I have been in CX for 8+ years now with Command inevitable and I can honestly say in the 8+ years I have been here maybe 3 people I have known have left. When they have gone they have all gone back home because it was merely homesick reasons and nothing to do with CX as a whole.
Yes maybe there is cause for concern with China but hey look at every other ariline in the world they also have their problems too. I myself dont think there will be much change in the future. CX is running far to smoothly why upset things when the company bears such fruit?
The allowances do vary considerably, maybe just $20 USD a night in Bangkok (more than enough beer money) to approx $190 USD if you go to London. An average figure of $100 is a good estimation. Yes as said already we do get an hourly duty pay which is paid at the end of the month and for an FO it equates to an extra $300 USD
pr mth.
Basings are the best thing that ever happened in Cathay and although there is a pay cut and no housing if you go on a base most of the guys who go love being back home. I know an FO based in London who had 11 days off a HKG (then 10 days off another HKG then the rest of the month off. This is by no means a rare occurence to him. In general he averages 5-7 days after each flight and they are usually just min stay HKG's. In my view there is still no better job in the entire world than an FO based in London on the 400 with CX.
However the flip side to the coin is that guys settle on a base with wife kids etc. only to be dragged back out to HKG to do a command on the Airbus/777. They then have to wait for seniority to get back on their base. This is the only thing that can cause problems!
Hope some of your questions where answered - In my view CX is a fantastic place to work and you get many many options when you join
