ANN dash 8 contract
 

if anyone works for the Air Nippon Network company and/or is contracted with them. can you please PM me.

also, how is it working there? how is the selection process and the training? how is it living in osaka? is it do-able on their allowance?

what kind of travel benefits do they have? what are the details of the contract? is it renewable, breakable, etc?

lots more questions and your help would be greatly appreciated.

Im also very interested on this Q400 opening. It sounds like screening is sometime in March.

Does sim prep help ?? Cause I dont have EFIS experience.

Don't need EFIS experience. If you know how to read the informations, you will be ok. If you have Microsoft FS, take the 777. The PFD is very similar.

Is this the position posted at Hawaii Aviation and Parc?

Is the sim ride for the interview in a Q400? If so, I believe it's a Honeywell Primus 2000 EFIS. I plan on applying as well. It seems the flying positions in Japan are difficult to get. They seem to hire very few people. Would be nice if ANA purchased a bunch of Q400's...I hear Bombardier is practically giving them away to any airline that wants em.

If we get in, Okonomiaki and Ebisu beer is on me...OOOOOOsaka is a great city.

Gambate!!!!

ANN Q400...
 

Just finishing up the Parc/ANN paperwork and it does seem like an ok package.

Like it was asked earlier - does USD2000 pay for fairly nice living conditions on the island?


Thanks

Most people spend about half of their allowance for an apartement. The rest is gravy.

Does anyone know if they are only taking those with a -8 type on their ticket? PARC and Hawaii seem to differ a bit on who they want???

MJB

Not any more. They start having trouble finding DH8 rated pilots. So the requirement is now DH8 or equivalent.

How much is the pay and Living, Commuting Allowance?

Typical ground school is one month in Tokyo for company ground school. Then about 2 months in YYZ for the sim (everybody does a full initial on the DH8 Q400, a mind blowing 16 sessions! And a lot of days of… that’s the Japanese way). After that you fly to Osaka for another medical, touch and goes and some more ground school. So after about 5 months of training, your are finally online.

As far as living there, some guys can’t stand it, some guys love it. I guess it depends on your character. If you are able to go with the flow, although the Japanese have some very weird ways of doing things, you should be ok. If you are too outspoken and think you could change things, you are in trouble.

The money is very good, even for FO’s. We are talking about 4000$ US (6000$ for Capt) monthly base salary. Plus a living allowance of 2000$ (most people spend about half of it for an apartment) and a travel allowance of 1000$. So you basically get a monthly deposit of 7000$US for an FO.

http://www.hawaiiaviation.com/
http://www.parcaviation.aero/aviatio...htcrewJobs.asp

hey O2on,
how's the work schedule ? can it be adjusted? where do you fly to?5

Thank you, Oxygen On!

Thanks, Oxygen on.
So only equivalent prop pilots will be invited, not jet pilots?....I hope. Cause this pay will attract a lot of attention.

Have anyone been through interview?
What kind of questions I should expect? I have few clue on Japanese weird ways. Very personal questions or trivia tech questions? Hmm...

Pretty straight forward interview, not a lot of technical stuff, they mostly want to see if you are really interested in this job and, although it is advertised as a commuting contract, they like to hear that you will move and live in Osaka. The next step is a two day medical in JFK or LA. Then you wait… and wait… and then they tell you if you are in or not.

Schedules are either 5 weeks on (6 days a week) and 12 days off. Or 6 weeks on and 15 days off, you choose. 5 destinations and growing, all from Osaka (most frequent is Kochi). Few overnights. Average of 4 sectors per day (~1h flights).

and you'll need a LOT of patience to suffer the way these drones do business

It would be not too bad if you were living in another country.
Osaka is the 2nd most expensive city to live in, (after Tokyo) in Japan.
Apartments are very much smaller than Westerners are used to....the sort of apartment you're going to get for about USD1,000 in Osaka will be old, extremely tiny, and a likely fire hazard!
A decent house will work out at about USD3,000 per month. This is for unfurnished places.
Utilities (water, gas & electricity) during winter - for a single guy - will run to approx. USD400 - USD450 per month, for a family of say 4 (my situation) the bill comes in at around USD550.
In Summer, you can knock it back by about USD150.

