wrxpilot

Monthly payment. You can use the difference however you want. No idea on the education allowance.

Wink

I see, and thank you for answering my question. I am a young (according to other people) single guy, so the oppurtunity to live in Asia for a for a few years sounds like an adventure no other carrier can offer. The housing allowances seem adequate, and I don't really have to worry about the exorbitant eductaion expenses for children as I don't have any.

Can I trouble you to elaborate on the commitment period and etc? Is there a high turnover of the HKG based pilots after they have to get accustomed to the lifestyle? If so, may I ask why?

rvfanatic

I heard if you move yourself, that’s is no commitment but if you let the company do it, it’s 2-3 yrs. I’ll let the experts chime in though.

Albief15

I'd come banking on 4 years. Why? If bid out, your training date will be based on your seniority, and dates can be slid, classes cancelled and delayed, etc etc.

If you do bid in lieu of, you have to wait 6 months after your initial commitment is over, which I think is 3 years. So...42 months give or take.

Some have gotten out sooner, but if you steel yourself for worst case you won't be frustrated or disappointed. If you just have to leave you can move stateside and commute it a while--several folks have.

Flying here isn't perfect...lots of day/night swaps. Many pairings look better on paper than they feel. That aside, the cities are interesting, Hong Kong can be fun, and while some dash home at end of initial commitment a more common phenom is folks bid over for two years to try it out, then end up here for 4, 6, or 10 years. We came with a 2+ ? option and decided to go for 6-7 as my daughter is thriving in the schools here and we enjoy the lifestyle. There are some inhouse groups (google) that can give you a better picture of the nuts and bolts if you get serious about it. The only caution I have is in the 3+ years I've been here, I've seen a degradation in air quality and an increased amount of influence by the mainland on local politics. The former is a bummer, while the latter really doesn't change my life very much. It would give me pause if I had young kids here and thought I wanted to get them all the way through primary school.

Finally--if you are consider DB--which is a good option--it is also changing. The management there is quite arbitrary and really doesn't care what anyone thinks, especially expats. They closed the marina this year and basically wiped out the value of about 200 families houseboats, which ranged in value from 600k to over a million bucks. Most are now worth 10 percent of that. They did that with a stroke of a pen, and since most Hong Kong people live in flats with less than 900 square feet these boat owners get no sympathy from the locals or the government. They are viewed as frivolous extravagances owned by a few wealthy expats. In fact, many are just middle class folks--including a bunch of Cathay pilots--who were trying to find a way to live affordably here. Now they are getting burned, and many have said they are going to declare bankruptcy. They also decided to stop running ferries after midnight, so now you have to take a bus from downtown to get home. May seem trivial, but when I llvied there most of us enjoyed a night on the town with the midnight or two am ferry getting us home safely after a fun night out with friends. That delightful 25 minute ferry ride (okay--not delightful if that french chick was puking her guts out or the Brit dude was yaking over the side) will be replaced by a 50 minute bus ride that will be a big downer after a night on the town.

But honestly...if you think you'll like HK for two years, you'll probably like it for 4. Most do. You won't buy a drink or meal your first year on the road, anyway, and you'll work with a bunch of fun crews. You also won't carry a bag up the stairs as long as you are out here.

Thrust Hold

Commitment Period

i . A pilot must complete two years as an active pilot in the FDA, unless released from his obligation due to extenuating cir-cumstances by the Vice President, Flight Operations .

ii . If a pilot fails to complete his commitment period without a release from the Vice President, Flight Operations, he shall be obligated to repay his seed money and any money paid by the Company for storage .

iii . If a pilot changes or attempts to change his crew status with-in his FDA (e .g ., upgrades from F/O/HKG to CAP/HKG), his original commitment period shall be extended by 12 months plus the time spent in training . In the EMEA FDA, however, a pilot may change his crew status in this manner only if the pilot can activate to the new seat and actually perform revenue operations in that seat for at least 12 months prior to the end of his EMEA FDA assignment . This restriction may be waived by the Vice President, Flight Operations, in extenuating circumstances



The maximum duration of assignment to an FDA centered in a Euro-pean Union (“EU”) country shall be 4 years, 11 months as measured from the earlier of the pilot's activation date in his FDA crew position or his registration with local immigration authorities

Albief15

15k per family....i.e....Fedex pilot married to non pilot...15k. Fedex pilot married to another pilot....15k. So...its 15k....period.

Our expenses typically run a little north of 20k, this year about 22k. The 20k/kid number seems to be fairly consistent. One kid...its an adventure and its subsidized. Two kids....well...you probably washed out any advantage savings wise of the FDA. It might still be right for some reasons, buts its 2k a month out of your pocket for the extra child.

Some do homeschool here. Plenty of pros/cons but that will definately change the typical expat experience.

Not a perfect rule, but general if you have no kids, are an empty nester, have one school age kid....its a good deal. Two school age kids (unless you immerse them in public schools at age 4-5) or more and its a financial hit. When the FDA LOA was orginally passed it was apparent young families were not the desired demographic. Some have found a way to make it work, however, or accepted the tradeoff.

In full disclosure, I was on FEPP a long time and wanted to fly here, but really didn’t seriously consider relocating until birds 1and 2 left the nest. My first chance to actually come out here was after # 2 graduated, and number 3 was excited and eager to try something new. Our timing worked out well, and I think for us and some of our friends the world education your kids get here makes some of the expense and sacrifice worth doing. But...I came over as a 13 year captain. Many of my captain friends have more than one kid here. But doing that as a new hire...while certainly not impossible, does involve some sacrifice that myabe some of your co-workers may not be making. Just make sure as you get advice you get the perspective of some of the new hires and not just guys with 15 or more years here. It is definitely an apples and oranges comparison.

BlueMoon

A question for you more experienced deviators.

If deviating and arriving a day early to the city, do I have to book at the contract hotel on the trip? If they can’t/won’t give the Contract rate
I’d rather stay at a hotel in a more desirable area (it’s actually listed as a contract hotel, just not staying there on the trip) if I’m going to have to pay for part of it anyway.

Rajplt

Think of the deviation money as the most the company will pay for that city. Say the company Marriott rate is $100. You can stay anywhere in the city and they will pay up to $100. If there are two hotels I believe you can go with the higher of the two. It doesn’t matter what hotel the original pairing had.

Adlerdriver

You can stay in whatever hotel you want. It doesn't need to be the one on your pairing and it doesn't even need to be one of our contract hotels.
Maximum amount you will be reimbursed for (before tax) is the highest contract hotel rate for that city (if we use multiple hotels in that particular city).

If your scheduled layover hotel wouldn't offer you the contract rate but you got one from their website, expedia, etc. like a normal person and it was below the city max, you'll be reimbursed for the entire expense (assuming you have the bank to cover it).

I've done that in IND a few times. Omni was most convenient (on my pairing) but they couldn't give me their $89 contract rate. Got it via their website for $105. Since our most expensive hotel in IND is the Embassy Suites at $109, the full expense was covered.

Skippy320

Can someone point me to where this deviation a day in advance to a city and getting the hotel covered is in the contract?

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