Australian pilots are now cashing in: they are being offered very high salary packages to work with Chinese Airlines that are desperate for experienced captains.
Captain Steve Folpp spent eight years flying the Prime Minister's plane before retiring from the air force to look for opportunities abroad.
Three years ago he relocated his family to Southern China to fly for a mainland airline.
He says a new lifestyle wasn't the only drawcard.
"I'm getting more than twice what I was getting in the air force in Australia, and my airline pays one of the lowest compared to others in China."
Experienced pilots like Captain Folpp are being offered up to three times their home country's salary to work in China's booming aviation industry.
Forecasters predict China's air traffic is set to quadruple over the next 20 years.
There are currently more than 50,000 pilots in China and thousands more enrolled in pilot schools.
But there's a shortage of the experience needed to expand.
In Australia, pilots can earn between $70,000 to over $300,000 a year at the highest levels.
Chinese airlines are offering tax-free salaries upwards of $400,000 a year.
Industry experts expect the demand to last decades.
Douglas Ward recruits pilots around the world for mainland airlines.
"No matter what number of pilots we can obtain, we can employ them here."
Douglas Ward says many Chinese carriers look to Australia first.
"It's as if Sydney, Melbourne are in China's backyard. It's seems to be a familiar place to them that they want to go, so it's always one of the first destinations that's announced."
He says paychecks aren't the only attraction.
Career progression can be slow in Australia whereas doors open sooner in China, and offer more opportunities to develop.
But it can be a hard landing for some.
Pilots often find the culture shock - and smog - a challenge, as well as the bureaucratic rules and regulations: simply completing the move to China can take up to a year.
Steve Folpp says it hasn't been easy, but he has no regrets.
"The lifestyle over here is very different, but very exciting. It's a good experience for us all. And you certainly can't say no to the money."
