Originally Posted by
Fac6
I'm no longer in CX mainly due to the pay cut but I can't recall it being 74% for me at CN 4. I'm not defending CX by any means but the presumptions you make are not correct. I have many friends living in condos fully paid off much bigger than 800 sq ft. I myself had a place paid off which was around 1400 sq ft. I was well above threshold nearly every month and I didn't have to fly 106 hours as you mention. I needed to do about 70 to earn the same as my previous contract.
Many of my friends who have remained in HK own their condos outright. Yes I left due to the pay cut, my contract was decimated and changed to "policy" but I do not judge my peers who stayed. We all have various reasons for big life decisions that we make and no one is right or wrong.
As I have said, I am not defending CX but merely pointing out to you facts. IMHO, the only real way to make HKG work nowadays is to own a place with no mortgage and have no kids, or kids that have flown the nest and are now not dependant on you.
Regarding G days down route, not many of my friends are experiencing it and those that have got them now have 5 day patterns instead of 4. In EK you only get paid for the time you do in the seat whereas in CX you get paid for the whole flight. It seems most airlines (except US carriers) are set on giving pilots min days off and it's becoming the industry norm in most countries sadly.
Dubai is a great place, I loved staying there, its great for a holiday or for visiting friends but to live in that heat 24/7 is not appealing for a lot of people. That doesn't mean HKG is better than DXB or vice versa, it's just some things work for some people and not for others. It's all down to personal choice and whatever choice my peers make is their choice and no one else's business, particularly yours or mine.
Its not a dick measuring competition of who's life/job is better. As I said, its all down to personal preference. I would suggest less anger and mocking as it will take years of your life.
Peace...
Reasonable stuff.
As a correction - at EK you get paid for the entire block time. Not that you need to rely on duty pay because it is much more similar to previous CX, where you’re on a base salary that accounts for the vast majority of your income.