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Hong Kong Airlines

Fragrant Harbour A forum for the large number of pilots (expats and locals) based with the various airlines in Hong Kong. Air Traffic Controllers are also warmly welcomed into the forum.

Hong Kong Airlines

Old 14th Mar 2016, 16:41
  #41 (permalink)  
 
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Sorry to say it, but another wannabe who has absolutely NO idea as to the true cost of living in HK. Try a 1000sq ft aprt for $8000 usd /mo (yes, eight thousand a month). Try $7 usd for a diet coke. Try $40 usd for a decent meal in a decent western restaurant. Try $9 usd/gal of gas. Try ridiculously high cost of staff travel to get home (if you ever get any days to do so). I could go one...but why bother. You will come anyway and learn the hard way. Good luck.
mngmt mole is offline  
Old 14th Mar 2016, 19:20
  #42 (permalink)  
 
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Not a wannabe. Like I said, not for me and only reporting what I've heard.

Just highlighting that what I wrote was not incorrect as such, not to my knowledge at least.

Terms and conditions are basically going down everywhere, except in China and to some extent also in the US. Pretty much every company in Europe and Middle East are recruiting but general terms and conditions are getting worse by the day. Cheaper to live in Europe than in HK of course but there are now several companies "offering" €5-6K per month for Airbus and Boeing Captains. That's for a contracts where you will be based in temporary bases that open and close as the company picks up or loses business. In other words, you can't really move your family as you might be given a new base with little to no notice. Pay is before European tax by the way. No pension. No private health insurance. No loss of license.

Not arguing with what you are saying as I don't really know the daily costs of living in HK. Having said that, $40 USD is not going to get you a "decent meal" in Paris, London, anywhere in Switzerland, anywhere in Scandinavia, New York, Dubai etc etc. Also, I guess HK has always been more expensive than many other places in the world so it can't really be a surprise to people who decided to move there.

bjb
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Old 15th Mar 2016, 05:10
  #43 (permalink)  
 
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Your previous post said it all: "Its all about expectations and how to manage them."
Straight out of a Management Playbook.

If your expectations are rock bottom - Welcome to HKA. You'll love it.
Killaroo is offline  
Old 17th Mar 2016, 07:43
  #44 (permalink)  
 
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I see the GMF has just resigned. How many is that now? Five, or Six? All within the last 4 years. Every one of them became exasperated with the system.
If that doesn't tell you something is seriously wrong, what does it take?
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Old 15th Jul 2016, 08:04
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Hi there I will be going for HKA interview soon as and could anyone help me out as what is the latest interview questionaires and SIM check profile gonna be like? Thanks
machineoperator is offline  
Old 18th Jul 2016, 05:02
  #46 (permalink)  
 
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an engine failure approach RCTP


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lof96bgXCg
cpahka is offline  
Old 27th Jul 2016, 13:50
  #47 (permalink)  
 
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Originally Posted by mngmt mole
... Try a 1000sq ft aprt for $8000 usd /mo (yes, eight thousand a month). Try $7 usd for a diet coke. ...
wow, I'd love to be your landlord!!! You either (conveniently) left out the location of such rent vs square footage, or you're a sucker!!
And just this morning I too bought a can of coke for $7...Hong Kong Dollars!!!


Granted, while real estate here is rather overpriced, cost of living is relative. So to give it a more realistic perspective, one should consider what city one compares HK cost of living to! If you're moving here from BFE, Kansas, it is ridiculous. Compared to NYC, it's not that bad (except for real estate).

Real estate of course greatly depends on location. There's plenty of 700-1000sqft (small HK sqft!!) flats for 2000-3500 US$/month in livable areas.
Of course living in Europe or US gets you more bang for your buck. But what you save on rent, the (EU) government gladly relieves you of .

The real scam in HK is the international school system..people (mostly Italians), were locked up for that kind of stuff (racketeering) en mass in NYC in the 90s.
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Old 27th Jul 2016, 14:14
  #48 (permalink)  
 
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is the midle east cheaper or HK?
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Old 27th Jul 2016, 14:21
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The middle east. Free housing, no tax, quicker promotion.
Trafalgar is offline  
Old 29th Jul 2016, 05:37
  #50 (permalink)  
 
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Re: cost of living in Hong Kong, real estate is expensive, but it's not much worse than New York. For example, if you live in Manhattan it is the same as living in the mid-levels and you'll be filled with an outrage at the prices. If you live in Discovery Bay, it's like living in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Tung Chung = Bay Ridge, and so on.

A can of coke will cost you ~US$4-5 if you buy the can from a restaurant. However, under HK law, at least one 7-11 must be visible from any part of the street, and at 7-11 you'll spend about US$1 or just under... similar to NYC.

The rest of it depends on what you do. Eat the same as at home, will cost you more than if you eat like a local. It's not for everyone. All groceries are imported will cost more than at home and will not feel like much of a bargain. Inflation is well felt in HK, whereas living in the US, I did not really feel like prices rose over time. Hobbies are expensive, and school costs can be bankrupting. In NYC, theoretically, you could move further out and find an acceptable public school for 'free' but you'll be paying way more in property taxes.

I've lived in the Middle East too. You'll have to decide if the reduced freedom, and occasional open hostility is worth the tax free income. If you are a Yank, it's never tax free anyways. I found groceries more expensive in Dubai than HK, but I only lived in Jeddah, and found it about the same there.

Healthcare is decent and pretty cheap. For example, I cut my thumb in a dishwashing accident and I was stitched up at the local hospital by a doctor trained in Sydney for HK$100 (~US$12) and paid with my Octopus Card. It would be ~US$120 if I were not PR.

