I have been lurking here for a while and here is my 2 cents worth. From the HKE "Express side" Which is who I once worked for, and have many friends still working for.
Yes the managers suck. The job is only good to get the experience to move on to something better.
Positives. Aircraft new and well maintained. Pilots are generally good gents, however as previously written most are in it for themselves. They will all answer their phone and work on their DDO at short notice with no extra pay then complain about roster stability and money. Pay cheque usually arrives on time/ +3 days and has never been more than a week late.
It's a jet job. Get your hours and move on but there are dozens of better companies to get your experience and you will get paid 40% better over the border. Just might need to live in the PRC for a while. But there are some attractive commuting contracts now. You can get out of the country to get your sanity back. A luxury you don’t have at HKAirlines or Express. They will not even roster a regular 4 days off pattern. 2 days off consecutive once in 14 days, that’s it. Living in the PRC is worth doing as the management at HKE is from the PRC or Singaporean anyways. These are two places where a mans word or contract mean nothing. Living in china can be no worse.
Rostering sucks and Mr. Wong doesn’t give a sh1t. He does not have the capacity, time or brains to do it right and he is lazy with the "pilots get paid more than me, so I do nothing to help them or make life more enjoyable syndrome"
A typical roster might stupidly read. (S12 is standby; DDO is day off FLT flying duty)
Pilot 1 - FLT - DDO - S12 - DDO - DDO - S12 - S12 - DDO
Pilot 2 - DDO - FLT - DDO - S12 - S12 - DDO - DDO - FLT
WHY NOT GIVE BOTH PILOTS 4 consecutive days off so they can get out of this sh1Thole?
Pilots are all a bit sick of the non follow through of salary increase promises then change mind with no communication sort of crap. And that's just ops normal there.
It’s not entirely the GMF's fault. He's just a yes man with no pull at all against the Evil Empire. I think he tried in the early days then realized you can not fight and beat the snakes. So he, like all the office staff and managers are happy because they apparently got their pay rises ages ago. But he can’t fight all your battles if your too weak to do anything yourself. No where in his job description does it say he has anything to do with sorting out contractual or salary issues. His job title does however say....
· To ensure safe, efficient and economical operation of company aircraft and effective use of human resources. (So he could do more in the HR side which might include trying to prevent mass resignations by improving the package?)
Only the pilots as a collective body can make change here and that AINT gunna happen. The locals are scared little communist soldiers that dare not step out of line, and the others are just in it for a quick dollar at the expense of terms and conditions for all.
Remember the first contract change? What would have happened if no one signed? Not a thing. You would all be on your original terms and conditions. Remember the second contract change? (Lose your gratuity) What would have happened if you all stuck together as a group and not signed? Nothing. You would all be getting gratuity at full pay. What happened in the pilot meeting at this time? All pilots said "NO we do not sign"! As they smashed their fists on the table. What happened? I remember sitting at Pacific coffee with some HKE pilots the next day watching all these same pilots march off to the office with heads down, signed contract in hand.
The company might have tried to intimidate you all by sacking a few people, but watch them re-hire everyone if you all stick together and refuse to fly unless they are rehired. .............Sorry I had a dream of an ideal world for a second. 
None of that is going to happen for HKE and it is such a shame because the company had so much potential. Well do as I did and get out as soon as possible.
My advice, come here to Hong Kong and work for HKE or HKA if you have a thick skin and use the company to get your time and get the hell out. But make HKE or HKA your absolute last resort and expect the worst.
Last edited by prettyfly4awhiteguy; 18th Jan 2010 at 07:37.
Reason: adding extra shit