ANA Air Japan AJX pay & scheduling

[SammyInArizona]

If I were to get hired there, what are the odds of getting my contract renewed. I'm planning for 15 years if able, and what about the pay scale? Does it go up between contracts? I'm assuming that you can fly until age 65.

How is scheduling? Do you go on a reserve status initially and how many months would that last on average? And how much time do they give you to report to work?

I'm also willing to relocate to Tokyo after a year or two. Has anyone done that yet? If so, I would like to ask more questions about that.

Thanks

[oldhasbeen]

You can stay as long as you want ( or can stand). We only have reserve days ( up to about 5 or 6 a month ), the rest you are either flying or on blank days. Do not expect any payrise when you resign ( nor will there be any CPI increase ) . Some people have been here 7 odd years and NOT seen any increase in pay . In fact if you are anything except American, your pay has probably halved in real terms. Having said that, we have been told that a payrise maybe on the cards around August. How much is anyones guess but a doubt it will be enough to stem the flow of outbounds to better paying airlines. The contract is " commuting" so that , unless you have some sort of right to abode, you will not be able to live in TYO. i.e you have no visa. Like any career move, think long and hard before making a decision to throw in and move here. Check out the other thread on ANA to get more of an idea of what you're getting into.

[SammyInArizona]

Thanks oldhasbeen. So with 7 years, are you a captain yet and are you really earning what HACS site is saying? Thanks for the warning, but I've been here (US carrier) for 20 years in the right seat and now with the economy and consolidation (maybe) it will be another 10 years before I get to the left seat. I'm getting too old for this. I have to make a career move now or I will end up retiring in the right seat ...... if the company doesn't go out of business first.

[oldhasbeen]

sorry SIA but that may be giving too much away!! HACS website is accurate. Upgrade for FOs minimum 2 years after checked to line. Good move if somebody is in your situation. Still expanding here , although anything is possible. Training is lonnnggg , medical a bitch ,commute for US guys a marathon ( unless you move to Honolulu ) and locals are , well.... locals You put up with it, it's not too bad. Just beware of rose-colored glasses. Definetly(?? ) quicker to command than where you are if it's the lifestyle you can put up with. You can PM me if you need more

[Absolutely]

I don't think anyone has had an upgrade before 3.5 to 4 years. Mine started just after 4 years in the company.

[Capt Coco]

Sammy san,
With rgds moving to and living full time in Japan and not commuting in for 20 days at a time. It's never been done to date......we have one new guy who is the first ever, who is trying/trialing it right now(just started) so unproven/untried at this time.
A couple of guys looking on with interest.
Otherwise at the moment one can only stay in Japan for max 7 days at a time on a crew shore pass, basicly you'll need to do at least one flight a week and the misses will need to get her own work or holiday visa to stay in Japan in her own right.

[Capt. John Doe]

Heard from a friend that AJX will get a pay raise equal to AJV this summer when AJV gets their raise. Any truth? or should I try the other ANA forum?

[Lil Bro]

what other ANA forum?

[ishi59]

don't believe all rumours!!

there's talk, but as anyone in knows, talk's cheap. Waiting for the "BIG" announcement. We all know what Japanese "big announcement" is all about. A lot of pompous hot air with little substance.

Rather wait for the facts from the contract company's

[SammyInArizona]

Thanks all,

Originally Posted by Capt CoCo

Otherwise at the moment one can only stay in Japan for max 7 days at a time on a crew shore pass, basicly you'll need to do at least one flight a week and the misses will need to get her own work or holiday visa to stay in Japan in her own right.

I was not aware of the 7 day max stay in Japan. From reading posts here and at Japan Contract Pilots http://japanpilots.19.forumer.com/ I'm starting to get the feel for what is like at Air Japan. But there are still more questions.

1) Hotel paid during training?
2) Contract period start at the beginning or end of training?
3) 401k. Does HACS match any?
4) Aetna Global health insurance. How much is an emplyee charged for this? Is the home country heath insurance part of this and does it include dental?
5) $2000 company provided business class round trip tickets. Is this a positive space or space available ticket and does company work with you to get these tickets for the time period you requested? I may want to come back a day earlier to give myself an extra time just in case.
6) I hear that my wife will be allowed to visit me while I'm in training (twice for a 2 week duration). I would think that I would have a hard time studying. How did this work for you guys!?

Thanks

[chintanmanis]

ANA capitulates to OZ & KAL ?

Heard from Korean boys in the sandpit that after some of their compatriots were gainfully employed by ANA, their former employers OZ and KAL complained to the Japanese and demanded that they not poach Korean pilots. So ANA has stopped taking OZ & KAL pilots. What a shame for ANA to behave as such!

