I would guess that your experience will become competitive and "employable" around 6-7 years after joining Cathay as an S/O. Add a year to that for your cadet training and it will become 8. The 6-7 years comprises around 5 years as a S/O and then 1 year as JF/O and 1 year as F/O. With the retirement age being pushed up to 65, there might not be a lot of movement in the seniority ladder, hence the bleak outlook. Look on the Fragrant Harbour forum for more pointers.

4-5 classes each year, with an average of about 11 to 12 cadets per class.

Jfo/fo/sfo
 

are there any differences in job duties between the three different types of F/O's?

No, they all do the same thing. Some of the more experienced F/Os are Relief Qualified and are allowed to act as commander while the CN is sleeping in his bunk.

Vancouver
 

Hmm... I guess its good to see that I am not the only one waiting for a repsonse

Thanks for reply

So, the key is patience, patience and patience!!

Hello everyone,

I have my Stage 1b on the 25th of this month in HK.
I was wondering from where I should study? Is the JKI booklet enough?

Can someone tell me how the interview is and how deep does the interviewer go while asking technical questions?

Borismj

RE: Interview 30th June
 

Hi Imam,
Can you give an indication when you submitted your application? May be this will indicate lag time for interviews.
Many thanks,
Sam

sam

i don't think there is a set time from applic to interview as such. i submitted my application in july last year-had a couple of emails off them but having heard not a thing for a while i emailed them last month and haven't had a reply. has anybody else found recently that they have stopped replying to emails?.........(or just to me :}!!!!!!)

@Borismj,

Just go through this thread from the very first page and it has all the key information pertaining to the interviews. Just go with an open mind.

It'll be very kind of you if you share your Stage I interview with all the other ppruners. All the best.

THE_WING

A quick reply to a couple of earlier questions/comments:

S/O's are not required on flights over 8hrs. Any crew complement that meets the legal requirements will suffice. Many long-haul flights are, for example, crewed with 2 F/O's and 2 Cpt's, or 3 F/O's (one of whom must be 'RQ' relief qualified) and 1 Cpt.

S/O's are (not meaning this in any negative way!):
- a way for the company to hire crew for less money (initially, at least)
- a way for the company to hire crew with less experience (ie cadet program, where they don't meet the regulatory requirements for F/O licensing)
The two are intertwined of course, as less experience = less money

There is a training bond of 7yrs applied to the Cadet Pilots. The company expects a minimum of 7yrs productive work from you in exchange for their substantial investment in your training. Of course they gain from this arrangement also - see above comment on less money.

That is all good. However in typical Cathay 4-crew complements, don't the RQ and S/O act as the relief pilots? After all, why would the company roster an F/O for relief work when an S/O can easily do it in his place, freeing the F/O up to operate other flights? Otherwise what is the point of employing S/Os? Just a thought...

As far as I have researched, the bond does not legally bind you to Cathay for the said time.

HTBJ is too technical for cadet pilot interviews, it's more like Direct Entry material! FTBJ by Stanley Stewart would be much more appropriate.

I'm half way through Flying the Big Jets right now and who cares if it'll help me... it's a really interesting read!

Thanks for the reply Holdmetight and flyhiigh!

Holdmetight: I submitted my application in November. I sent a first email two weeks ago and haven't received anything yet (Not even, an automatic reply).

Sam: No, you are not the only one. I sent an email two weeks ago and haven't received a thing!

But it's only the first stage email after all, there still a long way to go! That's why I am not worry at all at this time!

Stage 2 Aptitude test
 

Something i want to make sure is about the Stage 2 aptitude test, this is not the same aptitude test we did in Stage 1 right? (for those who did it in HK)

Thanks!

khammy87
 

You get it in your email with your Stage 1 confirmation as a PDF attachment. I can send it to you if you PM me your email address.

Hi sam

I actually apply in November. But they ask me to go into HK for an interview. I haven't had time to go in until late June. I receive an email confirmation around March (when I have even forgot that I applied)

But i have a question for everyone.

my format of interview seems different from the ones i been searching online. I don't have an presentation to give. Also the email confirmation I got said that my interview will be from 9-5. I added the hours, and it only comes to a 4 hour interview. Why do we need the whole day?

thanks!

Hi everyone, I've been following this thread for some time and was wondering if someone can answer my questions about the CPP:

1) I will be graduating college in April 2011, should I apply after I graduate or 2-3 months before since many people don't hear back for a long time? I also hope to do it earlier is because if I do not get an interview, or fail the interview, I can quickly go back to my other options/school.

2) I live in Toronto so the obvious choice is to choose Toronto & Hong Kong as interview locations. However, it seems like Vancouver gets chosen more often so should I choose Vancouver instead of Toronto?

3) I am nearsighted (over 200 degrees) and wear glasses/contacts, will that affect any decision to my application?

*as a side note, I have HK permanent ID and some experience from the Canadian Army, will those factors increase my chances of being chosen for an interview?

Thanks

Hey everyone,

just a quick question to previous cadets or employees: If/when you pass the flight-grading and you are accepted into the CPP does this mean that you will definitely have a job at CX when you finish the course, or do they take the best x-amount of cadets?
In other words is there a chance of finishing the CPP and ending up not working for CX?

Your help is appreciated! :ok:

RE 9-5
 

Hi Iman,
Thanks for your quick reply. So it is about a 6 month turnaround by the sound of it.
I suspect that 9-5 timetable given interview is because of short interviews for individual candidates at the screening, includes lunch, breaks etc.
Sam