arrived recently. left seat, now actively looking for another job. make of that what you will. reason i'm telling you is no-one answered the questions you're asking when i asked them. no-one mentioned how things really are. it may be because things were fine. i don't know. it may be because there's been an unprecedented deterioration in morale, working patterns and remunerative conditions. i don't know. what i do know is it isn't working out. pm me if you like. i'll figure out if you're genuine, or on a fishing trip. my immediate advice would be to stay where you are. or don't. only you know what's best.

AJX was indeed a happy place until around 12 months ago. A combination of factors have contributed to the very low morale in the operation. Pilots are leaving or actively looking for other work, office staff are leaving. These are local Japanese people who find the new office regime unpleasant.

The word is out that applications are drying up and potential new hires are turning down the contracts on offer.

The merger which took place last year has caused a lot of uncertainty and the schedules are starting to get tiring, if not brutal.

Big white bird is worth listening to.

Seeshoot,
I can agree with most of what was said in the replies you received. You have to understand that, if you get an offer of a contract, it's quite meaningless because if ANA don't like it they will just cancel it and give you your 90 days notice.

Morale is at an all time low, we are being screwed on a daily basis with the schedule and admin changes that are Stalinist in the least.

The only way I can recommend coming here, is to have an out, have the opportunity to get back to where you were previously before the adventures of ANA.

ANA understands the problems, but they seem paralized to act, in the mean time pilots are leaving rapidly and no one is applying.

As jobs go, I would have rated it as an 8 out of 10, now I'd give it a 2 out of 10.

April will see Cargo pilots and Pax pilots flying the same roster, it looks a little ominous for a smooth combination.

As to what you were told in the interview about it all being a happy bunch of pilots and management working well together is false and absurd.

Hmmm, I see...

The good reports I'd heard were from the cabin crew on the ANA flight home after my interview. Those I spoke to told me how much happier they were at Air Japan than on mainline! I expected to get some contrasting views from somewhere - it's just that I didn't know who to ask.

This has been a long-standing vacancy with Parc & I'd heard very encouraging things about pay & conditions as well as morale there from a couple of years back. I'm not going to commit until I've had a good talk to one or two of you & am satisfied that, on balance, I'm going to be satisfied in 5 years' time.

So thanks all of you, I really value what you're saying & wish you all the best; whether things improve at AJX soon, or whether you find something better.

The reason that the number of posts dried up on here about this contract was that the conditions here changed radically.
Through the aircrew forums on the internet you should be aware of the punitive living costs in Japan. If you peruse this website you will also be able to make yourself familiar with ANA's propensity for dishonouring its contract obligations. For example the loss of business commuting to home in the US and the loss of pay for cargo pilots.
The duties imposed on the cargo pilots are already hideous and combined with the insult of reducing their pay and removing the additional day (to alleviate some of the fatigue) absentee rates have increased dramatically recently.
With the improvement in hiring in the USA, US pilots are taking the opportunity to go home as they become disenchanted with both the contract conditions and the loss of commuting priviliges which are an essential part of travelling half way around the world each month to go to work in their own time. In addition there has been a decrease in the number and quality of candidates applying from the US for the same reasons.
This double whammy will result in the remaining pilots working harder and becoming even more disenchanted! If you have a job it would probably be in your best interests to stay put!

Just to clarify - I didn't mean to imply that I'd been told that all is wonderful during the interview (which was very business-like, just not all that informative). Really, my own impressions so far have been more positive than negative, from remarks like "Generally all crews get on well. The Japanese pilots are very polite, respectful and mostly friendly", etc.

As I said earlier, thanks for your replies.

HACS and PARC
 

They both suck and will try to screw you whenever they can. Once you're signed, they give two craps about you. Takes forever to get a response from them and they're very rude when you do. They are just looking for people to fill slots and make money. They are only looking out for their best interests and not yours.
This is only my opinion, but I'm sure if you spoke to all the pilot who use them, I'd say you get the same response from about 70% of them. Good luck with them.

Seeshoot,

PM me your Skype details (assuming you have it) and I'll give you a shout when I'm able to.

short of the long is this:

the truth is out there, and it ain't pretty.

:confused: good luck.

Anyone who's on a commuting contract, managed to get his family to live in Japan?

It is strictly a commuting contract and the company will not sponsor you or your family for an alien registration card; Some guys do live here (of sorts) either they are married to a Japanese lady or their better half gets a job that sponsors her independently from you, that sort of thing.

Thanks for your reply. Atleast if my spouse gets a job, it's doable.

regarding to recruitment
 

Hi, anyone here has any information about the pilot recruitment ?

if yu can't find anything here in 32 pages....please don't bother:(

The plan for the fiscal year of 2011 is to run 4 classes of 8 in each class but if the attendance of the past two classes is a guide, they won't meet their hiring expectations for the year.

hi, so any suggestion from you? i'm a fresh grad pilot from msia actually.. looking for any recruitment

Is the situation so horribly bad? :\

Drewteh,

Use some initiative and do some research on the contract agencies' sites regarding the requirements for this job. Failing that, look back through past pages of this thread where the information is instantly available, instead of expecting to be spoon-fed. Basically, this job is for experienced pilots but don't just take my word for it.

Look closer to home
 

Drewteh,

To reiterate what Fratemate wrote, contract jobs are for experienced crew. Don't waste your time.

Suggest you try harder in your home country, Malaysia.

Hi guys,

Anyone with a JAR Licence? How do you renew your JAR Licence every year?

Will the JCAB 767 Rating be accepted by the EASA?