What's the word on Macau??

[gulliBell]

Calling all Macau pilots monitoring this forum. What's the inside word about the EAA Chief Pilot position advertised on justhelicopters.com? Is it a good job? pay? conditions? maintenance? rostering? Do they offer touring? What's it like living in Macau, suitable for a young family? Any "heads up" from those in the know would be appreciated.

[SASless]

Sure seems to be a lot of turnover there....very frequent adverts for 76 pilots.....recently adverts for a senior base manager in HK...now this one for CP/Macau. Makes one wonder what goes on out there?

[Autorotate]

East Asia/Heli Hong Kong are expanding which is why they are needing more pilots etc. The new base manager position was to handle the two brand new AS-350-B3s they just bought and are using for tourism work in HK.

They have also added more routes into mainland China, Zuhai, Guangzhou etc I think, so have a need for more pilots to cover the schedules. HK and Macau is a good place if you are single but for married people the cost of schooling for kids is high and thats a reason a lot of expats start heading home when the kids get older. Mark Six should be able to shed some more light on this subject.

Hope that helps.

Autorotate.

[Mark Six]

Autorotate,
I'm happy to comment on helicopter ops. in Hong Kong in general but there are others in a better position to talk specifically about what's happening with EAA/Heli Hong Kong. Your expansion theory looks pretty right though. All the EAA pilots live in Macau, which is cheaper than Hong Kong, and the HHK pilots live in Hong Kong. The cost of schooling in Hong Kong is horrendous, but I believe there is a Canadian School about to open in Macau which is supposed to be a lot cheaper than the international schools in Hong Kong. Salaries in this area are very high by world standards and the tax rate is very low-about 15%, so people tend to stick around for a while. We haven't hired any new pilots in nearly 3 years.

[brimed]

I have a brother-in-law who is a Canadian citizen working in Macau. He's actually a teacher, so I can only tell you his opinions of the lifestyle not this particular heli job.

He loves Macau! Foreighners (non-asian) are treated excellent. In disputes, the foreigners are always given the benefit of doubt. Salaries are generally good and housing low. They have a flat tax plan where everyone is taxed at 15%. Basically, they will send a tax bill once per year, or you can have your bank send a monthly payment. Nothing is taken from your weekly paycheck.

There is a tight community of expats there. More so then in other countries. He has been there for four years after working in Tokyo, Hong Kong, Saudi Arabia, and Argentina. He loves it.