Rodney :
No offence taken, just wanted to give you a little history of how CX operates.
There is a lot of snobbery over here. No matter what your background you will face it here at CX. Some get it worse than others though.
Not sure if what you were told re: bases and pay scales etc was related to an integration scenario or not.
Cathay already missed the boat for a fleet to upgrade on when they seperated Air Hong Kong after integrating it. It could have been great experience for the less experienced among us here at CX. It can be said that KA could be an equally good place to gain experience before being let loose on long haul ! In honesty though I would think that China etc. has more pitfalls than LA or London (maybe not New York !)
Cheers