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Is Cathay worth it?

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Old 23rd Nov 2008, 10:31
  #21 (permalink)  
 
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CX Management.

Wasn't there a very nasty episode of the attempted "bottling" of a peanut thrower, by a CX management individual?

Any truth the peanut thrower lost his job, while stings (apron) were pulled and the bottling incident swept under the carpet?
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Old 24th Nov 2008, 09:07
  #22 (permalink)  
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Angry Why you might not want to ever join

So you join an airline and put up with all the diffiicult and hostile training environment (read my latest post). You then want to upgrade or after some time on freighter, move onto pax fleet. The company tells you that you are ready for captain but then hires off the street while you stay in the right seat. Now with the downturn it will be years. Think of all the income and 15.5% and allowances it has cost you. Then they hire Direct Entry FO's on the bases while you are stuck on the freighter on freighter terms and conditions. Then as they say we are running out of money and no 13th month they have to pay off collusion charges. On friday they mention corporate code of conduct which is downright hypocricy. Mate this place is awful to work for. It has been for very many years and it has and is getting worse. So many different terms and conditions. Fights now starting to errupt in the cockpits between DEFO's and the current or older CX pilot's. These are not my opinons these are current issues as of today. NO IT IS NOT AT ALL WORTH IT!
 
Old 17th Nov 2009, 08:40
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When those type of people make it to a managerial position they like to put other people down to make themselves feel better about their short comings.
I wouldn´t even have a problem if they where just fellow F/O´s. but if they are Captains, Training Captains, Check airmen, sim instructors etc, I fear that I might end up bitch slapping one of these guys and that won´t be good
Haha that would be good!!

As I have experienced every company has them though (Need bitch slapping more often I think)
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Old 25th Nov 2009, 09:27
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Now I haven't gotten in any fights per se in the cockpit. I may have administered an ass whippin' or two but it was hardly a fight. (obviously sarcasm)

I'm your regular old run of the mill Yank and I have found it to be just like anywhere else really. Great guys to fly with and the occasional jerk who may speak several forms of English that aren't the one you speak. I've also found that standing up for yourself works wonders if the bullies decide to go for ya. So far I haven't had any problems and 99.9% of the guys I have flown with have been great. Do I piss and moan every once in a while? Sure I do, we all do but I get over it quick. I've found having a good attitude and a good sense of humor work wonders. Sometimes it is just a simple misunderstanding due to where you grew up. I mean c'mon "Smoking a Fag" could get you the death penalty in Texas

The best part is, I get gobs of time off so I have a lot of time to forget about the whole business. I guess it doesn't hurt that I was told I apparently look like a bouncer/security guy when wandering around on the layover. Keeps the expectations low for me.

Last edited by rjmore; 25th Nov 2009 at 22:11.
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Old 26th Nov 2009, 12:41
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I mean c'mon "Smoking a Fag" could get you the death penalty in Texas

Absolutely hilarious

You have a good point about being positive and having a good sense of humor. Sure does go a long way to a better personal QOL. IfI remember correctly there is an airline assessment question that asks "Do you always feel that someone is out to get you?" and it seems to me this is where they're trying to figure out how well you'll mesh with everybody else.
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Old 26th Nov 2009, 17:08
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That question isn't quite about working well with others.
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Old 26th Nov 2009, 17:28
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What is wrong with Flexi_Time's English? His post looks fine to me.....

Are they any women working for CX? I am wondering how a woman pilot is being treated at CX. Is there discrimination, belittling, etc? Can anyone give me some idea?


Thanks
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Old 27th Nov 2009, 11:03
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jowong,

In any job and in any industry sector, you will always get the odd Big D!ck who thinks its right to belittle women and take the p1ss out of them. Thankfully, I have seen very very little of this in CX.
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Old 27th Nov 2009, 13:06
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Many were ex-FA so they certainly know how to take care of themselves. And they know how to make a bed in the morning ...

Anyway as I was saying, female pilots are treated with respect here.
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Old 29th Nov 2009, 04:10
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There are 2463 pilots in CX; within any group of people you will always have a very small percentage of people who are always bitter and twisted… CX is no exception; it has its small percentage of wankers who seems to spend all there time on pprune.

I haven’t posted on pprune before but I feel obligated to lets the wannabes know that most pilots in CX are very happy and realize they are on one of the best deals in the world. If you listen to the unhappy few, who will be unhappy wherever they go, you will be missing one of the greatest opportunities of your life.

Some CX facts:

1. I spend heaps of time at home with my family, at least 17-18 days off per month plus holidays.
2. My family has traveled the world over many times.
3. Great lifestyle in HK, great place to raise kids.
4. CX pay my mortgage ($8000AUD per month approx)
5. CX pay for my 3 kids to go to private schools ($4500 AUD per month)
6. CX pay me **** loads of money (total package well over $30,000 AUD per month) all at 15% tax.


