Chinese Pilots & English

hankfdh
 June 21, 2007 at 01:30 AM posted in General Discussion

Interesting, and somewhat frightening, article on how only 651 out of ~8500 Chinese pilots have passed their English exams.

http://www.reuters.com/article/oddlyEnoughNews/idUSKUA95049720070619

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mingjai
 June 21, 2007 at 07:11 PM

That doesn't surprise me. Last time I flew on Air China, the flight attendants couldn't speak any English either. Even the domestic China airlines' flight attendants tended to speak better English than Air China.

Anyway, regarding flying to Taiwan, I'd avoid China Air if at all possible. I've had great experiences on Asiana flying from Chicago to Changchun. They also fly to Taipei.

Anyway, here's a handy site: http://www.airlineroutemaps.com/

Note that you have to click on the region of the airlines homebase, not the region of your destination (e.g., Northwest--click United States; Cathay Pacific--click East Asia).

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italiana
 June 21, 2007 at 12:49 PM

Thats scary.

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erikalee
 June 21, 2007 at 05:16 AM

Eek. Maybe you all need an EnglishPod for Chinese pilots?

Hey, do you know if ChinaAir's safety ratings are any better these days? Any suggestions for what airlines to take to Taiwan?