For many of us any interest in working for Cathay was removed by what happened to the 49'ers....not really interested in being part of a workforce that gets treated that way regardless of who was right or wrong. It's seems to me as an outsider that things have gone downhill there since that time.
As a potential applicant heres what would discourage me from even applying.
1- a fairly negative management/workforce relationship
2- a bit of an overkill type of interview process
3- consistent rumours of a negative training environment
4- constantly degrading pay scales...instead of increases to keep up with cost of living they keep offering lower CoS
5- worries about quality of life in HK with regards to crowding and pollution
And before all the flames come roaring my way, no i never applied, and yes it's possible that i wouldn't have passed selection if i had. The point is due to all of that i wasn't even interested in applying at the end of the day. Some or all of he above may not be true, but that's the reputation Cathay has to alot of potential experienced recruits right now.