Cathay Pacific Cadet Pilot Programme
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This would be your answer
Fleet Info (CX) - FlyerGuide Wiki
I might post a debrief as well as I attended Stage 2 in Nov. But didnot pass through.
When I arrived in HK, I asked if I could talk to the pilots on board.
When I told them I was going for the Cadet Program both of their answers were:
"Well good luck, it will be really challenging living on those terms an conditions."
They told me that a lot of SO are living outside Hong-kong (Shenzen, Tawain and further more)
For the interview day we had :
Group exercise
Aptitude test
Interview
"Lunch"
Maths / Psy ttest
Flight planning
I will focus on the interview...
First the HR lady asked me questions about myself, my family.
Typical question : What do you parents think of you working in HK ?
Then we went on the technical part.
"What aircraft is this" showing the model on the table
Well a 777... not 300ER so wether a 300 or 200 version.
I could-not remember how to distinguish them (8 or 10 doors) but said the model looked quite long so I would go for the 300 version.
She (the captain) asked me to look at the engine to make a difference...
Well both 200 and 300 have RR engine.
"Tell me more"
Both are Trent 800 series
"Not Quite!"
Hmm... on my paper I had T800 for both of them, but didn't deem necessary to know the exact series...
Even when I admitted I didn't know the exact series she hask me to identify the engine...
It was kind of harsh.
Then we went on question regarding routes :
What is the longest route CX is flying?
HK-NY
How long is it ?
15h
You sure?
Yes, on the website it is said 15h30. (depending on the winds and wether you go HK-NY or NY-HK it might be quite different)
"Okey then go to the board" she told me, she always had a strange look and attitude, as she wasn't happy with anything I said (other people told me she was acting the same during their interview, so you need to don't mind)
How much fuel would we burn on the flight NY-HK ?
well 8 tons an hour, 15 hours, a gross 120 tons.
She asked me to write it, and then tell me what must we add to that to get the actual fuel we need to board.
-Taxi fuel
I said 2 tons as in NY taxi can be pretty long. "NO it's 1 Ton" she responded...
Okay... Then I wrote 1 ton...... (you're the captain after all...)
-Final Reserve, 45 min ? No, 30 min
Ok then 4 tons
-Alternate fuel
Let's make this 6 tons
And (as I'm french I couldn't spell it properly) but I said the "en-route reserve"
Answer : That's not a reserve... I answered back : Well it's 5% of what we consume during the route.
Ok, 5% that makes another 6 tons.
And now begin the first part:
Well as I am the captain (she said) and you are only the SO, I don't take your 6 tons, I take only 1 ton. How do you react?
So i went on, you can't, the rule is to take 5% so 6 tons
"But you know, I'm used to fly this route, 1 tons is okay, we never have to divert, nobody will notice"
Hmm no, we need to take what's on the blackboard.
"No, 5% is company policy she told me, 1% is okay for the reglementation"
We have to follow the company policy I told her.
She answered, anyway, I'm the captain, so I decide (smthg like that)
So I'm Off your plane madam....
That was kind of funny but not really....
Then we when on the Weather questions, what is the phenomenon we encounter in HK.
Describe me a typhoon.
If HK airport was close were shall we divert ? (wrong answer, I said somewhere in China, for example Guangzou (I thought about the airport where CX does the base trainings)
Not quite. As well, every time I answered something wrong, the interviewer was doing stange face and acting harsh... It was a bit annoying !
In fact she was thinking of Macau, and I was thinking of diverting because of a Typhoon....
At the end, she said something I didn't notice on that moment but there it is :
"If you want to re-apply you can ask the HR lady by mail..."
What a kind of interview...
I thought an interview would have always been a kind discussion between 2 aeronautic-enthousiasts (As it was for stage 1 eventhough the questions were tough as well)... Not Quite...
I assume I'm learning to grow older this way !
Anyway, good luck to anybody going to Stage2 soon...
Fleet Info (CX) - FlyerGuide Wiki
I might post a debrief as well as I attended Stage 2 in Nov. But didnot pass through.
When I arrived in HK, I asked if I could talk to the pilots on board.
When I told them I was going for the Cadet Program both of their answers were:
"Well good luck, it will be really challenging living on those terms an conditions."
They told me that a lot of SO are living outside Hong-kong (Shenzen, Tawain and further more)
For the interview day we had :
Group exercise
Aptitude test
Interview
"Lunch"
Maths / Psy ttest
Flight planning
I will focus on the interview...
First the HR lady asked me questions about myself, my family.
Typical question : What do you parents think of you working in HK ?
Then we went on the technical part.
"What aircraft is this" showing the model on the table
Well a 777... not 300ER so wether a 300 or 200 version.
I could-not remember how to distinguish them (8 or 10 doors) but said the model looked quite long so I would go for the 300 version.
She (the captain) asked me to look at the engine to make a difference...
