The History of Hong Kong Airlines/Express. (please add anything I forgot to include)
Many years ago….. An Airline start up promised the world, but delivered nothing. Most people conducted interviews in Australia or Brazil and were fed many promises such as commands after 6-10 months for F/O’s, great money and lifestyle in a growing company that would have 40 aircraft by 2011 to be bigger than Dragonair. Those who accepted the job resigned often from very good jobs in their home country for the chance of adventure, to experience a different lifestyle and to receive all the great terms and conditions promised. They uprooted and removed their children from established schools, sold houses and cars, said good byes and shipped all their belongings to Hong Kong.
After arrival in Hong Kong the goal posts were changed…..Agreed wages were reneged on, wages reduced dramatically, contracts were changed and many agreed things were simply now refused. The family were relocated and children were already enrolled in Hong Kong Schools. Old well paying and stable jobs were gone and everyone was already “locked in” to Hong Kong with no chance of turning back. Furniture from the home country was in shipping containers on the way to Hong Kong. etc. We were told…..you don’t like the changes; leave.
Training staff were offered a fraction of the standard industry rate and less than originally agreed. But it was difficult to demand your agreed contract when the family, furniture and life were already moved to Hong Kong especially when the guy you joined with agreed to work for the lower wages and package plus it was a start up and they were happy to just let you go dispite your sacrifice in moving your life up here for them.
A year or so later… Wages reduced more for new forced contract. They say “but look we now have introduced this 15% gratuity YOU ACTUALLY EARN MORE!!! please sign and you will be rewarded greatly for your loyalty and sacrifice.” New contract stripped away many things such as free dry cleaning for work uniform, wages, annual wage increment, yearly free travel home for foreign pilots, repatriation allowance only if approved by management (read no repatriation allowance). In fact MOST foreign pilot conditions were removed. Basically you’re an expat in Hong Kong but no longer on expat conditions. Sign or be fired was the general feeling. Everyone foolishly signed without a fight losing those conditions which will NEVER be re-introduced. Those that did not sign were automatically put on new contract anyway and had no say. You must remember this is China and a contract is only good for wiping your arse on.
April 2009. A year after that, another FORCED contract change. The management attitude was very aggressive and we all knew those that did not sign would be fired; and they were. Salary's slashed 40-60%. They said “oh sorry thanks for the loyalty and sacrificing everything you had to get this 15% gratuity promise, but we can not afford to pay you the promised gratuity”. So now everyone had no travel home, no expat benefits and a salary reduced 3 times but now not even a gratuity. They tried to convince us all in company propaganda meetings…"with this new and improved contract you will earn more money because it is productivity based which means the more you fly the more you earn. Look what you earn when you do 90 hours a month bla bla” They looked us in the eye and lied through their asses. They knew it was kick in the balls it and we knew it, and we both knew it was unlikely we could do anything about it.
They said…"You work a 90 hour month and look at all the money you will earn” ...Well, In the 10 months after these aggressive and forced changes F/O’s have averaged 25-40 hours a month earning about 40-60% less than the original contract if you include all the factors. Now for pure survival many pilots give up thier remaining integrity and beg and harrass the rostering staff to give them more flying hours. They volunteer to work on thier DDO's and offer 24 hour standby, just hoping to pick up a few extra hours. The guys with any integrity refuse to have the rostered DDO's disrupted and they are punished with very low hours meaning very low pay.
April 2009… cabin crew were told they can upgrade to Senior Purser but they will be paid Flight Purser wages. As most F/A’s joined the company to gain experience. The choice was upgrade and get the experience or stay as a junior flight attendant. They were told you do not like it there are many other F/A’s in the company and many others hoping to join that would take the lower wages.
I believe this same idea was also told to HKA pilots and I believe many agreed. For example "you will be upgraded to Captain if you accept First Officer wages" Those who agree get upgraded, those who have integrity get stuck as an F/O forever, however the idea was scrapped perhaps due to CAD intervention? Can you imagine the public outcry if they found out HKA only hired Captains that were willing to work for F/O wages (read the most deperate pilots in the world) (read the absolute bottom of the food chain)
October 2009…. Everyone besides Pilots and Flight attendants has had pay rises back to original levels. The key front line staff (pilots and F/A’s) are still going backward. Most F/O’s with family’s are going backwards. But they are just sitting it out until they can move on. Some first officers think it is worth going backwards financially and putting $10,000 on the credit card a month, rather than quiting and being unemployed putting 50g on the credit card a month. So it is a waiting game. NOT one person in the company wants a long term career there under the current management and contract. It means EVERYONE is looking to find another job with the exception of a few local pilots who do not want to leave.
That, my friends is HKE/HKA in a nutshell. If you still want to join after reading this you still want to join then you deserve to work there.
p.s excuse spelling and grammar, but quite frankly I don’t give a **** what the spelling police think anyway.
Last edited by HkeSteppingStone; 30th Oct 2009 at 14:33.