" (subjects passed but waiting for hours). In reality, however, the successful ones have about the same as Emirates' minimums (4000 TT, ATPL, Multi, IFR, Jet or complex turboprop).

Our S/O's are not panel operators but "cruise pilots" who provide both Captain and F/O "physiological breaks" (pee breaks) on sector lengths between 8 and 11 hours, For longer sectors, an extra F/O and S/O are carried - the F/O is designated "Relief Pilot In Charge" (cruise captain). Time from joining as S/O to upgrade to JF/O (junior F/O) is currently between 3 and 3.5 years.

The minimums for D/E (direct entry) F/O's (to the 744 freighter fleet) are about the same as Emirates minimum, but the successful candidates are currently in the 5000 - 6000 hour range with previous large or medium jet time. There is a lower freighter salary scale (below A and non - converging B scales) but the chance to cross-bid to the pax fleet and HKG base after minimum 3 years.

Currently time from Joining as S/O to upgrade to Captain is about 12 years.

Cathay currently operates 85 wide-bodied types (B744, B777-200, B777-300, A330-300, A340-300, A340-600, B74F) but is actively seeking an additional 15 X B744's in the short term and 9 additional regional aircraft (either B777 or A330).

The money in HKG is good, but this from another forum will provide some insight into the type of company Cathay is:

In July 2001 Senior Management fired 52 Pilots (originally it was believed that 49 had been fired, hence the term 49ers) comprising the majority of the HKAOA General Committee, a senior -400 Captain 3 months away from retirement and the rest made up of Check and Training Captains, Senior Captains, Captains, First and Second officers in an anti-union tactic as a direct result of the HKAOA membership instituting a Maximum Safety Campaign (work to rule). This cowardly act they chose rather than negotiate with the legal representatives of the CX Pilot workforce. This action has no precedent in modern airline labour relations and is regarded the world over as the most despicable airline management act in living memory.

Oh yes, I forgot, also included in the 52 were the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Sunny Side club, a Hong Kong charity that benefits critically ill children. Work that these 2 Pilots in question did on their own time often devoting days at a time.
Official Senior Management reasons given for this action included the phrase "for no particular reason". Many of the 52 had no idea that they were involved until they called the scheduling department inquiring about their rosters. One showed up in uniform to fly his next trip and could not get through security as his electronic pass had been invalidated. A Junior Manager was hastily dispatched to the Crew entrance of the Head Office and a very embarrassing conversation ensued.
Most of the 52 had no reason to believe that they were earmarked for termination. Most had little contact with their Managers, one had not been to his fleet office in 6 months. All did their jobs safely and professionally while employed at Cathay. Tragically, one of the younger of the 52 has since died.
Things did not end there. After the 52 received 3 months salary as part of the contractual termination package, Senior and Middle Managers contacted the Hong Kong Tax Department and underhandedly lied to senior Tax Dept. officials, informing them that the 52 represented a flight risk. The HK Tax Dept. then, inexplicably, over taxed these 52 and sent out immediate demands for over-assessed taxes owed based on this advice. Many could not pay the excessive amounts and had to borrow money from the HKAOA so that they could stay out of default - an offence in Hong Kong. All who lived in CX directly provided accommodation were given no notice for themselves and their families to vacate immediately. Some 2 years 5 months on from this disgusting act, CX is being forced to atone for its behavior in legal forums around the world.

Secondly:
As an employee working for a Hong Kong based company any new hire can expect no labour protection from the Hong Kong government what-so-ever. An employee contract is not worth the paper it is written on as anyone can be fired for no reason, with 3 months pay in lieu of notice. What this means, practically, is that you and your family can be nicely settled in you home enjoying the fruits of your labours only to be informed the next day that you are terminated for no particular reason and that you must leave your home immediately if you reside in company provided accommodation. This scenario is true for any expatriate who works in Hong Kong in any position. Trade Unions in Hong Kong are legally powerless to do anything to counteract a vindictive, unfair employer.

Case in point:
I was watching the news in Hong Kong recently and the Chairman of a prominent Hong Kong bank was giving his plan for downsizing his staff out of seniority order. These included natural wastage and termination of contractors etc. I then turned the channel and watched the same interview on Chinese language TV. The same Chairman, in person, was saying that the downsizing would occur as a result "of the firing of the elderly, disabled and useless". I never heard anything else on this subject from either the press or the Government.

So you can see, TWApilot, that while the superficial attraction of a seemingly stable career at a major worldwide airline such as Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong (or at any one of its crew bases) is something that would appeal greatly, particularly to one who is furloughed, you would be well advised to look elsewhere at the moment. I do sympathize with you and the treatment you received at the hands of American Airlines, a few friends of mine are in the same situation. If you come to Cathay Pacific Airways, that same atmosphere prevails here. To my mind it is no coincidence that One World founding partners are directly involved in such cowardly, inhuman acts. Obviously, the co-mingling of passengers and facilities are not the only things that One World partners materially share