Petrol is currently around USD1.10 per litre.
Internet is USD25/month.

The USD is very weak against the JPY, and has been for some time now, puting the monthly groceries shopping bill at around USD1700 for us - and that is NOT eating extravagantly.
My wife is a non-drinker, and I might have a glass of (cheap Aussie, or Chilean) wine a couple of nights a week.
Wine, in fact, isn't too badly priced.

For those of us who live in Osaka, COSTCO at Amagasaki, offers a lot of "gaijin" (and Japanese) food and other products at very reasonable prices for Japan - the only problem is portions sold are "American" size, and Japanese refrigerators aren't made to handle that!!

The actual "experience" of living in Japan full time, for a non-Japanese, is a unique experience in itself.
There'll be lots of little things you won't be told how to do, until you do it the "wrong" way....another epistle in itself.

Life is generally more stressful here - not only because of the work factor - and 1 "OFF" day per week is NOT enough.
Japanese pilots fly approx 20% less than we gaijin in JAL do, and get a MINIMUM of 10 "OFF" days per month - and they were born & raised here.
As a foreigner living here, I believe we should be given at least an equal number of days OFF.


So getting back to the $$$'s issue - on an F/O's salary don't expect to save too much at all, unless you're willing to live like a refugee.

Many thanks for positive and negative opinions.
Interview and sim check will be straight forward. Im glad to hear that. Living over there sounds ok (and expensive). Im looking for some change anyway. A medical check probably is the last line of defense to break through. Well, first of all, I got to call Flight Safety to schedule familiarization ride.

Thanks again, guys!

japjok,

you have any examples? thanks..

Anyone know what the sim ride is in for the interview?

yeah, just a couple of examples

It`ll take upwards of four months to get checked out, and up to 8 or nine, during which time you will

spend two weeks having air law read to you or reading it to the rest of the group;

I don`t understand this; OK Smith san, please read again

a week covering Radio Law AND Radio Technology !!! You need to know about propagation of X band waves in and through the ionosphere because in Japan it is different from elsewhere in the world

Ground School will be a welcome relief, but then you will have sim where you will NOT be able to do anything right even though you will/may have a dozen times the experience as the instructor

You will be told you`re dangerous when operating professionally

If you re teamed with a Japanese pilot, he will crash the sim and get good grades; you will operate well and be given marginal passes

then your checkout will come and you will brush with JCAb for the first time and man, are these guys morons

Most have very little/no operational experience, probably not rated on the aircraft you going to be checked on, and are dumb, dumb, and impractical

most are former instructors on bonanzas at a civil aviation college and the BIGGEST aircraft they`ve flown is a bonanza

They check on everything fromm lighties to 747s

they generally leave systems alone because they know JS about the aircraft

Their only strength is books, air law, AIM Japan, etc

you`ll be asked how many active volcanoes in Japan, and what are the names of the jetstreams even though you`ll never get up there in a turboprop

then when they condescenbd to give you a pass, you`ll be let loose with the most incompetent FOs you will ever find, ANYWHERE, even Africa

CRM??? well they pay lip service to it but not much more. I had a Jap Captain in the RHS one day with a JCAB examiner in the JS and this %$#& dill tried to override me on decisions.. He did get reamed out over it but still does it with others

Here you command and supevise and theri only concession to c
CRM is to finish each briefing with `any questions`

The cabin crew briefing before a day`s flying would do justice to a moonshot. They need to know everything from parking spot to runway in use (eight hours BEFORE takeoff)

