Hello Ray:
I think TWApilot did a great job of answering your question. I will add my own comments which are perhaps slightly different, but only because I am simply passing on info that I was told during the process.
1. Do I have a choice of Freighter or Passenger?
From what I have seen they will slot you as a First Officer. I have spoken with recent candidates who were asked in the second interview if they were prepared to accept an S/O slot if that was offered. They had similar experience to yours (5000TT).
2) Do you think I'd have a chance for F/O, or would I enter as an S/O with my experience & age? (and what time to move to F/O and Captain is predicted based on the "now growth"?)
During one of the group briefings during the interview process, they told us that time to command would be approximately 7 years on the freighter and 9 to 10 years on the passenger side. This is based on known growth, planned retirements, and the general trend for Passenger FOs to stay on the Passenger fleet rather than pursue a Captaincy on the freighter. During my personal interview, the same numbers were repeated, but they also said that it could be significantly shorter (3 to 5 years) based on experience and performance during training and line operations.
3) Basings: a) would it be HKG (which my wife and I enjoy) or anything in North America right away?
As a Freighter FO you are being hired for bases other than Hong Kong. During the second interview you will fill out a form that lists your preference and where you are able to live. As a Canadian, I am only able to work from a North American base and I ended up being offered ANC or LAX.
If I can choose a N.Am base, is there truth to the rumored agreement between Canada and the gov't of HKG re taxes? (What is the tax-rate if living in Canada while working for CX?)
There is a tax treaty with Canada and China but not between Canada and Hong Kong. A group of Cathay pilots challenged this ruling in court and lost. My understanding is that this happened some time ago and hopefully someone else will be able to fill you in on the current situation. As for the tax-rate, you will get credit for the tax you paid to the HK govt, but you will end up paying Canadian taxes as if you were earning the money at home. (This is a very general statement and I hope others can add to this discussion)
b) If I take a basing in N.Am, what does the contract allow for housing / transportation / etc? There has been talk here that there are great differences depending on where you are based, but nothing specific mentioned that I came across(yet).
Simple answer is No. The biggest single draw to a HK basing is the housing allowance. I believe that none of the other bases come with Housing or Education allowance. There may be some exceptions to this rule such as when someone takes a Temporary Basing, but I cannot offer definitive information.
4) Does being interviewed before have any great bearing on future chances? (I thought I did fairly well then, but General Aviation time then may not have been what CX was after.)
I think it will be a help to you. They are very likely to still have your file and you will be able to speak very honestly about how disappointed you were not to be hired earlier etc.
5) Does it make a big difference to have a friend in CX walk your application in personally (even after I have submitted it)?
It can’t hurt. I listed several references on my CX application and I was asked about my relationship with them during my interviews.
6) Besides Capt X,Y,Z and HTBJ, knowing what I am flying now, plus the usual "Interview Prep" questions, is there any specific CX pool of questions available?
As I am sure you know from your research, there is no easy way to prepare for your tech interview. You simply have to do the work. There are hundreds of post about the “core” Cathay interview questions on this forum, and the Captxyz book is fairly good about preparing you for these as well as the 30 question quiz on your first interview.
I firmly believe that it is essential to know the traditional Cathay interview questions on Company history, Cathay fleet, advanced aerodynamics, airspeeds, carbon brakes, c of g, performance, climb segments, hydroplaning etc. If you get one of these “need to know” questions and bobble it, I think it would reflect poorly on your overall preparation. Other areas of essential study are windshear, cold wx ops, etops, monsoons & typhoons, long range navigation, and of course specific questions regarding the aircraft you are flying.
There is a chance you will be asked about the 747. Like any question outside the standard fare, I feel that this is your opportunity to shine. If you can answer questions about an aircraft you haven’t flown it speaks volumes about your commitment and preparation. I have spoken with pilots who went in with the attitude that they didn’t need to know about the 747 because they had never set foot on one. One guy was asked if he knew the fuel tank layout in the –400. He didn’t know and he told me that it really rattled his confidence, which of course manifested itself during the rest of the interview.
Having said all this, my opinion is that the worst mistake you could make is to prepare based on someone else’s interview gouge. The Cathay interviewers do a fantastic job of mixing up the questions and your interview WILL be different than your buddies from last week. Also, your answer to each question will be almost always be followed up with another question. This of course points to the fact that you need to know what you are talking about.
7) How much time away from either HKG or any N.Am base is typical? Is there any difference on time away depending on base or fleet?
They showed us sample rosters from one of the North America bases. I certainly would be happy with any line on the schedule. While a month to month snapshot will see people working anywhere from 8 to 15 days, they say that over the course of a few months time everyone will even out – roughly speaking – to an average of 12 or 13 days. Keep in mind that you have 6 weeks leave to use throughout the year, so overall, I think the schedule will be one of the best parts of the job.
If you are used to being senior and bidding specific trips and days off, the Cathay system is not for you. However, if you are like me, who is pretty flexible and can work with what they give me, I think it will be just fine. I was told that you get your schedule on the 16th of the month for the following month. For me, this is a huge bonus as it allows my wife more lead time to plan her schedule.
Preparing for my Cathay interview was one of the hardest things I have done in my career. Getting the news that I was successful was beyond comparison.
Good luck Ray.