Feather,
“Perhaps life at Dragonair is not as good as many of us may perceive.”
The recent arrival of CC would provide proof of your statement.
KA offer very attractive conditions to its pilots but fail miserably in many other aspects.
The checking and training system is old world at best and clearly has its roots in the RAF. . . .of yester-year. Sim debrief can be little more than an opportunity to demoralize a candidate without providing any coaching, encouragement or positive feedback whatsoever. KA, like many airlines I have worked for, enjoy employing type rated crew, often with Airbus checking and training experience, only to make it abundantly clear that their input is not desired. Such alternative viewpoints should be greeted with enthusiasm but instead are seen as nothing more than a threat to the little empire. Such is the airline industry.
KA has grown up from being a small airline with an ad hoc charter mentality into being a mid size airline . . . . . with an ad hoc charter mentality. Manual trim sheets, minimal use of ACARS if any, poor flight planning systems, little or generally no operational control, manually drawn rostering and cumbersome cockpit manuals circa 1985 all provide an insight into how the company operates in general.
Perhaps a splash of green paint is just what the doctor ordered.