Fourgolds
With the exception of the last two questions the information you ask has been extensively discussed within this thread and although it is rather lengthy I would recommend you to read it (think of it as practice for the 9 months of reading you will be doing) The reason why I recommend it is because you will encounter information you might not think to ask but that is good to know.
As far as the commute is concerned Parc say a " C Class" ticket or $2000 transport allowance. Can someone explain what a " C Class "ticket is.
Is it perhaps " Confirmed" ?
Confirmed business class ticket
If your spouse comes to visit , do they have any objection to her staying with you whilst in Japan ( only some of the time)
No restriction, although if your accommodation will be a hotel the company will only pay for one week and the rest of the time is at your own coin. What accommodations will the combined company provide in the future? apartment vs. hotel? we simply don't know
They are also offering a Japan based contract. Is it possible to start with a commuting one and change to a Japan based one after the first 5 year contract is over.
I'm curious to hear where you got this information from? as far as we know it is only a commuting base contract
Lastly , anyone worried that JAL,s troubles may lead to layoffs and therefore local Japanese pilots flooding the market ( and how it may affect expats), or is that a little out to left field ?
My crystal ball has never worked very well mind you, but with many airlines and the government willing to dump money into the bottomless pit that is JAL and with the economy recuperating at a higher pace that has been anticipated my prediction is that hiring will continue at ANA and that eventually you will see contracts offered to expats at JAL as well. But the most politically correct answer would be, I have no freaking Idea!
Has the merger with AJX/AJV gone ahead ? Confirm it does not really matter then which company you apply for in this case as we will all be flying both lines ?
Gone ahead? In Japan everything takes a long time and the merger will take most of next year to be complete but then again so will the training of the folks that join now, so at the end it won't matter