About the skeds:

I have to say sorry man because I used to have an AJV schedule on my computer, but I must have erased it.. I got it from PARC, and I am sure you can do the same through your crew company.

For what it is worth, I am told they have set up a scheduling "Committee" and PARC has someone on it.. I have one buddy already there, and he says the schedules or fine, and the company is very flexible.. (AJV)

As I do not start until May, I can only speak based on what I have heard, and not first hand.. I don't know anything about the AirJapan contract..

Hope it helps..

777BC

Thanks for the info guys. I was wondering about how much a crashpad would run in Tokyo if I'm commuting from the US. I would be taking the contract for a better paycheck, but I'm not sure if I would net more after having to drop some of that money on a crashpad.

Say of 20/21 in NRT, how many nights would you be on your own dime? 4-5? I was wondering more on the JP Express side.

Red,

Sent you a PM..

Any info you guys have on commuting, living etc.. is helpful!

Cheers,

BC

The word from management and union is 2 ABX 767 flying for ANA this summer and one more in the Fall. I dont know if there are going to be dedicated crews for Japan or it's going to be bid every month. It does't sound like we will have a domicile in Japan. Are there any other ABX pilots on this forum beside robiemartin and I?

Thanks for the info guys. I'd like to keep this thread going. Any guys actually flying the ANA/AJ contacts now? Info on QOL?

May 21st??
 

Hey all.. This thread seems to be crapping out which is a shame...

Are there any other people starting class on May 21st?? If so, please drop a line on here..!

Cheers,

777BC

Also, any of you boys that started in March have feeback on how things are going?? How is the "New" hotel? Any company news (AJV or AJX)?

Thanks!!

I'd like to know more too. I rushed through the assesment and got through OK but now everyone's gone silent. Standing by to expedite but would like to know more about schedules and commuting too.

I started class last week (12 March) and I would be happy to answer some questions. I am here through PARC on the AJX contract. I am not sure if we are in a new hotel or not, but it is the New Takanawa Prince hotel. About a 5 minute walk to the Shinagawa Station.

Things are actually pretty good here. We did the Air Law class last week and while it was not exciting (it is air law) it was not that bad either. Or JCAB exam is monday so hopefully all will go well...

I dont know anything about the AJV schedules, but with AJX, you fly to three cities... NRT - CAN (departs about 8am, then returns back to NRT same day), NRT - HNL (departs sometime in the afternoon and arriven in HNL about 0930 the next day, then comes back 0900 the following day to NRT), and NRT-HKG (leave about 1830 arrive about 2330, off the whole next day in HKG then back to NRT about 0830 the next day).

It appears that you are always back in NRT about 1400 - 1500 on your last day.. Typically 4 to 5 overnight trips per month, averaging about 70 hours of time a month (they said AJV averages about 40 hours a month)

Commuting is either paid ticket or you can use ZED tickets. It seems that most guys are commuting to Australia, with a few to Europe, US and Thailand.

Not sure about crashpad's yet. I hear that there are some but I am planning on staying at the holiday inn, narita for the time being. It averages about 50$ a night, and is only about 10 minutes from the airport. If you have a crash pad in the city, its a long way to work every day. (and pretty expensive)

Only been here a week but so far I am enjoying it a lot. Any other questions, fire away...

Thanks for posting.. I was hoping someone who was in that class would get on here.. That's great.. I do have a few questions if you dont mind.. PM me if you prefer..

That is the same hotel as before, but I heard it was going into some sort of construction / updating, and that we would move.. Glad we are still there, as there seems to be a lot around..

Have you been given a training schedule yet?? How "intense" is the 8 months?? Stuff all the time, or lots of time off...?

Are you enjoying your classmates? Is it a Capt. or FO class? Both AJX and AJV?

I think your idea about staying neat NRT is probably the best one. I just flew with a guy that used to overnight there with ANZ and he said there are some great places to go out.. (Barge Inn, Flyers etc..) Lots of crews and good prices on food and beer..

