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Air Japan (AJX) B767

Old 24th Apr 2018, 22:25
  #2821 (permalink)  
 
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We have plenty of European pilots and they commute each month. So, yes, it's doable. I don't know what feedback you'd expect. 12 hours in an aircraft is very personal. It sounds like you think that's a lot but I wish I had a single sector 12hr flight. AJX pilots are subject to the same jetlag as other humans so we're going to be just as knackered as you think you will be. There's no getting round that I'm afraid and, yes, you do spend quite a few days getting over it when you get home and when you arrive back in Japan.

Some have single flights, others two and many have > 12hrs.

You 'make' time when going home. You 'lose' when going to work.

Long commutes are a pain and a waste of our lives. Don't apply for a commuting contract if you don't want to commute 12 hours.
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Old 25th Apr 2018, 07:06
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Hello Fratemate

thank you for the info. This deal for me would be great (i am single, no wife, nor kids), except the little days off you have where you have to recover from the jetlag. Once recovered after a few days in Europe, i already have to move again to NRT....to recover again!! I am still amazed that ppl can cope with this.

Still trying to read all the pages here to make up my mind.

tx

Last edited by dboy; 25th Apr 2018 at 08:36.
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Old 26th Apr 2018, 20:56
  #2823 (permalink)  
 
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dboy,

I think I can save you some time reading. Yes the commuting is fatiguing. On top of that the schedules are fatiguing. All of us east/west guys are fatigued the first couple days.
You do have the ability to make a back to back schedule and reducing your commutes to 6 times a year. However that comes at a price too. As I said the schedules are fatiguing. Without a break for 30+ days it compounds.

The bottom line is if fatigue is your #1 concern then this is not your gig.
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Old 27th Apr 2018, 13:12
  #2824 (permalink)  
 
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Thx Boxfly. Got already at page 40 though. Seems a nice company to work for BUT indeed the 12h commuting, fatigue and travelling across time zones is going to kill me. Plus i have to pay a lot of taxes in my home country on this salary. Rostering i have no clue but believe your words. Another minor point, starting to commute on my off days....... If i take 14 days off i will be max 11 real at home. Off time for me is a big issue, i am not 20 anymore.

tx.

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Old 28th Apr 2018, 23:33
  #2825 (permalink)  
 
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There is always Ryanair and Easy Jet......., great salary and rosters, and all your sectors within a time zone or two...!

Go go live the good life....!
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Old 30th Apr 2018, 21:07
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The Dominican,

i have read really constructive comments of you on this thread. I did not write of the “joining idea” entirely. Yes i am based in Europe but also never see my home at all. It sounds very ironically, but when working for Air Japan, i would see my home more often than staying in my current company. I see home max 10 days every 9 a 10 weeks! Anyway, still thinkng about the pro’s and cons.

AJV is providing 10off days and 2 commuting days. Is it possible to decide taking only, let’s say 5 off days and the rest transfering to next month?

tx
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Old 1st May 2018, 04:37
  #2827 (permalink)  
 
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I see some other airlines requesting a no incidents/accidents letter. Does Air Japan or the JCAB request this? I don't know if my authority issues such a document.
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Old 3rd May 2018, 09:54
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Originally Posted by drop24
I see some other airlines requesting a no incidents/accidents letter. Does Air Japan or the JCAB request this? I don't know if my authority issues such a document.
As far as I remember AJX required a licence verification from the issuing authority and had a field for any "accidents or serious incidents" on the application form (through PARC).

My authority (ZAF) issued a "Licence Verification" document which basically stated the licence I held and that I did not have any current or pending investigations. This sufficed for AJX when I interviewed with them back in 2016.

HP
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Old 8th May 2018, 08:05
  #2829 (permalink)  
 
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Thumbs up

Originally Posted by dboy
Yes i know you can extend the days off with your holidays.

But i just wanted to hear the feedback of european pilots about the commuting, if they think it is doable or not. For me it would mean every time a flight of 12 hours.

