I did some seraching on this forum, founds a few threads about flying in Japan, but none actually answered my question. Right now im working on my private pilots license, but my ultimate goal is to fly 737's. One "possibility" is staying in Japan with my wife (whom is also japanese) and trying to get a job with a Japanese carrier. I've talked to several Japanese instructors at our aero club, but they all had conflicting information when it comes to getting rated in Japan. They all suggested I do my time in the states (i.e. get rated, build time), then apply for a job in Japan. Here's the kicker, I've been told it costs an ungodly amount of money to get your license converted to Japanese standards (i believe they are still requiring the radio operators license as well). On the flip side, i've also heard completely opposite, that it's easy for American pilots to switch over, costs next to nothing, and your hours will convert straight over (unlike Japanese pilots who fly in the states). Can anybody shed some light on this subject?
Flying in Japan
- Thread starter Mikey_G
- Start date
flyingmaniac
Well-Known Member
Konichi-wa!!! Well, well you are in the same predicament as I am in. I too also love Japan so much that I want to fly there also. What I do know is that the Japanese send their students over here to the states to get their licenses and then send them back over to the mainland to fly. I once heard of a guy who went to the same university as I and is flying for JAL now. The way I see it is build up your time for airline standards and then try to apply for Japanese airlines. I know there is a flight school in Yokota, Japan that has cheap rates, but anywhere else I don't know of. If you have any other questions feel free to PM me.
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
flyingmaniac said:
No need for him to head up to Yokota, looks like he's already flying at the Kadena Aero Club. He's in front of one of their T-41s in his avatar (looks like 61R, but it's been a while...).
Mike, I was a 135 guy and an instructor there before I left the AF. I did a decent amount of research into flying for the Japanese carriers and could probably start to point you in the right direction. PM me. Oh and say hi to Tama and Bill McKendry for me.
Ed
vaporpilot
New Member
Hey, this is an interesting thread. I have several interests in Japan as well, including my wife's family, so please keep this thread public, as it were. Thanks.
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
Ask and ye shall receive...
OK then. This is what I PMed to them:
Well, I'll give ya the short version. To begin with, your FAA ratings are pretty much all you need to get flying with a Japanese carrier. Of course, that's the easy part. The difficult part is that pretty much all the J-airlines hire pilots through contracting agencies. In particular, much contract hiring is done throygh Hawaii Aviation. Every now and then a contract will pop up on some other contract pilot sites at random.
They are extremely snobby as to the types of pilots they will hire. To begin with, they prefer younger folks. They will also put you through a pretty complex drawn out medical, and getting through that doesn't even guarantee you will get a job. Their mins for flying are rather high and often not waivable (even for something small like their Dash 8 hopping around the islands I used to fly to around Oki). The interviews themselves don't seem particularly bad (aviationinterviews website).
Of course, you gotta take this all with a grain of salt since I elected to not personally go through the process as of yet. After looking at some hiring requirements and reading about the interview process and the way (poorly) American pilots are treated by the airlines themselves I decided it just wasn't something I wanted to do at the time. If you wanna pursue it, best of luck. I may reconsider it down the road, but for now I'll just keep making the Saab my ***** (or is that the other way around?) for kinda little money over at Colgan.
If you have any other more specific questions, shoot em my way. Happy to help. Check Hawaii Aviation's website, they have a lot of listings right now, you can look at their mins.
OK then. This is what I PMed to them:
Well, I'll give ya the short version. To begin with, your FAA ratings are pretty much all you need to get flying with a Japanese carrier. Of course, that's the easy part. The difficult part is that pretty much all the J-airlines hire pilots through contracting agencies. In particular, much contract hiring is done throygh Hawaii Aviation. Every now and then a contract will pop up on some other contract pilot sites at random.
They are extremely snobby as to the types of pilots they will hire. To begin with, they prefer younger folks. They will also put you through a pretty complex drawn out medical, and getting through that doesn't even guarantee you will get a job. Their mins for flying are rather high and often not waivable (even for something small like their Dash 8 hopping around the islands I used to fly to around Oki). The interviews themselves don't seem particularly bad (aviationinterviews website).
Of course, you gotta take this all with a grain of salt since I elected to not personally go through the process as of yet. After looking at some hiring requirements and reading about the interview process and the way (poorly) American pilots are treated by the airlines themselves I decided it just wasn't something I wanted to do at the time. If you wanna pursue it, best of luck. I may reconsider it down the road, but for now I'll just keep making the Saab my ***** (or is that the other way around?) for kinda little money over at Colgan.
If you have any other more specific questions, shoot em my way. Happy to help. Check Hawaii Aviation's website, they have a lot of listings right now, you can look at their mins.
Rocketman99
Frozen Guppy Manipulator
also, as several other folks on this board have mentioned, www.pprune.org is another good spot for info on flying outisde the US.
vaporpilot
New Member
Rocketman99, thanks for the excellent info.
Living in Japan for a couple of years, I experienced first-hand some of the "uncomfortable" feelings of being non-Japanese. I'm thinking of some other alternatives such as teaching and/or corporate in order to bypass the inherant and deserved high competitiveness of the airlines. I know a bunch of people who can fill my schedule for teaching and it be would virtually stress-free.
Living in Japan for a couple of years, I experienced first-hand some of the "uncomfortable" feelings of being non-Japanese. I'm thinking of some other alternatives such as teaching and/or corporate in order to bypass the inherant and deserved high competitiveness of the airlines. I know a bunch of people who can fill my schedule for teaching and it be would virtually stress-free.
