Thank you!

Are there 777 DEFOs now?

A330 DEFO
 

Hello,

Can anybody give a clear idea of how a new joinees roster would be for the A330 fleet.
1.Hours
2.Avg days off
3.destinations
4.layover duration
5.night turns
6.Is it a seniority based roster system?
7.Is the 330/350 one fleet?

Any other info would be appreciated

1. 84.01 credit hours
2. 10
3. Regional, India, Middle East and Australia
4. Variable, mainly minimum rest regionally and 18-30 hours for more distant ports
5. Yes but not many
6. What's a seniority based roster system?
7. Yes

If you haven't visited FH before, beware.

STP

3. For the first couple of years it wil be Asia, India and Perth. Only once you are relief qualified (=cruise captain) you can get 3 man flights to the ME and Australia.

By then you will also have plenty of time to check out Dubai and see how these 380 guys are enjoying their 15-17 days off a month and their 4 BR villas whilst you will be in a shoebox.

Further you will still be doing split duties since the CX Windows98 rostering system can't figure out how to get you an efficient 330 roster.

Interview coming up
 

So guys after reading all of this it is definitely food for thought. I have been invited to an interview coming up in either March or April.

I currently fly the Embraer 175 for probably the best regional airline in the USA. Im not American, my family all live in Australia.

Im happy here but the work visa Im on makes it difficult to progress to the majors or even LCC like JetBlue etc.

I want to be close to family in Australia or even live there and commute to a CX job if its worth it. I also have a couple other interview offers in Asia, one with HKA.

Basically is there any light at the end of the tunnel with regards to the management/pilot and contract issues being sorted out in the near future/

My wife is also preganant with our first child so this is a pretty big decision for me. I am doing research reading all forums and articles online as I dont want to regret my decision but at the same time if you dont take a chance you will never know.

I do love HK, I know how expensive it is, pollution etc. Does anybody see progress or improvements happening within the next 12 months as I understand CX really is at a crossroads at the moment as to whether they survive due to severly incompetant management decisions.

They used to be the best and heres hoping they are trying to get back there.:ok:

No light at the end of the tunnel, republic is better than cx honestly

Luggage,

Rule number 1 - Nobody loves HK!!!

Some people enjoy it, some tolerate it and some hate it.


How about Qantas/ANZ?

Several CX SOs, FOs and even one Captain have recently joined or are about to join either of these two.

QF and Jetstar
 

I have submitted applications to Qantas and JetStar but no response as of yet so lets see what happens.

If I got one of those two with a Brisbane base it would be perfect for me and I would definitely grab it.

I believe things in Australia may start to pick up now regarding hiring into the airlines again. That would definitely be my preferred option.

The airline Im with now treats us very well and we certainly dont have the complaints of the CX and KA guys.

However from a money point of view and with a baby on the way Im losing out a bit so need to get a better paying job, trick is to get good QOL, perks and treatment as well.

I guess there is no harm going to the interview and will take it from there.

Anybody care to comment on the sim check, how tough, what you do and possibly the technical questions/face to face interview.:ok:

Well one out of ten seems to be the pass rate for the sim interview right now if not worse. Seriously.

South Lantau has better restaurants than Brisbane if you're into fine dining. :8

Fine dining
 

Yes I do like fine dining but not top of the agenda at present. A good BBQ and a bottle of red will suffice.

More interested in quality of life and being close to my family again. QF and JQ pay well enough and would allow me to go home, cant really ask for more than that.

I always admired CX as they were the best and I sincerely hope they get back there but by the sounds of it that will not happen anytime soon.

Luggage,

Sounds like you will be packing your bags. If so, good luck. You certainly are not alone. I think CX is losing many more pilots than it lets on.

Agree 100% with your dining analogy. Far better to be home with family and friends eating modestly.

CXorcist, yep I will take the good and simple life at home any day. Just need that darn interview now.

I would be interested to know how many pilots CX is losing and at what point they will be reaching breaking point in terms of sort the pilot contract out or the gig is up for us.

Other airlines in the region will simply railroad CX if they dont get their act together soon.

You're use of the future tense is somewhat inaccurate

Broadband. Spot on. Horse:bolted:barn door

A very experienced mate of mine who has plenty of international experience on Airbus based in Asia put in an application with CX/ANZ/QF at the same time. He now has an upcoming interview with both ANZ and Qantas, but as you see below the latest standard response from CX, which he updated every month.

Maybe it's a blessing in disguise with CX incompetents, especially with all the debacle with fuel hedging, command upgrades times, pollution etc he now putting his energy into going back down under. :ok:

He was mystified if Cathay has all these highly experienced applicants but only 1 in 10 can pass the simulator, wow I guess 7500tt 4600 Bus time isn't experienced enough !! :ugh:

Your funny.

Spot on, Dan.

Somewhere along the way control and trying to keep people 'in line' -- with whatever strange sense of perspective they may have on what that is -- became much more important than actually making money.

