Aviator1988, there is a very detailed desciption posted by HMT about 10 pages back that will expalin all about the aptitude test.

Hey all, I have the first stage tomorow. The cadet program sounds perfect for an aspiring pilot. I am just feeling a bit of cold feet because Qantas is such an awesome aussie airline and I do love being australian. Could anyone comment on which they believe is a better career line for a pilot, whether it be through this cadetship, with the aspiration of one day being based back at home and a fulfilling career with CX, or whether it be doing the hard yards as an aussie instructor with a slim hope of getting a call from qantas years down the track. Its not that I am not motivated for CX, I have spoken to many people about it and they all think I should go for it and I want to. i just think i should think about all aspects first before commiting myself to at least 4 years in HK as a S0 not even flying the plane. Who knows, I may even end up living in HK for the rest of my life and loving it. I want honest answers, cheers

coobg002
 

@coobg002:

The CX cadetship is certainly a great opportunity, however I think you must be 100% certain that it is for you before you go for your interview. It takes a lot of time and commitment to get through the various assessment phases and I'm very certain one of the questions you will be asked is "Why do you want to fly for Cathay and not Qantas?".

As for which path is the better career option? That really just depends on the individual I think. I am sure you've already done lots of homework for your interview but I have a bit of info on my blog which may be useful, feel free to check it out.

Goodluck either way!

Advanced Flight Grading
 

How many days is one expected to stay in Adelaide for Advanced Flight Grading (3 Grob flights + 3 sim flights + briefings/weather contingency)?

Thanks in advance. :ok:

coobg002
 

Just to add to what CXGE90 said, it's all about what you want out of your career as a pilot. The CX CPP is a very good opportunity to get trained to a high standard, and be part of a great team. If i'm correct you are based in Adelaide Australia?, maybe one day you can move back and be based there as a F/O on the A330. Be sure to know what you want! They will not take a cadet who could possibly dropout in the near future due to cold feet etc. And as for sacrifices, yeah a few to be made but I hear most S/Os for CX at the moment are enjoying life, it's what it's all about in the end, no one wants to be a miserable pilot.

All the best! :ok:

holdmetight
 

holdmetight, there was an excellent post by holdmetight about advanced flight grading... haha roughly one week?

http://www.pprune.org/fragrant-harbo...t-grading.html

Post number 3, hope it helps and is still accurate!

Good luck in flight grading! :ok:

Em773ER
 

Haha well apart from the fact that the simulator sessions are now done on the DA42 sim (as the B200 sim is U/S), otherwise it should still be pretty much the same as before. The one week I quoted does not include weather contingency, it is only for the exercises and probably a briefing or two. :D

I was just looking for an approximate number of days that the grading will take - I need to send in a request for leave from my employers. When recruitment called me to invite me to flight grading, I was told the entire process would take 2 weeks; but judging from the experiences of friends who have done advanced grading, it takes a total of 10 days from start to finish, including all days for introduction, briefing, and weather contingencies. Due to circumstances I would like to take as little leave as possible, so I was wondering if someone could confirm the 10 day itinerary. :ok:

holdmetight
 

I know some of the people I met from Stage 2 had their Flight Grading for 2 full weeks back in July.

AsL402
 

Thanks for the reply. Did they all do advanced grading?

Stage 1 interview
 

Dear all, I have the stage 1 interview on 21th Oct. Arriving in HK wed morning. Will be at Silvermine Beach. Anyone else for that date and stage?
If you want to get in touch, let me know.

holdmetight
 

So sorry about that, I didn't read clearly enough that you were asking about Advanced Flight Grading. I was referring to the Basic Flight Grading :ugh: Don't know what I was thinking.

Guys and Gals,

Stop worrying about all this minutiae!!! Start looking at the big picture and read the wise post, "Why I knocked back Cathay". He is spot on and his post needs to be read by all of you. It is 100% accurate. Just look at all the current Cathay pilots, myself included, whom are applauding...

Take off the rose-colored glasses and drink a cup of reality...

CXorcist

holdmetight:

Advanced flight grading took me 8 days - so 10 days should be sufficient.

Goodluck!

There seems to be a whole heap of negative feedback about the CX Cadetship (ie. low income, hardly enough to survive, crappy pollution, crappy hours, etc).

Is there anyone out there that is a foreigner who has completed the cadetship, and is now living in Hong Kong? What are the conditions like? It would be good to hear from someone who is actually experiencing it all, especially an international who doesn't have financial help with housing.

The first group of "accelerated course" S/O's are about arrive in HKG any day now.

How long do they generally take to invite a candidate for the first stage? If I apply online today, how long would they take to let me know whether I qualified for first stage assessments or not?
Has anyone read anything about a monthly stipend to be given to the cadets in this programme?

