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-   -   Pilot Shortage in Hong Kong (https://www.pprune.org/fragrant-harbour/647319-pilot-shortage-hong-kong.html)

MENELAUS 8th Jul 2022 05:36


in what is generally deemed to be a civilised and safe environment.
Think you may have to review that in the light of the place being reduced to the status of a 4 th tier Chinese police state.

veryoldchinahand 6th Aug 2022 02:03

I don't believe so Menelaus. Your justification for this rather empty remark is what may I ask ?

BuzzBox I don't for a moment disagree that Cathay only offered very enticing expat packages in order to attract needed pilots. It is what what expanding businesses do and to a degree this happing again now.
It rather astounds me that many of you here cannot seem to grasp that Cathay is a business not a government department and as such has a first obligation to share holders to do what is needed to survive in the very difficult prevailing circumstances.
No amount of whining and foot stamping here is going to change that and as any impartial observer would be bound to conclude Cathay is done a much better job of looking after is employees, preserving jobs and keeping the airline going than most .
Of course its not easy or 'fair' but then it never was.

mngmt mole 6th Aug 2022 02:24

What office on the third floor do you inhabit veryoldchinahand...?

Papa123 6th Aug 2022 02:47


Originally Posted by veryoldchinahand (Post 11273733)
I don't believe so Menelaus. Your justification for this rather empty remark is what may I ask ?

BuzzBox I don't for a moment disagree that Cathay only offered very enticing expat packages in order to attract needed pilots. It is what what expanding businesses do and to a degree this happing again now.
It rather astounds me that many of you here cannot seem to grasp that Cathay is a business not a government department and as such has a first obligation to share holders to do what is needed to survive in the very difficult prevailing circumstances.
No amount of whining and foot stamping here is going to change that and as any impartial observer would be bound to conclude Cathay is done a much better job of looking after is employees, preserving jobs and keeping the airline going than most .
Of course its not easy or 'fair' but then it never was.

VOCH, the point you’re missing is that you, me, and every other pilot employed are HUMANS, some with little HUMANS, and older HUMANS (probably older than you) that have human needs and require adequate levels of compensation. Hire robots, pay them once and work them forever if Cathay is “just a business”. And “looking after their employees”? Riding them like mules? Some camps in the ‘40’s did the same to their ‘employees’

veryoldchinahand 6th Aug 2022 03:18

MM. Shouting irrelevant nonsense from the distant sidelines as usual.....too hot for the lawn bowling I suppose !

Papa123 6th Aug 2022 03:24


Originally Posted by veryoldchinahand (Post 11273754)
MM. Shouting irrelevant nonsense from the distant sidelines as usual.....too hot for the lawn bowling I suppose !

it’s all relevant. And who’s MM?

veryoldchinahand 6th Aug 2022 03:54

Papa123 I understand your argument well. Few are older than me and I suggest few have worked harder to make a decent living in Hong Kong.
Judging from your joining date I suspect that you are a young fellow yet to learn that the the world does not owe you a living and making a living in these difficult times actually hard work for less reward than most of us have come to expect. As I presume that you are no way indentured to the airline but do actually work for Cathay I suggest that you get on with things or look for better pastures although these you will agree, I am sure are very difficult to find at the present time.

veryoldchinahand 6th Aug 2022 04:09

Papa123 Not wishing to mislead I should make the point above that I am no longer formally working for anyone having reached the vast age where I am no longer considered by some to be competent. But I am still working and they are of course all wrong !

Stone Temple Pilot 6th Aug 2022 04:11

[QUOTE=veryoldchinahand;11273733.....to conclude Cathay is done a much better job of looking after is employees, preserving jobs and keeping the airline going than most .
[/QUOTE]

You mean like Cathay Dragon?
They certainly did a good job looking after "is" employees, preserving jobs and keeping the airline going - indeed better than most!
No other airline could have done it in that way, that's for sure.

Papa123 6th Aug 2022 05:17


Originally Posted by veryoldchinahand (Post 11273762)
Papa123 I understand your argument well. Few are older than me and I suggest few have worked harder to make a decent living in Hong Kong.
Judging from your joining date I suspect that you are a young fellow yet to learn that the the world does not owe you a living and making a living in these difficult times actually hard work for less reward than most of us have come to expect. As I presume that you are no way indentured to the airline but do actually work for Cathay I suggest that you get on with things or look for better pastures although these you will agree, I am sure are very difficult to find at the present time.

