BEIJING CAPITAL AIRLINES

[On Final]

Hello All,

I was looking at the new contract for Being Capital Airlines and wonder if any of you have any good data on the airline? I have been in China almost 7 years and have followed some of the different airlines over the years.

There has to be a reason why Being Capital Airlines is having to pay so much money, kinda throws up a RED Flag.

Important things are how do they treat the EXPATS
Schedules
Punishments
payment of Bonuses and OT.

Any comments would be appreciated.

Thanks,

On Final

[de facto]

Getting stuck on final huh?:p

[Dockjock]

Air Canada is presently offering leaves of absence and BCA through Aeropersonnel has the full court press on our A320 captains as a result. They are running screenings next month and it sounds like there will be a dozen or more takers. We're being told that the safety bonus scams are a thing of the past, everything is great etc etc. Basing in Sanya, live by the beach, what could be better? For me I have a young family and couldn't pull the trigger but I did give it more than a second thought. Honestly a little bit of "too good to be true" was holding me back. As you say, red flag.

[On Final]

Hello, Thanks for replies. In this game best to always plan ahead, keep your eyes open...ha.

The Sanya base is not bad and not sure, use to be out and backs most of the time.

There use to be a Chinese lady as the VP but not sure if she is still working there.

Thanks,

On Final

[WYOMINGPILOT]

From friends there, the Sanya gig is probably one of the best deals going in China right now. One thing to watch out for is the bait and switch they offer of promising Sanya and then only delivering Beijing. The time delays and slow moving new joiner process is also something to watch out for. Another good A 320 option is Lucky Air in Kunming. Wish I was a bus driver as the pay there is way out stripping the current Boeing pay. Best of luck.

[On Final]

Hi Wyoming, Thanks for you reply. Any Captains currently working for Beijing Capital Airlines can share information? I wonder if they are doing mostly turns out of Sanya Base. Are there many overnights?

Any information is good.

Thanks,

On Final

MOVE THREAD-----Link to other Beijing Capital Airlines not to duplicate thread.

http://www.pprune.org/south-asia-far-east/547152-beijing-capital-airlines.html

[USMCProbe]

As of 2 years ago the expats in Sanya were doing mostly 1 days trips with maybe 1 overnight a week. The Sanya pilots spent the night in Harbin or Shenyan, and the PEK guys spent a night in either Sanya or Urumqi.

When I was there it was one of the better gigs in China. The company treated the expats well, and the fines were not as frequent as some other airlines in China, notably Hainan Airlines. If you got fined at BCA, you probably did something blatantly wrong that you could have avoided. Fines are part of the regs.

Almost everyone I worked with is now gone for various reasons. If you are a surfer Sanya is a good deal. Also the air is clean. Other than that it is a secondary city in China. Very few expats, or expat friendly services. No western medical care. It is difficult and expensive to commute out of Sanya. You have to fly out to another city in China to connect to an international flight.

I was also wet leased out to Lucky Air for 6 months. Similar flying to BCA. Kunming is OK. Air quality is OK. More expats than Sanya, but not as good as PEK, CAN, or Shanghai.

BCA, Lucky, and Tianjin are all part of Hainan Group and all are just subsets of Hainan Airlines. They share ground staff at each others' bases. Operationally they are the smoothest operation I have ever seen in 25 years of aviation.

And the money is very, very good. At least the months when you are not med down and not getting paid. It is still China.

[On Final]

Hello USMC, thats good information, thanks much. I have seen you here on PPRUNE along time making great posts...!

For me almost 7 years in China, now on the A330. Just getting tired of flying west with time diff. Kicking my A---s. The money on the A330 is too low compare to A320 even though its tiring banging around China but its do able.

Thinking about getting on the A320, make more money while staying on the same time zone. I am looking for the next contract with the right airline and pay A320.

My info for BCA is old, 3 years ago, I am sure many things have changed. I wonder why they have to pay so much for pilots.

Thanks, Again,

On Final

[USMCProbe]

They were hiring continuously while I was there, but lost pilots just as fast they as they hired them. As long as you were a real pilot with real experience, the line training wasn't difficult or as long as some other carriers in China.

Like I said, operationally the Hainan Group rocks. The only bad part of BCA was the staff they had that dealt with foreign pilots. It was basically a bunch of friends and family from the countryside.

