US pilots flying for foreign carriers

[NookyBooky]

Do many US pilots get jobs flying for foreign AL's like JapanAL, British Airways, or Quantas? If so how much more difficult is it (in decent economic times) to get a job with a foreign Air Line?

And if your a new resident of a country? for instance, if an American pilot moved to Austrailia, how much of a disadvantage would he be at in getting a job with Quantas?

Sorry for so many questions.

 

[TurboS7]

I flew for a British Airline, it took a month to go through all the 121 training checkride, and I had to get a temp. ATLPL from the CAA.

 

[blade230]

Quantas does not hire Americans, only Australians, and some from NZ.

JAL will not hire Americans directly. You must apply through a temp. contract company like PARC or HAS. Through this system you also fly only certain aircraft DC-10 and classic series 747. New equipment remains for mainline (Japanese) crew.

British Airlines and Virgin have both hired Americans in the past, don't know about now. You must have a JAA though.

Good luck

 

[Blueline]

Blade,

Qantas does hire Americans. You must, however, have the legal right to work down under. Check out their employment website.

BL

 

[Cardinal]

First of all, check out www.pprune.org for the whole story on flying outside the United States.

Americans have a pretty good deal right here at home. I just flew with an Australian who fled the truly dismal job market there (pre 9/11!) for a much better position with us. That continent has an immense pilot glut. Europe's ATP certificate is a quagmire. It involves something like 12 different written exams. Have fun. And in first-world nations there will be local competition for the positions. Of course any foreign path requires that all the right-to-work stuff is taken care of, and not all companies are willing to sponsor people. I researched this issue pretty hard, and unless you have a compelling non-work related reason to move abroad, i would avoid it.

Perhaps the one exception to the above would be HK based Cathay Pacific, who make things pretty workable for the expatriate. Heck, with seniority ther are US crew bases. BUT - the International Federation of Air Line Pilots Associations has placed a recruitment ban on CX, and for good reason. Run a search if you're curious. Anyway, don't go there till things are settled, or we'll have to slash your tires, etc. Would ya really want to work under and pay taxes to a communist government anyway?

 

[GulfPilot]

To obtain a JAA licence, the "short way" one must have 1500hrs PIC in an aircraft over 60 metric tonnes, then complete 1) Airlaw written...2) Human performance factors written...3) Simulator type check on the type desired...this will provide you with a JAA ATP...your current logbook will be thorougly scrutinized, and validated before allowing you to enter this program...many agencies will require this licence for their postings...temp work permits are usually not a problem...some agencies are able to obtain one-year validations for temp contracts..but this is happening less often as time goes by, due to pressure from pilot groups. An Australian ATP can be obtained by sitting two written exams..1) AAOS (aeroplane conversion) 2) IREX (instrument)..and again taking a type check with an examiner/inspector approved by CASA (aus faa) the need for the 1500 PIC in large aircraft to my knowledge does not exist...Japanese carriers put you through the whole ATP as a part of their initial training which usually runs 4-6 months..middleast carriers obtain licences from their country of registry that are basically validations of your FAA when you complete their initial training course...hope this clears it up a little....Bristol is a good school in the U.k. the australian CASA has a website you can contact.

 

[whereamI]

China Airlines was looking for expatriate pilots in the not to distant past. They are based out of Taipei, so the whole communist regime thing is not so much of a problem. My understanding with JALways was that they only hired expat pilots for the JAX portion of the company, I could be wrong. I do know the pay scale is significantly different for expat and Japanese pilots.

 

[bobbysamd]

Expat jobs

You might try IASCO . It used to be a pipeline for Americans wanting to fly for Japan Air Lines.

Sadly, Captain McNicol at Flight Crews International has retired (Great for Captain Mac; sad for pilots!). And, worse, Kit Darby has purchased his company. At one time Captain Mac was a prime source of foreign airline job leads. According to the web page, Capt. Mac is still around. Maybe he can still help.

Good luck with your quest to fly in foreign lands.

 

[80/20]

Many Americans are flying for foreign carriers. To have a realistic chance with the better-benefit/higher-paying foreign carriers you often need at least two of the following:
* Time on type
* Foreign license
* Work permit

Some oriental carriers such as JAL will, as GulfPilot said, employ us and give the required training to convert to a JCAB license and base you in the US. JAL will actually pay you a good salary during this training. The catch is that you must have time on type and go through crew leasing. This is not so common in Europe where you normally have to get the JAA license on your own. It is however possible, but not so common, to get a validation where you can fly on a FAA license in Europe for some time.

The pay system may also be different. Many European carriers have fixed pay regardless of type. For example, a B-737 and a B-767 pilot will have the same pay. Starting salaries and F/O salaries are sometimes higher. This will give you a higher salary in the beginning of your career. Few foreign salaries can compete with the max pay that we have seen for senior captains at top paying US airlines.