I will be starting AJV Captain class May 21st, so any and all info is very much appreciated!! Thanks again for taking the time.. Others on here will appreciate it too!!

BC

The hotel is undergoing some renovation. Its only on floors 12-14 right not. Not too much of a problem but you can hear them when they start with the jackhammer about 10 am each day. There are some rooms that have internet, but you have to ask for them. Its 1000 yen per day, but if you join their prince club, i am told that it is free. I also went out and bought a wireless router, so more people can share the connection....

The only "off" days are on weekends...However, there are lots of "blank days" throught your training period. We did the class on Air Law last week, and this whole week has been blank days...ie off. Its not near as intense and I first suspected, but I am studying on my own...Our law exam is monday...

Its a mixed class of AJX / AJV. There are 8 AJX and 4 AJV in the class. I am not sure of the AJV makeup but AJX is 7 Captains, 1 FO (me). We also have 2 guys that are already typed, and they run on an accelerated schedule..

At some point we are told that some current guys flying the line will come to meet us and talk to us about commuting and living arrangements. Hopefully we will get a clearer picture then.

Welcome to Japan !
 

I have just logged on for the first time in about 2 years . Yeah , this website is still blooming with useful information .
I am currently at AJV . I will try to help you with your questions .
About training , it is very slow indeed .
When your sim starts , you can expect one 4hr session every 2 days...
So lots of time to study and relax . You will sometimes get a few unscheduled days off , because of holidays in Japan . Soon coming is what they call " Golden Week " . It goes from april 28th to may 6th . Our class was given off for that entire period and most of the guys enjoyed a trip back home on company's expenses ... You might be lucky again this year !
All of us are based in Narita , wheter you are AJX or AJV . I have been staying in hotels so far and it's working great . We have special deals at the Narita Excel and the Garden Hotel for about $50 , and they allow us to check out as late as 19:00 at no extra charge . Some guys share an appartment in Narita , and they are quite happy with it too.
About AJV schedule , yes it is quite relax for now . There are only 3 flights a week on the Japan - Anchorage - Chicago run , so we take 10 days to do it , with an extended stop in either place for 4 days . The rest is China turns and starting this summer 5 weekly Seoul . So a typical month includes a North American turn and 3 or 4 flights to China , the rest being STBY days or days off. We will be getting 5 more freighters starting december 2007 . So it may be quiet now , but that won't last forever .

Cheers and good luck on your training :ok:

I did forget one thing about the hotel.... AJX guys are in the New Takanawa, but the AJV guys are located somewhere else. I am not sure what the name of it is, but its about 3 or 4 stops away on the subway.

Thanks Guys!! Great info.. I look forward to meeting y'all when I get there in May!!

Please continue to post things you feel we "New Joiners" should know...

777BC

AJX Interview
 

Hi Folks.
I have an interview coming up this month.
Is there any questions in the interview that were surprising or unusual:confused:

Thanks,

WCB

Its all about the sim. There are very few technical questions in the interview. Most of the questions are to find out if you know what you are getting into with the commute and to make sure you will fit in well with the culture. Fly the sim exactly the way the tell you to and then just keep your fingers crossed for the medical.... Thats the worst part of it all and there is nothing you can do to prepare for it.

Thanks for the heads up. Haven't been behind the controls in awhile. I'll be boning up for that.
Cheers,
WCB

If you haven't flown in a while, my recommendation would be to do a Sim prep on the 76. The sim ride is the interview, they understand that you are not flying the 76 and they will help you with automation and so on.
But you have to steer the aluminum tube as your resume indicates you should. You dig?

Heard that only 75% passed the last simcourse.
Looong course, no guarantees . . . . :(

Failure rate is more like 10%, probably less, averaged over the past 6 years. Some issues recently with a change in instructors but they were resolved and the crew involved are still around.

Show me anything in life with a guarantee, apart from DEATH!!!!!

I know that in the last airlines I have worked for (both considered "Majors") the failure rates have been 5-15%.. While you hope everyone passes, sometimes it just cannot work out that way..:8

Looking forward to class in one month!

