There is some selective cherry picking of job attributes going on here. Some are blending attributes of a CX Aus basing with that of a HK basing to paint a rosy picture to support their argument. Compare apples to apples!
CX command IS about 8 years, unlike QF which is ....? However, that is IF YOU ARE PREPARED TO RELOCATE YOUR FAMILY TO HK, OR COMMUTE. If you enter as a DEFO on a basing, and are not willing to uproot the family (a situation now comparible to your equivelent QF pilot based permanantly in OZ), your time to command
will be significantly longer on the base.
There are three factors at work.
(1) Since the option of staying on the base as an FO and waiting for command has been introduced, plenty of FO's are electing to do just that. This will significantly increase a based individual's time to command. Effectively, a based FO will have to choose lifestyle (stay) or career (HK base) at the time that a HK command becomes available.
(2) Generally getting an Aus base was relatively easy. Now that CX is recruiting plenty of bodies into these positions, I predict they will become a lot more elusive. This will increase their perceived value and people will be reticent to give one up for fear of difficulty in getting one again in the future. Result - people will exercise the option now available of sitting out on a base as an FO rather than relocating to HK/commuting for what shapes up to be a hell of a long time before a based command becomes available.
(3) Retirement age will almost certainly increase to 65. This is a BIG issue. Retirement age 55 is one of the factors that keeps the time to command at CX favourable compared to other airlines...look at QF. People commonly laugh at these geriatric QF -400 captains. When CX introduce age 65, all those captains who are sitting happily on a base aint going to go anywhere; why would they? So now, the guys in the based command slots are going to each spend an extra TEN YEARS holding that slot. Think about what that will do to time to command for a DEFO entrant who is not willing to relocate the family to HK (think children and schooling, established home, wifey's social life etc).
CX definitely has it's advantages over QF if you are considering one over the other. Just make sure you understand what you may have to do in order to achieve some of those advantages. Then you will create a much more level playing field to compare jobs.
