Cheap and aviation are two words which cannot live together.
And yet CX lowered the remuneration package so much that experienced pilots walked away only to see the zero hour will-do-it-for-less candidates arrive in their droves..... So CX proudly recruit only the cheapest backside stupid enough to fill the seat for that package: and they get it. TCAS RA ring any bells (literally)???
To even compare military recruitment and training to CX's "iCadetship" is really insulting to anyone without spiky gelled hair & inherent SJS. I'm not sure where the ignorant blind memorising of aircraft types, engines, names of the board of directors, or questions like "What does your mummy and daddy think about you becoming a pilot?" really enter into the needs of the next Raptor pilot intake. What if the RAF, USAF, RAAF, etc lowered the pay by a career long 70% you ask kids??? Well maybe that's how far they too might have to dig to find people also if that were the case.
Yes, CX has taken cadets from the early 80's but in far, far less numbers. And as the illustrious RH stated back in an offical CX newsletter (to paraphrase his quote) "The Cathay Cadetship is designed to promote and support aviation to the local HK population whereas the opportunity might be lost to them otherwise". But this quickly changed as a profit grabbing exercise. Nothing more. Previous to the iCadet money grab the vast majority of pilots came with many thousands of hours experience from all aviation sectors and many with a few thousand hours of command experience. The trainers could afford the extra training time to the cadets as the experienced new joiners needed far less. And look at the state of the CX training department today... Many quit as trainers due to the iCadet scheme and the added pressure placed on them. Now the only trainers CX seem to attract are picket line jumpers and kiss ar$es. So potentially the cheapest seat available gets trained by type of "trainer" who sells out the AOA and pilot body due the more experienced and genuine trainers refusing to do it. Another slice of cheese lined up.
Even then the new "experienced" SO's received something like 12 full flight sims as part of their training requirements. Now with zero hours as the bench mark it's something like 6 FFS? And yet people dare to say profit and cost cutting isn't part of aviation safety & training?
When safety is a mere advertising slogan and cockpits become more and more filled with pilot impersonators more skilled and recruited for their AP monitoring capabilities than actual "flying skills" then you're right to think that standards are a joke.
The sad part is that these iCadets genuinely believe the propaganda their recruiters fed them. They genuinely believe that their training and abilities are on par with those with many thousands of hours of experience; be that from military, GA or regional operations. When they are told they're "to standard" they therefore believe they are. They've no yardstick to compare & a head in the sand attitude to even consider it.
Great article below. Warning: some of you might not like it as it disagrees with your "I'm a highly skilled pilot dude" self belief. Lax labour laws, profit chasing.... but not in HK or at CX!! Heaven forbid! The Swiss cheese slices are all there and most of you arguing here are the EXACT willing contributors to this race to the bottom.
Andreas Lubitz and the Global Pilot Scam Threatening Your Safety - The Daily Beast
Cockpit automation has meant that the new generation of pilots has never had the “seat of the pants” instincts wired into them that older generations brought to the job. Nonetheless recent experiences (notably the crash of AirAsia Flight 8501 in December 2014) have shown that, more than ever, pilots need to keep sharp reflexes and well-trained responses for those moments when a human needs to intervene if the technology fails.