Dear Diamond MPO Member,
I am a CX pilot and proud to be one, particularly at the present moment. What I am not proud of is the position I have been forced to take by an intransigent, prevaricating, incompetent management. I am not proud of the fact that you and the rest of the loyal CX travelling public have been inconvenienced and for that I reiterate the unequivocal apology published by the AOA, our union. However, I cannot sit back and let the misconception prevail that the disruptions are caused by pilot action. The limited industrial action in and of itself is called Maximum Safety Strategy and involves absolute adherence to the procedures laid down by the manuals provided by Cathay Pacific. You might argue that this is designed to affect the ontime performance of the company. Perhaps, but it is not intended to cancel flights. The management have elected to capitalise on the typhoon and blame the consequent disruption on the pilots. They have betrayed their commitment to their own passenger's safety by using the services of airlines whose standards are arguably inferior. They have grounded a large portion of their own fleet unecessarily to promote the perception that the pilots are all going sick and cannot be relied upon to perform the task. I myself have been on reserve for four days and have had not one call.
The AOA, on the other hand has asked the worldwide body of pilot unions, IFALPA, to instruct its members to assist Cathay Pacific Airways, if so requested, in providing services to move their passengers. Hardly the actions of a body bent on causing maximum disruption.
In conclusion, I'd like to offer a personal apolgy for the less than polite responses you have recieved on this forum and hope we can sort this unhappy situation out in the minimum time.