Dear Aviationluver & pfvspnf et al,
Whilst BN's message was delivered with a certain amount of humor and derision please believe that there is a msg in there.
We are only trying to help. I am quite surprised when guys come on here trying to help out or share info only to be shot down by guys who have never spent a day in the company yet feel a need to defend a job they've never had... Telling the guys who are actually here that they have it wrong.
The company is full of young guys who have ignored this message, yet almost immediately after arriving have discovered they can't afford to live here, sending sorrowful letters to the president of the AOA claiming extreme hardship, and begging/threatening the union membership to role their package into contact compliance. Undoubtedly many of these guys came on here and ignored these posts.
Dear Aviationluver... I went through my recruiting roughly the same time as you went through last time. Please believe me when I say that the company, the morale, the lifestyle and roster, the benefits and the remuneration package (especially out of HK) are significantly less than what you would have seen last time around. If you are joining direct into a base... Maybe a different story...
For anybody else reading this please realise I am just trying to help. No need to tell me I'm wrong... Because I'm here. No need to justify your decision to me... That's yours to make... I can't stop you. When you ask why I don't go to the ME... It's because I joined on a different package... I personally would not have uprooted my family to come to HK to join on yours.
But please don't read this msg and then sit beside me on the flight deck in 2yrs and complain that the union needs to fix your package because you didn't realise you couldn't afford to live in HK. The information is here... Don't get locked into only one outcome and disregard good advice simply because it doesn't match the outcome you were looking for. You wouldn't do that in an aircraft would you?
Good luck with the interview aviationluver... Sorry I don't have updated info for you... The last time I set foot in recruiting finding out info for my friends was about 2009... When they reduced all the packages and my friends all withdrew their apps.