404 Titan
"They reality is though I fly with more than my fair share of them and the numbers speak for themselves. Whether this is because they didn’t do enough research is debatable. I personally think it is more to do with immaturity and lack of money skills. One day they have very little money and the next they have what appears to be a lot and don’t know how to handle it."
Couldn't agree with you more. As I stated, some will find it hard to live in Hong Kong and some will find it easier. And you are right. Expats would be accustomed to living in larger places and eating different types of food. Which just reaffirms what I wrote earlier. Research needs to be done, and if applicant still feels as though they can make it, that is their decision. Doesn't make them any less of a person.
Next the forgivable loan did not come to attract people. CX found a loophole. As bonding of employees, to my knowledge, is illegal in Hong Kong, CX was able to offer a "loan" instead. That way if a cadet tries to leave (on his own accord) before six years time, he will have to pay back the loan. Therefore, its no longer a bond. Even better was to offer the shorter courses a piece of the loan as a "bonus".
And you are right. The RDO doesn't apply to TT courses as they have the experience and qualifications needed. However, it does apply to the ab-initio cadets. Therefore, they will never get expat terms.
I'm not sure of your length of employment at Cathay, but I'm curious to know if you have always thought the Cadet program was a bad/industry destroying idea? If so then I completely understand your argument. But it seems that people did not start writing about how horrible this scheme was until they opened it to international cadets, who also have the same credentials and experience as the local cadets of the past. You say you are upset at the company offering these terms, but they have always offered them to cadets. So I will rephrase my previous question. Are you against ab-initio applicants applying to Cathay, or is it the fact that people with lots of hours and experience are accepting TT terms and conditions? If its the latter then I agree with you. It is a shame to see someone with an ATPL and all of that jet time be compared with an ab-initio cadet.
CB
" Respect is earned, not taken via a cheap & nasty means that lowers the industry they seek to be a part of."
Very true, but as I've asked Titan, are you including ab-initio applicants in this group? If this is the case, were you against Cadet pilots when you applied for Cathay as a DEFO, or did that not start until international cadets were allowed? It's the same program it has been since 1988 and is no more/no less cheap and nasty as it was back then.
I do feel greed is a driving factor in what any airline/company does. It is sad, but that is the case. It's one of the problems that has caused the downfall of airlines in the USA.
For both:
I am actually asking this not to be a smart-ass, but because I really don't know. How has safety been affected because of the cadet program? The same types of cadets are being accepted, the same standard that they have had for years. And to say Cathay is anymore unsafe now because of iCadet program would be saying that Cathay was just as unsafe when only locals were allowed. And as you have all mentioned, Cadets are employed as SO's which mean they wont be allowed to sit right seat during the most critical phases of flight. But there are cadets that are now Captains at Cathay. Are they any less safe because they did not have any experience when they were hired? Has anything changed with sim times? Is there less training being given? I've heard that the students in Adelaide must go through Jet Transition Training courses and I'm wondering if Cathay has shortened sim training in Hong Kong becasue of the added sim time in Adelaide.