Careful, VFE, with that attitude you'll only be accused of being another CX management stooge
Dan Buster and China Beached are really starting to sound like broken records.
We understand that the contract isn't exactly stellar, and that the living conditions in Hong Kong aren't going to be the greatest. We know all about the 49'ers and we even understand that Cathay isn't exactly the most trustworthy airline in the neighborhood. And what? Who is? The entire industry is going to hell in a handcart anyway.
If you think for a second that i am going to sit on my hands and wait for conditions to improve, just so you can sleep a little better at night knowing your contract is supposedly safer, then you are sadly mistaken. Go on, call me names, tell me i am a sell out - it changes nothing. If anything, all it does is lower my opinion of you so called 'professionals'. For every cadet who turns down the offer, there will be another in line who is ready to jump at the chance. It is all well and good to encourage cadets to turn the offer down while you are comfortable on your b-scale contracts, but for many applicants you can guarantee the pay and conditions in Hong Kong are going to be an IMPROVEMENT over their status quo. If you cannot see that, then you are just as naive as the 'starry eyed cadets' you seek to discourage.
Any cadet worth their salt will do their own research to determine whether or not Cathay is a good option.
FWIW i've done time in GA. Thanks to the recession and the very limited number of flying opportunities in my country i now work in retail. Every single day is another day wasted, and another day spent wishing i was somewhere else. It is easy to be critical when you already have the job - but for those who don't, this is an excellent opportunity. Am i prepared to spend 4-6 years eating sandwiches and making the skippers bunk? Hell yes. It's got to be better than working as a salesman for minimum wage. Who expects to start at the top anyway?