Well both 200 and 300 have RR engine.
"Tell me more"
Both are Trent 800 series
"Not Quite!"
Hmm... on my paper I had T800 for both of them, but didn't deem necessary to know the exact series...
Even when I admitted I didn't know the exact series she hask me to identify the engine...
It was kind of harsh.
Then we went on question regarding routes :
What is the longest route CX is flying?
HK-NY
How long is it ?
15h
You sure?
Yes, on the website it is said 15h30. (depending on the winds and wether you go HK-NY or NY-HK it might be quite different)
"Okey then go to the board" she told me, she always had a strange look and attitude, as she wasn't happy with anything I said (other people told me she was acting the same during their interview, so you need to don't mind)
How much fuel would we burn on the flight NY-HK ?
well 8 tons an hour, 15 hours, a gross 120 tons.
She asked me to write it, and then tell me what must we add to that to get the actual fuel we need to board.
-Taxi fuel
I said 2 tons as in NY taxi can be pretty long. "NO it's 1 Ton" she responded...
Okay... Then I wrote 1 ton...... (you're the captain after all...)
-Final Reserve, 45 min ? No, 30 min
Ok then 4 tons
-Alternate fuel
Let's make this 6 tons
And (as I'm french I couldn't spell it properly) but I said the "en-route reserve"
Answer : That's not a reserve... I answered back : Well it's 5% of what we consume during the route.
Ok, 5% that makes another 6 tons.
And now begin the first part:
Well as I am the captain (she said) and you are only the SO, I don't take your 6 tons, I take only 1 ton. How do you react?
So i went on, you can't, the rule is to take 5% so 6 tons
"But you know, I'm used to fly this route, 1 tons is okay, we never have to divert, nobody will notice"
Hmm no, we need to take what's on the blackboard.
"No, 5% is company policy she told me, 1% is okay for the reglementation"
We have to follow the company policy I told her.
She answered, anyway, I'm the captain, so I decide (smthg like that)
So I'm Off your plane madam....
That was kind of funny but not really....
Then we when on the Weather questions, what is the phenomenon we encounter in HK.
Describe me a typhoon.
If HK airport was close were shall we divert ? (wrong answer, I said somewhere in China, for example Guangzou (I thought about the airport where CX does the base trainings)
Not quite. As well, every time I answered something wrong, the interviewer was doing stange face and acting harsh... It was a bit annoying !
In fact she was thinking of Macau, and I was thinking of diverting because of a Typhoon....
At the end, she said something I didn't notice on that moment but there it is :
"If you want to re-apply you can ask the HR lady by mail..."
What a kind of interview...
I thought an interview would have always been a kind discussion between 2 aeronautic-enthousiasts (As it was for stage 1 eventhough the questions were tough as well)... Not Quite...
I assume I'm learning to grow older this way !
Anyway, good luck to anybody going to Stage2 soon...
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Flight Timetable, Trip Planner - Cathay Pacific its a pdf file with all the timetables showing what aircraft they use to wherever.
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reference the above.......
5% CONTINGENCY is almost NEVER taken on such a long flight. 5% is required later in the flight towards the end. We have a minimum level that will be planned if needed. 1% would never be suggested so it is an unrealistic question.
5% CONTINGENCY is almost NEVER taken on such a long flight. 5% is required later in the flight towards the end. We have a minimum level that will be planned if needed. 1% would never be suggested so it is an unrealistic question.
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Chaz88z
If what you say is how the interview was conducted you need to write to the recruitment department detailing your experience, I would also suggest getting in touch with others who had the same experience if you have their contact details and urging them to do the same. There would have been an HR person in the room also I expect and they will be thinking along the same lines but may not bring it up but would be asked about it if people explain the situation you encountered.
Sounds strange to me. Min contingency is 5% from overhead or abeam the last en route alternate on a ULH flight. Macau as an alternate in a typhoon???????? You can sometimes see Macau from HKG airport, Taipei or Manila are more likely. China is a sensible answer in an interview. This is all stuff you should not be expected to know. Saying 2 tonnes for taxi is also a good answer as it shows you are aware the taxi in JFK can be long and you are from Europe so have obviously done a lot of research. Fuel questions are in regards to company policy which to be honest you should not know as it is not meant to be publicly available, you gave good answers and these are things you get asked on line checks as an SO, how much fuel do we need, explain contingency, how much is the min fuel from so and so to continue to destination? I am sorry you encountered such a
but to be honest those volunteering to conduct the interviews at present may be that sort of person.
Seriously out of order, this Captain should not only be removed from doing interviews she should not be in charge of an aircraft.
Come to think of it interviews are all filmed I believe, you need to let them know as for a cadet applicant your answers are all sound.
