For the record; I think I know BusyB, his numbers are right but more complicated than you think.
I think the time has come to admit that Cathay has become a "mature" airline. It's not the expat, hardship airline which it once was 20 or 30 years ago. I will admit that within the past few years ( a blip as it were) the effects of pollution have added a level of hardship (I apologize to parents of asthmatic children, it's more than just a hardship), but, we are as mature as Air Canada, British Airways, Qantas, S African, etc. Were you to have joined those airlines, you would have expected a decade or two to get your commands. I know guys at AC who joined in the 80's who have yet to get their commands, due to their own choice (life style, family commitments etc).
I joined on the wrong side of 93 and watched my command time erode by at least 4 years by the introduction of ASL (that delay is a guess). Do I now claim a right to work a bit longer to make up for the loss of income incurred by that decision? Trust me, I do not voluntarily want to work longer at this job at my own volition. I am still wondering why anyone in their right mind would want to work for an ultra long haul airline below the age of 35. I would leave this job tomorrow if I could afford to leave. As a matter of fact, if I were a young FO, I would be wondering why a bunch of 55 year olds want to keep on working at ultra long haul. Trust me, it's not because they are enjoying the job, or that they are paying off wives (although some are), it's beause times have changed and they need the income to carry on. They are probably no different to you. Although, I have flown with young FOs who have just come back from holidays I can only imagine, planning their next one, in town long enough to buy a new property before operating a trip. Jealous probably doesn't describe it,but it is a new world to me.
I would propose, seeing as people now seeing flying as money making career (you're missing the point people!), we base retirement from Cathay as asset dependant. Which means; if you are a young FO with several properties, you must leave to make way for some one behind you. If you are a senior B Scale Captain with kids and a couple of wives with no assets but are medically fit to fly, you can stay. At the end of the day, if you have enough money to leave Cathay, why are you here? Leave and let some other poor bugger carry on.
Before I open up my second bottle of wine, one other thing: don't work G Days. You're a selfish idiot if you do. Y
ou only hurt your colleagues when you do that. Sorry two; don't fly ultra long haul below the age of 35. Join your Air Force, work for the UN, fly in the Canadian north or the Outback. At least have a story to tell when you sit in the flight deck for 8 hours.
Busdude