Several of us might have stayed had they offered more time off than 6/2. They wouldn't budge off of that when I left. Will they now? Maybe the new roster options are just a carrot to get you to sign a contract with them. I don't know.

The leadership of the airline likes expats.

[hugeduck]

Offering more commuting choices and raising pay would be the trend for airlines in China to attract expat pilots, as well as improving their internal system to understand, communicate and help expat pilots if the management awares.

The past 7-10 years were the first time that China aviation inducted expats into this field. It was pain for both airlines and expat pilots to get to know each other. I should say recent years things are getting better in most of the airlines.

Though culture, language, lifestyle...in China are quite different from Western and there are many headaches in work, expats could lead a happy life if he's willing to make friends and being kind and optimistic. I believe some captains posting in this thread do know China well and deal with things well. :ok::ok::ok:

[gatorman330]

i am with bca in sanya, on the whole, everything is good, we have a good chinese manager who understands that the foreign pilots do have different attitudes to the chinese culture of do as you are told. The Base thing... carrot? not really, you usually get based where you want but will end up touring to other bases for a week to 10 days as they are short of pilots in xian guilin and hangzhou for international flights and haikou and sanya for internal flights so if you want to be based at any of these, come on in the water is fine. In sanya they have just started to send us to do international flying to bangkok etc and yes they are deep night flights, red eyes mofo trips, most internal flights are finished by 0100.

The hotels range from average to flea pits, haikou and xian are the worst, we are going there for 4 to 6 days at the moment which is making me rethink the situation!. if you have kids, make that your priority and don't choose sanya, beijing and guangzhou are great for international schools but they come at a hefty price, there is an international school in sanya but lots of complaints as its been hijacked by the rich chinese parents who are demanding changes more akin to chinese schools but you will have to talk to the guys with kids for that info'. My wife is a qualified uk diploma holder to teach kids up to 6 so that might be an avenue to take for the wifey at some stage
The money speaks for itself, BCA couldn't attract pilots and we are expanding very quickly so now they have upped the anty and its paying off as we have quite a few guys joining now and in the coming months, 22 first officers attempted command upgrade last month..2 passed!!!!!
Flying here is frustrating, FL226 on a 2;45 hour sector is not what i am used to.
I took 9 months to get online its a lot quicker these days,that was 3 years ago, probably 4 months now, there was always something wrong with visas licences security checks etc when i was assimilated
Life in sanya is generally good and the guys here are great, a real mixed bunch of pilots and we like to mix with the expats that are here too, they are a good bunch. cricket is played usually once a month(for the yanks thats baseball for men), we had 56 people turned up last week, BBQ beers etc which is a good time to meet lots of the expats
Health care.... hmmm, brand new hospital in haiting bay just down the road but seems to be the same bunch of medical guys using it so hong kong or guangzhou/beijing if you get hurt, once again, if you are worried about health care, don't choose sanya
Sanya is what it is, we like it but we don't have kids and we haven't had health problems... yet!
The sim for selection is a bitch
The medical check is ridiculous
The bureaucracy is... well you will find out
see you all soon

[Dihedral1]

Thanks for a balanced overview..
Money wise BCA can't be beat:D
What about the A330 talk, is that happening gatorman"330"? Coincidence or good planning?
Regards,
D

[USMCProbe]

Thanks Gatorman;
I was just starting to inquire about coming back. Living in the airport dumps at Xian or Haikhou for a week or more at a time? I think I will pass for now.

Xian you are literally on the airport perimeter fence, on the other side of the airport from the terminal. The "hotel" is at the end of a dusty dirty road several Km s long. Nothing around.

[gatorman330]

yes john, xian is the worst of all the hotels, even haikou, i am positioning there tomorrow for 4 days... a training flight to bangkok, can't believe someone is going to try and teach me to fly international routes:ugh:
To be fair life is very good here, we all now live in ban shan bandao area which is a great area right next to the international school here, if you can call it that, beers on the beach yesterday.... nice!
The new international routes have only just started and they are desperate for us to do them even though we are short of pilots in sanya so i am hoping it settles down soon and they do what they should do and that is to base new pilots where they are needed and not give them the base they want and then spend their lives touring as the guys in beijing do:mad:

[gatorman330]