JQ interview
 

So after getting advice on this forum and saying my preference would be QF or JQ back in Australia but forever waiting on a call for an interview, some kind lady from JQ sent me the email last night inviting me to a JQ interview.

I have to admit after reading about the CX issues going to JQ is by far my first choice on getting back home to be close to family again. Thats what CX always was about for me, getting close to home in Australia.

Just got to not stuff up the JQ interview now over the next couple of months. Makes one wonder though how many guys will leave CX, KA and HKA to go elsewhere in Australia, Singapore etc.

The market seems to be opening up and even Europe is getting better. Im in the US and if you have a pilots licence and can tie your shoe laces you have won the lottery, literally!!!

I still have the CX interview as a back up so will see but hopefully wont need it now.

Luggage:ok:

CX direct FO or HKA direct Captain?
 

So I've been trying to move to Hong Kong for a while now for family reasons. CX had been my preference. I turned down an interview for SO a few years ago as my circumstances made it impossible to accept the salary and live in HK.

I applied for direct FO last Summer but only heard back recently about getting an interview. While I was waiting I decided to explore other options in HK and now it seems there's a possible open door for me to go to HKA as a captain. I know overall conditions are better in CX than HKA. However, reading PPRuNe makes it difficult to get a feeling about what it would be like for me moving forward.

I'm in my early 30's with a local wife and a few young children. I'm looking for long term stability, good community and preferably not to be treated as a scab because I join as a direct entry pilot. Any suggestions about which role may be a better fit for me would be appreciated.

Go to hka and dont look back. Cx has lost several senior fos to hka as fos recently. Their package is similar to ours but that coompany has a future and is growing unlike the green giant.

Have you considered Cathay Dragon? Same conditions and staff travel as CX but currently with the chance of command within a year.

I have considered it. However, I've spent a lot of time in mainland China. From instructing Chinese cadets to domestic 320 ops. My feeling currently is that I've got enough Mainland adventures to last a lifetime. It's my understanding that Dragon operates mainly into China. As much as I like China, I've found flying inside mainland China to be tedious. For a long term career I think I would benefit from a little more variation. That's just my personal preference. I am aware of Dragon and I do think it's an excellent option for the right people.

Obviously you have never seen what a c scale so/fo makes. 53k base is alot more than any so base. Add on their allowances aswell dont forget

good luck making that work in HK

With a few young children I'd be looking for an employer that offers assistance with school fees, and I don't think HKA does that.

HKA it is from where I sit. CX management still don't have a clue.

Final interview
 

Hello everyone,
Could any one tell me if one has cleared DAY 1 ( Sim, technical exam, group discussion ), how much time one has to wait for the final result of DAY 2 ( final interview, medical etc ) ?? Thank you in advance.

CX has opened DE FO again. Would anyone want to say how long upgrade to captain is likely to take for adequately experienced pilots? (Please limit replies to answering the question. Yes, I know T&Cs are a lot worse than previous years, but are probably better than where I am now, so we don't need to hear about the deterioration in T&Cs.)

HandoverRichard: CX is a predominately Long and Ultra Long Haul airline therefore it has many more S/O/F/O positions per crew due to inflight relief requirements.

This means that foe every captain being replaced there are several co-pilots in waiting. I am definitely out of date but 10+ years would probably be in the ball park.

Nobody knows, and the answer you will get is inevitably either a guess, wishful thinking or a selfish lie.

Look at the a/c order numbers, the delivery schedule, then compare the current fleet size and total crew count ( 3500 as a ball park) and then make your own independent calculation.

On a personal note, should (!) you make it through the assessment. maybe just be grateful to start as a DEFO ( rare historically) and forget about what may or may not come later..

Update: an ex colleague who moved to CX 3 years ago hopes to start the upgrade process next year. That means he's looking at about 5 years. Of course, it can all come crashing down if a downturn comes along. Say, like if a USA president needs to give the world news a distraction from his deviant past involving under age girls and chooses to go to war in an oil rich region to achieve that.

After an extraordinary shrinking and subsequent expansion process, the current upgrade time is unfortunately meaningless.
Unless the very same happens again.

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Regarding my upgrade comment, I have found information in that most reliable source of information: Wikipedia. If you choose to believe what is written there (allegedly backed by factual references), CX had 4,000 pilots (fairly accurate) in 2020. That was 2,000 by the end of Covid (very likely true). About 2 years ago, they were cancelling flights due to a shortage of pilots (this, I know, is fact). Wikipedia states that CX claims to have 3,500 pilots now - but you would have to believe that they have hired and trained pilots at the rate of about 600 per year! That's 50 per month! If this is possible, oops I meant true, then the ex-colleague that I refer to would have timed his employment there very fortunately. He might be 2,100 of 3,500 now. No wonder he moved quickly. But, as 711 says, it's anyone's guess for a pilot joining now, and unlikely to be 5 years.

Seniority list showing 3529 pilots as of 8 April 2026.

Do you guys think CX is still hiring DEFO this year?

I know of people who passed DEFO selection last June and still haven’t been call yet.