[crj705]

Sammy,

1. AJX no longer puts you in a hotel for training. You will be put in a furnished apartment. It will have a small kitchen, washer, closet space, satellite TV and free internet. They pay for it all.

2. Contract starts the day you show up for training. 5 years, including the training period.

3.Can't answer...im with Parc.

4. Same as #3. With Parc my insurance is free and I pay about 30$ per month for my wife. Coverage in the US is more complicated with the Parc Insurance.

5. You get $2000 and you buy your own way (regular ticket, ZED) or the company will buy you a Business Class ticket. The business class is a regular normal person confirmed ticket. I think they are bought through a travel agency and you get to keep all of the miles. The scheduler is good about giving you a late start on your first day and an early finish on your last day. I commute from BKK and usually make it home on the same day in finish and arrive back in japan the first day of duty. If you are commuting from the states, it will make it more difficult and you probably have to come a day earlier.

6. My wife was here for almost the entire time I was in training and I found it very helpful to have her around. In the apartment, all of my laundry was done and dinner was waiting for me when i finished in the sim. If your wife will do those kinds of things, it leaves you more time to study. Mine understood why I was there and that I had to study. Good stress relief too after a hard day of training.

[oldhasbeen]

Most of us had to trip on down to Rappongi for a bit of " stress relief"

[Webslinger]

AJV

Anyone commuting from the U.S. on the 20 day rotation with a wife and kids at home? How is it working out, are you still married. Just curious. I turned down an offer last year for family reasons. Good company, good birds, tough schedule.

[The Dominican]

Anyone commuting from the U.S. on the 20 day rotation with a wife and kids at home? How is it working out, are you still married. Just curious. I turned down an offer last year for family reasons. Good company, good birds, tough schedule.

Most of our pilots are married with families, the vast majority commute from all over, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, the US, one of our pilots commute from Thailand. I'm using my vacation days 2/month thus making my duty roster 18 days and commuting business class back and forth from the US, been married 13 years with 2 kids. I met my wife 18 years ago when I flying corporate and my wife was one of the executives of the corporation and back in those days I was gone for more than 20 days a month. My former gig in the US (Pinnacle) I could hold 14-15 days off a month but I was always trying to pickup extra flights for the extra "pesos" so I wasn't home for more than ten days a month. It is a different lifestyle of course because you have your days off in a row instead of spread around in the month but there are other gigs in the US that are just like this one. World, Kallita, Southern Air, Gemini all have duty rosters of up to 21 days in a row.
We all would like to fly 2 one hour sectors a day and work 7 days a month while earning 250K, but the reality of this here paid hobbie that we call a career is that they pay us to be away from our families.

[oldhasbeen]

.......and they don't pay us enough , compadrae!!

[Webslinger]

Good point

Thanks for the reply Dominican. Good points made. I guess for me even taking the extra 2 day per month for 18 working- commuting from the US back over to Japan you still loose those 2 days with traveling and rest before asignment. I figured I would only get 11 days off per month, which isnt bad but that is 240 days away from home per year. My kids need a father and I dont want my boys ending up in a Juvenal home in there teens(not saying it would happen- there young right now). You know how it is, when the Cat is away the mice will play. Plus I would miss countless baseball games, school functions, birthdays, dinners with the family blah, blah, blah. One question though. With the weak US dollar, how is it looking now for a ORD base or US base in the future with AJV? Thanks again. Fly safe.

[Absolutely]

We were advised by AJV management about 3 months ago that a US Base is NOT going to happen for the fore-seeable future. Do not come here from the US thinking you will get a US Base, a few guys have already and are very dissapointed. PARC and HACS should take any mention of it off their websites but they won't!!
Also AJV announced their big business strategy a couple of weeks ago. Part of it was to Wet Lease 2 Large (747-400) Cargo aircraft end of next year and then 2 more a year later. The 767 is always full (Max T/O weight) going to ORD now and almost full coming back so we must be leaving cargo behind in KIX. The general concensus is that these new Large aircraft will take over the US flying. We will just be left with China and the rest of Asia, flying in and out of their new hub in Naha, which opens next year.
So sorry, if you want to fly to the US I doubt it's going to be happening in 18months time! And a US base on the 767 isn't going to happen.

[meguro]

Absolutely has it absolutely right.

[Stereolab]

Does the JCAB still have the astronaut type physical?

I would love to do the 767 contracts but I wear contact lenses...do they they have an uncorrected vision requirement?