The 330?? hmm, we were supposed to be getting 2 this year, one in beijing the other in hangzhou but i believe hainan airlines have thrown a spanner in the works.... they were planning to go hgh lax daily but as with all aviation dreams, factors of etops certification were never considered:ugh: i believe hainan airlines are taking the lax route off us so if the 330 comes it will be europe or internal flying
i was mixed fleet flying 320 and 330 in a previous existence but have told them i categorically do not want to fly 330, my priority is my family and i like coming home at night, not staying in flea pit hotels

[gatorman330]

hi john, originally told last week that 3 of us sanya based pilots 'were the chosen few' apparently its an honour to fly international :ugh:, we will effectively tour the bases doing the international flights, i am assured now that after more complaints from the 3 of us harping on that they have increased that number to 10, more to follow so it may not be that bad. We are still enjoying sanya and living in ban shan bandao is expensive..... its worth it, very nice apartments, great views, great pool etc, good clean beaches and only just over a mile to dadong hai
would be great to see you back here mate, need some more cricket players, even if you do swing like a girlie baseball player:D:)

[USMCProbe]

Thinking hard about it. I have it really good at the moment, but it is always just a moment in time. Things will change, as will my current deal. I much prefer being an expat.

BTW, the 330's were coming in early 2010 as well.

[gatorman330]

i was told yesterday that 2 a330s are expected in july? lots of chinese captains are desperate to fly 330 but they don't want to do the international flights on 320, no money in it!!!

[USMCProbe]

I thought HNA pilots got a lot of extra money for international flights? BCA is different?

For me I could care less. They will probably do BKK as a turn, no layover. A piece of concrete is a piece of concrete.

[gatorman330]

chinese guys get 160% for international flights and like the layovers but there are no layovers any more and we don't cost anything to do them but it is 5-9 days away from base which is a bitch

[gatorman330]

New thing for the sim', dual FAC failure, single engine raw data ils 20 kt x wind to minimums, apparently quite a hand full

[fatbus]

160% so more than all of them.

[gatorman330]

sanya drought!!! if its not one thing its another. water and electricity are being turned off regularly now, wifey hasn't had water for 12 hours, they reckon another 2 weeks and we will have no water at all in the east of sanya until the end of july and thats with the luck of an early typhoon. lots of guys contemplating taking lots of leave at the moment or just getting out of there for a while, see what the company do?? gotta say, its worrying, no air con' as electric regularly gets shut off, 35 degrees and humid and can't shower:D:ugh:

[USMCProbe]

Wow, Really? Is the res empty? That would suck.

[gatorman330]

yeah john, no water left, at the mo its dadonghai and along bay that are worst affected, one of our guys had no water for 4 days, think the next few weeks will see the other areas without any water :ugh:

[squarecrow]

Hows your Water Situation, That must really SuK trying to go to Work with no
Water at home etc.

[gatorman330]

not too bad at the moment but the next 2 weeks will tell i think, reservoirs are really low, water trucks are being parked around some areas for people to go with containers, we have water at the moment

[USMCProbe]

It is the wet season. No rain? We already had a Cat III typhoon last month in my part of the Pacific.

[Dihedral1]

China's Capital Airlines to Lease an Indonesian A330 (http://www.wcarn.com/news/45/45301.html)

More, for who?

http://www.wcarn.com/news/45/45417.html

[gatorman330]

no rain at the season transition for the last 2 years now but just had a baby typhoon so the situation is much better than we thought now. lots of happy..er people

[gatorman330]

2 330s coming, one already painted etc, direct entry for 330 foreign guys which is pissing off the guys here but no chance of releasing 320 guys as we are too busy... thats a good thing!
For all you wannabeeees, yes they will hire for 330, yes they will be desperate but hainan airlines.... see advert above, its our parent company, they are about to increase their salary... substantially

[gatorman330]

having had an early mini typhoon, water levels are ok for now but another month or so, hate to say it but we need a couple more to barrel through here

[USMCProbe]

Where are they planning on flying the 330? They told me they were getting 330's "next year" when I started in 2010.


Glad you got water and electricity back.

[USMCProbe]

Gatorman;
I just pmailed you with my private email. I got a few questions for you. Looks like my leave will come through. I am also considering the Hainan 737 job in Shenzhen.