Grts
Hi, i commute to Germany. i got my 10 days off + 2 vacation days + 2 commuting days.
You can go home the same day you arrive form your last flight, and you have to be back (tokyo) 9 hs before your flight. So, most of the times i arrive home the SAME day of my last flight,
so one of the Commuting days is a DAY OFF!..
13 days in a row at home!
You can do back to back too (14 + 14)
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Old 9th May 2018, 05:33
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Hello 2023

tx for your reply. Can you explain what this back to back schedule means?? Never heard off.

I am still considering it, but have to find out a bit how it works with the taxes. In my homecountry i pay my ..s of.

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Old 9th May 2018, 09:20
  #2831 (permalink)  
 
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Back to back means you can join one month's days off onto the next. So, for instance, you could have last 14 days of June (10 days off + 2 commuting days + 2 vacation days) and add them to the first 14 days of July (or even more if you have other vacation days to use.....of your 24 per year). You will, of course, then have to make up that time by spending longer in Japan and could find yourself 5-6 weeks away from home. Some people do this a lot in order to reduce the jet lag by having two commutes and, also, saving one commute and getting $2000.

As has been said all along, probably the best bit of this whole contract is the flexibility of the days off and long may it continue because it is the only thing that is keeping some people here. AJX management realise this but there are a lot of envious people in ANA and they don't like the 'freedom' we seem to have, so there is continuous pressure for AJX to gain more control of the days off and they would like nothing better to have set blocks and/or allocate time off. If this ever happened then I would certainly be on the next flight out of Japan with many others but that doesn't mean they won't keep nibbling away.

And kind of on that subject, yes it is true that AJX requires an absolute minimum of 9 hours for you to rest before a duty, having commuted into work. BUT they are being very generous in allowing that and it is absolutely imperative that people don't abuse it or muck it up for everyone else by not managing their inbound flights or getting sufficient rest before a duty. The contract call for you to commute into Japan on the last day off and they could enforce that if anybody screwed up. The original 'alleviation' was put there so that Oz commuters could arrive early (before 0600) on the first day of duty because to arrive the day before would mean leaving the day before that i.e. a day off instead of a commuting day. It is not meant to be there as a free-for-all to push the limit. I say all this because you should not plan to come to AJX based on getting in to Japan with minimum time to spare. As with all 'privileges' be it staff travel, days off, extra payments etc there will always be some ******** who spoils it for everyone else. You should plan on that ******** doing exactly that and the 9 hour 'alleviation' not being an option in order to best compare your time off. In other words, plan for the worst and hope for the best.
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Old 9th May 2018, 11:41
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"As has been said all along, probably the best bit of this whole contract is the flexibility of the days off and long may it continue because it is the only thing that is keeping some people here. AJX management realise this but there are a lot of envious people in ANA and they don't like the 'freedom' we seem to have, so there is continuous pressure for AJX to gain more control of the days off and they would like nothing better to have set blocks and/or allocate time off."

Not sure where you are getting that notion from, but the impression I have as of late is that with the movement at mainline and upgrades coming at less than 5,000 hours total time, the raise they got not too long ago and further announcement of another 16 billion on new spending on A/C's is that the mainline folks are not really paying too much attention into what's happening at AJX.
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Old 9th May 2018, 11:45
  #2833 (permalink)  
 
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I could be wrong but line integration on the transition period (the mid month mark) and the Christman Holiday allocation is more of a factor into some of the ideas being floated around with bidding, rather than some mainline guy that earns 400K a year being envious.

