DEFO Leaving CX
I have recently been in contact with a DEFO pilot who was only weeks away from checking to line on the A330. He had completed a Qantas interview in the interim, been offered a job there, and decided to take the Qantas job in preference to the one he already had at Cathay.
It is important to note that this pilot was already hired at Cathay under current CoS99 pay and CoS - not the reduced pay and CoS that New Joiners will be offered after January 2008.
I will post, verbatim, and with his permission, his reasons for taking the Qantas job over staying at Cathay.
The details of this decision are as folows :
* Time to command at QF is estimated at 12-14 years. With RA 65, time to command in Cathay is predicted to be the same. The difference is, however
I can get this command in Australia with QF and I have to return to HK to gain command with Cathay.
* QF guarantee an Australian based career. With CX, although I start out on a base (a great deal), I will eventually have to return
to HK. A return to Aus after this is then difficult. I have heard through the rumour mill (Dakotas), that I would never have attained the seniority
to return to Aus as a Captain (as all of the 55-65 Captains will be in positions on the base). As my kids would be High School age then, this was not
preferable.
* The pollution in HK was terrible and much worse than I expected. While I enjoy HK as a city, the thought of living in that polluted environment for
much of my future was concerning.
* Qantas allow pilots to transfer between fleets quite easily when senior enough. With CX, I was committed to stay on the Airbus forever if I wished to remain
competitive for the Aus base. I was very keen to fly the 777, however didn't really want to commit to HK to achieve this.
* The Cathay leave system seemed to be very haphazard. Qantas is not much better, however at least at QF, when senior enough you can gain control over leave
preferences.
* I spoke to a vast number of pilots who strongly complained about the Syd based A330 roster. Their suggestion was that the time away was gradually increasing per
month and that the tasking whilst in HK was terrible (split duties etc). The didnt seem to enjoy the flying at all and they were all fed up with flying in Asia. I assume that
flying in Aus may be less stressful ( not that I have flown with an Australian Airline).
* CX has no union protection. Whilst I applaud the AOAs attempts to support the pilot body, it is obvious they they have no effective teeth. QF pilots on the other hand
seem to have netter protection over aggressive management.
* QF and Cathay seem to be growing at similar rates. QF does have Jetstar causing some pilots angst, Cathay has Dragonair.
* Financially, if I decided to remain in Aus permanently, the overall QF package was much better (up to 25% more). If I elected to move to HK, the CX package was much better.
As I preferred to stay in Aus, QF was the better option.
This pilot also expressed surprise at the speed that Cathay had him exit the premises following his decision to resign. He saw the Chief Pilot on the Thursday to announce his resignation and was on a plane south on the Friday. The explanation given him was 'We can't leave you here to work out your time at Cathay because you are a cancer that could spread...!'
In hindsight, he would have given 7 days notice immediately prior to his Qantas course, because the price he paid for being honest and up-front with Cathay was to sit unemployed for a couple of weeks in Australia before his Qantas course started.
Cathay do not adversise the fact that people are leaving, but they are, and for good reason. This is just one of them.
Last edited by BScaler; 24th November 2007 at 01:26.