West Air
 

Any guys have any info on this op. Whats the town like, what kind of trips do they do, etc.

It is part of the Hainan Group and is set up just like Tianjin Air, BCA, Lucky Air. They are getting 320's that were supposed to go to BCA, just like Tianjin and Lucky. Chongqing is supposed to be OK. Huge city, 35 million people, depending on where you draw the lines.

Crap weather. I have probably flown into ZUCK 40-50 times, and seen the city from the air 1 time.

Our FO's said it is a good outfit. I might end up there myself. Most, if not all, one day trips right now. Just domestic flying rubber dog@#$%t in and out of ZUCK.

Bad news is they have no experience with expats. You will be the first. It can be very frustrating to say the least.

yea it could be an adventure, sucks they do not leave the country but nice that they are home most nights, I've done enough Chinese overnites to know they suck. So you've heard it's a good town? I wonder what the expat community is like? blows that the weather is bad

Guys:

Who would you go through to apply for a job like that? I've seen Wasinc, VOR Holdings and a few others advertising . All have been mentioned on this forum in a not so nice way.

I can see you can apply direct for Hainan, but don't see that you can on their many other carriers.:ugh:

I think Parc is about to start representing West Air as well. There are a couple of gotchas in their offers, that makes me think the offers came from a bunch of 22 year old schoolkids with no airline experience. And I can tell you right now, it probably came from a bunch of kids.

The rostering they are offering doesn't work from their side. There is another gotcha that says "from 70 hours to 80 hours" you get full 80 hour pay. I guess this means if their rostering doesn't work, and you have 3 weeks vacation all in one month, you only fly 27 hours, you would only get paid 27 hours. Doesn't work from the pilots side either.

As long as you are REALLY flexible, I am sure within 6 months they will figure out what works. Right now, not so much.

The Hainan Group of airlines does flight operations to a spectacular level of reliability. The admin side for expats, not so much.

west air skype interview
 

I was called on skype for interview in the early morning and was asked a few questions. Hard to understand the way he asked the questions but not professional from my point of view. Idg, cabin altitude limits, psi cabin diff. limits.

Interview
 

Thanks for the info. I just did the Skype interview and was equally not impressed. It appears they are on a fishing expedition and not really sure of what is going and and what they are doing. I've done time on planet china and agree that being the first expats on scene will be rough. Contracts in China tend to keep evolving according to interpretation.

west air interview on skype
 

Received email and was not invited for second interview. Not sure what they are looking for!

I'm sure they have no idea themselves. No dealings with Expats, I can only imagine the amount of frustration and confusion you'd experience if you'd have gone there. Give them a year and try it again. I know the packages look good but the Chinese, in my experience, will adjust that while you are there and it won't resemble anything like it is now. Plus, I just read they only have 1050 hours of sunshine a year.....

Roughing it
 

West Air will be a disaster if you have no experience in China.

To be the first in a mainland Chinese airline is extremely challenging. Super hero pilots apply only. Otherwise your fate will be a maximum of 6 months on property before you leave.

I cannot stress enough the make your money and leave attitude is too nonchalant for China. You've got to be a battle hardened veteran make it here for the duration or become a Chinese pilot in which case you'll have extreme difficulty passing your first couple of rides at home.

west air
 

I think I will stay here where we have 360 days of clear sky and hot weather.
The beach at the red sea is not too bad!!! the hell with the chinese!!!!!!

I just got the thumbs down also but invited to try next year. Hmmmmm, with a Chinese ATPL, flying in Asia for 20 years...... I guess there are a lot more Higher qualified pilots out there....... Go figure.

WA skype interview
 

Go figure!!! it looks llike a mickeymouse management to me. I now think they did me a favor.

It is very possible they could be looking for people who might feel trapped in the contract and have no other options. Its the only way they could retain people.

West Air
 

What was the Chinese ATPL like? The Chinese medical? I heard they were both tough. Is there anyone who has been hired by HNA or any of their subsidiaries?

Chinese stuff
 

Do a search and there is a ton of info available. However, as one who has done this first hand both are not that difficult with some preparation and some luck..... The test is available, similar to the FAA tests, with about 1500 sample Q&A's. The problem is the translation takes some imagination but is doable of course. I used that trick of blacking out 3 of the 4 multiple choice answers as it helps the brain to recognize the correct answer without really understanding the answer. It sounds strange but it works and is proven. If you try to really understand the question, it will be very difficult, mainly due to the translation problems.

The Medical can be prepared for also. If you're into a lot of aerobic activities, stop a month before you go in. I'm not going to go into it here but pin me if you want the full explanation on that. go on a clean diet. If you have a problem with blood pressure or maybe just a problem when you go into a hospital, (known as white coat syndrome), there are meds you can take a couple hours before and it will lower it. And no, they do not test for that. Drink a ton of water the week leading up to the medical, if you can, have a ultrasound done of your guts before hand. Small stuff can be flushed with all the water, or if it's too big, other methods are available. Go on a good diet etc. Remember, although they would like you to tell them everything about your medical past, do you really want to do that? If you accidentlly go 251kts below 10,000 ft, do you call atc and tell them? If you do, then by all means be a boy scout.

It's a different world over there, learn what you can before you go and then try to make things work where you are now. Good luck!

Chinese medical
 

Hey Jaz & TFM,
I tried to PM you about the reasons why no cardio and especially about the blood PSI. Meds. If you get a chance I'd really like to hear what you have to say.
Thanks:ok:

anyone still in the running with WA ??
 

passed my Skype interview, have invitation for screening at the beginning of June. medical in Beijing, chinese ATP in Chengdu ...

has anyone gone through it already ?

does anyone have experience with the agency GPS, based in taipei ?

haven't decided on the screening, yet, will keep posted if I go through with it (still not sure about the whole china thing and trying to make up my mind as I go ...)

Chinese interview
 

Since this is your first experience in China, I'd make all attempts to talk to a buddy who has had the pleasure as most of the Chinese companies involve the same ritual. If you can't find anyone, you can pin me and I'll hook up with you on Skype and we can spend a bit talking about it. I also did the skype with them, was told at the time, they wanted me to come for a face to face. A few days later, I get an email from the contract company stating that I didn't pass. Hmmmm. So I emailed West Air, told them I appreciated, blah blah blah and signed up for another Six months at my current company. They answered back, " Solly to hear that, we were looking forward to having you join us ".

Apparently, the contract company got into a pissing match with them and decided my future. A month later, a buddy was in Bejing, and saw my name on a list for West Air's Pilots! I had been hired and the contract company caught me with my pants down.

The reason for the rant? This is not the first time this has happened to me.. Use caution with these contract companies and try to get a direct contact email, just in case you need it. Use caution with all of the contract companies and remember. Your best interests are not foremost on their minds, theirs is don't believe everything they tell you and keep a back up plan.

Good luck!