Led Goose
How positive guys are is normally directly related with how long they have been here.
Know this:
CX is still one of the better employers out there. I for one have not forgotten the much worse people/companies I ( and most others ) prostituted ourselves for in order to get into a major airline. You can easily do worse than CX.
The fact is that flying as a career is less and less valued everywhere and management will take rather than give everywhere. CX unfortunately is now threatening our career progression more than ever and that's why guys are unhappy.
The even unhappier pilots are the guys who are 45 and still working for a crappy second rate outfit in the outback/Irak/Canadian North - they regret never getting into the relative comfort of a major company.
Hong Kong is great and crap at the same time - depends what floats your boat. Keep in mind as a cadet you will not get expat allowances - which is about the only thing that still makes living to an acceptable standard possible here. So you will enjoy a living standard well below that and might not enjoy that. The fact that you will take many years to upgrade to a decent payscale will not help. At Easyjet you could be a captain by age 27. Its not all about getting a command - its about the $$$ it brings and the standard of living you and your family can have.
On the positive side when you are young seeing the world and living in Asia is certainly an adventure.
The majority at CX are happy with their job - and at the same time very very concerned about their future earnings due to salaries not keeping up with inflation/ exchange rates and time to upgrades ( more $$$ ) slowing down considerably.