Hainan or Xiamen Air?

[Will Co]

Hypotethically, if I was to make a decision between Hainan Airlines or Xiamen Airlines in China, would anybody be able to compare the two?

[MXer]

I‘m presently in the final stage of application (background check) for Hainan. I applied as a DEC on A330. One of the main reasons for me was that you will also operate on international/intercontinental (expect 1-2 longhaul a month) routes compared to an A320 (or 737) contract, so not spending all your ON time only inside China.

Rumours about increased contract terms for HNA in 2019.

Anyway I think the biggest money will always be by at A320/737 operators based in a sh.... second/3rd tier city.

I don‘t have any insider information on Xiamen.

Good luck for the application!

[BizJetJockey]

You might want to do some research on Hainan’s parent company HNA before accepting a contract. They are in a spot of bother to say the least!

[MXer]

Originally Posted by BizJetJockey

You might want to do some research on Hainan’s parent company HNA before accepting a contract. They are in a spot of bother to say the least!

I did. I have a fallback option. and if things really turned out bad (which I cannot see today), I also think it would be no big deal to find a new position as a CAAC license holder.

[petrichor]

What bizjet said, plus let's just say that the work ethic and corporate mentality is very different in China. On top of that, coming in as the highly paid "gweilo" will cause a level of resentment among the local pilots that makes it hard to live with apparently. As to which of the 2 is better....expect to be treated the same by both (not in a good way). Sure the money is good ......

[safelife]

Xiamen by all means.

[welliewanger]

Originally Posted by MXer

I did. I have a fallback option. and if things really turned out bad (which I cannot see today), I also think it would be no big deal to find a new position as a CAAC license holder.

I don't know about how they treat foreign license holders, nor do I know about maintenance. But I do know that Chinese pilots don't hold any licenses - the company holds their license. If they want to move to another company, they need to "buy" the license for a very reasonable fee!

[joe falchetto 64]

Originally Posted by welliewanger

I don't know about how they treat foreign license holders, nor do I know about maintenance. But I do know that Chinese pilots don't hold any licenses - the company holds their license. If they want to move to another company, they need to "buy" the license for a very reasonable fee!

Not entirely true: this applies only to chinese pilots whose ab initio and operational training have been paid by the airline. Many FO are now following the "self sponsored" route and they are able to change airline without big problems; for expats it depends: my license is mine, and I changed airline after the first contract. I leave now in a so called sheet 2nd tier city, where I live very confortable wasting less than one third of the money I needed in Shanghai; my pay is top scale for 4/4 and when I have days off either I grab my motorcycle for sightseeing around or I go to the beach in summertime.