Pilotjc12

Hi all,
Just wondering if NCA is planning on hiring any pilots....i heard that there are many JAL pilots working at NCA....are they going back to JAL any time soon?
Btw, i am new here currently work in asia as 744 FO.

Thanks...

PotatoChip

All the JAL pilots have returned. No hiring currently, but I did just hear a rumor of 20 possible new hires by the end of the year.

Pilotjc12

Thanks! I will keep my hopes up!

Pilotjc12

I just applied for b744 fo position thru parc aviation...just what the schedule is like if i were to get based in LAX. And i heard nca upgrades i house is this correct?

The Dominican

I work for another carrier mind you but I do know many folks working there...., they do upgrade from within and there will be some limited hiring apparently but a long time to upgrade right now since there is some stagnation.

Braniff DC8

I know someone too and its just ok. You are a contract worker for a Japanese airline. Ask the JALways guys how it worked out for them! They will always try to promote Japanese first. There are even rumors of DECs. My buddy is trying to go but hes being picky.

The Dominican

JAL entered in bankruptcy and not only the Jalways guys were let go but also many of the JAL mainline pilots...., Jalways gave everyone plenty of time to get other jobs and cancelled their contracts with 4 months of pay....! I would say that under the circumstances they were treated fairly.

There are many of those pilots working with AJX today and there is no ill will from any of them towards Jalways.

And about your comment of a Japanese company promoting Japanese pilots first...., regrettably you are misinformed. At NCA as well as at AJX..., all pilots are under contract (Japanese or expats) and the upgrades are by longevity.

Also their training is formed by both expats and Japanese instructors and all pilots receive evaluations from both groups of instructors.

There are just a handful of places that upgrade pilots from within in the contract world...., these two specific companies in Japan (NCA, AJX) do have a working upgrade program in place.

Braniff DC8

Not bashing Dominican. My buddy did not fair so well. He's not bitter just bad timing. He's not angry just tired is all. He keeps getting told different things and of course the contract was changed when time to sign. NCA does have some history as you know. I've been looking at Japan but the training thing would kill me. You are always a great source of info and sorry If my information is a bit different. Rumor has it that JAL may need expats again. Thanks.

The Dominican

Why would the long training period kill you? They pay your entire salary (no training pay) since day one and although it is indeed long....., you do get a lot of time off so it is not really that bad...., at least for me that came from timing out just about every year before coming here..., the time away from the flight deck was welcomed...., my family came and spent several months with me in a furnished apartment in a nice area of Tokio and I had plenty of time off for sightseeing...., it wasn't bad at all.

Well..., JAL and the rumors of a new "gaijin" contract....!

I've been hearing the same thing for a while now, I had a couple of cold ones with two of their pilots in HKG a few months back and they are very short on crews..., many A/C's on order lots of retirements and having the same trouble recruiting locals as ANA is having...., they see no other way around it but to look for pilots on the expat market.

Companies like Peach.., Jetstar Japan, Spring Airlines, Vanilla Air are having a very difficult time hiring as well

Braniff DC8

Thanks Dom. Its not the pay or time off, it's having to study for ten months! Even for an RJ which I am already typed in. I have previous 757/767 time as well. JAL, will have a hard time as will/do all the Asian carriers. The reason the Japanese carriers are having a bit of hard time getting really high qualified guys is because of the really excessively long training.

NCA keeps changing business ideas and my buddy is not sure what the hell is going on.

Japan is a beautiful country and the people are lovely but 9-10 months to train already qualified pilot seems to be overkill. Also, why is it always so damn windy in Japan. And of course there's Godzilla.