@ ChinaBeached...and the others
I'm confused at your comments as well as the comments of the others. I also have friends in the cadet program who did not have hours and some who have completed and and are currently SO's (and soon to be FO's) at CX. For the ones that are currently training, they did not have any experience before and thus this would be a great opportunity for them. I'm trying to figure out how they are screwing themselves out of a great career? Just because CX does not offer what it used to?
Take a look at every single airline in the world and its the same story. An airline is a business first and will look for anyway to save money. With that being said, the current terms for cadet SO's, WHICH HAVE NOT CHANGED AT ALL as someone mentioned, are actually not too bad. And for those thinking that SO time is 5 years, at the moment the current upgrade time from SO to FO is 3 years. People are in the process of upgrading as we speak. The pay for SO's is now at $46,000 HKD a month which is $5,905 USD a month. That's well over what anyone starting in North America will make. And the cost of living in HK is the same as New York City and people live there for less.
For all of you arguing against people joining the cadet program, I do agree with one part. If you are someone with 2500hrs, loads of jet time, lots of experience....then certainly the cadet scheme is probably not for you and you should wait for DEFO. However, DO NOT put down the ones who don't have experience, or have very little, for trying to get ahead. They are not screwing any of you out of a job. As you have mentioned in other posts, you are worried that CX will continue to cut pay and you will get a bit less. You aren't trying to help people "see the light", you are putting everyone else down to make sure your job stays "safe".
I'm looking for an individual who can shed some REAL light on the Cadet program and living in Hong Kong. Someone who wont clutter the post with useless babble about how much they HATE cathay. Give everyone the TRUE facts and let them decide if this is the company for them. Again for those of you out there with Millions of hours, I agree hold out for something better. But don't bash those with a few hours who see this is a great opportunity, which it truly is. I bet if you didn't have as many hours, you would be running to cathay as well.