Life on the CX Whale Freighter

[Iver]

Seriously not wishing to stir the pot. Just asking a basic question, which is the purpose of this forum - right? :eek:

Have a friend who is interviewing for a spot on the Whale. Yes, I have read all about CX and the fleet differences, etc. Hong Kong is SUPER expensive and anyone moving to the area will live in poverty - I completely understand. Again, this is not for me, but a friend at a large Euro LCC who will be interviewing (he has family connections to HKG).

Can knowledgeable people provide an updated and "objective" view into the job-related life for a newhire on the Whale? How many trips per month? What are the pros/cons of that fleet? Do Whale drivers ever get the chance to bid other fleets like the 777 or Airbus fleets?

Any other relevant information would be appreciated. Cheers for any professional answers - PMs also welcome.

[Farman Biplane]

Whale oil beef hooked!

[quadspeed]

What is a whale freighter?

[betpump5]

Cheers for any professional answers

I've never heard the freighter be called a whale. Our 'leader' on the other hand...

[Pogie]

Seriously not wishing to stir the pot. Do Whale drivers ever get the chance to bid other fleets like the 777 or Airbus fleets?


Pot shaken and stirred! :ugh:

[Captain Dart]

I think that that some North Americans refer to the B747 as the 'whale'.

[Natca]

No there is no bidding system at Cx. You cannot transfer fleets.
Whale flying you’ll basically be stuck in anc in a hotel on reserve for your trip, with constant phone calls and notes under the door with Schedualing changes. Stay where they are, it’s not worth the move.

[Shep69]

92 Guaranteed days off per year and 42 days vacation leave per year. The vacation leave will be in 7 day blocks, but sequential blocks can be bid for in the yearly allocation or potentially shifted around later in a pool.

900 hours max flight time per year with breaks around FTL limitations.

Stack continuously shifting rosters and time on a string around that and that is your life.

There is no bidding, and there is no form of predictability between the published and actually executed roster. Published rosters are largely placeholders for a continuous 'vul' window between GDOs.

What Natca said is largely the way it is.

[Oval3Holer]

Anyone thinking of joining this company should have his or her head examined.

[FreemaninHK]

Whale? Not sure.

I'm on the Porpoise.. Eat a lot of Curry.
My mates on the Barracuda, spends a lot of time in the Big Apple.

New joiners might even end up across the road on the Red Snapper.. It's hard to say.

~
The Thompson river is ripe with life, but or whatever reason, smells of dead fish.

[Basil]

I flew B747 various for about 13 years between 1987 and 2005 for three companies and never heard the term 'Whale' applied to it.

[tjh1023]

I think that that some North Americans refer to the B747 as the 'whale'.
Yes us North Americans call the 747 a whale and the 737 a guppy no other nicknames for the other Boeing aircraft.

[LongTimeInCX]

Whale? Well that explains a lot.
My dear chap, what have you Colonials done with our language?
Please can we have it back, preferably intact and devoid of your ever increasing ruinations.

It's becoming awfully tricky to decipher what that chap on Kennedy Ground is saying, heaven knows how the noodle slurpers north of the border (No, not the Canadians, I mean the ones just on the other side of Lok Ma Chau) cope with trying to understand the poor diction, colloquialisms and racing commentary speed of instructions.

[Trafalgar]

There is only one 'whale' in CX....:ooh:

[DropKnee]

Whale? Well that explains a lot.
My dear chap, what have you Colonials done with our language?
Please can we have it back, preferably intact and devoid of your ever increasing ruinations.

It's becoming awfully tricky to decipher what that chap on Kennedy Ground is saying, heaven knows how the noodle slurpers north of the border (No, not the Canadians, I mean the ones just on the other side of Lok Ma Chau) cope with trying to understand the poor diction, colloquialisms and racing commentary speed of instructions.
You get to call the shots when you can win your own wars without our help😊

[cxorcist]

Classic response! Much better than my own. Well done.

LTiCX, you are what Americans call a douche bag. Take your uppity grammar and diction, and stick them up your queen’s ass.

I think the gist of Drop Knee’s comment is substance over style. Of course you wouldn’t know anything about that, and I bet your wife (wives?) doesn’t either.

[Air Profit]

I realise that the Yanks 'invented' aviation etc, etc. However, their standard of ATC is bordering on rude, ambiguous and generally riddled with systemic colloquialisms. For the best example of impeccable ATC, look no further than London. Further, as the previous just mentioned, since WWII, the US record in wars has been shall we say, less than admirable. Put another way, for the past SEVENTY TWO YEARS, you've got your as*es kicked (not the soldiers fault, strictly the politicians). Other than that, well done.

[Callsign Kilo]

I realise that the Yanks 'invented' aviation etc

I was always under the general perception that it was invented by the Cathay training department

[Trafalgar]

Well, the rude, ambiguous bit, yes.