Aviator_925
New Member
Hello Mike (hh-60),
I have been a member of KAC for a loooong time and I remeber asking those similar questions about flying in Japan. Tama can give you the full scoop and now there is a guy named Aki, he just spent a lot of $$ to get his JP instrument commercial license, and is waiting for his golden phonecall; but in the meantime he's got to eat so he's at the club instructing- great guy by the way. Ask them for the latest info.
What I can offer you is the result of my research from a few years back. Major Japanese airlines(JAL and ANA) have a system- realize that all their subsidiaries (JEX, JTA, RAC, ANK, ANC, etc)follow their lead. So, for example, you, Japaense citizen, are recruited while "in" JP university, sent to flight training in the US, and then placed where they need you(737, 47, 67, 77, etc). US pilots with high "jet time," (key word) military or civilian, are contracted through various outsourcing agencies such as IASCO in California. For them to pool you requires again, high jet time- and they love heavy ex-military drivers. You are then contracted to fly as FO or CAP or FE and that is what you will fly for the contracted time. True, there are other companies that do similar outsourcing, but I only know of IASCO. Now remember Japanese airlines are still regulated/semi-subsidized by the government to a large extent and that's why they follow the system.
If you go for the small fry, i.e in Okinawa there are only 2 small air services- Ryukyu Air Commuter flying Dash 8's, and Air Dolphin, fying Cessnas and BN2's, there is the issue of your ifr/comm license. I met with the manager of air dolphin and he said that first, I, US civil pilot, need to transfer my ppl to JP ppl- that is not too hard, just re-take the written exam, physical and flight check. Then I must pass the JP ifr/comm exam and checkride. Japan Civil Aviation Bureau does NOT convert US ifr/comm/atp to JP standards no matter who you are. Ask Aki at the aeroclub, he is a Japanese citizen with US cfii and he had to pay to re-train to obtain his JP ifr/comm, also ask Tama. Short story long, they will hire their own before they hire you and me, unless your wife's family owns shares in an airline, and then perhaps after much prayer and fasting they might give you a thought- can you load baggage? Just kidding. So, with all that said, most folks who recommend gaining jet (key word is jet time) time in the US and then contracting yourself to one of the companies that outsourse airline pilots to Japan are also correct. I have met and spoken to about three american pilots at the airports in Osaka and Fukuoka and they were ex-military and contracted through IASCO and some other place in CA. Their advice was to get military jet time and after retirement seek the excitement of being contracted. They seemed to be ok with their experience, then again we only chatted briefly. Lastly, I also knew of a guy who flew helos for a Japanese corporation in Tokyo part-time. He was an instructor here long age and whenever they needed hime, they would call him and off he went. I believe he went back to the US after some time. So there may be a small crack into GA or corporate flying in Japan, but I do not know anything else about it.
As for me, my gig will be flying at the aeroclub as an instructor in the near future (a few years from now). I hope this gives some idea as to what is the real deal in Japan. I hope your training goes well, take care and fly safe.
Hernan
I have been a member of KAC for a loooong time and I remeber asking those similar questions about flying in Japan. Tama can give you the full scoop and now there is a guy named Aki, he just spent a lot of $$ to get his JP instrument commercial license, and is waiting for his golden phonecall; but in the meantime he's got to eat so he's at the club instructing- great guy by the way. Ask them for the latest info.
What I can offer you is the result of my research from a few years back. Major Japanese airlines(JAL and ANA) have a system- realize that all their subsidiaries (JEX, JTA, RAC, ANK, ANC, etc)follow their lead. So, for example, you, Japaense citizen, are recruited while "in" JP university, sent to flight training in the US, and then placed where they need you(737, 47, 67, 77, etc). US pilots with high "jet time," (key word) military or civilian, are contracted through various outsourcing agencies such as IASCO in California. For them to pool you requires again, high jet time- and they love heavy ex-military drivers. You are then contracted to fly as FO or CAP or FE and that is what you will fly for the contracted time. True, there are other companies that do similar outsourcing, but I only know of IASCO. Now remember Japanese airlines are still regulated/semi-subsidized by the government to a large extent and that's why they follow the system.
If you go for the small fry, i.e in Okinawa there are only 2 small air services- Ryukyu Air Commuter flying Dash 8's, and Air Dolphin, fying Cessnas and BN2's, there is the issue of your ifr/comm license. I met with the manager of air dolphin and he said that first, I, US civil pilot, need to transfer my ppl to JP ppl- that is not too hard, just re-take the written exam, physical and flight check. Then I must pass the JP ifr/comm exam and checkride. Japan Civil Aviation Bureau does NOT convert US ifr/comm/atp to JP standards no matter who you are. Ask Aki at the aeroclub, he is a Japanese citizen with US cfii and he had to pay to re-train to obtain his JP ifr/comm, also ask Tama. Short story long, they will hire their own before they hire you and me, unless your wife's family owns shares in an airline, and then perhaps after much prayer and fasting they might give you a thought- can you load baggage? Just kidding. So, with all that said, most folks who recommend gaining jet (key word is jet time) time in the US and then contracting yourself to one of the companies that outsourse airline pilots to Japan are also correct. I have met and spoken to about three american pilots at the airports in Osaka and Fukuoka and they were ex-military and contracted through IASCO and some other place in CA. Their advice was to get military jet time and after retirement seek the excitement of being contracted. They seemed to be ok with their experience, then again we only chatted briefly. Lastly, I also knew of a guy who flew helos for a Japanese corporation in Tokyo part-time. He was an instructor here long age and whenever they needed hime, they would call him and off he went. I believe he went back to the US after some time. So there may be a small crack into GA or corporate flying in Japan, but I do not know anything else about it.
As for me, my gig will be flying at the aeroclub as an instructor in the near future (a few years from now). I hope this gives some idea as to what is the real deal in Japan. I hope your training goes well, take care and fly safe.
Hernan