Am I happy at CX…. What do you think? It doesn’t get any better.

B scale B744 CN (Cos08)
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Old 29th Nov 2009, 06:32
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the numbers are inflated and misleading. It would take you 20 years to get near halffull's position ,and it is more than unsure that the conditions will then still be the same ( given the constant erosion of our conditions of service). Also he forgot to tell you, that on all the other fleets you are nowhere near 18 off days, it is more likely to be around 10-12/ month. Also many 400 pilots do fly quite a lot of freight now, which messes up the roster completely.Only the very senior 400 captains do fly mostly long haul pax, but this is for sure a thing of the past. Most probably CX will end up with a pure -400 freighter fleet within the next 5 years anyway, the roster will then be quite unpleasant. Pax service will be 330/350 and 777,so basically always mixed ops with more working days and much less off days.

Last edited by sisyphos; 30th Nov 2009 at 12:58.
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Old 29th Nov 2009, 12:44
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wankers paradise

sisyphos = w*n*e* ????
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Old 29th Nov 2009, 13:43
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LOL. Look at Firesysok's location:

"zone of the alienation". That says it all for him.

Alienation may refer to:I think for him, it was the last definition. Too bad for him he is now a pasty faced weak pilot who resorts to petty bullying on Pprune to get his kicks.

Cathay is not perfect, but its a decent job. To hell with the idiots. The way I see it, the main point to consider is if you will be able to move around a bit. Especially in the beginning. Second, your not going to make as much money as others might allude to. Some other posters above have spent many years to get what they are getting. To get that you have to be a Hong Kong based Captain on the passenger fleet. That will take you 10-15 years minimum. I will go out on a limb here and say that you will probably make on average 60-80k USD to start, be based somewhere other than Hong Kong for your first 5 years and will pay tax where you are based or living. Count on 40%. The upside is that there is progression (albeit slow), and a solid career job.

English.... well yes you would need to polish your writing with any application correspondence. I admit Im not an English prof, but you should be able to communicate effectively. However, this is a loose forum and therefore who cares. Just make sure when you apply and write letters and such that you run them through a spell check and maybe your friends for proof. Once your in, your in. This is not a desk job where you have to write legal documents. You fill in the Tech Log and paperwork and such that a monkey could do.

Just because English wasn't your first language does not make you unacceptable to Cathay.

Another word about your last interview. In my view the Cathay interview process is entirely dynamic. That means there is a great amount of luck involved. The more you prepare, the more you mitigate the risks, but the law of averages will always rule. You could put the same guy through the interview 5 times with different people testing, and I guarantee he will fail once. So does it mean that if you passed the "standard" the first time and not the next that you no longer meet the standard? No. It just mean its a moving target and both parties do their best to make it fair. But thats where it ends. Give it another gentleman's try. You have nothing to lose. Just be serious about it.

When I went through, there were a couple of blokes that didn't get hire that in my mind should have, and a couple that should have that did. I saw from the inside, but HR could only see a snapshop from the outside.I have many a friend who are now very successful Captain's now at other equally prestigious companies that didn't make the bollocks "Cathay grade". Basically, the huge amount of resources and $$ spent on the assesment is a big waste of time and money. It could be done much easier and more efficiently.
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Old 30th Nov 2009, 12:52
  #34 (permalink)  
 
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blackbird, are you aware that with your ethnic background a future employment with CX is very unlikely?
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Old 30th Nov 2009, 15:42
  #35 (permalink)  
 
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zone of the alienation?

Zone of Alienation. Look it up. I've been irradiated for many years now in the cockpit so I might as well be in The Zone with the albino swallows.
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Old 1st Dec 2009, 04:19
  #36 (permalink)  
 
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stop being a f***ing racist!!!

If there are people like you in Cathay Pacific's flight crew recruitment team then it will be a problem for me...
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Old 1st Dec 2009, 08:11
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Pretty scary bunch uh..?
If I may suggest find out who seems to be a bit more sober on his judgment and contact him by PM, no point entering the furball, here you are getting a lot of extreme views I guess.
There is some truth and but also some bitterness in this thread.
I am not saying anything more, those forums are populated by an incredible number of grammar scholars and English is not my first language and 7 lines...is getting unsafe...but I am not American so I would expect a bit of lenience (they say it's not their language either LOL)
Good luck
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Old 1st Dec 2009, 09:44
  #38 (permalink)  
 
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blackbird, you don't understand. Since you like CX so much apparently I just wanted to tell you the truth about their recruitment policy. I never said I would agree with it.
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Old 1st Dec 2009, 22:39
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no offence but you sound like you are depressed.
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