BC

"Show me anything in life with a guarantee, apart from DEATH!!!!!"

US Taxes

Amen brother...


"Death and Taxes"

Anyone who has relocated to Japan with small kid, please PM me.

Thank you in advance.

Interview the 25th of May, any one now what to expect for someone applying for an FO position? Do they care if you smoke or is it more if you get thru the medical it's all good. And what is the BMI set at for intials at AJ?


Jobear

You are not going to see anything different being an FO until IOE (OE, OJT, whatever u want to call it). Your interview / training will be exactly the same and you will get a P1 type rating as an FO. There is a lot of interview info on this thread...

I believe the BMI is under 30....might be 28. I cant remember for sure. As far as smoking, I dont think there is anyone in our class that smokes, however, it seems that everyone else in Japan does smoke. There might have been 1 or 2 of the Dash or 737 guys that smoked, but I cant remember. Part of the medical is testing your lung capacity so I would imagine that would be more difficult if you are a smoker. If you pass the medical though, I can't imagine it being a problem.

Good Luck

Medical question
 

Can anyone tell me why everyone stress the BMI during the medical? Is it a Japanese thing? 'Cause I don't think many places look at your BMI during a regular flight physical? As for the smoking thing, I know someone who just interviewed with ANA and he smokes like a train and still passed the medical. So I guess it's really not that big deal, since a lot of Japanese pilots smoke as well.

And CRJ705, are you really 26?!? That's pretty damn young to have been qualified to interview as Capt. for ANA group's AJX or AJV or whatever they call their 76 operation.

I think most people stress the BMI on here because it is the one thing that you can check yourself before you go. It would be a waste of time and a little embarassing to go to the medical then get sent home for being over the BMI. As to why the Japanese care about it? I have no idea. It is what it is and as I have learned, dont ask or try to understand. I wouldnt worry about the smoking at all as long as you are in good health.

Yes, i am 26. I got lucky and everything fell together when I was younger. I wont bore you with the details...

It is their requirement and that is it. There in nothing regular about this physical, unless you are talking about NASA:ugh:

60 to 70% of folks fail the medical and about 60% fail the sim ride. Another note, the recurrent medicals are just like the pre employment medical, so the fitness level has to be maintained for the duration of the contract.

Dom,
Are you thru with training? Any pointers for those attempting or things to think about if selected?

Jobear

Just started actually, about a month and a half into it. I'll give some pointers later on when I get a little further on the course. But so far It has been a good experience:ok:

One question the IAC stuff didn't address:

I understand the monthly rosters include 10 consecutive days off (8 guaranteed), which includes commute time... but what about the WEEKLY rosters?

Do you fly each and every single day during the 20 days before your guaranteed "off" time?

Do you have a 1 in 7 or some other type of arrangement where you won't burn out in very short order? (I can't imagine working 7 days a week for 3 weeks straight before you get a day off).

Just trying to figure out how the daily life works in a typical monthly rotation...

Thanks,

Zup Lear

Of course not dude, they have regulations this part of the world:)
Just messing with ya, you get days off and reserve days here and there. One leg days, hotel for 16-20 hours and back. A day off and there you go again, that is pretty much the way it goes. Heard from one of the line guys that they are doing about 60-70 hours at AJX and about 50 at AJV but the AJV flying is going up in the next few months

We met with a training captain a few weeks back and he provided some insight into the monthly schedules. You wont ever see a day off on any of your rosters. What you will see is a "blank day" or as he refered to them, "balcony days". These are days that the company has not assigned you any duties, but in the event a standby pilot is used, they can change your blank day to a standby day. With only 3 flights leaving NRT a day, you can imagine that the above case does not happen too often.
Your "days off" can be blank days, or for example when you are in Hong Kong, you have a 27 hour overnight and that can be considered your day off too for legality reasons.
That specific captain that we talked to flew over 90 hours last month. But as previously stated, the average is a little above 70.
Being that there is not seniority here, you do not bid for your schedules. You are able to request your specific days off, and the company complies as much as possible. They attempt to be fair to everyone, so if one year you request Christmas off, then next year, you might not get it again. As the contract states, you can be taken down to 8 days off, but that captain specifically stated that he cannot recall that ever happening since he had been here. Schedules here are still done by hand and the company is small. The seem to try to make everyone happy...as much as they can...