[gatorman330]

hi john sorry, hotmail defunked, same but @gmail.com
330 is in sanya AOG at the moment pack conduit had a fliddy and slow decompression. 330 will fly internal, doing daily beijing sanya at the mo' eventually i think 3 times a week to copenhagen, Hainan stole the hangzhou LAX route as i said before, no chance of BCA getting a 180 ETOPS cert.
The hna deal sounds good in shenzhen, hna package is very good plus you are a taxi ride away from HK MRT. Drop me an email john
regards

[On Final]

Hello,


I was looking into the A330 Capt. position possibilities at BCA but up to now no word?


Has anyone heard when they will start recruiting for the A330?


Any info would be great..!


Happy Flight,




On Final

[Tatarin]

Hi! I have question. I have heard that roster pattern 4/4 is total scam. Is it true?

[gatorman330]

you will be getting paid a lot of money to be able to take a lot of time off, the 4&4 deal is what it says but there are restrictions during the busiest time just like any crappy western airline, expect that you will have your 28 days on spread over 2 months i.e. last 2 weeks in one month then the first 2 weeks next month, at this point you will work your socks off, 40 hours a week possibly, do the math's but you will get a lot of time off, around chinese new year there is an embargo on only being able to take 2 weeks but then take advantage of being able to take 5,6, maybe 8 weeks off if you double up or you can sell back some leave, anything over 550 hours pays 200 usd an hour so there is potential to earn a lot more than the basic amount if you want

[gatorman330]

not sure as yet but the rumour is that they will take direct entry captains 330, as you will find out the chinese are paranoid about mistakes no matter how tiny and they see native english speakers as the way ahead, i don't mean english people but collectively english as their first language, the crews here have a hard time understanding english speaking captains so you can imagine what the radio work is like when they go international and everything is standardised, the next 330 is supposed to be arriving soon, i will see if i can put the email address of our recruitment manager on here, i will have to get permission first :ugh:

[USMCProbe]

The Chinese don't do 100 hours/rolling 30 days. They do 100 hours in a calendar month. Working 4/4, you can work a LOT of hours in the 4 weeks on if each calendar month has 2 weeks in it.

I think most of the airlines offering this expect you to be "flexible" about when you do your sim sessions and medicals. Like, perhaps, right in the middle of your 4 weeks off.

They are paying you a bunch to work 4 weeks. They are going to squeeze every single dollar out of you.

When I was at BCA, I was 6/2. They now offer 6/3. The flying was efficient enough that you could probably work 6/3, and get well over 900 hours a year. That would be 250 hours of overtime under their current contract offer.

4/4 I don't think I would like because of my above concerns. But everyone has different priorities in life.

[Tatarin]

Thank you guys for reply and your opinion!
Would you be so kind to share info about sim assessment.

[gatorman330]

the sim' assessment has been done to death, please read previous threads, mine was nearly 4 years ago but things don't really change much in china, if you are liked by the trainers pre sim you may get an easier ride, some have had easier rides recently and thats great. Smile, be friendly, courteous and then professional in the sim', you may be with a guy who has just done his basic 320 sim course and english isn't great so give yourself some time to adapt and remember they will give you altitudes to climb in metres


just for you
you do a company check ride then a CAAC check ride, expect either
1. dual hyd's, single eng', max x/wind to ils minimums
2. dual Rad' Alt fail, sinle eng', max x/wind to ils minimums (tricky)
3. dual FAC fail', single eng', max x/wind to ils minimums (tricky)
plus tcas gpws eng' fail V1 cut etc etc
all of this maybe with a new chinese FO with limited english and up to 5 people in the sim', translators etc
good luck

[USMCProbe]

They have a sim in SYX now?

The sims were always fun. A real workout. Single engine, direct law, raw data. All at the same time. Yea ha!

Recurrent sims are just as much fun as the screening!

[Tatarin]

Thanks a lot! Sim is gonna be fun;)
Another concern is medical. gatorman330 in few previous posts you wrote that medical is ridiculous. What did you mean?

