CX: Local VS Expat Pay

[jynt]

Hi everyone. So I've been following a few threads on salary and stuff and came across the additional benefits that expat CX pilots are entitled to such as housing and education.

Could anyone please tell me what is the logic behind it? Why would the cost of living in HK for a local employee be significantly lower than that of expats? Don't locals also have rents to pay and kids to send to schools?

Is this why some people prefer to apply from overseas even though they may be HK residents?

Any thoughts and insights would be much appreciated :)

[Glorified Donkey]

Well for one, most locals were cadets and had their training paid for. Such opportunities dont exist in many countries that Cathay hires from and pilots are required to fund their own training which is in the tens of thousands. Secondly it costs money to sell your house and fly you and your family onto the other side of the world and try to start a new life. You lost alot of money selling ur car and appliances in your home country and now you have to rebuy everything.

And of course its a way of attracting pilots. Cathay cant fill up all the seats with locals, the only way you're going to get expats to leave their home countries and companies to come work overseas is to give them a nice package.

There could be more reasons, those are all I can think of at the moment.

[Lowspirited]

Are all cadets considered local? What about cadets applying overseas, are they considered expat or local :confused:

[benedictz]

i suppose they are consider local when they have hong kong residency which is pre-requisite for CPP, applying overseas does not make us expat in any ways it deems, since the CPP is for hong kong resident.

[jynt]

Well for one, most locals were cadets and had their training paid for. Such opportunities dont exist in many countries that Cathay hires from and pilots are required to fund their own training which is in the tens of thousands.

hey there. thanks for your thoughts. i did consider your other point about attracting pilots to transplant their life to the other side of the world, but i overlooked this key one about overseas people not getting the cadet opportunity like locals do.

it makes a lot more sense now :)

[Minimums!]

Can Any SO's out there enlighten me on what the specific pay/benefits differences there are between locals and expat?

Thanks

Minimums!

[jynt]

a quick search around here would've given you the answers... http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?t=231235

[Lowspirited]

Hmmm, i came across something interesting; i know someone who got into engineering trainee with CX and they are considered expat when they have a HK PR. Any actual cadet or ex-cadet that can clarify whether overseas applicants are considered expat or local? I've been living in australia for 16 years now, so not exactly local to HK >_>. The local or expat benefits wouldn't stop me from applying, but it will surely restrict living conditions in HK...

[404 Titan]

Ok I will try and make this as simple as possible. If you qualify to get into Cathay on the Cadet Pilot Program you will be hired on local terms irrespective of how long you have lived out of Hong Kong or whether you were born here or not. Also just to clarify one other thing, there is no difference in the pay between expat and cadet pilots, just a difference in the benefits/allowances.

[Lowspirited]

What are the major difference in benefits and allowance between local and expat? Do local get any housing allowance?

[dhoonk]

What are the major difference in benefits and allowance between local and expat? Do local get any housing allowance?

Those hired under the CP Programme get ZERO housing allowance.

[nike]

Big ups to 404 and others for taking the time to keep putting covered gen on these boards.

[flyer_spotter]

Yea.. I heard the expats get housing allownce and educational allowance for their children.

[CallButton]

As far as education goes a top selective local school in HK costs a local about $3000HK...per year!

That is easily what an ex-pat will be out of pocket per MONTH when sending their kids to an international school.

An ex-pat child cannot attend a local school as they teach in Cantonese.