There is probably 8 agents who have the contract. Some small, some bigger, some local, etc.

Tasman Aviation is a brand new agency who's owner is one of the A330 Captain's on the CSA contract. He was just in Dubai doing a road show because he is an ex EK pilot. Seemed okay.

Longreach is another Aussie/Kiwi run agent headquartered in Hong Kong. They've got a couple guys at CSA.

The bigger UK agents Parc and Sigmar have the contract.

Rishworth has it, but has had some issues with pilots in the past which make them questionable. Search PPrune for their name and you'll find the whole story.

If I were looking at it I would likely look to Parc first, but would need to compare benefits and talk more in depth to make a final decision.

Your agent needs to prep you for the written exam and for the sim. The sim is a big stumbling block right now. Only about 20% pass rate from what I hear.


TP

 

Thanks,
Will definitely look into all of them. Parc doesn't seem to care much, maybe they have too much business, the lady I got in touch with there doesn't seem to care about customer service much, I'm just starting the process and first impression is not great, so makes me wonder how they treat their people once they have them signed up?
Any comments on Parc at all?

 

You need to go to PPrune and read all the numerous threads on this topic. Between that and talking to some guys flying in China I decided it was not close to being an attractive place to be.

 

The bad news is that Parcs' recruiting is a bit slow. The good news is they put their money in contract support. Their rep amongst contract pilots is better than all other agencies combined.

I think they might be slow in recruiting to filter out the riff raft. It pays to be a little patient, and go with Parc. Trust me on this.

One pilot, on my first contract, told me many pilots won't work a contract unless it is under Parc. After two contracts, and seeing what went on with Parc vs the others, I also will not work a contract unless Parc represents me.

Wasinc would be my second choice in China. The rest are fly-by-night operations, and I have never met a pilot under contract with any of them. Except Rishworth.

I was told Rishworth was the worst, right after starting a contract under Rishworth. It took very little time to figure out why. I would never work a contract for them again, no matter what the money.

 

I don't know what the conditions are like for foreign pilots at China southern. Sounds like the process for getting on is the same as elsewhere in China.

On the flip side, the local pilots I fly with do not like the local China southern pilots. Have never really been given a good answer as to why.

 

Chinese pilots call China Southern "China Slowly" because they get paid by the hour. They do fly slow, as I was stuck behind them many times.

2/3's of the hiring process at every Chinese airline is identical. You are passing the requirements for a Chinese ATPL. You take a medical at a CAAC hospital, at take the written on a computer at a CAAC computer facility.

The sim is the only difference, and it varies by airline and maybe even by the day you interview. At some point, you have to pass a CAAC ATPL checkride. It might be your screening sim, or a few months later. At my airline, it depended on whether they could get the sim time for a full check ride, or just a 1 hour "screening".