Typical China, don’t know who I am how I got here, or what station I’m presently in - but unabashedly offer up ‘life lessons’ from your own perceived sense of superiority. Back to the post - you suggested we ‘get nothing and like it because - just business’. I say no, there is value to our effort - which is currently not being recognized. I didn’t say they OWE me anything, nor I to them.

BuzzBox 6th Aug 2022 08:09


Originally Posted by veryoldchinahand (Post 11273733)
I don't for a moment disagree that Cathay only offered very enticing expat packages in order to attract needed pilots. It is what what expanding businesses do and to a degree this happing again now.

Are you claiming that, “to a degree”, Cathay is currently offering “very enticing expat packages” to attract pilots? If the current package is so attractive, why are so many pilots leaving for other pastures?

MENELAUS 6th Aug 2022 09:08

[QUOTE=veryoldchinahand;11273733]I don't believe so Menelaus. Your justification for this rather empty remark is what may I ask ?UNQUOTE]

Well let’s see shall we ?

A transformation ( in very short order) from a society where free speech was the norm, and our press and civil liberties were the envy of many in Asia, to one where a new security and sedition law means that one can be seized in the night, and shipped over the border for a touch of rough justice, by our Communist overlords. Just for espousing the “wrong” view.
That some of this was accelerated by the riots (and I’m still not fully convinced that much of it was not fomented by our friends over the border to force the issue) is undeniable. That said, the very fact that organized, peaceful demonstrations and marches ( once a hallmark of HK ) have been banned forthwith and forever is yet another sign of heavy handedness, and the destruction of all civil liberties.

Disbandment and effective neutering of all trade Union movements and associations ( again I’d be the first to admit that they were hardly the NUM) but some, such as the MTR Union, offered decent protections.

A farce of an election ( with one sole candidate, remind you of anywhere nearby ? ) for CE. Said candidate a rabid supporter of Beijing and their methods. So an ideal shoe in for for a 4th tier city.

Rapid haemorrhaging of talent.

A society where it is considered the norm to lock up its citizens, including babies and children, in quasi concentration camps in an half arsed attempt to achieve a zero covid policy whilst the rest of the World moves on.

A government that considers it acceptable to allow its Health Dept to mandate effective solitary confinement for its pilot work force, having spent 15 hours in an aluminium/ composite tube, then require them to wear tracking bracelets as though they’re rapists or paedophiles on early release.
And to add insult to injury subject them
to a draconian testing regime for days after. And rinse and repeat. That quite so many individuals have put up with this for quite so long beggars belief and says a fair bit about Stockholm syndrome.

If all the above ( and there are of course more ) are not the very epitomy of life under a CCCP dictatorship, I don’t know what is.

Asianexpress 6th Aug 2022 09:16


Originally Posted by Stone Temple Pilot (Post 11273765)
You mean like Cathay Dragon?
They certainly did a good job looking after "is" employees, preserving jobs and keeping the airline going - indeed better than most!
No other airline could have done it in that way, that's for sure.

They did look after 8 of the KA employee's. I believe only 6 remain, mostly on the 3rd floor.

The rest of us were thrown out with the trash.

Wombaticus 7th Aug 2022 00:51


Originally Posted by veryoldchinahand (Post 11273733)
I don't believe so Menelaus. Your justification for this rather empty remark is what may I ask ?

BuzzBox I don't for a moment disagree that Cathay only offered very enticing expat packages in order to attract needed pilots. It is what what expanding businesses do and to a degree this happing again now.
It rather astounds me that many of you here cannot seem to grasp that Cathay is a business not a government department and as such has a first obligation to share holders to do what is needed to survive in the very difficult prevailing circumstances.
No amount of whining and foot stamping here is going to change that and as any impartial observer would be bound to conclude Cathay is done a much better job of looking after is employees, preserving jobs and keeping the airline going than most .
Of course its not easy or 'fair' but then it never was.

If survival is the basis for your argument VOCH maybe you could have a word with our CEO, Tang concurs, and puts it plainly: “The sur*vivability of Cathay Pacific has never been on my mind.” and while you are, explain to him that a temporary reduction in earnings would probably have been accepted by most.

What you have witnessed VOCH, is a smash and grab, it is a strategy put in place by some senior leaders and it appears to be failing. Will management now need to cover their short?

VforVENDETTA 7th Aug 2022 04:09

The value of every company is based largely on its assets. Assets which make profit, for the owners who own stock in that company. Less of those assets or worse shape of those assets result in less profit. The value of the company is what drives the stock price. The shareholders take direct benefit from that above all others, including the employees, which can be labeled as "cost units" or "profit units" depending on the competence of management.

