Originally Posted by
McNugget
Correct. And many airlines, CX included, have a very long history of cadet pilots, while maintaining industry-leading safety records.
Cathay has had cadet pilots since the late 1980's however no more than a handful of courses per year. The percentage of cadets to direct entry second officers/first officers (90's) was very small.
Nowadays, since the introduction of C scale from 2010/11 onwards, the
majority of new joiners (cadets) have had very little, to no experience at all, compared to pre 2008. This lack of previous experience has been evident with many not passing their JFO/QL upgrades at their first attempt, compounded by not putting in the effort during their s/o days, proffering flights away in their JFO phase and then panicking once they see their QL scheduled.
The safety standards have been maintained because many of the present captains joined with experience. Don't kid yourself