[gatorman330]

2 x a320 sims in sanya now john, rumours of moving them to haikou though so see what comes, i am in there for my 6 monthly keel hauling tomorrow
one of the sim's has a minor snag every now and then that when single engine the slip target gives the wrong sense to press which is weird so watch out for that

[gatorman330]

because the medical is ridiculous, get used to it, i just had bad blood results, more test etc, they test for everything including HIV so anything out of the ordinary is treated like the plague, pretty much all our guys get stuff at some time, high BP and kidney stones are a favourite and its treated by having a month off(no pay), then if you come back with ok results and have to take another month off before coming back to work(no pay). you will find out when you do your initial medical, if theres anything wrong they will find it, if theres nothing wrong, they test until they find something wrong:ugh:
all of the limits for bloods etc have been decreased as well now so its even harder but this is not the companies fault, its a CAAC run hospital

[On Final]

Fellow Pilots,


I am looking at BCA for an A330 Capt position but still no word on them accepting applications.


If anyone has any word, rumors, drum beats would be interesting to hear when they might hire.


My agency told me they didn't have anything either, oh well time will tell..ha.


Happy Flights.


On Final

[Tatarin]

Hi guys! Question for pilots who is working now in China. Have you read the book flight up side down?

[steeve]

Hello!


I am considering to join BCA.
About their bases, if I choose Beijing is there any chance to end up touring to other bases?
Should I expect 1/2 weeks per month out in Xian or other cities?


Steeve

[paidinhours]

Beijing base has too many pilots now. Mostly local pilots with family/property etc. The company will strongly encourage you to choose Sanya or Hangzhou as a base. If you insist on Beijing, expect to be away for most of the month. Almost like a commuting job to Beijing. Beijing guys are sent for 4-9 days away at a time to either Sanya, Haikou, Hangzhou, Guilin, Hohhot and Xian. Most flights available for foreigners out of Beijing are layovers so don't expect a normal life in Beijing unless you use all you holidays to stay in Beijing. The best bases for roster stability are Sanya, Hangzhou. However, they keep adding routes from various bases so it could all change in a few months.

[WYOMINGPILOT]

I saw the BCA A-330 in Hangzhou yesterday. They are flying it from both Hangzhou and Beijing to Copenhagen. The plan is to have 3 by the end of the year and 30 within 5 years.

Beijing Capital Airlines Goes Long-Haul with A330 :: Routesonline (http://www.routesonline.com/news/29/breaking-news/249992/beijing-capital-airlines-goes-long-haul-with-a330/routes-tv/3831990316001/)

[On Final]

Hello, I talk to a friend that is there told me they are only training Chinese Pilots for A330 right now. Not sure when they will open it up for Foreign pilots. I see now the age cutoff is 55 i thought before it was 57 not sure if it changed.

In 2016 I am sure there will be a major pilot shortage of qualified A330 captains World Wide because Air Bus will deliver 50 A350 this year 2015 , 800 next year 2016 and 100 then year after 2017. I don't think other airline will retire the A330, instead fly more and need more Captains and pilots...!

I also think China will move the retirement age to 65 for pilots next year.

Just my thoughts..ha.

Happy flights..!

On Final

[steeve]

Many thanks paidinhours for the usefull infos!


Steeve

[gatorman330]

they asked me to fly 330 2 weeks ago....... errr no thanks, it is happening though, 2 expats are going to do the 330 ccq soon

[gatorman330]

hey guys, just been told recently that the company are very short of captains here at BCA, big expansion plans and that there's now a bonus for us to get guys into the company of 5000 usd for each guy that gets on line.. very nice of them to do that, anybody wants to join and needs a little extra i will split it with you if it comes, (new handbag for the mrs, she gets all my bonuses anyway) so if you are interested and want to join BCA give me a shout and i will give you a direct email for our recruitment person, (go through agency and you get nothing! eventually you have to choose an agency to represent you though) i have also suggested today that they offer a joining bonus to attract guys which gets paid a little while after joining as travel is not paid for 6 months, then paid 6 months in arrears plus you will join on a training salary until on line(still good but would be nice to get a few extra shekels after a while, not sure how that will go down, i will keep you informed)
Not pushing you guys to go elsewhere but I would also say that chengdu airlines have just brought out what initially sounds like a great package for 320 captains so if you want to be based in chengdu, have a look at that, google it.
As for the 330's here, we now have one, the 2nd should have been here but is delayed by a few weeks, the plan is to have over 20 330's in the next 5 years or so, so if you are waiting for direct entry 330 then maybe wait for a little while, only a matter of time before they open that avenue up but historically 330 jobs pay less than 320! not sure why!
Also a rumour our group are starting another airline next year here in sunny sanya
About BCA basing, if you want sanya you should get it! if you want beijing you will get it but you will fly a lot out of all the other bases including sanya so not that much time in beijing if you bring your family

