The recruitment is nowhere near keeping up and we will, I think, be running at a net loss. This could be an okay thing IF they reacted by upping the terms and conditions. On the other hand they could hand some of the flying back to ANA and I'd be willing to bet a couple of Asahis that it won't be passenger flying.
Sorry to burst your bubble Frate but...
We've already lost one PAX destination flight. NRT-BKK = GONE This was given back to ANA mainline due to lack of crew at AJX. We still operate cargo flights to BKK but no more PAX. From what I am hearing one of the HNL flights is next. Standby.
You owe someone a couple of Asahis
Sorry PD, I meant, of course, to write 'freight', not 'passenger' and totally screwed up what I was trying to say
I think I'll have to pay out in beer because of my stupidity
I hope we don't lose one of the HNLs. I get there little enough, so reducing it by 50% isn't going to help my brief flirtations with reality.
20 is an accurate number of pilots gone in the past year. There are 2 currently at Skymark in training and 3 heading out the door to go there in March.
Esprit, if you're going to insist on espousing the wonders of SM, then at least be accurate so we can all benefit from the information. There is one guy definitely 'heading out the door', there is one guy who hasn't yet made the decision between three options and there is one who hasn't made the decision whether to go to SM or stay at AJX. That is why I wrote 'definites/almost definites'; not because I was sitting on the fence but because they haven't yet decided. You say they're definitely leaving but it will do nothing for your argument if they don't.
I think TD has covered the money side of things. If you're willing to prostitute your whole life to a company in the name of dollars, then good on ya. I would rather have a life and enjoy my time at home, than plough the skies constantly and remain in Japan just to watch my bank balance better off by a couple of grand a month.
Their JCAB checker is not yet in place. I don't doubt he will come but I wouldn't be counting chickens just yet.
A330/A380's coming, upon completion of your first contract an automatic upgrade to instructor ($3000/mo) and an extra 2 days off bringing you inline with AJX
This is perhaps the part of your posting that does you no favours in 'justifying' a move to SM. By all means go because of the tax, direct entry command, ability to sell your soul in the pursuit of $$s but don't delude yourself with crap like this. I have no idea if they've automatically 'instructorised' those on a second contract and will happily believe they have. On the other hand, they're not going to continue this ad infinitum; why would they have all their second tour guys sitting around as instructors, getting paid more but not doing an instructing job? If they're recruitment worked well and everybody stayed, you'd end up with a situation where nobody was joining (because nobody was leaving) and all captains were instructors. It might happen for a bit longer but it is certainly not something to be going there with, thinking it's going to continue. As for the 330/380, you're having a laugh
They've got a pile of Japanese, ex-longhaul, widebody drivers. Compare that with the experience level of those from AJX that are leaving to go to SM. Great guys, but a few hundred hours as a an AJX 767 FO for widebody experience isn't going to cut it when SM look at who's going to fly their new toys. By all means keep your fingers crossed and hope it'll work but there's some phrase about going there with your eyes open and suggesting you're going to be an instructor, earning an extra $3000/month and driving an A330/380 around is not realistic.
I'm not 'bigging up' AJX, nor am I justifying my staying. There are plenty of things AJX needs to do to get it right and I would have no hesitation in leaving should something, genuinely, better comes up. However, what we do need is accurate information to help us all make informed choices, not rhetoric based on hearsay and hope.
Edited to add:
PS:
20 is an accurate number of pilots gone in the past year.
An emphatic statement, which may very well be true. However, I still can't get near those numbers so, again, could you PM me the names. Thanks.