[swh]

Life whale traveled

[JammedStab]

My dear chap, what have you Colonials done with our language?
Please can we have it back, preferably intact and devoid of your ever increasing ruinations.

It's becoming awfully tricky to decipher what that chap on Kennedy Ground is saying, heaven knows how the noodle slurpers north of the border (No, not the Canadians, I mean the ones just on the other side of Lok Ma Chau) cope with trying to understand the poor diction, colloquialisms and racing commentary speed of instructions.

Du you mean that we colonials should speak proper English like this....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIaiW1XrzxA

[FreemaninHK]

Yes us North Americans call the 747 a whale and the 737 a guppy no other nicknames for the other Boeing aircraft.

I'm North American.. Flown both types.
Never heard the term used professionally.

SWH..

'Life Whale Travelled'

That's priceless!

[Captain Dart]

I heard the term 'whale' years ago during a visit to Anchorage Tower when a 747 was landing. Maybe it was just a fluke.

I'll get me hat and coat...

[ANTIPHOLUS]

Dart and SWH; you're talents are wasted on here..Prunes' answer to Hale and Pace, or Whale and Pace..?

[bogie30]

Ummmm, something fishy going on here!

[ANTIPHOLUS]

Hardly fair Curtain Rod; the American commitment (and losses) in WW1 and 2 can hardly be disputed, and we should just be grateful they brought American might, muscle, and their unrivalled industrial complex to the party in the 20th century; or we'd all be wearing lederhosen and goose stepping down the Strand. To say nothing of what would have happened to every sort of minority you can name, Synti, Roma, Jews etc etc.
Now the question is what happened post Roosevelt/ Eisenhower ? No longer the same wars, not even the same type of war anymore. So acting as the words' policemen has become ever more problematical.
Now, a similar list of Brit F@@K UPS would be interesting. I think there are very few countries on the planet that we havent tried to invade/ piss off/intervene. Usually disastrously. Suez ? Basra ?
Don't worry, our friends over the border will be finished with their plans for the South China Sea quite soon, and then we can all stand back and watch the games commence.

[AQIS Boigu]

I always thought "The Whale" was the nickname for an A380?!

[ANTIPHOLUS]

No that’s the Sa@ah Je$$ica Parker. Nice on the inside.

[cxorcist]

Rod,

Would you be speaking your precious English language were it not for the US? A little gratitude for all those who died to make that possible would be nice. But no, in typical Euro snowflake entitlement fashion, you just assume everything is automatic and free. Just go ahead and take a knee next time you get a chance. That’ll show ‘em.

[DropKnee]

Trouble is, you are not winning many wars either.
It is not due to the lack of the US having the best military in the world. If we were being honest, the US could wipe out all of man from the face of the planet. No doubt so could the Ruskies and Chicoms.
I think the political class is not at all interested in winning or ending any of the engagements the US finds itself in. That would be bad for business. The war business has been very good. In all honesty the US doesn’t need any of our allies. I think it’s more to spread the cost and the wealth around.
As far as RT goes. The US must do things the way they do it. Otherwise the frequencies would be even more jammed.

[Airbubba]

I'm North American.. Flown both types.
Never heard the term used professionally.

Don't rightly know what they call it in 'North America' but in America the 747 is often called 'the whale' in my experience. ;)

[JammedStab]

Curtain rod


Better watch this 30 second clip...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-OE-MdBI40

[morningcoffee]

Pilots on the other fleets will do everything they can to oppose ending up on freighter or doing anything to help out the ever changing roster on the freighter fleet. Though they’ll blow the trumpet of unity 24/7. You’re basically a sub group of the AOA that’s stuck in a corner. With the lights off. And the bulb removed. One of those corners where the spare chairs and spare desks accumulate.

But they’ll all say they care.

[Trafalgar]

CR. Americans are great people, but suffer from a myopic view of their own importance. And suffer from a complete lack of understanding of history and other cultures. That won't change in our lifetime.

[arketip]

Don't rightly know what they call it in 'North America' but in America the 747 is often called 'the whale' in my experience. ;)

Never heard that in Brazil or Venezuela.;)

[JammedStab]

Lastly, I think Americans would be speaking French were it not for the British. Show a little gratitude for those who died to make that possible, would you? .

But French is the language of love. Their women are so much more fashionable....and open. The music, the art, and of course....the food. Should we be thanking you or cursing for losing the chance of a 35 hour work week. Our hero could have been Napoleon instead of Winston. We would only think we are the best instead of knowing it.

