Nippon Cargo, NCA
 

https://tbe.taleo.net/NA7/ats/career...S&cws=1&rid=44

This is one of the best contracts available anywhere in the world right now. Stable rosters, great commuting conditions, the money is very good and the opportunities for advancement are great with attrition due to retirements and their fleet expansion that includes the 748, this company also has an upgrade program. US bases!

Looks like this contract is through HASC, isn't that the same as CReW? can you apply to two different contracts through the same agency, or is that frowned upon?

Parc is also hiring for this:
CAE Parc Aviation Recruitment and Resourcing

They told me upgrades were running 1-2 contract cycles (3-6 years).

So do you need the 747 type and time in it ? Hawaiian states "preferred", Parc is "required". So which one is it ? I'm all all bus here (320, 330) so just wandering if I have a shot ?

I called Hawaii Aviation a few years ago about this and at that time you needed it. I think when they say "150 hours in type (150 hours 747-400 preferred)" they mean they'll take you with 150 hours in the Classic, but not zero time in 747's.

It might be worth another call though to verify.

What is the maximum age to get hired there?

The conditions of the market in Japan (and abroad) are not like a few years ago, remember that just a few years ago JAL had fired several 747 senior pilots because they got rid of people by fleet not by seniority and Japan got hit with one of the worse natural disasters in recent hystory. Now you have a stiff competition for crews with the introduction of LCC's into the market and skymark is hiring a lot of people, this is a good contract and it wouldn't surprise me that people that are employed with 747 time would jump ship to go to NCA, but the point I'm trying to make is APPLY, let them be the ones to say no, don't do it for them, to me the fact that they opened the flood gates for applications in the expat market is very telling;) Just as a reminder, I don't work at NCA nor have any vested interest, I just enjoy having a beer with those guys once in a while.

Hey Dom,

Does NCA make you go thru the 6-9 months of Japanese training craziness or is toned down a bit? Last I heard ANA no longer owns NCA right?

hope things are going well over there for you

face

Any Japanese contracts will make you got through the long training process. It's a JCAB requirement. It's not difficult, just time consuming.

Dom, Parc now has Air Japan advertised as 3 weeks on/2 weeks off. Is that the new deal?

Hey MYO... How is the freight dawg life treating ya? As CR mentioned, the training periods are long here regardless.... ANA sold the majority of the shares they had in NCA although they have some stock still but no longer control the board. Things are getting a little better in term of scheduling I'm happy to say, although there is room for improvement, thanks for asking.

@controlled rest: A while back they added 2 commuting blank days so it is a 12 day stretch but you do commute on your time, you can add your vacation days 2 at a time and make it 14 days in a row, so it is 17 on a 31 day month, 16 on on a 30 day and the happiest month of the year we work two weeks :-)

Dom,

Glad to hear the scheduling is getting a little better. I love the freight thing....good times! Love the airplane and love not having to worry about commuting to work! Its funny, when I went over to interview with ANA long time back, i ran into a couple of NCA guys going to recurrent and they sounded pretty happy.

Reading everything that has been written about being an expat just about has me convinced. I just can't commit to it yet, primarily due to still being in the AF Reserve and hoping that I can still get on with another US company. But the clock keeps ticking and I'm not getting any younger.
Probably a dumb question but....I assume there is no more jumpseating when you become an expat. Is this true? Moving to LA or Chi will be a requirement.
Another "age" issue...can vision be corrected to 20/20 or no glasses what so ever?

I would NOT recommend the Ex Pat lifestyle for a guardsmen or Reservist. Remember you have NO Userra protection so if you are activated your only choice is to quit. It is too big a risk. I did it for several years then retired when it just became too difficult to maintain currency. Many ExPat jobs are 6 weeks on and 2 weeks off. Your unit may not like you being gone for 6 weeks at a time. You are correct there is NO jumpseating allowed by Foreign carriers. The TSA jumpseat list also could not be updated and maintained. Many carriers have good travel arrangements like Korean and ANA but many in China are simply paid an allowance and you buy your own coach ticket with the occasional upgrade. Japan Airlines once had a reciprical jumpseat agreement with Northwest but both Northwest and JALways no longer exist. Vision varies extensively by nation but Japan doesn't like radial RK procedures. China allows you to wear glasses no problem. Do your research on each nations medical you are interested in. Being an ExPat is what you make of it but there are definite Pros and Cons which each person will rank differently. Best of Luck!

Just to reiterate what expat said, a friend of mine in training at a Hong Kong based carrier got activated right after completing his line training (IOE). He was told they expected his resignation.

NCA October Screening
 

Dear Gents and Ladies,

Has anyone been invited for screening next month yet?

I'm heading to NRT on the first week of october and would be great to exchange info with other candidates heading there as well.

PM me if you wish.

Fly safe.

Upspeed.

I'm going too. Anyone have any intel? Can't pm 'cause I haven't made my 10 posts yet.

My tone is not mean here, but it just strikes me as odd that you have been a member since March, 2011. This is your first post and you expect someone to send you information about a competitive position when you have not had the time or inclination to participate on the forum previously.

Ever heard of give and take?



Typhoonpilot

I don't find it odd.

Here is the problem. This forum is for sharing information. We all have some and we should all share. Opinions are okay to share as well.

If someone has a track record of very few posts and then all of a sudden wants information that's fine, but will he share his experience with us after the interview? Will he share the joining details? Will he share what it is like during training there? Will he share what the schedule is like once on line? Will he share how the compensation actually ends up being like?

That's all valuable information for the community, but when one doesn't have a track record of posting at all, it is unlikely that he would share the information. So why should someone answer his question?


