Cathay DE FO??
 

Has anyone recently applied for the DE FO position in the last 4 weeks and received any feedback or progression at all?

I am wondering if they are actively recruiting now or getting a stockpile of potentials to sort through?

Many thanks in advance...

Tee hee. Standby; fire in the hole.

They have a couple of thousand suitable applicants already so dont hold your breath

No, they don't.

The "quality" of the applicants is appalling. Much like ASL, they have managed to shake thousands of miscreants out of the woodwork where they've been lurking, waiting for a naive employer to legitimize their dodgy "experience".

And along comes CX....

No doubt that some of the ASL hopefuls had no chance of making it but some very experienced and capable pilots were binned.

I'd agree. However the number retained vs the ones brought to HKG (suitable for employment) was 1 in 10 or thereabouts.

Agreed. I believe there were some unrealistic candidates brought forward.

What would the ideal candidate have?

1000 jet hours ? 3000? 7000 hours ?

Wide bodied experience ?
Training background ?
PIC time ?

Not quite sure what an unrealistic applicant is

He or she should have a willingness to join at the bottom of a seniority list of over 3,200 pilots, including Second Officers. Command upgrades per year are around the mid-double digits (do the math).

The candidate would show willingness to live in the most expensive city on the planet, working for an airline that suffers a management in crisis, ever-increasing airspace congestion, and ferocious competition from a cashed-up mainland airline in its only hub. The candidate should also know that industrial relations are dreadful, and as I type the horizon is obscured by a thick brown haze of pollution. Also, the airline is in a cost-cutting/service spiral and due to a management gamble, fuel hedging losses are equivalent to three B 777 hulls annually for the next couple of years.

'Please be guided accordingly.'

The ideal candidate will have low self esteem. He will enjoy having pasty egocentric Aussies (gods gift to aviation, just ask them) berate them over non concequential issues. Such as compass lag or proper leaning technique of a piston single being operated near Ayers Rock( cause that !!!! is real). I would go on but it's too easy.

It's all as your man Dart says; every last, painful sad word of it. With the added advantage that you'll be about as welcome as a pork sword at a Jewish wedding with all the s/o's you get to fly with.

Not what I heard.

Well, I guess that depends on who you hear it from.

Do you think, for a minute, that any one of the 3/F (mis)managers would admit failed policies, procedures and fixes? Why do you think they're trying DEFO again?

They're in job preservation mode, afraid of the messenger being shot.

Thanks for the support and optimism!

Realism .

You don't want to come here. Wanting to join this circus is the first indication to your fellow pilots that you are a idiot. Wise up and look around.

Captain Underpants,


You talk about us like we create smoking holes every time we go flying. You must be forgetting your own unremarkable history at CX. You do realize it's widely known who you are and I for one would not be spouting off and disparaging other people's abilities. Glad you're gone now and we don't need to suffer your presence any more.

*You're

Wise up and look around, indeed.

And whom too! Anyway, spelling Nazis aside, the poor SOs are getting a real hose job in this. Two extra years in the back seat watching, off the street hires, even junior SOs, get promoted. This means higher pay, housing, whats left of it etc... This is what should send a message to anyone that wants to work and live in one of the noisiest and polluted cities in the world AND be treated like an idiot. Wait till all the DEFOs get their heads around our check and training departments, the fleet offices and that ugly dirigible, AT, our special DFO.

Oh and the command failure rate is around 75% now. Lots of it on the GL fleet.

A deputy C.P. is leaving the GL fleet. I wonder why? It couldn't be "Timmay" who sits just outside GL and continues to eff up the manuals in a significant way. Does he have a handicap sign on his back when he goes to fly?

A good place to build your time for your career airline.

That's about it.

Unless you like to spend the few precious nights of sleep you'll get fretting about what they are going to take next.

Thanks for the correction. Did it ever occur to you that the invisible hand of spell check maybe involved? I would say anyone who joined before 2008 was offerd a very different set of toys when joining.

just had a look on ppjn states starting salary DEFO 841980 HKD$ last updated in 2008 mind you. Anyone got the current starting salary for DEFO? Rgds

It will be a bit less than that and you will be on hkpa. Remind you also will be on c minus scale ie no bonuses or anything else. Please stay away from cx untill this place turns around as you are just helping the race to the bottom. Cx is a place trying to bore the cheapest labor right now, they are willing to hire from any small nook around the globe just to drive down the cost of a pilot.