Instead, we anglos a left with our masterful interpretations of famous French literature as famously seen here....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBl86cyUpvM

[cxorcist]

CR,

You like to mention “with help”, but what you fail to mention is that the US does the vast majority of the heavy lifting in nearly every conflict on your list. So is it the brilliant Admirals, Generals from non-US participants that have made the difference? Our leadership just can’t cut it? Or maybe it’s the non-US troops that have a multiplying affect? Perhaps non-US military hardware is the key, clearly superior?

[DropKnee]

I find it laughable that non US folks have to constantly bash us US folks.
Lets drop it and focus on something we can do something about. Like protecting our contract from the ilk of the world.

[Average Fool]

All while they are desperately trying to win the GC lottery.

[Airbubba]

I find it laughable that non US folks have to constantly bash us US folks.

It's a tradition here on (U.S. based) PPRuNe along with complaints about how hard it is to get a green card.

I try to enthusiastically embrace the diverse nationalities who contribute to the discourse on this forum.

I've always said that nobody does a marching band or government paperwork better than the Brits.

And no one can make training more tedious and pedantic than the Ozmates.

Sadly, the overseas obsession with everything American is not reciprocated. :rolleyes:

I don't think many American pilots worry too much about how they do it in Hong Kong. But, having been through similar battles myself in years past, I have followed the Cathay pilots' struggle for esteem and financial security with interest for a couple of decades now. I've walked both the picket line and the unemployment line more than once myself.

I remember when the (53 or so) CX 49'ers were sacked and the HKAOA declared a 'hiring ban'.

Maybe naively, I felt more should have been done in response to the firings. In America such an action would shut down any union airline and many non-union carriers as well in my opinion.

Perhaps you feel the sacking of your colleagues deserves a hiring ban for others while continuing to train and accept upgrades yourselves.

I'll certainly honor the hiring band. I could never pass the tests or afford the cut in pay. However, I agree with others here that if you're not willing to do more yourselves for your fallen comrades, your threats of name calling to outsiders will sound hollow indeed.

Anyway, please prove me wrong and take the bull by the horns!

http://www.pprune.org/30829-post41.html

As Traffic predicted in 2001:

CX stands on the verge of becoming either the best place to work in the aviation business or a tombstone to human folly.

http://www.pprune.org/30819-post31.html

Years later, the CX situation kinda reminds me of the opening paragraph of Woody Allen's 1979 My Speech to the Graduates:

More than at any other time in history, mankind faces a crossroads. One path leads to despair and utter hopelessness. The other, to total extinction. Let us pray we have the wisdom to choose correctly.

[azhkman]

But French is the language of love. Their women are so much more fashionable....and open. The music, the art, and of course....the food. Should we be thanking you or cursing for losing the chance of a 35 hour work week. Our hero could have been Napoleon instead of Winston. We would only think we are the best instead of knowing it.

Instead, we anglos a left with our masterful interpretations of famous French literature as famously seen here....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBl86cyUpvM

It's fine, it's fine... Soon all Americans will be speaking Spanish anyways.

[cxorcist]

Too true! That’s what happens when a country intentionally ignores enforcement of its own borders and immigration laws. Come one, come all...

There’s enough money, jobs, healthcare, food, housing, and education for everyone. Those things all grow on trees in the good ol’ USA, just have to tax those overpaid airline pilots a bit more and grow government indefinitely.

Yes, I’m a total racist for this opinion.

[Trafalgar]

Well, living here in London, you could forgive me for thinking I am actually somewhere either in the Middle East or India/Pakistan :eek:. And that is even leaving aside the issue of the midlands, where some cities literally ARE Pakistan (Bradford, Birmingham, Leeds...etc). Pretty sad state of affairs, that will lead to the fall of Britain if we are not careful.

[Oval3Holer]

Hasn't Britain ALREADY fallen?

[crwkunt roll]

In the meantime.......anybody still interested in discussing the actual thread topic?

[LongTimeInCX]

Nah not really.
It's much more fun winding up the seppos.
They take the bait and then some.

As I've heard said by others many times in the past:
"You can always tell an American, you just can't tell him much!"

It makes you feel bad like you're clubbing a Labrador puppy.

[Oasis]

All while they are desperately trying to win the GC lottery.

And pay their taxes? no thank you...

[BusyB]

Curtain Rod,

Russia was a prime contributor to the start of WW2 by having a treaty with Germany to give Germany carte blanche to invade other countries. It was only when they invaded Russia that they came in as an ally.

[raven11]

Guys, guys, guys, guys......GUYS!

What are we doing here? Stop swinging your purses at each other. Who cares! We all know it was the Canadians who saved the day in both world wars!

Is there nothing at all more relevant, a current problem more important to talk about? Just sayin...

If anything from WW2 is of relevance, perhaps it would be a discussion regarding the antics of Lord Ha Ha...? Before anyone points it out, yes, I know...he was a Brit!