m_d, I'm not sure where you're getting your info from, but certainly the one "
Jalex will have big B737 order in 2-3 years." is totally INcorrect.
JAL Express are moving into MD80's & 90's (the old...very old [no RNAV]....
JAS ones), and are currently looking for experienced Captains as they come into service from May of next year.
The latest rumour (last night, as a matter of fact), is that
Air Japan have stated that they will "soon" start to upgrade some of the foreign F/O's to the lhs - the upgrades being based on the oldest and most experienced to go first, regardless of joining date.
Bear in mind, that it takes almost exactly
12 months for a Japanese F/O to be cleared to start flying in the lhs, and one can only wonder how long they will dictate it has to take a
gaijin
I was also told that quite a number of F/O's from
Air Japan have left, to join
CX, Dragon Air and
Silk Air.
Although the $$$'s in
Air Japan look good, you are paid a GROSS salary, and are responsible for paying your own tax. To the best of my knowledge, the guys there don't have residency status in Japan, and therefore don't qualify for paying Jap tax.
Having just been hit been gone through like a dose of salts, by the ATO
and the Q'ld State Government (who used Immigration records to substantiate their claims), I wouldn't suggest you try to fiddle the tax man. The penalties alone can be severely punishing!
ANA; 45 B737ng's on order
Yes....well......the RUMOUR there was that
ANA was going to establish a
big LCC operation out of Nagoya early next year.
The following press release (unfortunately) appears closer to
REALITY:-
ANA establishes AIR NEXT, a small-size fleet operator
Based on the ANA Group 2004-2006 Mid-Term Corporate Strategy, the ANA Group established AIR NEXT, a low-cost fleet operator. This new carrier will operate domestic flights for ANA with a fleet of B737-500s based at Fukuoka Airport.
1. Company name : AIR NEXT Co., Ltd.
2. President & CEO: YO****AKE, Ikuo
3. Paid-in capital: ¥50 million
4. Shareholder: 100% Air Nippon Co., Ltd. (ANA’s nearly 100% owned subsidiary)
5. Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
6. Date of establishment:August 20,2004
7. Business plan
(1) Start of service: June, 2005
(2) Aircraft: B737-500 leased from ANA (2 aircraft in operation by the end of March 2006, another 5 aircraft will be added by the end of March 2008)
(3) Network: Serving Fukuoka- or Okinawa-based domestic routes currently operated by the ANA Group
(4) Employees: Initially a staff of 40
SEVEN miserable aircraft over a 4 year period!!
SkynetAsia; expect 16 more B737-400's over next 3 years.
This sounds like wishful thinking, considering that in June of this year,
SNA announced that they were in dire financial straits
Hot off the press, Sky Net Asia officially declared itself insolvent to the Government late last week, and has asked for a hand-out of between USD$40.0 - USD$50.0 million to keep flying.
A Declaration of Insolvency in Japan, is similar to chapter 11 in the USA, whereby a company asks for protection from its creditors until its financial position can be determined.
Without a doubt there is going to be a strong demand for pilots in Japan, to replace the huge exodus of retirees, over the next few years.
On the other hand, productivity of Japanese pilots is
extremely low - they average around 45-50 hours per month in the company I'm with, and for that they are paid USD20k-$30k per month + generous bonuses twice a year.
Foreign pilots flying here earn about 1/2 the salary (but no bonuses!!), fly 65-85 hours per month, and have 2 "Off" days
less per month (8 instead of 10).
The companies are very afraid of the "unions" here (which have no real teeth), but the problem is really
extremly inefficient scheduling of rosters.
Contracts mean absolutely ZILCH to the Japanese, so if you do sign, I suggest you do it in Australia and file a copy for the future.