Nice analysis Krismiler, but you went off track a little bit.
Back in the old days CX ONLY hired from British Commonwealth nations which number 54.
And you had to be white.
Americans from the United States were not less so hired due to US relations with Commie China. They were simply NOT hired because of perceived cultural difference in attitude to flying. Same with Canadians because management thought that they were too much like Americans. I can understand that, they sound the same on the R/T.
It took a major fleet expansion and a shortage of pilots for management to scratch their heads to come up with a solution. It took a senior management pilot - ex RAF - who trained in Canada under the NATO pilot training plan to testify that the RCAF was set up by the RAF .Hence the same training ideology and culture as the other commonwealth nations air forces which were set up by the RAF. Thus the door opened to Canadians.
Boers from SA were excluded after some were hired. CX then mandated that a British passport was required from SA. If your grandfather was born in the UK - you are entitled to A UK passport.
CX also exclusively only hired ex-military to the tune of 95% of the pilots on strength. The average age of hire was 35 years of age reflecting several military tours of flying. So CX was not even a consideration for pilots with a civilian background. For the very few non ex military, you had to be very exceptional to be hired.
For ex-military, it was the ONLY place to go after the air force where you were paid according to your previous experience and you jumped into the RHS of a wide body immediately. The alternative was to join another airline at the bottom of the seniority list and be paid the same as 20 year old new joiners and fly puddle jumpers.
After 3 years in CX my after tax salary was greater than the after tax salary of all senior pilots in the rest of the world baring management pilots. A-scale : Superior working conditions , pension plan and benefits to every other airline except Swissair, and we know what happened to them.
So CX was not just another airline you could go to if you couldn’t get a decent job at home. It was the ONLY airline to go to as an ex airforce pilot from the British Commonwealth to get ahead in life and to have a very rewarding career after serving the crown.
Little wonder that CX could pick and choose from filing cabinets chock full of applications from ex Air Force pilots. At one point there were enough Ex Red Arrows to make up 3 teams. I suspect that the same holds true for ex Snowbirds from Canada. Applications from those who trained in the civilian world were for the most part : ignored.
My, how times have changed!