[gatorman330]

apparently 330 type rating is the same rating for 350 so same same, i got offered 330 2 weeks ago, i turned it down as i value my time with my family more but things are changing 320 wise too, only 2 foreigners going on the 330 at the mo' but i am sure it will open up soon as the expansion plans are ambitious, the company cannot get enough FO's through to captain the 320 let alone the 330

[gatorman330]

steeve, any base other than sanya or hangzhou you will definitely (not for a little while though) tour although for between 5 and 8 days at a time, (if you end up in xian, thats the worst hotel we have, like being in prison... i kid you not, 2nd worst hotel is haikou) hotel in xian is right in-between the 2 runways, 2 miles on dual carriageway to the terminal, rooms are.... err.... shabby, town is 30km away... if you can find a taxi... food... basic, very basic and served on a pressed tin tray! just like i imagine in jail... on that note i have depressed myself enough.. good night

[Tatarin]

Hi guys!

I have screening in November. Would you be so kind tell what should expect on this screening.

Thank you!

[gatorman330]

a medical
ATPL exam
company simulator test and maybe CAAC simulator if you have time

[Tatarin]

Thank you for reply!

Regarding sim checks which one of them is more difficult?

Thank you.

[ManaAdaSystem]

Is the ATPL exam a one time issue, or do you have to do this test like every two or five years?
If you have done it for one airline and then apply for another one, do you have to take the ATPL test again?

[WYOMINGPILOT]

It is a one time test if you get your Chinese ATPL. If you take the test at one carrier and then move to another company without getting the license you most likely would have to take it again as that company has/owns the test report from the CAAC and they generally won't give it up.

[WJAPilot]

Its only Valid for two years once written if no chinese licence was subsequently issued.

[ManaAdaSystem]

Thanks!

How about the initial medical? Does it expire after a period if you have to wait for a while before starting? Do you have to do medicals every 6 months or every 12?

[safelife]

12 months till age 40 thereafter 6 months validity.

[ManaAdaSystem]

So, the same way it used to be in the west.
I believe the Chinese have signed international agreements regarding this, so how they can do their own thing is a bit strange.

[WYOMINGPILOT]

It's just the way things have always been done here. Things change very very very slowly here. Your recurrent checkrides are also every 6 months. One way to look at this job is to take it 6 months at a time. Some look at it like a daily job. One bad day ie a hard landing or other Level 3 QAR and you are out. I tend to take it 6 months at a time but don't come here thinking its a 20 year career. Most guys last 1 contract.

[Tatarin]

Gotorman330 may I send you a PM?

[gatorman330]

BCA offering direct entry 330 commands now, google it

[gatorman330]

Things in BCA have changed a lot in the last few months
1. lots of new joiners
2. international flights from lots of bases
3. Lots of touring from sanya now for up to 12 days at a time (at the end of this weeks schedule i will have spent 20 out of 25 days away from sanya)
4. scheduling have heard of CRM and are listening to the pilots now about time spent away(laughs quietly under his breath)

Take a good look at sichuan airlines as they are offering a similar package and the pilots their pretty much live in sanya and are treated much better scheduling wise (but then things could change quickly there too)
also look at chengdu airlines new package, looks great

[gatorman330]

hooray, its my last flight of 4 tonight from haikou, 6 days away, had to position to haikou by train (2 hour train journey) at my own expense and effectively in my own time to haikou to operate (and no you dont get deadheading on a train) and find that 6 of us are here from sanya.... hmmm, i also just spent nearly 2 hours queueing for a train ticket today to get the early train back tomorrow to be with my family. Had a brilliant moment today though as its the first time i have had hot water in the hotel this trip..... its the little things in life that make us happy (if this lifestyle floats your boat, then come on in the water is fine, if not?)
A quick chinese joke i heard this week!, what do you call a guy that spends 22 out of 29 days away from his family in one month plus when he is home he flies 2 of those days?..... ERRRRR..... ME!

