Brookfield abused and colocolo,
Flying for a chinese airlines here are my thoughts..
Flight plans are accurate and 99% of time the most distant alternate is used so you end up carrying way to much fuel.
Any tempo CBs at your destination or alternate,dispatch will reward you with 1t extra.
Issue in china is ATC is not reliable and you may have to hold for 2 or 3 turns in the middle of your flight because the next sector cant accept you just yet(and thats after 2 hours flow control on the ground)..
But so far 400 kgs was the max used for these problems anf fligjt plans account for it.
I diverted once due to atc no being able to advise me how long would be the delay due to bad weather at destination.
The company NEVER blamed the crew.A detailed report was made by me explaining the reason for diversion.
Concerning the maintenance i can tell you that our aircraft are very well maintained and if you deem necessary to change a tire it will be done expeditiously.
Any requests to maintenance was dealt with efficiently.
I do write into techlog for your info..
Concerning duty time, they are indeed long.however if you are expecting to go over just call your dispatcher.
A friend of mine had to call the fom who then agreed with him that he couldnt continue and dispatch was told the same.
Dispatch may try to convince you otherwise but hey you are the captain and it is your final decision.
Believe me this happens everywhere even where i flew in europe.
14 hours can be extended to 16 hours for 2 crews.long duties are mostly due to long flow control( mostly summer).yes,one local CB and u git urself 1 hour delay..makes your task easier..just seat and wait.
Flights are easy,mostly 2 sectors(4-7 hours long), not like low costs..so all in all i prefer the stress staring at the ceiling in a 1star hotel for 3 hours than constantly making decisions whether you can safely takeoff during a stormy evening with no flow control.
Substandard airports...
Bejing atc is poor,any queries outside of their usual perrot aviation,they are lost,this is when your fo comes handy!!!
I guess u must be american cause in europe some airports are much worse than here..ever flew to bucharest baneasa? Krakow in poland?
Yes they dont use continious descent here but the vdp point is calculated befire starting the approach not when at mda...
Either works for me eventhough i prefer continious descent.
Salaries:
beat all that is on offer and way more than europe.
There may be the reason for all you whiners to still stay around here while dreaming about your home golden spoon major airlines in and out of bankrupcy.
Safe flights!