Typhoonpilot

Presumptive guilt? Give the man a chance, he might surprise you.

Typhoonpilot

You aren't a Brit by any chance?
Jeez lighten up. Maybe he doesn't like the sound of his own voice.

Wow. Glad I don't fly with you. :rolleyes:

Anyway.... I'm headed to the sim eval on the 10th. Anybody have any clue on what to expect from the panel interview?

No it's statistical likelihood and a shot across the bow.

There are a number of us on the forum who provide a lot of information and have been doing so for many years. I have seen it time and time again where someone pops up and asks questions about an interview process, that get answered, then he goes away never to be heard from again.

He's basically used our time and generosity and not had the common decency to say thank you in the form of posting what the interview experience was like for other members to learn from.

I think it's time that someone says something about that kind of behavior in hopes of educating new/newish members in hopes of making APC an even better forum with better information for everyone.


TP

I will fly with TP anytime...day and night..

Criticalmach, you don't know TP well enough to make a such statement and TP is right about not putting in an effort to search for any intel here.

Hi guys,

Just received detailed info about the october 9th/10th screenings:

1. SIM assessment on the B744 - apparently very straightforward, scheduled to last 30-40 minutes only. SIM profile is basically T/O - Eng Fail - Climb straight ahead - Vectors for ILS approach - manual One Eng Inop landing.
2. Interview with some tech questions regarding the SIM assessment, and a general Q and A (who are you and why NCA).
3. Medical 2 weeks later (guys going for the oct 1st / 2nd screening will have their medical the day after the SIM)

I may be wrong, but all in all it seems to me that the invited candidates are pretty much "pre-qualified", so the screening would be just a confirmation to see if you would fit in the company´s profile.

Cheers,

Upspeed.

Upspeed, did you get an interview package with the profiles and most importantly the calls??? If you did I just wanted to stress that you must make an effort in learning their calls as best you can for the evaluation, in Japanese companies they put a lot of emphasis on this, it shows them that you are making an effort to learn it their way.

Good luck to both of you

Hi Dom,

The package we received was quite simple actually, no specific callouts or procedures...just a very basic SIM profile.

According to the recruiter NCA aims on assessing if the candidates are trainable and don´t expect us to do it their way yet, which is a different "approach" when compared to Air Japan´s screening as I see it. Of course, if there are any current NCA guys here in the forum it´d be nice to get some "inside" intel. Otherwise, it will be flying as each candidate´s current employer. I will be sure to post my experience here in a few weeks time after I´m back from NRT.

BTW...any B744 sims for hire around Tokyo? I know Boeing has the Tokyo Campus with one at ANA apparently, but according to the info I got no availability.

Cheers!

Upspeed.

Good luck on the interview, I don't think that you can get time on the ANA sims and I don't know if you could get some time on the JAL sims, they got rid of all their 74's and I know they are renting the sims but I just don't know how to get a slot over there, sorry I couldn't be of more help.

Thanks Dom! I'll let you know how it goes.

Upspeed.

Out of pure curiosity, is there info on what this pays available anywhere? Also, does your contract generally get renewed time after time? I'm not looking to apply, but simply curious about how the contract jobs generally work.

Nippon Cargo (NCA pilot jobs, payscales and entry requirements.)

The info might be outdated some, for the complete and up to date contract package is better to contact PARC directly.

The contracts are renewable unless they specify that it will be a one time deal, in the vast majority of the cases the company does offer a second contract but there are some occasions that they opt to not offer it, it is rare but it does happen (well, rare under the current demand for pilots that is, when there is an economical downturn or the company finds itself in dire straights, needless to say that the contract pilots are the first to go) contract gigs are a good option in times of growth and high demand, not so much when times are tight. The good news is that it looks like the next decade at least, there will be a steady demand for qualified crews.

Best of luck to all who are interviewing!

I'm heading out the second week of October, anyone else? Looking forward to the interview- Japan is awesome!

Hey rv8, what did they (Parc or HACS) says about the medical during your round of interviews. I had a friend who put it off because they told him he probably had to come back later to do it. Yikes, working your schedule around for 4-5 days off is hard enough without having to do it twice! At least the first round is a two day git-r-done affair.

Yerp- Gotta go back to NRT to do the medical- assuming I am successful with the interview and sim!

It'll be kind of a pain in the neck to get the additional days off work, but if I said no I may not have been invitied to the intervew in the first place!

Hey, Upspeed,
I'm off to NRT on Monday, interview on 3rd. I got the same profile as you did...just depart straight ahead with vectors back to the same runway.
I also, inadvertently I think, got a .docx with a list of interview questions. All straight forward (why do you wan to work here, what do you know nout Japanese corporate culture, how does your family feel about it, any problems with training in the past, what do you think of CRM, and a few general technical/operational questions). Any way to post these?
If its ok with The Dom, I'd like to post a report on the experience after the interview.

Also, my medical screening is the day after the interview/sim, assuming I haven't washed out by then! Told to bring running shoes for the treadmill test, pair of contacts an the box they came in (with diopter markings), and spare glasses. A friend formerly of ANA advised not to exersize (run, lift, work out) for at least several days prior, so as not to introduce ketones or lactic acid into your system that would affect your blood screenings.

Thanks for the info. :)

FYI Dated info but:

I have a friend who was ex ATA who went to NCA in '07 or '08. Was a 757 CA at ATA at the time and had 0 747 time or ratings.

Yes, this is dated info but like a guy early in thread said, "Let THEM be the ones who say no."

Apply.

:confused: sorry, that went right over my head! As I said before, I have no vested interest nor work at NCA, the purpose for me to start this thread was just to help fellow pilots in these difficult times, Why on earth would it not be ok to post an interview experience?