Things are really changing, if you choose sanya you will be living here but working elsewhere in china so be prepared for that, if you base yourself in beijing you will spend more time in sanya than some of the sanya based guys and make an extra 1600 usd in deadheading to boot, i am going 4 on 4 off to make this bearable..... what a shame :ugh::ugh::ugh:

[paidinhours]

What Gatorman is saying is true.. I am based in Beijing yet spend the majority of my time in sub standard hotels in Sanya, Haikou, Guilin. At the moment it seems as though there are no bases for foreigners. About a year and a half ago the pay increased a lot for Capital Airlines pilots. I had heard verbally from a few Chinese managers that things would be changing for foreigners. Well from the looks of things the higher up managers have decreed that seeing as though foreign pilots are paid a fixed rate...then we all must fly the same amount of hours.. Seems very reasonable... except for the fact that the amount of hours available varies from base to base.. So we are all playing an elaborate game of musical chairs just to ensure we all fly equal hours at the end of the month.. The fact that our personal lives have quickly become non existent is irrelevant. So if you have no life and want to make a lot of money....this is a great place.. Otherwise....

[On Final]

Fellow Pilots, I guess Sichuan is not too bad but the schedule on the A320 is not well liked..! Lots of deadhead, double shifts, just hard schedules. Also, not the place it used to0 be, more hard line management here.

Be safe,

On Final

[On Final]

Hello Gents,

I will take my CAAC check for BCA in Sanya on April 8th, should be loads of fun..! Let me see if i can make it through then gauntlet..ha. I will let you guys know what then check s like.

Happy flight,,On Final

[On Final]

Hello guys,


I passed my BCA CAAC sim check on the A330. The check ride was briefed after arrival for about 20 minutes. No prior syllabus was given and No Warm up. It was briefed co-pilot fly first then I fly, but that changed on the way to the sim.


Airport ZSSS to ZBAA, rwy 36r take weather 2 miles, winds 270 at 15 meters, temp 15c, no rain. Windsheir on takeoff, Traffic, RA one below, one above, then FCU partial fault, (on partial fault not allow reset. Then went to FCU fault, No reset.


ILS to minimums then go around, then to a downwind 1500 feet VFR pattern to land full stop.


Take off, v1 cut climb out, speedup, clean up for a VOR DME 36r. fly that to a full stop. Take of Cabin pressure system one fault, continue climb then emergency descent to 10,000 . We had people injured or ill, expedite return to ZSSS, I flew 300kts at 1800 meters for the pax (make sure you declare emergency). They want to see how you handle the Capt stuff, Talk to cabin team, Company, ATC and big on procedures but understand variations of other carriers.


Take off 36r, engine fire, not put out, return land, evac. I think there were a few more things in there but I forgot, kinda blew through it.


I feel I messed up little things and was debriefed but acceptable. Example: emergency evac, before I verified with a call to the tower, check if fire was on, Fire warning still lit, both disc discharged. I asked second time, then no answer start emergency evac. At the end, its dark in the cockpit, I reached up to push the evac alert and hit the wrong button. I then grabbed my little flashlight ( 5 secs delay to do that) hit the correct button) then finished. I got trouble on the asking twice before starting Emerg Evac. and missing the evac alert button.


They a strict but fair. It would have been nice for a copy of profile, to get a warm up, but its China. My co-pilot was normal, no problem.


I normally do better with a warm up, get comfortable rather than a Jump start..! ha


If you guys have any questions, welcome to PM me.


Happy Flight,


On Final.

[SmokeAndNoise]

Thanks for info :ok:

[tangelina]

Hi all, thinking about the 4 on 4 off contract for the 320, any updates on the situation at the moment please? Cheers

[Santan]

Hi
Im thinking of applying to BCA.
I would be interested in Sanya base.
I have heard the base is over/fully crewed but is offered by the agency's.
As mentioned by previous posters this means many nights away at other bases.
Is this still the case or has the situation improved.
How is the atmosphere in airline and the roster in general.
Any useful information would be appreciated.
Regards

[reptile]

I've just completed BCA screening on 320.

Medical took all day. Many tests, and long queues. Went back to hotel and by later afternoon informed I had passed. Reported at 19:00 for MRI.

Sim was straight forward. Aircraft positioned to threshold with engines running. Took of with max crosswind. ADR 2+3 Fault during climb. Elected to return. ENG Severe Damage during transit. Vectored ILS. Forced by instructor into SE GA at low level. Vectored for VOR to same runway. Max crosswind. Landed off approach. ENG fire during rollout. ECAM led to evacuation. All approaches flown by hand and with raw data. We each had to do a V1 cut and visual circuit as well. Others had to do a circle to land. I guess it gets randomly assigned, based on the instructor's mood. One of the guys turned base too late during circle to land, and was flunked for that.

