B737 opportunities
 

I'm new to this thread so please bear with me if the questions I've got are boring or have already been answered somewhere else. (edit in italics)

1) What's a DEC? :confused: and

2) I'll be 60 in Jan of 2008 :( and would like to work for at least another couple of years. Single, excellent health, look 10 years younger than I am, currently a 737NG captain for a major US airline. In case there's a chance I might be able to return to my present arline someday it's probably best if I can stay in the 737. My other questions are:

a) Outside of Europe, US, and Canada, what are the best countries to work in for quality of life? (A job in Europe/Canada would be great if I could get one.)

b) What are the best countries to work in for pay?

c) What are the worst countries to work in for quality of life?

d) What are the worst countries to work in for pay?

e) And lastly, is it better to apply to the above airlines directly or is it better to simply go through some kind of an agency, such as IASCO? Any help or advice most appreciated.

Thank you in advance to anyone who can help.:)

1. direct entry command.

I'd put good money on Jet2 giving you a 6 month contract in Blackpool UK

Where to go?
 

As far as getting a 737 DEC job in Europe, Middle East, Far East, Asia...

The world is your cup cake.

I would contact an agency first to see all the options, there should be quite a few.

All depends on your personal tastes and preferences.

How is your overall health?

Do you want to learn a new language?

Do you want to be home regularly?

Do you want more structure or less structure?

Are you bringing a family?

The options on this are truly endless.

Requires a couple of trips abroad to check things out and see what kind of foreign cultural experiences you are up for.

Common knowledge is that Jet Airways [India], and Air India Express. . . hiring through Rishworth and Sigmar Aviation . . . for their -800s. -700s
Common knowledge also is that Jet Airways is hiring [age 60+ OK] qualified and current B777 direct entry captains, FAA certificate OK. . . .for their factory new -300s being delivered right now.
Also, check out http://www.climbto350.com

DEC= Direct Entry Captain.

What licences do you hold? Where do you have the right of abode? For most of Europe you will need a JAR ATPL.

Probably best for you to look for a job where you will fly on a validation, or where the conversion to the local licence is handled "in house", or of course where you can use your FAA licence

Have you considered the commuting contracts? I would be looking at Japan (Good money), Korea (I think you may be too old, but great commuting job), Vietnam, interesting place and cheap to live. Kazakhstan
I would not be looking to India, or the Middle East, it's too disorganised and a HUGE culture shock.

Lots of people with similar background find themself on a Brookfield contract flying for Ryanair. If you are willing to work for them, you can make quite a nice salary. That is if you are willing to work for Ryanair...

Ryanair????????????
 

Of course I'd be willing to work for Ryanair - I think. Why not??? What's wrong with Ryanair?? The only thing I've really heard about them, aside from being aggressive, big, and successful is that they don't let employees charge their cell phones on company outlets (personally, I find that hard to believe).

And thanks everybody who wrote in with advice. Aside from living in a country that speaks English I kind of like the Vietnam idea thing (they have palm trees).

Ryanair. According to their website you should "ideally" have a JAR or EU licence. They do say that they will support work permit applications for type rated captains.

http://www.ryanair.com/site/EN/about...eers&ref=10002

Good luck with whichever route you choose

You can pretty much go a lot of places that operate 737. You can even get a JAA license very easly if you have more than 3000 TT and 1500 PIC time in an aircraft that weight more than 30000 Kilogram (737 weight more than that) :D . Just some paper work.

Good Luck :ok:

You might be sitting for months in training, depending on what country hires you. I know a few guys who worked in other countries. It has been a while, but some TWA 747 pilots who retired a few years early reportedly sat for about six months in ground school class in Japan, as if they knew nothing about trans-oceanic operations, or even basic aviation.

Be aware that some countries, even outside of Europe, require a huge amount of academic trivia to be learned, much of which has little connection or applicability to flight operations' situational awareness nor decision-making. But maybe this has improved with so many openings in Asia for foreign pilots.

As a pilot in the US, you might encounter a bit of silence on the matter of helping you pursue jobs in other countries, based upon the common impression (or reality) that not many foreign guys are hired by airlines here, or allowed to work here. And for what it is worth, a former US major airline Chief Pilot was reportedly in charge of hiring recently at Emirates, in Dubai. The US pilots hired there recently might not have already had a given type rating.

Overs the years of reading Pprune, it has been stated often that some contract firms are good at complying with a contract for you to work 2-4 years with a carrier. Others have been accused of keeping, contrary to the contract, a chunk of your first year pay etc, with little recourse for the pilot, unless one flies to a very remote island chain and goes to court. Good luck.