40% reduction in loads
 

FON update with increased leave available over the winter and massive reduction in future bookings on Cathay may not bode well for 13th month. It seems every year there is some sort of threat to bonuses. Although this may be a different situation as the previous financial uncertainties were self induced.

Will we be asked to take voluntary unpaid leave? Will the airline reduce the number of aircraft they are operating? Will air China make a bid to take over the airline? How much more time will be added to any future of an upgrade?

With all this uncertainty I feel as though I should be looking to get my arse out of here.

Really...? You only just came to that conclusion now? Hundreds are already on their new seniority lists ahead of you in case you didn't know. (and hundreds more to join them soon...).

;)..........

Bless.....

Were cargo loads down 40% as well?

At the current 1/3 hedge of $61 a barrel, Perhaps the betting, fuel hedging team will be made look like geniuses after all. Fuel surcharges to cover most of the rest.

Self centred expat CX pilot. Enough said. reaps the money, doesn't give a fig about the society they live among.

Go protesters go. Lets see loads down 90%. I might actually get P25 on YVR Jclass for once :)

Lots of flats still being sold, so can't be so bad....lol

The sectors I am trying to get on subload are not part of the 40% reduction in loads. Red in all classes all week so I stayed at home. And the prices full fare are eye watering, so the revenue is still there.

Maybe something to do with the Rugby in Japan, but sheesh I haven't seen it so bad since Christmas and Chinese New Year were the same day as Golden Week...

The day of the expat is rapidly drawing to a close (at least at CX). In HK, nearly 50% of the pilots are now local. The recent COS18 expats aren't going to be staying in HK (especially when the penny drops on the cost of living, and the compromises for wives, children, schooling etc). To be fair, many of the locals are great, and I am happy to fly with them. I do feel however that eventually the nature of CX will have been changed to that of a "fly by numbers" airline, where the previous reality of experience and varied career backgrounds will have been washed away. CX is no longer the airline I joined, which is why it's probably a good thing that I am about to leave. Good luck with the long term future...something that CX managements since the early 90's have effectively traded for their own bonuses and pensions.

Not all of us. If they do that again, especially as we are now working alongside the KA pilots (13th month, higher salaries, more leave), I will of course take a month off between Jan and Jun, just like two years ago. Not that difficult really.

Thomas Cook going under could see an influx of crew joining, COS18 will flourish.

Here we go. All this starts up again ! Can't some look deeper and accept a different contractural evolution?

KA pilots came to debatable pay parity with CX pilots after a long and bitter contract compliance campaign. It wasn't a vanilla lite campaign where it was wound back in typhoons or whatever else. Captains were sacked during typhoons. It was a horrible period and many left. An unrelenting industrial campaign ensued and CX managers ousted KA leadership and came over with money. Since then KA pilots have compounded small pay increases ( though many wanted to press harder ).

Can someone explain the 13th month? Didn't CX guys have it but integrate it into a pay increase? Whereby its now discretionary? If it wasn't welded into the KA pilots contract it would go as well.

Some dispute KA pilots are paid more. Is it as simple as comparing a 5th year CX or KA Capt on monthly pay scales?

Oh the leave. Now you guys are envious? Or you just want us to lose it because we appear happy ? Actually, its the only way to endure our rosters. I recall posts here on pprune where CX guys were castigating the KA leave scheme as we use G days attached to the leave with heavy stacking for the rest of the month.

A KA roster this month has 8 or 9 G days. With 8 or 9 overnights in China. With 8 or 9 CAAC inspections ( without the briefings you guys are getting ). I'm not sure any CX pilot would want our roster and leave system. The leave system is barely a medicine in sustaining KA pilots in our operation. Without it many would go and I believe this is reason it persists. Without the leave scheme, genuine sickness levels would skyrocket too. The mysterious illnesses we get. The Holiday Inn syndrome explaining many weird illnesses picked up such as typhoid, bug infections and an incurable clap amongst others.

At some stage in the future CX will be just another Chinese Airline.