But I admit that lately I've been keeping the finger off the pulse.....
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Old 10th May 2018, 00:09
  #2834 (permalink)  
 
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ANA pilots requested the same days off selection protocols that AJX have, the catch was, they wanted to keep their generous layover conditions of two local nights etc. ANA said no.
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Old 10th May 2018, 02:09
  #2835 (permalink)  
 
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Okay, given TD's firm grasp of the non-essential and seizing on a trivial point that makes absolutely no difference to my original reply, I'll try again with the offending words removed. As you see, the rest of the post is unaffected:

Back to back means you can join one month's days off onto the next. So, for instance, you could have last 14 days of June (10 days off + 2 commuting days + 2 vacation days) and add them to the first 14 days of July (or even more if you have other vacation days to use.....of your 24 per year). You will, of course, then have to make up that time by spending longer in Japan and could find yourself 5-6 weeks away from home. Some people do this a lot in order to reduce the jet lag by having two commutes and, also, saving one commute and getting $2000.

As has been said all along, probably the best bit of this whole contract is the flexibility of the days off and long may it continue because it is the only thing that is keeping some people here. AJX management realise this but there is continuous pressure for them to gain more control of the days off and they would like nothing better to have set blocks and/or allocate time off. If this ever happened then I would certainly be on the next flight out of Japan with many others but that doesn't mean they won't keep nibbling away.

And kind of on that subject, yes it is true that AJX requires an absolute minimum of 9 hours for you to rest before a duty, having commuted into work. BUT they are being very generous in allowing that and it is absolutely imperative that people don't abuse it or muck it up for everyone else by not managing their inbound flights or getting sufficient rest before a duty. The contract call for you to commute into Japan on the last day off and they could enforce that if anybody screwed up. The original 'alleviation' was put there so that Oz commuters could arrive early (before 0600) on the first day of duty because to arrive the day before would mean leaving the day before that i.e. a day off instead of a commuting day. It is not meant to be there as a free-for-all to push the limit. I say all this because you should not plan to come to AJX based on getting in to Japan with minimum time to spare. As with all 'privileges' be it staff travel, days off, extra payments etc there will always be some ******** who spoils it for everyone else. You should plan on that ******** doing exactly that and the 9 hour 'alleviation' not being an option in order to best compare your time off. In other words, plan for the worst and hope for the best.
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Old 10th May 2018, 02:36
  #2836 (permalink)  
 
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Many thanks to all of you who has been wrote very useful and helpful information about AJX especially Fratemate, Dominican and other currently working pilots in AJX. I read pretty much every threads from the begining and they are all super meaningful to me and helped my decision to whether or not I apply this position.
Oh by the way, with regarding to Fratemate last comments, what does ‘Oz’ commuters mean?? [/left]
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Old 10th May 2018, 20:59
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Originally Posted by Goteze11
Many thanks to all of you who has been wrote very useful and helpful information about AJX especially Fratemate, Dominican and other currently working pilots in AJX. I read pretty much every threads from the begining and they are all super meaningful to me and helped my decision to whether or not I apply this position.
Oh by the way, with regarding to Fratemate last comments, what does ‘Oz’ commuters mean??

​​​​​OZ = Australia
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Old 12th May 2018, 16:26
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Does anyone just stay in Japan on their days off if they can independently get residency? Does Air Japan frown upon this at all?

If you were to make your home somewhere reasonably near Narita airport how much time could you spend at home during your working period? Do you have to be a certain distance away in case of last minute call outs?
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Old 12th May 2018, 21:41
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Originally Posted by drop24
Does anyone just stay in Japan on their days off if they can independently get residency? Does Air Japan frown upon this at all?

If you were to make your home somewhere reasonably near Narita airport how much time could you spend at home during your working period? Do you have to be a certain distance away in case of last minute call outs?
You could stay in Japan on days off if you wanted. No need for residency. Air Japan has no idea if you are here or not, unless you tell them. Many people have apartments or houses in Narita and several are renting apartments in Tokyo.

Right now they have no set distance on sitting standby. (I personally think that is a mistake, but that is just me) However if you come in on a shore pass then you are limited to the Narita/Tokyo area. If you want to go explore the outer areas on days off you need to enter on passport.
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Old 12th May 2018, 23:54
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Thanks for the info. How much time are you spending on standby typically? Also, how many overnights are you typically getting at Narita during your monthly days on?
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