The S/O rosters (I believe) are OK. Up to 15 (or more) days off a month, between two and three ULH trips. Whether or not it's worthwhile applying is relative. I see that you list your occupation as "Captain". That may change the viability of a start at the bottom of CX's (somewhat unstable) seniority list.
If you're younger than your late twenties, and want a wide-body endorsement, it could be worth all the B-S that CX's "management" (now there's an oxymoron) WILL throw your way in the 2-3 years it will take to get into the right seat of a 777/330.
Bear in mind that you will have to stay a while once IN that seat to get enough hours to make you viable to a stable, honest company that has integrity (which, by the way, is the main reason there is so much discontent at CX). You should also know that we have had our contracts altered (without negotiation) three times since 1994, threatened with termination if we did not accept the terms (and CX's department of propaganda told the Hong Kong press that they were "negotiated"), the seniority system has been violated by the establishment of a freight division which hired (and later "integrated" direct-entry capt's and f/o's), and placed on punitive rosters that give minimum STATUTORY time off. I have not had a roster that has been flown as published for more than three and a half YEARS. Finally, there are pilots who have had their salaries cut by 30% at a TIME OF RECORD PROFITS.
If you are an American, or can get legal residence in the USA, don't bother with CX. You can and will do better even if you begin in a freight or commuter operation flying newspapers or bank documents in a beat-up heap of junk.
If you are female, and either in the USA or Canada, the affirmative action programs will guarantee you a meteoric ascent in the business. Again, don't waste your time here.
Finally, so much has been written on this subject over the past two or three years, a properly worded search in Pprune will give you a lot of answers to your questions.
PS I'm not an S/O
[This message has been edited by Kubota (edited 29 December 2000).]