And you will have to tolerate a thrid world bureaucracy in the company to which you are contracted JAL may be an exception here, being somewhat more progressive

you will be paid a lot less than the local pilots and work a lot harder On a skill basis you should be paid half a dozen times as much as locals

you will be leaned on by tokyo tower controllers to waive wake turbulence separation behind heavies and get a lecture airborne on how you should have

allowed to run right up the tailpipe of heavies on final when you`re already at min speed. Heavies here slow up 30 miles out and disregard procedural speeds on approach

you will be treated as a 2nd class citizen by the management and outside Tokyo or Osaka, and even in some areas of those cities, a curiosity by the locals

you will tire of being told `In Japan........(fil in whatever you want) because here in Japan, everythiing is different whether it is or not. It`s their way of saving face, or more likely saving their ass

these people can`t say yes or no; it`s maybe, sometimes, or almost. The wx is never smooth, it`s almost smoose. a simple question will ALWAYS elicit an almost, sometimes or maybe and it will drive you cr zy

the management and mechancis will lie to you to get aircraft dispatched, repeatedly

the management will despise you, but wait for it, the hosties will love you becasue they are looking for a ticket out. the men here treat them like 2nd class citizens too. so if you`re into a little poon tang, and you can tolerate all the other $#%& then come on down.

If you think you can`t then life will be hell and don`t bother

I wish I had more time to give you a bit more but maybe another time

japjok, thanks.

Working condition you mentioned sounds pretty bad.
However, didn?ft you notice any of those atmosphere or behavior during your first interview? At least you had passed interview and you were happy to join them. That indicates that you were a kind of person they were looking for. I guess not many contract pilots extend their 3 yrs contract.

Anyone else tired of the weekly japjok japan bashing sessions?

How about some gouge on the interview process for the Q400 contract? The payscales are awesome, nice equipment, aside from dealing with "the japanese way" of doing things, for $7000/month for an F/O position, they can call me anything they want...just make sure the money is wire transfered on the 1st and 15th every month. In the States, you can't even come close to that kind of cash flying a regional jet, unless your a 10 year CA.

Many of us (especially yanks) know what living in Japan is like, if we didn't know then we wouldn't put apps in for the jobs. Lot's of expats and ex-military guys stay in Japan for a reason...doesn't matter if your flying a 767 or flying a desk.

And japjok...again, come on over here to the States and work for MESA, CHQ, Trans-States, Eagle or COEX, and get based in IAD, JFK, BOS, LAX, ORD or MIA on $19/hour FO pay. You think Japan is expensive...try those cities on $25000/year. Not to mention the fact we have about 10,000 pilots on furlough.

See ya in Osaka...sake is on me...

Like it or not, sterolab, JapJok`s expose is EXACTLY the same as I have been hearing from my friends who work with JAL and JEX.
Sorry to burst your bubble.

If conditions are that bad, that explains why they are looking for pilots. Still haven't heard anything bad about the ANA contracts though...

But, as a "wannabe" I think I can speak for many, we are looking for interview information and operational info on the ANA Q400 contract. Not a cultural critique of Japanese culture.

I would like to add the "oxygen on" and Kaptim M did a great job in providing this information, thanks guys!

stereo, I agree Kap did doa good job ouotlining the cost of living and other points

but my friend, if you go there with stars in your eyes, you will be sorely disappointed. I understand that you aren`t after a cultural critique, but don`t forget that you will spoend more time outside of work than you will, and these are the issues that will get right up your nose

A few other points of which you should be aware are

ANY company you work for will violate your contract, and it will be a misunderstanding. It will be a misunderstanding the next time it happens as well; exactly the same thing, but it will be someone else in the company who perpetrates the breach

you will have dispatchers and mechanics trying to override the authority of the PIC and Japcaps tolerating it. If you`re an FO then you will watch the Japcap cop it and it won`t all be good

CRM - crews will speak in Japanese to the company and CA`s and you will not know what is happening because they won`t tell you unless pressured, and even then you may not get the truth. For a captain that is an intolerable situation

I know of several instances where a Japcap, as PF, in the company for which I worked making PA`s downto 500` on final in CAT1 conditions.

ATC talking and pilots responding in Japanese so the rest of us don`t know what`s going on and that is downright dangerous

The turbulence over Japan, due largely to the topography and jetstreams is worse than I have experienced anywhere in the world. It can be violent, is frequent and often frightening

These people are impractical to the point where it is infuriating. They have difficulty accepting that it would be wise to leave 5-10 mins early if the takeoff queue will be long, sometimes 10-15 waiting, or heading into 150 on the nose so that youcan arrive on time. In spite of the PIC demands, the ramp coordinators will take no notice.