Any ABX guys out there?
 

Iv'e been in AJX/AJV for over 5 years now. Just trying to find out what's happening with your wet lease contract for AJV.

For the guys worried about BMI. If you are out of the green band you can still pass the medical but I think you will have to do a stress ECG every medical there after.

Green band?

Out of the green band = Out of normal parameters!

For all those out there wanting some info on the AJX/AJV contract. Well here it is as I have worked there for a few years now.

The Pay: For those that where hired before 2005 they are on the so called "A" scale and those after are on the so called "B" scale. The only difference is that those FO's that joined before 2005 and are now upgraded you only get the Captains "B" pay. So once the few remaining (only about 15-20 guys) "A" scales guys leave there is only one pay scale, not the many pay scales apparently there.

Yes if you go to the frieghter you are on more money but it is the same the pax plus $1500 for a captain and $1000 for the FO's. Everything else is the same.

Parc and Hacs pay exactly the same amount of money except Hacs give a little more in the pension, but basically the same.

Contract is for 70 hours per month then overtime above that. AJV guys are on about 40 -50 hours a month at the moment. AJX guys are on about 70 hrs a month although since the frieghter and pax were seperated they have been doing a bit of overtime until more pilots arrive. Other than a few winges that get in the ear of the rosterer every month and build there own roster overtime is not the norm other than the few f***ing a*****es that take the piss at everyone elses expense. Capt KK.

As for the training you get the basic pay minus the commute and housing and plus the $44 perday.

Both are based in Narita but AJX only fly out of and AJV have no flights out of, so frieghter boys spend the whole month living out of a suit case and many many many dead heading between flights. The AJX boys either live in the Hotels around Narita or many now have apartments which the housing allowance covers.

The training, well guys its no harder than anywhere else in the world, its only an aeroplane, just do it there way like it or not and you will get through.

The medical is fairly involved but believe me there are many fat c***s that work there and its not that big of a deal, we are all alco's and its pretty hard to fail once you are there. In many years I dont think any body has failed once you get through the initial crap.

For those that say its a long time for the training, well 6 months is 6 months but Tokyo is a great place heaps of fun times to be had, especially if you have yellow fever, which if you dont whenb you get there, I bet you will have after. To many people stress about how hard it is and shouldnt. Yes people get scubbed every course but believe me they probably deserve it, attitude has a HUGE part in how they look at you, you could be Chuck Yaeger but if you dont get along with them then say good bye.

Now days you get an english speaking intructor which is a huge benifit, unlike the five yrs where evrything was done through a translater. Sorry for those that have been on recent course and complaned about how hard it was, but remember everyone has to do it so DEAL with it as those that are here have been there done that.

AS for me its the easiest job in the world once you jump all the hoops. They leave you alone and its getting better as time goes on. The commute is proberly the only downer on it but there is talk that things may change, but I wouldn't count on it.

The tax situation is as Parc and Hacs say in the initial contact with them that it is up to each and everyones responsibility.

Well there you have it take it not that is how it is, I should know as I work there and plan on staying for a while.

PS. if you are a ****** then please apply some where else as you won't fit in.

Mate, that is without doubt the best pissey reply I have ever read on this dick of a site. Good luck and keep up the good work, seriously:D

Slight thread hijack...

What does it mean on the application when they say "Application must be in Type Written form"?

Does that mean they want it "written" in English block letters (mixed case or all caps) or does that mean they want it typed out as if you were to "Type" it on the computer?

Don't want to go to all the trouble to fill it out just to find out it needs to be done a different way.

Also, what did everyone put in the Autobiographical and other relevant information block?

Thanks,