If what you say is how the interview was conducted you need to write to the recruitment department detailing your experience, I would also suggest getting in touch with others who had the same experience if you have their contact details and urging them to do the same. There would have been an HR person in the room also I expect and they will be thinking along the same lines but may not bring it up but would be asked about it if people explain the situation you encountered.
Sounds strange to me. Min contingency is 5% from overhead or abeam the last en route alternate on a ULH flight. Macau as an alternate in a typhoon???????? You can sometimes see Macau from HKG airport, Taipei or Manila are more likely. China is a sensible answer in an interview. This is all stuff you should not be expected to know. Saying 2 tonnes for taxi is also a good answer as it shows you are aware the taxi in JFK can be long and you are from Europe so have obviously done a lot of research. Fuel questions are in regards to company policy which to be honest you should not know as it is not meant to be publicly available, you gave good answers and these are things you get asked on line checks as an SO, how much fuel do we need, explain contingency, how much is the min fuel from so and so to continue to destination? I am sorry you encountered such a
but to be honest those volunteering to conduct the interviews at present may be that sort of person.Seriously out of order, this Captain should not only be removed from doing interviews she should not be in charge of an aircraft.
Come to think of it interviews are all filmed I believe, you need to let them know as for a cadet applicant your answers are all sound.
Last edited by SloppyJoe; 17th Dec 2010 at 14:20.
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Another question that seems to pop up is what countries does the Transpolar route from HKG - JFK go through have plotted the great circle track and can only really see it goes through China, Russia, near mongolia and korea, goes close to the north pole then through Canada and to the US am I correct? 
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Also just wondered if anyone knows whether being a smoker rules you out for the CX programme? Just thinking if anyone has gone through the medical part and said they smoked and still been allowed to continue through?
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chaz
i had the same interviewer.. she was trying to put you under pressure. from your post it seems like you didn't handle it very well.even if your answer was completely correct she will still question it. pretty standard interviewing technique. regarding the fuel situation, her attitude to the situation was because she wanted to see how you would respond to a captain making a bad decision.. she wasn't "just being harsh". the engine question you had was also one you should have known straight away. in every post on pprune with past interview questions it says "know how to identify all aircraft types, engines, mtow, range, ceiling etc". The fact that you couldn't answer such a basic and expected question probably showed her straight away that you didn't know your stuff or were under prepared . sorry mate but she ran a standard interview and you failed. i had her for stage 2, and while she was quite tough and intimidating, it was a good experience because i was actually prepared
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Yeah mtcaust,
I am not at all saying I was the best and perfectly prepared and should have been taken.
But it was really unexpected to have such an attitude from an interviewer... (Whether it was from CX or another company)
That was my point of view before going to the interview.
As it is a Cadet programme, the people that you are interviewing do not have a full ATPL and line experience. It seems that yes, she was puttin me to the limit. But I never got the impression I got a single answer RIGHT....
It might be so disappointing to me because of my stage 1 interview experience which went very smoothly and was very kind, even if I had tough questions, and even questions I couldn't answer...
I will not complain to CX as it must be a way of interviewing (There is the HR lady in the room, and I assume she has her word to say if anything goes wrong)
It is just more like a warning to other people, that the interview can be very tough !
Anyway, I asked for feedbacks from CX... It was refused... So i'll never know why i didn't pass.... (Maybe it was the personality test
)
I am not at all saying I was the best and perfectly prepared and should have been taken.
But it was really unexpected to have such an attitude from an interviewer... (Whether it was from CX or another company)
That was my point of view before going to the interview.
As it is a Cadet programme, the people that you are interviewing do not have a full ATPL and line experience. It seems that yes, she was puttin me to the limit. But I never got the impression I got a single answer RIGHT....
It might be so disappointing to me because of my stage 1 interview experience which went very smoothly and was very kind, even if I had tough questions, and even questions I couldn't answer...
I will not complain to CX as it must be a way of interviewing (There is the HR lady in the room, and I assume she has her word to say if anything goes wrong)
It is just more like a warning to other people, that the interview can be very tough !
Anyway, I asked for feedbacks from CX... It was refused... So i'll never know why i didn't pass.... (Maybe it was the personality test
)
chaz88z
I suggest you harden up sunshine. You have just experienced the “Good Cop/Bad Cop” interview. It is a very common interview technique. You may not have liked it but it is designed to push you to the limit to see how you handle yourself under pressure. We don’t want to see some parrot telling us the answers to questions they have learnt verbatim. Anyone can do that. We want people that can handle themselves when under considerable pressure. You were clearly ill prepared. Next time, if there is a next time, I suggest you do a little more research on interview techniques and practice them.
I suggest you harden up sunshine. You have just experienced the “Good Cop/Bad Cop” interview. It is a very common interview technique. You may not have liked it but it is designed to push you to the limit to see how you handle yourself under pressure. We don’t want to see some parrot telling us the answers to questions they have learnt verbatim. Anyone can do that. We want people that can handle themselves when under considerable pressure. You were clearly ill prepared. Next time, if there is a next time, I suggest you do a little more research on interview techniques and practice them.