People, including crews, come to work with colds/flu and pass it onn to all. Because of the stupid no work, no pay system here, (no sick leave) they must come to work. You will have more runny noses here than anywhere else.

aviation in Japan is run like an aero club. You regularly, every sector, complete 14 columns in your log book, with one sector to a line (fills log books very quickly) and the captain must sign each sector!!

The whole country is a sheltered workshop with high employment but low productivity except for foreign pilots. Way too many staff in most companies. They come in early and go home late but don`t do much during the time they`re there

In case you think it`s all negative, here`s something positive.

The FO`s aren`t entirely responsible for their standard. They join airlines with under 200 hours and go onto everything up to 747s as FO`s, and then are given no flying by the Japcaps.

The scenery in Japan, from the air, is spectacular. Volcanoes, high mountains, snow and seas.

The infrastructure, as you would expect in a country as big as New Zealand but with 125 milion people, is outstanding. The freeways, bridges, tunnels, railways etc are simply amazing

Haneda airport handles 290,000 jet movements a year, most between 0630 and 2300 because it`s the domestic airport and all airports are curfewed, most shutting down at aboput 2130
It is about as intensely developed as any place on earth with tunnels to the mainnland, for road and rail, subways, overpasses, and a freeway running right through the centre

Just give it some serious though stereo, because whilst you may see bulk $$ now, and think that you can accept any $hit treatment for those $$, that soon wears off and you`re left with everything that will pi$$ you off

Hey JapJok,
Thanks for posting both sides of the coin. It's best to hear both the good and the bad, in order to make a sound decision.

Well, the best way to know is to try it, if you got nothing to lose.
I would'nt recommend resigning from an airline to go there. But if you are on lay off or can get a leave of absence, why not... Even if it turns out to be a bad experience, you will learn so much from it.

By the way, yes the sim eval is on the Q400. Normaly in Seattle or Stockhlom.

Thanks guys...I appreciate the info...always wanted to fly in Asia...so I decided to pursue Asian carriers this year.

Some of the immediate "plus" sides to the Q400 job for me is I'm home almost every night, great pay, great equipment. The wife is from Japan and she would like go back...she can make more money in Japan than in the States. The economy here in the States really $ucks.

Most of my time is in regional jets, so I hope they look favorably to that. I know other carriers are looking for F/O's...CX, CAL, EVA, SIA....

Any other carriers out there that are hiring?

Looks like things are picking up in Asia as far as hiring...

There are some CRJ contracts in Japan with HACS if you have a type rating.

http://www.hawaiiaviation.com/positions.htm

Most of what JapJok has penned, has also been my experience here.
It's not a "Japan bashing session", Stereolab, it is - unfortunately - a statement of some of the FACTS of life.
In the case of JAL Express (as opposed to JapJok's company) the contract violations were never feigned to be "misunderstandings" - the contractual conditions in some cases were blatantly breached, and when this was pointed out the response was basically, "Tough titties - that's the way we're going to do it, and there's nothing short of leaving YOU can do!"

In several instances the F. A's and F.O. have had a discussion between themselves, in Nihongo, and made an operational decision without my (the Captain's) involvement. These "discussions" usually go on for several minutes, with the F.O. totally out of the loop.
Without a doubt, some of the (Japanese) crew - F.O's and F.A's - will try to take liberties with gaijin Captains that they would never dream of trying with Japanese Captains.
Such is the attitude of Japanese toward foreigners in Japan.

As a foreign First Officer, I can only imagine how low down the scale you must be considered! :(

For you, Stereolab, having a Japanese wife will almost certainly put you at an greater advantage than those foreigners living in Japan, who don't - except at work.

