China Airlines

[Chilipepper1]

Hello,
I've been invited to screen for DEC B-744 at CAL. Any info out there on screening process (sim profiles, questions, written exams)? Any guides for preparation? Also, as a US type with offshore account where pay will be wired, any taxes to be paid.

MANY THANKS IN ADVANCE.

[Gottabefun]

Had a go at it about 2 years ago, for Air China Cargo on the 747.
There was a written test, 100 questions based on the FAA system. Questions were (supposingly) Google translated into chinese and back again, resulting in.....chinglish. About 60% of the were general ATPL q's, 20% technical on the 767, mostly about fuel dumping. Charts were required to answer the questions, but none were provided..... Last 20% og the q's were Air China Cargo procedures.....
Were told afterwards that whether you got more or less then the passmark didn't matter. The written test was a CAAC requirement, not a company one.

Interview quite straight forward. Took about 15 mins. What have you done before, and why do you want to work for us. Do you have any questions.

Sim: crosswind landings. Crosswind landings. Crosswind landings. Bring your own QRH. Theirs is in local language ;-) staight forward sim, no surprises.

Medical: the big issue. We were 16 to start with. 5 passed the medical the first time around. Don't know if any went back for 2nd attempt. And yes, they do check for HIV.

All in all; not difficult, but very different. Many of the doctors at the different hospitals we went to didn't speak a word of anything but chinese.
After the sim-check the check-airman shook our hand. While we shut down the sim, he just left (without telling us!).
There are many other small stories to tell, but bottom line for me; I managed to find a decent job closer to home :-)

[Dan Winterland]

China Airlines = Taiwan.

Air China = Peoples Republic of China.

Big difference!

[Chilipepper1]

Exactly. Do have any insight to China Airlines?
Thank you in advance for your time.

[nomad_07]

Is Taiwan a better prospect then? Looks nice on the travel shows, but then again so do parts of China!

[typhoonpilot]

Taiwan is a far better place to live than China, IMHO.........and I've spent a lot of time in both places. In Taiwan the people are more civil (not ruined by the cultural revolution and communism). Food is infinitely better and safer in Taiwan. Healthcare is infinitely better and safer......and I've had kids born in both places so again I know what I'm talking about. Air quality is far better in Taiwan, although I haven't been to Kaoshiung in many years. That used to be crap but not near as bad as Beijing.

The Chinese airlines tend to pay better though. Last contract I knew about at CAL was A340 Captain at $9800/month. To give an idea, that versus the closer to $20,000/month at mainland carriers.