Live like a king! Fly in China

AZflyboy

AZflyboy

Well-Known Member
http://fortune.com/2016/08/18/china-airlines-foreign-pilots/

A shortage of Chinese labor has brought out ritzy expat packages, according to a report.


Air travel in China is taking off, with analysts projecting traffic in the skies to expand by almost four times in the next 20 years.

There’s just one pressing problem: a shortage of Chinese labor.

That’s why airlines are turning to overseas headhunters to recruit foreign talent, with the promise of glitzy expatriate packages that can, in some markets, make up to four times a pilot’s salary, according to Bloomberg.

“I looked at that and thought, ‘Man, I’m in the wrong line of business,’” said Dave Ross, president of pilot leasing firm Wasinc International who has been recruiting candidates for Chengdu Airlines. “They can live like a king.”

See also: Why the Travel Industry Is So Lily White

Here’s a look at what they’re offering, according to the report from Bloomberg, citing a former United Airlines pilot who says he’s been inundated with offers from Chinese carriers:

Regional carrier Qingdao Airlines promises as much as $318,000 a year. Sichuan Airlines, which flies to Canada and Australia, is pitching $302,000. Both airlines say they’ll also cover his income tax bill in China.

Startup carriers barely known abroad are paying about 50% more than what some senior captains earn at Delta Air Lines DAL -1.13% , and they’re giving recruiters from the U.S. to New Zealand free rein to fill their captains’ chairs.



Boeing BA -0.19% executives also spoke to China’s hungry aviation industry in an interview with Reuters published late Wednesday.

“We’re not seeing any softness yet,” said Ihssane Mounir, Boeing’s senior vice president of sales for Northeast Asia, pushing back against concerns that China’s slowing economic growth could drive down sales of its jetliners.

“We’re watching it close. But if I just look at the Chinese market as it stands today, I’m not seeing any signs of weakness whatsoever.”


Would you make the move? I'm not much interested moving that far but would like to hear the thoughts of others.
 
bucksmith said:
I think it sounds like a great five year plan. How much does one of them aerobuss type ratings cost?
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haha I have no idea I'm sure it's a boatload. The money sounds really nice, just curious though would you have to go through all the license conversion stuff from FAA?
 
AZflyboy said:
haha I have no idea I'm sure it's a boatload. The money sounds really nice, just curious though would you have to go through all the license conversion stuff from FAA?
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I don't think so, had a couple buddies do the expat thing and they never mentioned any of that. I heard stories of ops departments that didn't have computers though.
I think if my family situation allowed it, I'd be all over this stuff in a heartbeat. We as Americans are sheltered by a couple of oceans, a country to focus our cable news on and the apartment above the party. Generally speaking, we need to get out more.
 
bucksmith said:
I don't think so, had a couple buddies do the expat thing and they never mentioned any of that. I heard stories of ops departments that didn't have computers though.
I think if my family situation allowed it, I'd be all over this stuff in a heartbeat. We as Americans are sheltered by a couple of oceans, a country to focus our cable news on and the apartment above the party. Generally speaking, we need to get out more.
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You know what, I'm gonna change my mind on this now that you got me thinking :) I wouldn't mind doing this for a little bit and save up some money, man oh man wouldn't it be nice. You are right, we're quite a bit sheltered lol.
 
AZflyboy said:
haha I have no idea I'm sure it's a boatload. The money sounds really nice, just curious though would you have to go through all the license conversion stuff from FAA?
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A cursory look into the contracts (or lack of 'em) and union protections (or lack of 'em) for pilots over there is enough to show that the money isn't, in and of itself, worthwhile.
 
I had a friend go over there a few years ago and said they no fatigue or work hour limit so they work the hell out of you and the quality of equipment can be rather sketchy with poor maintenance, not sure if thats all changed or not.
 
Read a report about two years ago where two different sets of pilots diverted back to the origination station because the destination was below mins. They were charged with dereliction of duty when the company was upset and had a local magistrate charge them. Not sure what ever came from that.
 
Hacker15e said:
A cursory look into the contracts (or lack of 'em) and union protections (or lack of 'em) for pilots over there is enough to show that the money isn't, in and of itself, worthwhile.
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I know what you're saying, and I don't really disagree....but for $350k a year, nearly tax free, I'd stand on my head stacking greased bb's for a few years.
I also acknowledge that people's perspective of a lot of money is very different. Now you know where my perspective is...
 
Hacker15e said:
A cursory look into the contracts (or lack of 'em) and union protections (or lack of 'em) for pilots over there is enough to show that the money isn't, in and of itself, worthwhile.
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Yeah but it also makes me wonder if they really need pilots as bad as the news makes it out to be, I wonder if they will eventually give in and start having contracts to appeal to more pilots?
 
AZflyboy said:
haha I have no idea I'm sure it's a boatload. The money sounds really nice, just curious though would you have to go through all the license conversion stuff from FAA?
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Have you been to China? Have you compared the 300k they are advertising and the actual work and block hours you will have to fly to what a major US company pays? Take the time to look at that and suddenly 300k isn't all that attractive anymore. Also, they're not hiring untyped people. Most all the contracts want 500PIC in type. How are you going to get that without finding a way more lucrative job first?
AZflyboy said:
Yeah but it also makes me wonder if they really need pilots as bad as the news makes it out to be, I wonder if they will eventually give in and start having contracts to appeal to more pilots?
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A contract in China isn't worth the paper it's written on.
 
z987k said:
Hong Kong isn't China. There's even T-shirts.
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But in the eyes of a normal American it is all china, even japan is china. Heck, Hawaii is china too if you want it to be! ;) Seriously though, I cannot tell you how many people I've met in California that said "oh you're from Oregon? I bet it's cold being above Washington"...... uhhhhh
 
AZflyboy said:
But in the eyes of a normal American it is all china, even japan is china. Heck, Hawaii is china too if you want it to be! ;) Seriously though, I cannot tell you how many people I've met in California that said "oh you're from Oregon? I bet it's cold being above Washington"...... uhhhhh
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I don't equate people being unable to put states in their correct locations on a map with not knowing which country is which.

Without looking do you know if Connecticut is east or west of Rhode Island? Is Nebraska above or below Kansas?

You may actually know these, but many, many people won't.
 
BobDDuck said:
I don't equate people being unable to put states in their correct locations on a map with not knowing which country is which.

Without looking do you know if Connecticut is east or west of Rhode Island? Is Nebraska above or below Kansas?

You may actually know these, but many, many people won't.
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Right... so why on earth would the know the nuances of 19th and 20th century British(or Portuguese and French for that matter) eastern diplomacy?
 
There's no amount of money that would persuade me to go fly for a Chinese airlines, none. If youre thinking of just going over there for a few years then coming back, you'd really need to think about what 5 years of seniority would cost you over a career.
 
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