AsL402

No worries, thanks for your reply. Hope all is well with you! ;)

CXGE90

Thanks for replying, do you recall the recruitment personnel saying anything about how many days to expect for advanced flight grading? I'm pretty much comfortable with the 10 day timeframe now, was just wondering what the official word is. :ok:

Rayaan

After submitting my online application, I waited for 6 months before they e-mailed me with an invitation for Stage 1. As for stipends, I think it is something around AUD400 per month?

$105/week i believe

holdmetight:

They told us to expect to be in ADL for 2 weeks. You can leave whenever you're done of course.

CXGE90
 

Thanks for that! :ok:

Someone please let me know how many batches per year do they recruit for this course? Do they recruit once a year? twice a year? Those who have been invited to flight grading most recently, when did you guys apply? I applied today so which batch will I be considered for, some batch next year or there maybe a chance this year as well?

What is the best recruiting email to use? I have used the cadetpilot one before but unlike most people seem to never get a reply when sending in updated CV's.

@Rayaan: After applying it can take a very long time before you'll get an invitation mail. The lucky ones only have to wait 3-4 months, the most unfortunate people - and there are a lot - have to wait more then a year to get an invitation mail. That is, IF they get one. Not all people are invited to come and do the selection tests. However, I do believe that even if you will not be invited, you'll get a mail saying that you are not shortlisted for the tests.

How much batches per year, I do not know, maybe somebody else can tell. As the year is almost over, and it will certainly take a couple months or even a year before you'll get an invitation, you can be sure of one thing, starting a course this year, will not happen.

Blue skies, tailwinds, happy landings,

NFAM

From observation courses are starting up every 2 months, so I'd say 6 batches a year?

I applied in mid-December, 2009.

As far as I know the cadetpilot one is the only official recruitment e-mail, unless you happen to know the personal e-mails of the staff. I'd advise you to stick to the official e-mail, even if you never get a reply. You can't go wrong if you use the official one.

Yeh cheers guys, cold feet isnt probably the best term but I really liked your answers. I guess I just dont believe anyone can be 100% sure they want to be a cadet no matter how much they love aviation. How does someone seriously know they want to live in HK for 4 years without even going there first. Thats why Im going there for a week and staying with a mate to check it out. Then I can trully see what I would be getting myself into. Also, I think that the people should be asking the current cadets also about how they like their position. More information is better than just information on how to wing the recruitment process, hence my question about the value of a career as a Qantas pilot. I still think Cathay is the absolute best option for me, even over Qantas and especially the other Aussie airlines but anyone who has even more information eg current captains or second officers or anyone who knows people who work for CX could you give any information on the cadetship, positive or negative. Ive got a lot of positive which is excellent but a few negative comments may make it all a bit more believable.

They don't. Point is the alternative options for most folks are no more attractive.

I've read all the negative points on life at CX on other threads. The P2X rating and cost of living are valid points, but I work for a major UK carrier and have heard it all before.

Most major carriers are going down the same cost-cutting route. CX are no better or worse than anyone else....if people decide to turn down CX fair enough, but most will be very disappointed when they find out that airline XYZ is up to the same tricks to get their costs down ...

CX don't bond you but give you a P2X rating. European carriers that DO pay for a *portion* of your training bond you for several years ... and that's just ONE example. Of course, they want their money's worth from you either way ...The only thing CX can't stop you from doing is leaving once you have enough P2 time ... but then again, all airlines terms will be similar, it's just a case of being homesick.

CX is also banking on the fact that once you've spent 5-6yrs (4yrs as S/O P2X) in CX and finally got some useful P1U/S and P2 time, you've gone far enough up the seniority list that you stay rather than start at the bottom at QF as an S/O. Plus you still have no P1 CMD time other than the 50hrs you did during your CPL. Makes getting a job that requires CMD time difficult, so guess what the brass handcuffs stay on and you don't leave.

Used to be gold handcuffs........... How times have changed!

Just a question for the international cadets that were invited to stage 2... Were you allowed to fly up to hong kong whenever you liked? Like a week before the interview to check it out? I know Cathay will only pay for the hotel while you are interviewing, but I thought it would be a good chance to check out the city. Do they just FedEx you an open ticket?

Hey to newzealand787,

I asked them that on thurs when I did my interview, they said they would pay for the air fare to HK a week earlier if I made it to 2nd stage. Pretty nice of em

CX routes
 

Hey everyone, i've always thought all CX routes are to and from HK, excluding flights like adelaide to melbourne, is this the case?, from the system timetable it shows flights like auckland to amsterdam etc, do CX really operate these kinds of routes?

Thanks in advance!:ok:

Auckland to Amsterdam = Auckland to Hong Kong & Hong Kong to Amsterdam

Who says you have to live in Hong Kong for 4 years? What happens after 4 years? You'll still be an S/O if you've managed to survive that long, and even after you're promoted, there's no chance of getting a basing in your home country. So, it's gonna be a lot longer than 4 years. HK is a great place, but only for those who can afford to enjoy it.

