Originally Posted by
WYOMINGPILOT
I would say go for it but make sure you have an exit plan as you may need it sooner than 3-5 years. Don't leave a stable long term job to come to China. What is happening now in the aviation world can and does change rapidly. When you come to China expect 3-4 trips to accomplish all the screening and 6-9 months before you are hired and the process is only getting worse as the CAAC puts endless rounds of verifications and checks before they give your target company the green light to hire you. When you start expect about 1 year before you are checked to the line and endless hoops, checks, and you will be screened inside a glass house continuously during that period. After checked to the line expect a minimum of 6 months before you are allowed to let the copilot force any landings so 4-6 sector days with 16 hour crew duty days and you doing all the flying. On the rare off day you will have safety meetings, ground training and medical and Sim training events to accomplish. The failure rate is about 50% for time on type Captains for the initial Sim screening. The medical pass rate is about 60% and the ATPL test is about 70% pass on the first go. The CAAC check is another high failure rate and then you still have the company training and Sim check and then both right and left seat line training you must be signed off on by multiple Chinese Instructors before being given a Line check. Follow on medical checks are also difficult and every 6 months once you are age 40 along with recurrent Sim checks every 6 months with 10% failure rate. The biggest fear you will have is line flying and QAR a FOQA type system where anything you do wrong is continuously recorded. Late configurations, GPWS warnings, speed brakes with certain flap settings, long and hard landings, over rotations, high airspeed or 1 dot deviations on an ILS and you will called in and punished, fined and publicly shamed as the company sends out emails to all Captains about other pilots transgressions. After a 3 year contract you will be very burned out and your health will start deteriorating all the while you still have to pass the next medical. If you think you have the mind to try being a part of the "Right Stuff" for the Chinese and make the big bucks go for it just always have an exit plan as it will most likely be required sooner than later.
Not a single word that wasn't true here. I have been in China for years. The hoops you have to jump through don't stop coming. Even now. And you are ALWAYS on notice. "Captain (so and so) with FO (so and so) made a wrong turn on taxi. No incident caused. Regardless, both pilots demonstrated reckless attitude, and are off line duty for 1 month with no pay." These emails are normal occurrence.