Cathay Pacific is no longer a career airline. It is not a childish individual that "drags such refuse in the cockpit" It is someone who has been under constant attack from a despicable management for the better part of ten years. I don't know anyone at CX who is happy to be working there. Why not leave you say? Well there is the money, and the current job market.
It is painfully evident by the slouched shoulders and cast down eyes of the guys on their way to work. You can see it while having a coffee in the DB Plaza. Not one of them looks like they are enjoying the prospect of going to work. That is especially disheartening when you consider that flying airplanes is what we love to do.
A career airline has a structured path for progression, a credible D & G procedure - not a kangaroo court - and a management that is accountable for their actions. None of these exist at CX anymore. The management has been led to believe that busting the union and destroying the seniority system is the best way to run the airline. Much of the credit for this lies with a few individuals but one particularly despicable individual is the Zookeeper. He has systematically and insidiously attacked the Profession of Pilot (he isn't one), to the point where 19 out of 25 JF/Os did not upgrade to F/O in the last few months. This after all of them had successfully completed all of the required training and passed all their checks. The reasons for being denied promotion were as weak as not enough polish or we have to be careful because your crosswind limit goes up from 10 to 15 knots. 19 out of 25 denied upgrade. Seems when you remain a JF/O you save the company about HK$10,000 a month (salary only) for basically doing the same job. Yep that's a career alright, another year as a JF/O to polish up or work on that crosswind technique.
You want to join, by all means. I mean ban or no ban, do you really think it is wise to waste your time on a seniority list that means nothing? Is it wise to go through the upheaval of moving to HK only to find that it really is that bad?
For my money I wish I had spent the last ten years on someone else's seniority list because this one isn't worth the paper it is printed on.
Last edited by 6feetunder; 22nd June 2002 at 11:38.