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Foreign Airlines that hire U.S. pilots

Trying to leave.

Old 01-08-2017, 04:17 PM
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Default Trying to leave.

So I'm a regional airline captain with somewhere around 7,000TT and over 800 CRJ PIC. I'm really fed up with this country for many reasons, and have a strong desire to leave. I want to have some amount of work/life balance and be paid fairly decently. I'm not crazy about the idea of living in mainland China, but I have applied to Cathay Dragon (which is Hong Kong) and I'm interested in Korean Air though it's unclear to me whether I need to be typed. Does anyone know of any good jobs for pilots with my experience?
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Old 01-08-2017, 08:26 PM
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I'm from Europe, lived there for almost 30 years, and trust me when I say work/life balance is way worse than here.
It's still a piece of cake compared to other jobs, of course. But pay and schedule is way better here.

South Korea and Japan appear to be a good destination for expats.

Good luck with your search.
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Old 01-08-2017, 09:30 PM
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Originally Posted by V1Rotate View Post
So I'm a regional airline captain with somewhere around 7,000TT and over 800 CRJ PIC. I'm really fed up with this country for many reasons, and have a strong desire to leave. I want to have some amount of work/life balance and be paid fairly decently. I'm not crazy about the idea of living in mainland China, but I have applied to Cathay Dragon (which is Hong Kong) and I'm interested in Korean Air though it's unclear to me whether I need to be typed. Does anyone know of any good jobs for pilots with my experience?
Are you married? Do you have kids? Do you want/need to get back home in the USA often? Have you ever lived in a foreign country before? Why are you fed up with the US? Remember, that a lot of these places are 50-100 years behind the US with government, corruption, politics, racism, and cultural nuances/beliefs etc. I have first hand experience with this.

In my opinion, these are the most important things to consider when going for the overseas stuff. I work for a non 121 company flying in a lot of crazy places around the world, I'm happy I made the jump and have had some incredible experiences with a fat paycheck along the way, though to be honest I'm getting ready to come home I think. It certainly isn't for everyone and I have a more ideal situation for this type of work than most. As for the big shiny jet stuff, it sounds like Korean or JAL have the best overseas contracts right now. Great pay and benefits and a month ON/OFF plane ticket home, although its an astronaut medical. Philippines is probably one of the best QOL countries for an American culturally that I've been too (in most areas anyway). English is very widely spoken and Americans are generally treated with a high level of respect. Problem is, it's not worth it unless you go in as a DE Captain, which won't happen without an A320 type, and only at Cebu Pacific. AFAIK PAL won't take non-Filipinos. Your main focus should be on getting something that will come with an upgrade, that is where the real money is. EVA isn't worth it for the pay and the long upgrade, though they have commutable contracts also.

FlyDubai will most certainly take you, and upgrade you. But if you have a family with a lot of strong connections back home it would be tough, only 42 days off per year. I have a couple friends there that love it, they just got a size-able pay increase also. Two to three year upgrade and great flying. The schedule is pretty rough with a lot of red-eyes though which generates a lot drama on the forums. You also don't do as many times zones per month as you would at the Big 3 which is why I don't recommend them. But again, if you are young and single and can handle not seeing family for months at a time it sounds like a good gig. I also want to stress that I'm only recommending FD because of the people I know that are having a blast there in Dubai. I've never met anyone at the other Big-3 (and I've met quite a few) that had good things to say.

Hope it helps, sorry if some of the info is redundant and you already know it, just trying to help. Good luck.
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Old 01-09-2017, 12:45 AM
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Originally Posted by V1Rotate View Post
So I'm a regional airline captain with somewhere around 7,000TT and over 800 CRJ PIC. I'm really fed up with this country for many reasons, and have a strong desire to leave. I want to have some amount of work/life balance and be paid fairly decently. I'm not crazy about the idea of living in mainland China, but I have applied to Cathay Dragon (which is Hong Kong) and I'm interested in Korean Air though it's unclear to me whether I need to be typed. Does anyone know of any good jobs for pilots with my experience?
Hey V1

You really want to go as a DEC when stepping out as a Expat... That being said you normally need a Type and time in Type... CRJ limits you to the CRJ in Japan, China, Indo and the not so nice Nigeria... There are a few that will accept the CRJ on NTR programs... Skymark, Japan and SF in China...

PMed you because have lost two very long replys... Best of luck and chat with ya soon...

Kam-pie, JpnCrjDriver
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Old 01-09-2017, 11:52 AM
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The first thing I would recommend is researching your ancestry and see if you have the ability to acquire nationality somewhere else. Obviously I do not know your ethnic background, but if it is European, there are many European countries that will grant citizenship, or at least provide an expedited path to citizenship, if you have ancestry from that country. Ireland, Germany, Spain, and Italy all do this to one extent or another. I am not sure about other parts of the world, but it is at least worth researching. If you can do this, you may have an easier time finding an expat job without having to rely on the far or middle east.

Also research FATCA and FBAR and find out what their consequences will mean for you. If you plan to keep one foot in the States (i.e. maintain a residence and bank account), it may be easier than making a complete break. As an expat American it may be difficult to open bank accounts, invest for retirement, or purchase a house due to FATCA and FBAR. Keeping a foot in the States may make it easier. Of course if you plan to return to the States eventually then it makes sense to keep some stuff active. But if your move overseas is intended to be permanent, actively research FATCA and FBAR and fully understand your tax requirements to the U.S.

Others mentioned it and I will second it - it would be wise to try and spend a bit of time in your planned country of residence before making the move. Find an expat community and try and get some information from other foreigners living there what day to day life is really like. Sometimes seemingly simple things can be quite different than you would expect, and real day to day life is quite different than a short holiday visit. It would stink to up and move to a foreign country and realise three months down the road that living there is far different that you thought it would be after a three day visit.
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Old 01-14-2017, 10:03 AM
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Look at some of the corporate operators out of HKG. Pickings have gotten slim there and they are no longer requiring type ratings, quite a Americans there now. I know of one company that operates off a 135 cert out of CA, and all the aircraft are N-reg so no license conversion required. With per diem, take home is about 165-180k in your bank account as an FO, maybe more as there are other bonuses and incentives.

Same as FlyDubai, you get about 30-40 days of leave per year, but the contact I have said they are only flying about 3-10 days per month. Most of your time is spent on call, so the same money basically, for 1/3 to 1/4 of the work.

Might be worth a trip to drop off resumes.
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Old 01-14-2017, 10:55 AM
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In my worst nightmares I would not go to Cathay anything!
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Old 01-14-2017, 11:50 AM
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👆🏻👆🏻.....this!!
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Old 01-17-2017, 02:13 PM
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Sorry but there are more reasons to stay in the USA than to leave, as some other guys on here have outlined for you. If you do wanna go work as an expat I would do some serious research including spending a week or more in your possible new country and there's no way in hell I would apply to an airline in the blind without knowing someone that I trusted who currently works there.

My opinion is unless your returning to your home country you grew up in, you're putting yourself and your future up to a huge disadvantage. Think long and hard and don't be one of us guys who are/were stuck in China/some awful Islamic republic trying to get back out again.

You can add me to the list of people willing to chat with you via PM if you really want to ask some more questions about flying as an expat in the Middle East.
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Old 01-22-2017, 12:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Braniff DC8 View Post
In my worst nightmares I would not go to Cathay anything!
Very true!!

I was at Cathay Pacific for nearly 13 years, was pretty happy to get out of there and come back to the US to fly for a Legacy Cargo carrier.
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