FYI, for those of you considering Shenzhen Airlines. WASINC is just a conduit, remember that. They do what the airline says and have limited power.
On the flip side, those of us that have been here for a while are finding out that our contracts, and yours, are worth less than the paper they are written on. To explain let me quote the contract:
"
2. The parties also acknowledge that if CONTRACTOR fails to submit ninety (90) days prior
notice to SHENZHEN AIRLINES and WASINC INTERNATIONAL, SHENZHEN
AIRLINES and WASINC INTERNATIONAL would be damaged since it would not be
enough period to find a replacement for CONTRACTOR.
3. The parties acknowledge and agree that damages associated with such types of early
termination are too difficult to ascertain.
4. ACCORDINGLY, the parties agree as follows;
A. Early termination of the assignment shall be subject to the charge of Liquidated
Damage payment;
B. If CONTRACTOR resigns after the assignment to SHENZHEN AIRLINES, or if
WASINC INTERNATIONAL terminates CONTRACTOR for Cause,
CONTRACTOR shall pay WASINC INTERNATIONAL the following sum"
Dependant on your contract the penalties are differnet but the bottom line is that Shenzhen Airlines IS NOT HONORING THE CONTRACT SHOULD YOU LEAVE AND WANT TO GO TO ANOTHER CHINESE CARRIER! They are charging you 400,000 Yuan for "Training, admin and finders fees". Although this is totally illegal, they are not letting anyone leave with a "LETTER OF GOOD STANDING" so you can pursue other options....
One or two guys have completed the entire contract and Shenzhen would not give a release letter to them. They are forced to sign another contract with Shenzhen or leave China to search for another job.
I am not just another pissed off pilot; I've tried to stay fair and not bitch and moan; I've tried to give everyone an honest opinion of this place. Read your contract, ask questions, ask about the "release letter" at contract completion (why isnt it in your contract that you will get one?), where is the signiture for shenzhen? (why isnt it there), how am I suppose to pay my bills in America if the $$ you give me goes to a Chinese Bank? (some guys are illegally exchanging thier Yuan in cash and taking it across the border to Hong kong and dep. it in thier HSBC account), ask who has been able to wire money out of China and if you can speak with them about the process, if you need to terminate your contract via the legal and binding verbage in your contract, will you or wont you get a letter and why!, if you leave early will you owe training costs (this is turning out to be true even if you leave at the end of your contract), Ask about paying for your own simulator training should you have a hard landing or get pulled off line for other reasons. No pilot at shenzhen is getting more than 2000 yuan a month for fuel bonuses and even that number declines every month as the re-adjust the math to suit the financial needs of the comany; bottom line is dont count on it.
If they are not involved in the processes at Shenzhen then who are they representing and why arent they able to answer your questions....
They've even required pilots to set up accounts in Hong Kong and lie about thier profession (I have the email!). When the first group of pilots went over there, they refused to tell them that they were "Toy Salesmen"...yea, I said that right...Toy salesmen. That completely fell through as well as them asking us to buy illegal receipts from the secretary (at 1% of the face value) at Shenzhen so the airline could turn it into the goverment.
This crap is so crazy that there is no way I could make this up.....dont get me wrong, its better than not having a job but it pays to know who and what you are dealing with before you come over here...it is not easy.