Originally Posted by
flying_melon
That's not at all what I said. Being accepted into the cadet program is NOT the same as being offered a full-time role as a pilot. If accepted, cadets still need to go through ground school and flight training. And I'm sure the instructors will realize sooner or later if someone lacked the necessary communication or language skills to succeed as a pilot. ICAO English assessment is also required prior to being interviewed. It's not like they are accepting illiterate people into the program, are they? Seems like instead of accepting only the top 1% of all applicants, they are expanding the program and accepting the top 5% or perhaps even the top 10% of applicants. I think that's part of the reason why they partnered with PolyU to offer ground school locally - so they can increase the capacity of their classes and eliminate subpar cadets before spending big money to train them in Adelaide. And, of course, to reduce training costs in general like all corporations concerned about their bottom line. I have no doubt the standards have been lowered, but let's not pretend they are hiring random, incompetent people to fly their planes. Being accepted into the cadet program is more akin to being offered an internship as a college student with no work experience. If you suck as an intern, you won't get a full-time offer. If you suck as a cadet, you will be cut. Perhaps it's not the ideal way to recruit in your view, but it is what it is.
I don't think I took it out of context. You implied prestige = competence. Harder to get in = better. A Harvard graduate = a better employee. Please correct me if I misunderstood. And by the way, schools like Harvard already do lower their standard in test scores for underprivileged students. It's called affirmative action. (Or if daddy donated a building.) The goal is to look beyond the numbers and take an applicant's soft skills, passion, and background into consideration. The ability to pass exams and memorize things from a textbook is not everything. You said it yourself.
Like I said, they are expanding the program, which means they need more bodies. Since their pool of candidates in HK hasn't increased (one could even argue the pool has shrunk...), their standards naturally decreased. The question is by how much? Some people here are implying any random moron on the streets of HK can be accepted, which just isn't the case. There are only so many applicants in the top 1%. If they want to double the number of cadets, they have to accept applicants in the top 2%. So on and so forth. Are applicants in the top 2% or 5% really that awful? At the end of the day, being an airline pilot is just a job. You don't necessarily have to be the absolute cream of the crop, one in a million, and Capt. Sully's "Miracle on the Hudson" kind of applicant to be a safe and competent pilot. There are plenty of competent aspiring pilots out there.
And no, I am not naive enough to think a corporation is doing this out of the goodness of its heart. I know they are motivated by profit, stock prices, and executive bonuses. We all know foreign pilots at Cathay cost them an arm and a leg. Since 1,000+ have left due to ludicrous pandemic restrictions courtesy of the brilliant HK/Beijing government and worsening compensations/ work environment in the past few years, Cathay sees this as a rare opportunity to replace them with cheaper local pilots in the future. And when they are barely flying at their pre-pandemic level, they have most of the bargaining power in terms of compensation. At least for now.
I have no doubt many experienced foreign captains and first officers at Cathay feel betrayed and see little reasons to stay, but their circumstances are not the same as local HKers looking to get a foot in the door. Believe it or not, the current deal is still attractive to many locals even as a stepping stone, assuming the situation doesn't improve in the next few years.
As long as people understand what this program is and what it isn't, it's nowhere near as terrible as many veterans make it out to be.
There is a difference between giving somebody a chance and giving somebody a chance because we need them because we run out of people and we don't have any choice, which makes them a second or third choice on the list. Thank you for stating that in your last response. It's like dating with girls, well, this beautiful pretty one rejected me, I'm just gonna go with that not so pretty one and bang her hard. It's okay. Can make stuffs in my mind and I will be still fine. She might not know my intention because she is too busy sucking my cock. But the truth is, she's just a tool to me and I'm actually using her to get it off.
To CX leadership, pilots are just tools to make money, not an asset. Everything they are doing, or they have been doing are only in favor of them. I bet they realized they just need bodies to babysit for the autopilot so there isn't really a need to talk about standard. You want to leave? Sure. Pay back the money first. Besides, where can you go with P2X rating? Good luck with that.
Looking at now, I can only say that I am so blessed to have the opportunity to fly with and to be taught by many top aviators at Cathay. It was really tough, really competitive, but because of that, it makes us better, make us strong. I absolutely feel sorry to the guys and gals who are joining now, the good and the bad ones mixing up together, those are the ones they are goanna be flying with in the future.
'We are looking for future captains - people who will lead confidently, think logically, communicate effectively, and act calmly,' says Kelly Crawford, Cathay Pacific's flight crew recruitment manager. 'Our selection process assesses the applicants' discipline, determination and motivation as well as their interpersonal, problem-solving and team-building skills. We also assess academic competencies, technical aptitude and compatibility with our strong company culture,' she says. 'We want officers who are not only outstanding individually, but who also bring out the best in everybody they fly with. Most of all, we are looking for people who are passionate about flying. Applicants must be able to show us they are enthusiastic about aviation,' Crawford says, adding that the company supports diversity, having hired pilots from 32 countries.
Source from https://www.scmp.com/article/1003965...cathay-pacific
Kelly Crawford, Flight Crew Recruitment Manager, 08/2003 - 06/2018
Guess they are no longer looking for future captains.