Basic 81.292 HKD
flight pay (84 hrs) 8.129 HKD
HKPA 14.000 HKD

Seated. Fresh popcorn at hand. :cool:

Oh god


- the financial sector in HKG is everything but booming atm
- 15% stamp duty for non-residents plus 40-50% down payment required depending on the price; what sort of property do you think you need?
- nannies are cheap but international schools require the purchase of a debenture which is anywhere from 30000-100000 pounds (yes, per child). School fees are partially covered by CX.

Get the most enjoyable day job you can find and leave the money making up to your wife.

It's not worth it.

OMG, coming to HK for CX would be one of the worst decisions of your life, and it may well cost you your marriage. Seriously, pass! Flying WBs is nothing special. The money for NJers is no longer good. You will be chucking gear for Chinese cadet CNs for the better part of two decades. You WILL regret it...

With regards to the pay question. It totally depends on your fleet.

747 - DEFO - First year 95000-96000HKD per month before tax
777 - DEFO - First year 120000-150000HKD per month before tax
A330 - DEFO - 100k per month and you won't have time to spend a dollar cause you'll be working so much.

Good education and medical available for family.

Housing is terribly expensive. Double to Triple what you pay in US/Can or any western place :)

15% special stamp duty if not a permanent ID holder.
15% buyer's stamp duty unless it's your first property AND you're a permanent ID holder.

=30% stamp duty

Unreasonable to buy any property within your first seven years in HK.

I need more popcorn....:rolleyes:

if you love HK...save it for your holidays!! You will think rather differently if you live here...especially with children! Of course if you don't mind sitting with grumpy SOs that sneer at you as soon as look at you..come and enjoy the circus!!

If you like HK so much, then yes, CX and KA are prety much the best jobs out there.
I think a corporate jets company offers an even better salary and less work, but I don't know which one.

Just think about the next step though. Kids? Next job eventually? Retirement?

What about Vietnam? Less money but more savings. Bigger house, better lifestyle. But not as modern as HK of course.

just curious : how many hours a month do you guys average/mth or how many days off is the norm per mth ?
thx

I'm gonna quote the incoming president of the US of A.... "Wrong"

Not sure where you got your salary figures from, but there is a common jet salary. I.e. Your salary is not determined by your aircraft type. It is the same across the board. Some flying pay may make the actual rates different, depending on type flown. At the moment 777 crew are generally flying more and gettting overtime. Your quoted rates seem to be pretty high - Captains' rates in some cases.

The 14k allowance? Isn't it still 10k? That goes nowhere, whether single or (especially) if married with kids.

The stamp duty of 30% just kills any thought of buying other than a shoebox. Unless you're well off and happy to throw your money away. You really need to look at the future.

Any allowances you may get (pilots allowance, education etc) are fully taxed and only ever cover a proportion of the basic education fees if you get any. There are many extra and hidden costs. Getting school places can be a real deal breaker.

Do your homework and come over with your eyes wide open. Don't say you weren't warned.

14k allowance for FOs, 10k for SOs, 36k for senior CNs however your command won't come for 12 years. None of the numbers are indexed to inflation rate or any annual increment.

On top of that, you will be stuck at the bottom of FO seniority list until all the SOs are promoted, there are about 500 of them waiting for their upgrade. If you're "luckily" enough to get onto the bus then expect tons of regional flying through the night for few years before being put on the 350 longhull ops

Yes, everybody gets the same base salary but I would say (without checking them) these figures are incl. HDP and potential over time

777 - huge overtime (ATM)
330 - around 75hrs but should improve to get the rostered 84hrs in the near future
747 - barely hitting 50hrs due to lots of pxing and spending days in ANC

Why do jumbo guys keep turning up for work, 50hrs and all your time off in a foreign country, must have no family life. Good breeding for retiring into the simulator :ugh: