Ex-Pat Pilots In China Are Making Bank

I assume you would need to be able to read, speak and write fluent Chinese in able to be able to make cabin announcements, speak with ATC in China, complete flight logs and converse with cabin crew. This would exclude 99% of non-Chinese pilots currently flying for non-Chinese airlines. Chinese is not a language you can just learn in 3 months.
If you did speak English and could negotiate commuting from somewhere you actually wanted to live, like Hong Kong or Japan, yes, it would be an awesome job. Locking the cockpit door and not having to deal with passengers would be fantastic.

@ Ben -- There's no need to speak Mandarin or Cantonese. English will do for these ex-pat pilots.

@Ben
ATC around the world has been standardized into English. All communications are in English. Period. No exceptions. As are all of the other things you mention. No needing to learn Chinese or any other language required.

@Ben
Even though they communicate in Chinese with Chinese pilot, but Chinese ATC personel can still minimally communicate with foreign pilot with English. Very minimally.

And if you can land a gig with China Eastern, you can even smoke on the job!

There's an e-book floating around that extensively documents the pros and cons of flying as an expat in China. It seems to have some pros and a lot of cons.

@Michael
I think that applies for the other airlines as well. This is China we're talking about!

All carriers in China that I've dealt with keep multi-lingual manuals and logs. Two expats will never be paired together either to ensure at least one Chinese speaker on every flight.

The Chinese carriers pay well but the lifestyle is not for everyone. I don't know any pilot friends of mine who lasted longer than 3-4 years in China, despite banking huge paychecks.

@W Haha fair enough!

Just finished my 737 transition training yesterday with a well-regarded(you can probably guess it) Chinese airline.

Much like you, I've wanted to be a pilot since I was a little kid. I've managed to pursue my dreams and now I became the youngest first officer in the system.

I totally agree with what pavel said in that there are a ton of pros and cons. For starters, it's a very different company culture, based on what I've observed during my short time here. However as you've said, it is extremely rewarding in that not only are you paid very well, there are also a lot of opportunities to advance: it's not unusual to see first officers advancing to captain in 4-5 years.

With that said, most of the major airlines have a very high emphasis on safety, I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them in that regard. Though the product is certainly a different story 😉

Just finished my 737 transition training yesterday with a well-regarded(you can probably guess it) Chinese airline.

Much like you, I've wanted to be a pilot since I was a little kid. I've managed to pursue my dreams and now I became the youngest first officer in the system.

I totally agree with what pavel said in that there are a ton of pros and cons. For starters, it's a very different company culture, based on what I've observed during my short time here. However as you've said, it is extremely rewarding in that not only are you paid very well, there are also a lot of opportunities to advance: it's not unusual to see first officers advancing to captain in 4-5 years.

With that said, most of the major airlines have a fairly high emphasis on safety, I wouldn't hesitate to fly with them in that regard. Though the product is certainly a different story 😉

In light of this demand from foreign airlines, how can Us regional airlines get away with low pay? Bloomberg article mentioned salaries as low as $25000 a year.

My AA 757/777 pilot friend said the following when I shared this with him:

"That is good money, but who knows how long it will last. I don't like smog. The other thing I don't like is questionable maintenance. And a bad co-pilot can be much worse than none at all."

To his defense, he has a family, and is about to move to the long haul 777 routes. This would be a great opportunity for younger pilots, but I'm glad I won't have to fly on these planes.

not as much bank as you

@Ivan Y it's simple the Regionals hire the pilots that have the minimal flight hours needed and will train them, this is how you get your time. With that said, once you been a Capt for a Regional for a yr or two, nothing is stopping you from going overseas to get picked up and trained on a A320 or 737 then work your way up.

Most of the times I got British and Australian pilots on Cathay Pacific and I don't think I've ever had any American pilots. There was only one time I got Canadian pilots and I was flying HKG-YVR-JFK so they were actually YVR based.

@Jonathan
What would you suggest for someone just starting but have not yet obtained a private pilot lic?

@Seattle Eric: Not sure why your friends believe maintenance is lower in China and Co-pilot in Chinese airlines would be worse then in the US.

@Ben "Still, every time I board a non-US airline and hear an ex-pat pilot announcement, I can’t help but say “ah, that could have been me.” I reflect back to when I was a little kid and would sit at the dinner table telling my parents about how I wanted to be a pilot. Every. Single. Night." - I feel the same way. I ended up being an Architect instead..

@ABe- well, I recommend going through the process of getting your PPL, CPT, instrument, etc. once you have a competitive profile, then try to seek out to the airlines and see if they can provide the necessary jet transition, type rating etc.

If ATC around the world has been standardized into English why do I keep on hearing Nice Approach Controllers speak French? As if the English speaking pilots queuing in the Riviera approach pattern of France's 2nd busiest airport wouldn't need to know there's low flying helicopter traffic about.

@Jason is wrong. The local language can also be used. In Canada ATC must provide bilingual services in the province of Quebec and the Ottawa airport and I think Moncton, NB as well.

To clarify: English must be provided, but the local language can also be used.

@Jonathan, I have tried to reach out to chinese airlines, but mostly of them don't have transition program. Only one providing this is SF airline, which is a cargo airline. Do you know if there is any other airlines providing this program? I am currently regional pilot.