I should add one more salient point to the debate: CX does not need all the pilots it has. It will be several years before the current number will make any sense. Even then, when they establish 2 SO flights throughout, increase the yearly hours requirement and a myriad of other productivity gains they are working on, it will likely be the end of the next decade before the current number makes sense again. And that is ignoring the growing political winds blowing against the future of CX. Hong Kong is probably never going to be the same again, and that will remove one of the key factors that contributed to the past growth of CX. Times have changed dramatically. CX is cynically trying to get everyone to agree to "cuts", only to then probably cut jobs anyway. Regardless, the contract must be adhered to. I realise that doing so would affect the bottom ranks, but ultimately the lifetime value of a career in this airline will only be preserved IF such actions are followed.