Another good, accurate post by Biggus.
Very interesting info regarding the agency quota. It seems it is time to get some form of protection for the pilots from dodgy agents. At the moment we are at their mercy with no avenue to escape. I will bring this up with the bosses at the next opportunity.
I could not agree more that some pilots are suitable for China and some are not. Basically if you want to bring along baggage and change the way it is done here, don't bother coming. If you are willing to be flexible, relax and fit in a bit, you could spend many years here earning good cash. There are higher paying jobs in China now but they don't have the foreign pilot numbers. Your call if it's worth the risk.
Just heard today that the 330 fleet is looking for takers for a 330 base in Europe (CDG, AMS or FRA). It seems they seriously want more crew and will do what they are able to get them. Remember this is a huge airline and change takes time.
CSA have listened and taken action relatively quickly to many of the foreign pilot requests. I would say a lot faster than my previous companies. We need to remember that there are many more departments in CSA that need to be consulted as opposed to Western Airlines. What I still can't get my head around is the fact that SOC has more power than FLT OPS. For the non-initiated, this means that the scheduling dept will always overrule FLT OPS. A very strange situation.
Once again, good luck to those that take a serious look at CSA. Just be very wary of the earlier posts regarding agent choice. Choose correctly and you could be set till retirement. Make the wrong choice and you will regret it for as long as you stay at CSA.