Unhappy, un-taken care of, demoralized, angry, stressed, bankrupt pilots in this case are much less efficient and much less reliable or caring as before. Even that delapitated , demoralized, inefficient work force is declining at an uncomfortable rate without any success of replacing them despite having announced and started a big recruitment drive almost a year ago.

Without this asset which has to be there to operate the other very expensive assets (fleet of aircraft) that asset set also languishes in utter inefficiency. All other assets will be in the same boat, they are as we speak.

Tell me how happy the "shareholders" of this pennystock taco stand are when one of the assets which is impossible to operate the airline without (it's most expensive to attract, train & replace people) are in such terrible shape and such out of control dwindling numbers?

Sure ots all about the owners, called sharehilders. But the stock price is all about the company's value. Value is all about the assets which are necessary to produce profit. In case of an airline, to fly airplanes, enough to be able to maintain market share and perhaps expand market share where profit making opportunities are recognized.

As with any business... fukk your people and you've fukked your profit (shareholders).

Cathay's plan was to be back at 60% operation by September, then 50% by December. Both shut down by manpower planning due to not enough pilots. Can't retrain fast enough to replace pilots on flying fleets fron the non-flying fleet either. As soon as they become current, they leave for another job.

How are you doing shareholders? Enjoying the ride downhill? Enjoy it while it lasts...

missingblade 7th Aug 2022 04:26

Average 777 pilot isn't flying at all.
Average Airbus pilot is doing 45 hours.

Only the 747 guys are flying reasonable hours.
No 747's parked.

Hkg isn't really opening any time soo. Thus cx is a cargo airline for the foreseeable future.

So - There's no shortage of pilots.

There's 2500 guys on the seniority list.

Costs to hire and train new pilots as we slowly open up over the next two or more years will be a billion dollars plus - however they've saved double that on cos18 and everyone that quit over the past two years...

I fail to see the problem...


Papa123 7th Aug 2022 04:38


Originally Posted by missingblade (Post 11274279)
Average 777 pilot isn't flying at all.
Average Airbus pilot is doing 45 hours.

Only the 747 guys are flying reasonable hours.
No 747's parked.

Hkg isn't really opening any time soo. Thus cx is a cargo airline for the foreseeable future.

So - There's no shortage of pilots.

There's 2500 guys on the seniority list.

Costs to hire and train new pilots as we slowly open up over the next two or more years will be a billion dollars plus - however they've saved double that on cos18 and everyone that quit over the past two years...

I fail to see the problem...

missing. You’ll do another 2 or more years under this circus? For what? The PAY? The TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES. Why so quick to side and equivocate with management direction. You like it better now, those ‘smart’ moves to push Cos18?
sycophant you.

Papa123 7th Aug 2022 04:43


Originally Posted by missingblade (Post 11274279)
Average 777 pilot isn't flying at all.
Average Airbus pilot is doing 45 hours.

Only the 747 guys are flying reasonable hours.
No 747's parked.

Hkg isn't really opening any time soo. Thus cx is a cargo airline for the foreseeable future.

So - There's no shortage of pilots.

There's 2500 guys on the seniority list.

Costs to hire and train new pilots as we slowly open up over the next two or more years will be a billion dollars plus - however they've saved double that on cos18 and everyone that quit over the past two years...

I fail to see the problem...

missing. You’ll do another 2 or more years under this circus? For what? The PAY? The TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES. Why so quick to side and equivocate with management direction. You like it better now, those ‘smart’ moves to push Cos18?
sycophant you.

missingblade 7th Aug 2022 07:48


Originally Posted by Papa123 (Post 11274285)
missing. You’ll do another 2 or more years under this circus? For what? The PAY? The TRAVEL OPPORTUNITIES. Why so quick to side and equivocate with management direction. You like it better now, those ‘smart’ moves to push Cos18?
sycophant you.


I don't know why I even bother to post here. You lot are all about personal insults while most of you seem unable to sense sarcasm or irony...🤦🏻‍♂️

Anyway - I just pointed out the realities cx and hkg face now. Nothing less nothing more. Do with it what you wish.
I don't like it any more than you do.
And I still fail to see the problem.

Sam Ting Wong 7th Aug 2022 10:01

pilot shortage is the wet dream of the profession.

missingblade is of course right, as is cx management in their own right.

nobody cares if we are happy, all that matters is how many of us sit in the driver seat and to what cost.


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