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I think you guys are being harsh. Chaz's replies to the questions and his attitude didn't seem to be as terrible as you seem to think. All I could gather was that he was telling us how his interview was intense and unexpected. How exactly could he have done better? Tell the interviewer to go themselves when they challenged his responses? Cower in the foetal position? Seems he kept himself composed and answered the questions as best he could.
themselves when they challenged his responses? Cower in the foetal position? Seems he kept himself composed and answered the questions as best he could.
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Hi,
I'm just about to finish my application and I'm kind of struggling with the question:
"What experience have you gained which may assist you as a pilot?"
I think that is quite a difficult question for somebody who has just left school, begun their university studies and has basically no work-experience whatsoever...
I mean there would only be the possibility to refer to my school days, experiences I gained in sports or private life. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it would be way more suitable to answer that question with experiences from a professional life (which I can't offer for sure...)
I would be glad if someone in the same situation could share some thoughts or give a hint what you think might be the best way to answer that question.
Thanks a lot
I'm just about to finish my application and I'm kind of struggling with the question:
"What experience have you gained which may assist you as a pilot?"
I think that is quite a difficult question for somebody who has just left school, begun their university studies and has basically no work-experience whatsoever...
I mean there would only be the possibility to refer to my school days, experiences I gained in sports or private life. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think it would be way more suitable to answer that question with experiences from a professional life (which I can't offer for sure...)
I would be glad if someone in the same situation could share some thoughts or give a hint what you think might be the best way to answer that question.
Thanks a lot
suntorytimo
The point is nothing should be unexpected in an interview and if it is then you haven’t prepared enough. CX is going to spend a considerable amount of money training you from scratch. The last thing they want is after having selected someone they flake out at their first hard check. This isn’t an interview for MacDonald’s and people should realise that.
Preparation.
Your sarcastic response suggests to me you have no idea how to answer an interview question, especially one you don’t know the answer to.
Obviously he didn't otherwise we wouldn't be here discussing it.
The point is nothing should be unexpected in an interview and if it is then you haven’t prepared enough. CX is going to spend a considerable amount of money training you from scratch. The last thing they want is after having selected someone they flake out at their first hard check. This isn’t an interview for MacDonald’s and people should realise that.
How exactly could he have done better?
Tell the interviewer to go themselves when they challenged his responses? Cower in the foetal position?
Seems he kept himself composed and answered the questions as best he could.
TFFP
The question isn’t asking for work experience. It is asking you have you done anything in you life that would be a benefit to you as a pilot. If you haven’t it is probably an indication that you don’t have a passion for this industry. I’m sorry to be blunt but if you have to think about this question then I have to question your motives and the recruitment department will probably do the same.
I'm just about to finish my application and I'm kind of struggling with the question:
"What experience have you gained which may assist you as a pilot?"
"What experience have you gained which may assist you as a pilot?"
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Stage 2-3
Guys, first of all thank you all very much for your precious input.
My wait is over~~~~
Stage 2 on 20th Jan in HK, guys with more or less the same date please pm if you guys wanna do some pre stage 2 preparation/collaboration. cheers.
will report back with the latest Stage 2 drill "next year"
good luck and thank you
My wait is over~~~~
Stage 2 on 20th Jan in HK, guys with more or less the same date please pm if you guys wanna do some pre stage 2 preparation/collaboration. cheers.
will report back with the latest Stage 2 drill "next year"
good luck and thank you
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I would like to add my 2 cents worth.
Don't be fooled by Corporate speak 404.... They actually make a lot of money training cadets and it costs them ZIP.
The interviewers are going to use harsh techniques as my colleague 404 Titan said, due to the fact that they want committed people who will not just jump ship, when they learn that Hong Kong is far too expensive to live without any expat allowances. They want balls. Show some.
CX is going to spend a considerable amount of money training you from scratch.
The interviewers are going to use harsh techniques as my colleague 404 Titan said, due to the fact that they want committed people who will not just jump ship, when they learn that Hong Kong is far too expensive to live without any expat allowances. They want balls. Show some.
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i dont think you can judge a person's commitment by asking them such questions. its not so right to ask question of a DESO standard for a cadet position. im thinking they might be asking too much from a 0 or limited flying hr interviewee.
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dagger, truth is they have A LOT of applicants with hundreds of hours lining up for the cadet course, and as a business organization they would liek to get the best equiped candidates, and rightly so, as long as they can afford to employ the "high"(in quotation due to subjectiveness, not sarcasm) standard and still fill enough of the "vacancies"
for applicants with no hours at all like myself, we'll just need up our game and try to impress, no point whining
for applicants with no hours at all like myself, we'll just need up our game and try to impress, no point whining