JapJok's statement,
"You will spend more time outside of work than you will at work"
needs to be heeded.
At work, it will be up to YOU to try to maintain your authority.
Yes CRM is something that is talked about, however Japanese culture runs deeper than any Western imposed concept, and so it will be important for you to "stake your territory" by learning precisely where you should sit in a taxi...the seat changes, depending upon the number of people, 2, 3, or more.
Where to walk, when walking with the crew.
Heaps, right now! Some in the Singapore region, some in Malaysia.
Why restrict yourself to a turboprop position, when there are operators who are SCREAMING out for pure jet drivers eg A320 - and will endorse?!

One for JapJok - "XYZ alter your heading 10 degrees to the left."
"Check your side.....my side clear."
Professional airmanship at its BEST :ok: :p :p :p

Japjok,

Great posts there mate.
Check your PM's.

Bye
Shaggy

Screeming
 

Who in Singapore and Malaysia are Screeming for jet jockeys?

T I P S
 

hello there,
ive been called for the interview and sim
in seattle this motnh
ANY TIPS ON THE INTERVIEW AND SIM EVALUATIONS????
anything will help
many many thanks

ANA Dash 8 interview help
 

Hello all,

Got the call about a week ago to come to Seattle. Anyone have any tips on what the sim/interview is like? How many people did they invite? Also, what recruiter did you go through?

Cheers,

sunbird

A-Net
 

Hi,

I've been invited to the screening as well. Used Parc Aviation for the recruitment process.

I am looking for a CA slot.

The 24 page simulator screening info seems pretty challenging...

hello, ive called as well for the Interview + Sim;
have been told so far that the interview is very relaxed, some technical here and then may come,
been told twice not to wear black, because they asume its for a funeral
watch out for the slip indicator, keep it centered, they pay a lot of atention to the lateral G's
the power setting's are just references, not that their gonna fail cause of that
bring a lot of pictures, not just 10
BE ON TIME
thats what i've been told so far
good luck
and maybe see you there for a coffee
bye bye

not so many I guess

:confused:

RE: Air Nippon Network Sim Eval

There were three candidates invited to SEA for my evaluation. First there was a brief summary of the plan for the day. Then one by one we were taken into the next room for a twenty minute interview.

The interview was conducted by one HR person and two Captains. General “Tell me about yourself” questions followed by some “What if” questions. What if there was smoke in the flight deck. What if there was a disagreement between pilots. Some questions were “lost in translation” and would just be dropped. Other questions were wrt memory items on the QRH. Overall, nothing too unusual or challenging.

Next a briefing by the FlightSafety instructors (Copilot and sim tech/ATC) about how to be successful during the simulator evaluation. Lot’s of good advice.


Next, the three candidates went to the simulator for a practice session. 1 normal T/O, 2 V1 cuts to 700feet and one practice visual circuit (I think). It was very rushed.

Then, in the same order as the interview, we individually did the evaluation. One visual circuit just for practice, then it began. First, the same visual circuit to a full stop. Second, takeoff to vectored straight in VOR approach to opposite end of runway. Third, V1 cut vectored to a single engine ILS. Done.

My advice is to not touch anything but the controls and the power. Request flight director inputs and course selection from PNF. Do not even set your bug headings. Tighten the tension on the power levers so you cannot make large adjustments easily. A little power adjustment goes a long way on the 400. For the SE ILS, drop the gear at the first movement of the G/S, then the flaps when 3 green (asap) otherwise you wont slow down on the slope.

Last, if you get a contract offer, speak to as many people on the job as possible to see if it is right for you because the job isn’t for everyone. Especially if you are going for an F/O position.

does the instructor set the speeds for takeoff ands 1andings?; is there a notch or something standard to set Power; there any Yaw Damper? or they fy with out it, i mean not engaged?do they rea1y pay atention to b1ack suits?, ive benn to1d that they re1ate that with funera1s,? thanks for the tips, see you 1atter on

You can brief the speeds. V1, Vr and V2 will be set by the PNF, but Vfri, Vclimb, Vref and Target approach have to be set on both sides. Take-off power will be set by PNF after you advance the levers, there is a rating detent anyways at which the torque is set automatically. Yaw damper should be on.

Black suits are for JAL pilots, but i dont think they would make a big deal out of it.