Back in the early 1990s, CX was still an attractive employer. The newly introduced “B” scale wasn’t that bad and the airline was still a good career option. The big question was of course 1997 and the handover.
In those days, China was much weaker and HKG was a valuable prize. The goose needed to keep on laying and was cut some slack. Now a quarter of a century later China is much stronger and more developed. HKG is of much less importance, foreign airlines carrying tourists and business men fly directly to mainland cities, Shanghai is on its way to becoming the world’s largest financial centre.
HKG is becoming just another Chinese province which won’t toe the party line, similar to Xinjiang, and will be treated in the same way.