 

[runnymeade]

The CASA will assess you on a case by case basis if you have an ICAO ATPL licenses all you really need to do is pass a class one Australian medical, have your logbook assessed by a CASA examiner. You will need to register with the CASA office in Canberra for the exams and present your passport and current license.
You must pass the commercial air law exam first, which is a prerequisite for the ATPL air law exam. Then pass the IR air law exam after which you will be allow to sit for the ATPL air law.
You must then do flight training equal to the FAA instrument checkride. There is no ATPL checkride in Australia, once you satisfy all of the above and have logged all appropriate training the ATPL will be issued by Canberra.
Ad-Astral Aviation does the most conversions and have a nicely designed accelerated course which cost about 3000.00, they also have in-house examiner so all can be done right there.
http://www.ad-astral.com.au/frame_main.htm

To receive the CAA license in an Asian country first you must have a sponsor for a work permit, without this your chances of even receiving the training is slim.

Regards

 

[Ex1900Driver]

My apologies if this question sounds nieve, but for example when someone wants to convert from and FAA to a CAA or JAA license what does that mean?
Does it mean you relinquish your original ratings (Convert) for the new ones, or is is a baseline in which to start the process to aquire new ones in adition to your originals?

Thanks in advance
GDC

 

[brucek]

How about the other way around?

I have the other side of the original poster's message in this thread. Is it possible to do the opposite, say for a Brit to come here and be employed (other than the work visa and bad economy here in the US)? Isn't there a clause that allows domestic transports to be seconded to the military, and what if the pilot(s) were not citizens?

Thanks,

Bruce.

 

[Midnight Mike]

At Polar, they had pilots who had passports from Japan, Canada, & England. When covering MAC flights, the military was only converned that they had a Polar Air Cargo ID card. I have observed some other airlines hiring pilots from foreign countries, extra steps need to be taken, but it does happen.

 

[80/20]

______________________________________________
Ex1900Drive asks: "Does it mean you relinquish your original ratings (Convert) for the new ones, or is is a baseline in which to start the process to aquire new ones in adition to your originals?"
________________________________________________

You do not have to give up any previously held licenses.

Conversion: You will receive credits from one nations licenses and flight experience to obtain an additional license in another nation. Some additional training, written testing and check-ride might be required.
Validation: Your license is validated to be used in a foreign country, often without rigorous testing or evaluation, and normally for a limited period of time.

Examples: You can convert from JAA to FAA or from FAA to JAA. Rules differ between various countries.

 

[metrodriver]

City Bird is from Belgium. You usually have to go to the country, or the oversees branch of that country's aviation authority, present them your logbooks, fill out a lot of parerwork and do some exams for which the studying takes a lot of time and money. It is now possible to do a complete JAA license in the states, I don't know about conversions. For a lot of asian companies there are recruiting agencies who help you with all the paperwork. To keep your JAA license valid you got to do a lot more than here (12hrs a year, or checkride)

 

[typhoonpilot]

NookyBoooky:

There was a thread last month on this subject and another one entitled Flying Overseas from about one year ago.

The above posters have made good comments. The best jobs are never advertised and almost all require PIC time in type. The exceptions being Cathay, Emirates, and Dragonair. Although competitive minimums at Emirates are now at a minimum of 5000 total with good jet time and, for Americans, dual nationality or foreign work/life experience by either you or your spouse.

I wouldn't bother with a JAA conversion unless you have the right to live and work in the EU. The FAA certificate is usually good enough for a validation in most Middle Eastern and Asian countries, which also happens to be where the majority of the jobs are.

Typhoonpilot

 

[redneck jihad]

City Bird is no longer in business.
Also, from what I understand, most middle eastern airlines have temporarily suspended hiring due to the pending liberation of the Iraqi people, or the total and complete enslavement of the Arab world by Western Infidels- depending on your perspective.
Best regards,
RJ

 

[GulfPilot]

Yes City bird dead and gone, Sabena dead and gone..which Beigian airline is next....anyway, Emirates and Gulf Air are still actively recruiting pilots..glass cockpit time please..Gulf Air, type rating and time on type thank you...Qatar Airways recruiting as well..jet time and sign a training bond for 3 years for either A-320, or A-300-600(yuck!)

 

[Midnight Mike]

737 jobs overseas?

http://www.airasia.com/

Captains & FO's

We insist on only having the best and most skilled pilots and becoming part of such an elite team is a major achievement! We demand the best from our pilots, and they have delivered - Professionally.

To be considered for a position as Co-Pilot you must meet the following requirements:

Malaysian APTL or Frozen APTL
Great commercial flying skills
Teamwork
An appreciation of total airline operations
Ability to have fun
Proactiveness in developing the airline and making this airline your airline
Hard working
Young (at heart)
With AirAsia, you will get

A competitive market salary
Bonus
Share options
A career that moves from right-hand to left-hand seat in record time due to our growth
Self computer based training (CBT) at home
A GREAT TIME

To apply for a position, please e-mail [email protected] with your CV, copies of certificates and a picture of a passport size photograph. Expatriates and female candidates are also welcome.


Attention to:
Human Resources Department
AirAsia Sdn Bhd
Lot N1 Level 4 Main Terminal Building
KL International Airport
64000 Sepang
Selangor Darul Ehsan

Closing Date: Open

 

[turning2]

Yikes...

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