We swapped seats and flew almost an identical profile again, except this time we had IR 2+3 fault.

We both passed. We were unable to write ATP as there was some issue with the computer based test, and have to go back to write next month.

[gatorman330]

as for BCA, same BS as last chinese new year, chinese captains come for a working holiday with families to sanya and the foreigners end up in every base than the one that is their home base, sanya is now ridiculously overcrewed so expect a lot of positioning to hangzhou, haikou, chengdu, xian etc unless you are beijing based in which case you may make extra money positioning to sanya every week, sanya pilots are spending 3/4 days in shenyang at the moment. As for 330 transfer from 320, you will be accepted asap after getting to line but the max age is 50, you have move to hangzhou or beijing, a mix of short and long haul on 330, if you want 330 flying, join an airline thats been doing it for a while and the pay is better and in the same base!!! HNA!, BCA has expanded rapidly but the infrastructure is still the same. If you want to change work pattern after starting, unless its to change to 6/2.... forget it, they will not let you!! If you don't take your leave, theres a good chance you won't get it back, i had to reapply 4 times to get just some leave recently, they are just happy to pay the days back to you, i will see this contract out and then, who knows but most likely, it won't be here.

[mkfmbos]

I am in the process of securing dates to interview at BCA. I would like to get in contact with someone who is currently on the 4 on 4 off. If I could get some insight on this schedule it would be much appreciated. Thank you

[migrant]

Does anyone know how long it will take to transition to the A330 at BCA for new joiners? (I’m A320 rated). Thank you in advance!

[Pumba129]

Hi,
I heard my agency, it needs 1 year. BCA will offer 330 chance after flying 1 year.

[Slarberg]

From the agency email

Beijing Capital also offers A330 upgrade on their second contract to contract crews.

I understand minimum 3 years on 320; then maybe depends on your performance...

[drifter3]

Don't believe what the agencies tell you. Their job is to get you to sign the initial contract, that's where the support will stop.And the promises.
Unless you get the upgrade to 330 in your contract (which you won't), the company will do what they want with you.
A few guys finishing their 2nd contracst were still not allowed to transition to the 330, or even swap their contract from 6/2 to 4/4.

It probably better to take one of the many direct CCQ 330 positions if you can. If your end goal is to fly the 330.

Good luck

[migrant]

Thanks for the information guys!

[Pumba129]

Yeah, the safest way is you apply A330 directly. As far as I know,only CSA and HNA can offer 330 to 320 directly.

[Wickusvandermerwe]

BCA is probably the worst airline to join in China at this time. After numerous incidents particularly the triple bounce in Macau, the CAAC have come down hard on BCA and foreign pilots are suffering under a barrage of oral, written and simulator checks. Many foreign pilots have been failed and downgraded to satisfy CAAC check fail quotas. If you fail any check and are downgraded, you could spend up to a year in the right seat on reduced pay. Foreign pilots have been experiencing delays in payments no doubt due to HNA Group financial difficulties. Morale is at an all time low in BCA, stress is at an all time high. Many veteran BCA foreign pilots have left in recent past.

Forget about upgrade to A330 as there have been no courses offered for 2 years. BCA is experiencing route cuts, therefore new pilot recruitment is only to replace those leaving. The future of BCA could even be in doubt if there are any more serious incidents.

There are better options in China than BCA..

[hijack]

Hello Everyone,

Just heard a rumours, Beijing capital just axed all their expat pilots, is that true?

[volare_737]

Hi all. Just wondering if there is anybody around based in Sanya ?
Would love to have a chat if possible to get the facts from someone on the ground over there !!

Thanks a million !!!

[tommyknock]

Hello Everyone,

Just heard a rumours, Beijing capital just axed all their expat pilots, is that true?

Hi Hijack
Sammy and his little mafia screwed up ,got screwed and now they have planes parked with no pilots to fly them .
The new guy is much better than you

[4runner]

Are any of these management pilots from Thpain?

[A-3TWENTY]

As all HNA group, BCA is also in very bad financial shape with salaries being paid late every month.