If you are single, I highly recommend you come. You'll have the time of your life, it's a giant playground in HK for people who are not eager to grow up. Mainly because life's responsibilities increase costs exponentially.
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Old 9th Oct 2016, 16:26
  #51 (permalink)  
 
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Avoid HKA

Not good airlines, managed by Malaysian mafia lol

Last edited by IGNITIONS; 9th Oct 2016 at 18:16.
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Old 1st Nov 2016, 05:14
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Hi guys !! I am after some info about the HKA interview process, such as technical test, verbal interview, sim ride !!!! Any input would be greatly appreciated. On here or PM !!!
Thanks.
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Old 1st Nov 2016, 07:49
  #53 (permalink)  
 
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Volare,
Go to lastestpilotjobs.com. There is a whole interview prep section for HKA for about $30 I think.....
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Old 20th Nov 2016, 05:52
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HEY!! Just back from interview and sim NOV 15-17.. Friendly and relaxed atmosphere... Tech exam EXACTLY as per latestpilotjob website... spent a couple of hours making notes based on the website's sample questions; needed 10 minutes to complete the exam, got (maybe) one wrong.

Interview is along same lines as outlined on the website... I'm NTR so the tech questions on the interview were very general in nature wrt my current aircraft (E190). The other fellow in for the interview with me that week was A320 rated and they grilled him fairly hard on tech questions about the 320. They asked me some general questions about aerodynamics such as difference between AOA and angle of incidence, concept of L/D Max and how it relates to max endurance vs max range... no brainer.

The sim was not as I expected. They put both candidates in the sim at the same time; the 320 qualified candidate was in the left seat first and I was in the right seat even though I've never been in an Airbus... so it was a bit of a challenge for the left seat guy as I could provide very limited support... and the instructor asked me to NOT verbalize deviations from desired flight path/speeds... so without A/P, A/T and FD (bird allowed), the emphasis was clearly on manual handling skills.

The profile is simple and straightforward. Startup on runway, quick FMGC load with 60T TOW FLEX 64, short T/O brief, wind 45 off the left at 15kts, climb out to 5000' then right into 45 degree bank turns, 180 then reverse without pause, vectors/reposition/flight freeze as required for the ILS 07R, no contact, GO AROUND, engine fail as pwr comes up, quick ECAM actions with the help of the instructor, climb out to 3000, flight freeze/reposition for S/E ILS 07R, all the while flying manually (but they let you use the FD for the S/E approach), land.

I'm current on the E-190, initially started flying in the military (fast jets)... and I've ALWAYS hand flown all the approaches that my company's SOPs have allowed me to, which is most of the time vis was 3/4 mile or better; consequently, I'm pretty good at hand flying. As mentioned above, I've never flown Airbus so I was feeling a bit of anxiety about the sim eval... which the instructors quickly dispelled. They gave a really good brief on how to interpret the PFD and emphasized that I need not worry about ANY 'Bus specific procedure... all they wanted me to do was fly the airplane and act as the captain in every other aspect.

It isn't modest to say so ... but I nailed the T/O, climb out and steep turns (+/- 30 feet, +/- 3kts). It was a little more challenging to fly the approach raw data, initially overcontroling both pitch and roll but progressively settling down as we got to 1000 AGL, but never exceeded half a dot either way. Much the same for the S/E app which I chose to attempt with FD.

There was one event during my eval which had caused me concern. The E-190's flap speeds are Flap 1-230kts, Flap 2-215kts, Flap 3-200kts. After turning to intercept the LOC for the S/E ILS, we were at 200kts, Flap 1+F and I called for 'Check Speed, Select Flap 2', the other (Airbus qualified) candidate selected it without checking the speed, the Airbus pilots reading this will immediately realize that this is an overspeed, horn blaring 'OVERSPEED, OVERSPEED...'

In the end, it didn't seem to have an impact on the results for myself as I've already been informed by HKA that I was successful and that a Letter of Offer is forthcoming within a month, along with a course date which can't be earlier than 8 weeks after the contract is signed ('cuz that's how long it takes for the Hong Kong work visa to come thru). They said training foot print is 4 months, sim on the 320 might be in Hong Kong, might be in Malaysia but if I get the 330, the sim is definitely in Malaysia.

The other candidate was not successful... based on what I saw during the sim eval, I'm guessing that his hand flying skills, while not bad at all, were not up to the level HKA is looking for... but I'm certain that selecting the flaps in overspeed condition, (which, as a A320 qual'ed pilot he most certainly should have picked up) probably didn't help...

Hope this helps.... Good luck!!

Last edited by LukeinChina; 20th Nov 2016 at 16:43.
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Old 20th Nov 2016, 11:28
  #55 (permalink)  
 
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Singaporean club.
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Old 20th Nov 2016, 13:12
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What you mean by that Cody ?
volare_737 is offline  
Old 15th Mar 2017, 06:17
  #57 (permalink)  
 
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Are Hong Airlines conducting interviews ect in Melbourne or just a road show?Just surprised to not hear about anyone on the bus in Australia that I know off that is going along. Then again maybe just keeping quiet.???.
Cheers
Far Canel is offline  
Old 19th Mar 2017, 13:51
  #58 (permalink)  
 
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Yep, what ADFUS said
airdualbleedfault is offline  
Old 19th Mar 2017, 16:10
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thanks for the feedback Luckinchina !
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Old 25th Mar 2017, 17:09
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Hi Guys,

I've got 2 options to choose from, Tiger FO A320 in SG vs HKA A320 FO in HKG? Thoughts anyone? Coming from working in Malaysia and Indonesia for the past 6 years as an FO on the B737.
Indoflyer69 is offline  

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