Albatross01
14th Jun 2009, 11:35
Captains that had interviews with Grand China Express. Have you had any progress since your screening process?
Do you know how many Captains have had interviews in China thus far?
Where & which a/c type sim did you do your sim check in?
If applying for the ERJ 145 slots, there are no sims in China. The company sent some Chinese pilots for their type ratings to Singapore in Jan 09.
(I expect it was done in English because an interpreter from Tianjin was sent with them). For those of you 40 years & above. The class 1 medical for the CAAC requires an EKG treadmill test every 2 years. Those of you who are yet to enjoy this exercise will want to wear shorts & a singlet when you do it. After all the wires are glued to your chest you get on the treadmill. They program it to run for around 20 minutes. It starts at a slow horizontal walk. The last few minutes you find yourself jogging uphill. Then you lay on the bed while they take your pulse. After a few more minutes they take your pulse again to see that your heart rate goes back to normal.
if you wear glasses. Make sure you have a current prescription as the eye tests are more strict than the US.
For those who may desire it. You can live in Beijing as other expat pilots do & commute to Tianjin on the fast trains. It takes 30 mins from Beijing South Train Station to Tianjin Train Station. From there it's around 30 mins by taxi to the airport.
Medical treatment.
For those who desire it. You can go to one of the ISOS clinics & be treated by expat doctors that speak English. Very clean, very modern, state of the art equipment. Quite pricy, so make sure you have medical insurance.
Pharmacy
In the main cities you can find Watsons pharmacies, just like the US.
Transport
Public transport is very cheap here. But if you choose to buy your own vehicle, bring your drivers license from home & you can take a drivers theory test in Beijing; in English. They drive on the right side of the road.
Traffic has a free right turn even when the lights are red. So when you're on the pedestrian crossing with the little green man telling you to cross; watch out for cars. They will not give way to pedestrians. Not to good at using their indicators either. The horn is the preferred weapon of choice.
Cellphones
The most practical thing you should buy in China. Make sure you buy a simcard in the city you live in. Go to another province & go to the same provider, China Mobile or Unicom, & you can't put money on your phone.
If you get stuck with the language barrier, call one of the Chinese support staff & they can translate on the phone for you.
Food
Generaly speaking, Chinese food is much cheaper. Also, China is inundated with KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hutt & Starbucks. For the more discerning pellet. I can recommend the Sichuan food. Very spicy.
Computers
Bring or buy ,your own laptop. Of course it will be in English. The US prices work out about the same as China. There is TV in English here. But if you should by any chance get board with 24 hour news. Invest in a couple of 500G external hard drives & fill them up with movies etc. You will want to keep in touch with those back home so you will probably use a free downloadable program like skype & talk or video phone for free to other computers. You can call phones with skype but will have to pay for it.
Banking
You can open a bank acount in China. Get yourself an ATM card & withdraw money anywhere in China. You can withdraw money with your home ATM card if it has the PLUS sign on it, or withdraw money from ATM's with your Visa or Mastercard. Transfer money home through the bank or go to China Post and use Western Union if you have someone to collect the money at home. You will want to have plenty of time left before your credit card expires. If getting a new card delivered to you in China. I advise using DHL. I've had 2 credit cards delivered to me here. Fedex & others will only deliver to a business address in China. Very annoying.
Helpful hint. When you have the bank send your card. Give them the cellphone number of a Chinese support person or close friend. The courier may not be sure of your address & will call the phone number. No good calling you because chances are he only speaks Chinese.
Mail
If getting a parcel sent to you. It's normal to have it sent to your company at the airport. So when the address is in English it's no problem.
Glad to be of some assistance to those who may need it in the hopefully not to distant future.
Do you know how many Captains have had interviews in China thus far?
Where & which a/c type sim did you do your sim check in?
If applying for the ERJ 145 slots, there are no sims in China. The company sent some Chinese pilots for their type ratings to Singapore in Jan 09.
(I expect it was done in English because an interpreter from Tianjin was sent with them). For those of you 40 years & above. The class 1 medical for the CAAC requires an EKG treadmill test every 2 years. Those of you who are yet to enjoy this exercise will want to wear shorts & a singlet when you do it. After all the wires are glued to your chest you get on the treadmill. They program it to run for around 20 minutes. It starts at a slow horizontal walk. The last few minutes you find yourself jogging uphill. Then you lay on the bed while they take your pulse. After a few more minutes they take your pulse again to see that your heart rate goes back to normal.
if you wear glasses. Make sure you have a current prescription as the eye tests are more strict than the US.
For those who may desire it. You can live in Beijing as other expat pilots do & commute to Tianjin on the fast trains. It takes 30 mins from Beijing South Train Station to Tianjin Train Station. From there it's around 30 mins by taxi to the airport.
Medical treatment.
For those who desire it. You can go to one of the ISOS clinics & be treated by expat doctors that speak English. Very clean, very modern, state of the art equipment. Quite pricy, so make sure you have medical insurance.
Pharmacy
In the main cities you can find Watsons pharmacies, just like the US.
Transport
Public transport is very cheap here. But if you choose to buy your own vehicle, bring your drivers license from home & you can take a drivers theory test in Beijing; in English. They drive on the right side of the road.
Traffic has a free right turn even when the lights are red. So when you're on the pedestrian crossing with the little green man telling you to cross; watch out for cars. They will not give way to pedestrians. Not to good at using their indicators either. The horn is the preferred weapon of choice.
Cellphones
The most practical thing you should buy in China. Make sure you buy a simcard in the city you live in. Go to another province & go to the same provider, China Mobile or Unicom, & you can't put money on your phone.
If you get stuck with the language barrier, call one of the Chinese support staff & they can translate on the phone for you.
Food
Generaly speaking, Chinese food is much cheaper. Also, China is inundated with KFC, McDonalds, Pizza Hutt & Starbucks. For the more discerning pellet. I can recommend the Sichuan food. Very spicy.
Computers
Bring or buy ,your own laptop. Of course it will be in English. The US prices work out about the same as China. There is TV in English here. But if you should by any chance get board with 24 hour news. Invest in a couple of 500G external hard drives & fill them up with movies etc. You will want to keep in touch with those back home so you will probably use a free downloadable program like skype & talk or video phone for free to other computers. You can call phones with skype but will have to pay for it.
Banking
You can open a bank acount in China. Get yourself an ATM card & withdraw money anywhere in China. You can withdraw money with your home ATM card if it has the PLUS sign on it, or withdraw money from ATM's with your Visa or Mastercard. Transfer money home through the bank or go to China Post and use Western Union if you have someone to collect the money at home. You will want to have plenty of time left before your credit card expires. If getting a new card delivered to you in China. I advise using DHL. I've had 2 credit cards delivered to me here. Fedex & others will only deliver to a business address in China. Very annoying.
Helpful hint. When you have the bank send your card. Give them the cellphone number of a Chinese support person or close friend. The courier may not be sure of your address & will call the phone number. No good calling you because chances are he only speaks Chinese.
If getting a parcel sent to you. It's normal to have it sent to your company at the airport. So when the address is in English it's no problem.
Glad to be of some assistance to those who may need it in the hopefully not to distant future.