Hi,
I worked for CAL for about 3 years.I was really surprised when I read the Taiwanparadise post, but was relieved when the explanation came.
The truth is YOU CAN'T TRUST THEM!CAL does not honor any of the benefits promised to you.
1) FORGET ABOUT UPGRADE!!
2) TERMS AND CONDITIONS WERE DETERIORATING ON A DAILY BASIS!
3) BACK TO BACK LEAVES ARE NOT THE WAY THEY USED TO BE!
4) REPORTING TIME WAS 02:20 PRIOR TO STD AND HAD TO RIDE A BUS WITH 2 744 CREW. JUST IMAGINE 34 OR SO TAIWANESES EATING IN TAIWAN'S STYLE!
5) CHIEF PILOT AND MOST OF THE SIM AND LINE INSTRUCTORS WERE NOT ABLE TO EXPLAIN ANYTHING APART FROM THOSE STUPID NUMBERS THAT THEY LIKE TO MEMORIZE!
6) CIRCLING APP PROCEDURE BASED ONLY IN NUMBERS THAT I HAD TO MEMORIZE ( I SELDOM SAW PILOTS IN THE SIM LOOKING TO THE RUNWAY.THE COMMON PRACTICE WAS TO LOOK TO THE MAP DISPLAY AND DO THAT 70, 80 OR 90 DEGREES TURN ALWAY FROM THE FINAL TRACK DEPENDING ON THE WIND), BEST SUITED FOR ENGINEERS!!!
7) POOR PILOT SKILLS (SOMETIMES SCARING)
8) TAIWANESE PEOPLE DON'T KNOW HOW TO LEAVE TOGETHER AND HOW TO RESPECT EACH OTHER.(i.e they enter in the elevator before you leave, they speed up in order to not allow you to cross the street, eat like
, and the list goes on...)
9) THE WEATHER IS TERRIBLE AND IT RAINS 70% OF THE YEAR!
10) THE POLUTION IS TERRIBLE!
11) THE CITY IS UGLY AND THE TAXI AND BUS DRIVERS CAN MAKE YOU VOMIT IN LESS THAN 5 MIN!!!
12) TV IS POOR WITH SOME OF THE FEW ENGLISH CHANNELS SHOWING PROGRAMS DATED FROM 1999!!!!!
13) POLITICS MADE ME LAUGH MANY TIMES!!!!!
Well, after all of this, I decided to move on to another airline.Like someone said in one of the posts, there is no perfect airline, no perfect pilot, no perfect husband.... but I think one should not stay in a place that makes you upset and frustrated 99% of the time.
Before someone talks about racism, I don't consider myself better than anyone! English, as you could see, is not my native language and I do have a lot of respect for those expats working for CAL once they are the ones responsible to keep CAL out of the NEWS.:
While in CAL, I had the opportunity to go to Japan many times and you just can't compare the Japanese culture with the taiwanese one.
For those who are considering CAL that's what I have to say:
CONSIDER IT AS YOUR LAST CHOICE!!!
SIA CARGO, JAL, AIR MACAU, CATHAY, VALUE AIR, JETSTAR, DRAGON, NAC, AIR DO,ETIHAD, EMIRATES, RIYANAIR, EASYJET, NETJETS, ...... they all offer a better career and enviromental for you.
Take care and fly safe!
PIRA
