CPA Beijing

Our sources at the CAC disclosed that 5 majors have applied for 67 new routes and the regionals are going to expand their intra-China traffic by 70% despite the multi-billion development of high speed bullet train routes. Some lucrative business destinations are still beyond reach of rails and may remain so for at least the next five years.

Also take note that the contracts are getting much better lately with less unpaid time and more per diem allowances. ELOs remain an issue since some pilots enjoy them while others detest them, depending on the location of course. Not many pilots complain about an extra 2 days in Sanya with all expenses paid.

At any rate, we anticipate 1,800 - 2,000 expat ATP pilots to be hired starting in September and if you want a jump on the pack and a "No BS" placement, or any other relocation assistance, send us your most current resume and photo and we'll start search our database twice weekly on your behalf, free of charge.

And as always, beware of recruiters who want you to sign up with them without providing full disclosure on the actual position. Recently we caught three different recruiters advertising non-existent lucrative "Captain position with a Chinese major" only to do a bait and switch on applicants. It is always best to work with expats in China that can verify and confirm the real deal in a day or two than some yahoo on a phone in LA who processes pilots like a herd of sheep.

Also while medical exams will become more lenient in the near future, background checks will become more stringent. See: China Pilots Association To Assist 9 Chinese Airlines With Background Checks For Expats Seeking Jobs | PRLog Some good news is that 3 of the majors have agreed to extend their age limit from 55 to 58. Soon or later they will have age discrimination laws in China, but probably not for the next 3-5 years. China has less than a one-fifth the laws & regulations of America, but sometimes that can actually be a good thing! (not often).

Lastly, I thought this article put out by the Chinese government might be of some interest to you as you an see the huge demand in the civil aviation market, yet the restrictive air space issues still bog things down. Over 80 flying clubs have formed yet finding "legal" airspace to fly is still highly inconvenient and flight plans still take up to 30 days to get approved. Half a million new pilots on China's horizon - China.org.cn.

The good news is that China is getting a lot better a lot sooner under the new leadership of China which has the vision to see the value of commercial and civil airspace. Come check it out for yourself. South China can be a taste of heaven on Earth while North China still struggles with severe pollution issues, especially during the winter months

The Dominican

Is not our resumes that need to be ready, it is the companies respective cultures that need to be adjusted so that pilots get interested in working there, between the punishment cultures about everything from a "go around" to calling in sick, an atmosphere where the F/O is the one communicating with company staff because no one speaks English, other pilots smoking in the cockpit (you don't realize how disgusting that is) medical standards that were designed for 18 year old cadets entering the military, the contract agreed upon not being honored and terms changed midterm, promises of DEC positions just to come to the realization after you begin flying the line that you will be a cruise captain for a year and then the right seat for another year before you start flying as PIC (along with a reduced salary throughout) dodgy paperwork for documents that we need for tax purposes in our respective countries, lease contracts for far less than the actual amount thus leaving the rest of the housing cost to be interpreted as income, lies after lies about everything from the cost of schooling just to discover that it will run you a LOT more than you were told, to not honoring overtime pay and flying 20 hours a month over the agreed minimum guaranteed and not getting that paid, dismal commuting conditions in coach and sometimes 3 and 4 sectors to get home because every month they buy the cheapest ticket available...., I can go on and on. You guys can increase the pay all you want, but unless QOL issues are addressed you will keep having the retention problems you are having now. How many pilots are still working at the respective airlines for over 5 or 6 years? That should give you an indication that QOL needs to be addressed.

atpcliff

There are a lot of US pilots that can't pass, or are worried they can't pass, the current Chinese medical. I hope that they DO relax the requirements...if they don't I don't see how they will have enough pilots for the flying they want to do.

aviatorhi

40 on 20 off?

Realistic medical?

Dropping time on type requirements?

If no to any of those, not interested.

EXPAT1

They will come from inside China. At my airline we upgrade from off the street young college graduates with zero hours to B-737 Captain in 4 years. The ExPats are a short term fix and will NOT be needed in 4-5 years at many Chinese airlines. The largest aviation college is in China. China produces the most ATP rated pilots now than any other country. High speed trains and better public transportation are also slowing airline domestic growth in certain markets. The medical standards will never lower in China as this is the prime tool utilized to screen their own population of 1.3 Billion. If you can pass the Chinese First Class medical you have a chance, if not move on to the next rodeo. China is not a career option. It is a great place to come and earn the big bucks to pay off your house, pay the kids college fund, build up a est egg and save for retirement but not a long term career option. Come here with an open mind and the intention of staying 1 or 2 contracts, basically 3-6 years then move on.

brianb

I would love to come out to China and give it a whirl but, the QOL issues are a major sticking point when it comes to making a decision. Money be damned. Until those conditions improve, no joy.

satpak77

yawn. returning to regular programming. Nice blurb from HR dude inside China with no real knowledge of pilot cultures.

Observation of not one salary figure/etc, included.

juropilot

Where does one send the resume and photo

RMWRIGHT

i already sent them a PM and nobody replied

NEDude

I have been in China for about six months now and am less convinced in China's ability to supply its own pilots than I was before. There are two main reasons for this:

First is that China's airspace is just not set up for flight training. There is no such thing as Un-controlled airspace. Most flight plans to be approved by the military. There are cases when it can take weeks for a training flight plan to be approved. China cannot sufficiently train the pilots it needs now and the room for growth in air travel is virtually limitless...IF the military begins to open more airspace for civilian traffic.

Which brings me to point number 2. Most of the cities I fly into have airports with 6 to 10 gates. Just for fun I will look up how big the city is and am often shocked to see that I am in a city of five million people. 10 gates to serve 5 million people?! That is about the same size as the Miami/Ft Lauderdale/West Palm beach area. Can you imagine the entirety of southeast Florida only being served by ten gates? How about Phoenix being served by 6 gates? That is what you have with China's aviation infrastructure. Beijing Capital has has built two big terminals in the past fifteen years, terminal 2 in 1999 and terminal 3, which when built was the largest terminal in the world, in 2008. The airport is already at near max capacity and China is in the process of building another huge airport on the south side of the city. Chengdu more than doubled its terminal space and added another runway less than four years ago and is now planning to build a new airport that will be twice the size of the one it now has.

Aviation growth in China has a long ways to go. Really the only two things stopping it are ability to get pilots and military control of the airspace.