Hong Kong
 

Hey All,

It's amazing to see the number of people applying to this program and even more amazing to see the support everyone is lending to one another to help. I thought I would throw in my two cents with regards to living in Hong Kong and hope to offer some honest information and insight into life in Hong Kong so that everyone can find the right motivation for joining this program. Since, throughout stages 1 to 3, the interviewers have honestly wanted to make sure that we as expats signing up for this cadetship knew what we were getting ourselves into.

Having lived primarily in a small town north of Hong Kong (in mainland China) and Toronto all my life, I may be able to provide some insight with comparisons to people looking to make the move to Hong Kong. If there are anybody here who is from HK that finds that my information is inaccurate, please correct me.

Of course the first thing to consider in any move is whether or not you could support yourself in HK, and consider whether this is enough to cover your basic needs - first, and wants - second.

First of all - Food. Since Hong Kong itself does not have a large agriculture industry almost all produce are imported from China. This should be apparent enough that buying groceries in Hong Kong is generally more expensive than most major cities in Canada, US, and Australia , but definitely less than that of the UK.
One thing worth noting is that there is a substantial difference of cattle, as all of HK's cattle products are all imported. I thought I'd make this note, since, afterall, being able to have the foods we are used to and not does go a long way in affecting the comfort of an expat who is not accustomed the local foods.
Which means that candidates particularly from Canada and the US should expect only the pasteurized milk, and not the fresh milk that they are used to. Other beef products such as steaks are available.

Furthermore to food is that there is almost food of every variety and from almost all cultures of the world ranging from Indian, south & north Chinese, Korean, japanese, north american, many different european and southeast asian cuisines. However, like any non local food they will be slightly 'offset' to suit the local populice. Like any other major city, it all depends on where you go and what you order, but generally the prices are comparible to that of restaurants in Toronto.
In the best scenario, one can find many 茶餐厅 (cha can ting) or cafe houses that serve lunch and dinner of local HK dishes with a HUGE variety of stir fry, baked or 'in soup' meals for very cheap prices. to illustrate this, you can usually have a complete meal (with full servings of vegetables, rice, and meat) such as a wonton noodle soup, pork chop baked rice for about $22 HK ($2.75 USD).
It is difficult to say how much the cost would be for an individual, since it depends so much on what the individual's tastes are. But for myself to maintain a healthy weekly diet, I would average approximately $700-800 HKD per week, taking into account the odd time going out to eat, avoiding expensive seafoods (like lobsters) or imported premium beef, lots of colour and green vegetables like tomatoes, brocolli, lettuce, bak choy and other chinese vegetables.

On a second officer salary, it is definitely realistic to eat a healthy diet and be able to enjoy eating out with friends, but definitely unrealistic to expect to be able to eat half your meals at a foreign cuisine or premium restaurant.

Next is Housing, the honest truth is that it is impossible to to compare the price of housing of Hong Kong to that of western countries such as Canada, US or even the UK. What I mean is that Hong Kong, with such limited space and high demand, makes each square feet of property extremely expensive, figures from 5000 to 15000 HKD per square feet are not unheard of. An expat coming from Canada, US, or Australia perhaps even, it is easy to be used to the relatively lower prices of home.
It is possible, for example, for a low income family of four (less than $45000 gross family income) to rent a house that is 2200 sq feet in the nearby city of Toronto (Canada) suburbs for CAD $2000-3000 per month. However, it is impossible to do so in Hong Kong, with monthly rental prices for a similiar sized house in HK would cost nearly $138,000 HKD per month (18000 CAD) (according to hongkonghomes.com).
As an expat going to Hong Kong for Cathay Pacific, one should be ready to live in much smaller sized accomodations (450 - 600 sq ft). But please be aware that this is not because of the low pay as a Second Officer, but rather just the way Hong Kong is and that the average middle class family of 4 will never live in a house that is bigger than 700 sq ft. Still however, the fact remains that accomodations will be much smaller for what you can buy with your money as compared to your home countries, I just hope to clarify that living in smaller accomodations does not equate to being part of the lower class in Hong Kong.

In perspective, Andy Lau (a popular singer/actor in HK) who is in the Guiness book of world records for being the artist with most awards won as an singer/actor, as well as being the No.1 box office Actor in HK (Hong Kong's equivalent of Michael Jackson) his sales from 1985-2005 worth $1,733,275,816 HKD ($227 million USD) over 108 films is only able to live in a 4000 sq ft "mansion" in HK (est @ $20 million USD) . Where as Jackson's Never land (at $25 Million USD) affords a whopping 2800 acres (121 000 000 sq ft).

Many lower income families adopt what is known as 'subsidized' government housing. In which lower income familes can rent or own a small flat (approx 600 sq ft) at much lower prices. However, this is not applicable to non HK residents, and CX Second officer salary does not fall eligible for this scheme (HK local residents can clarify this for me).

Third is -Transportation-
The public transit in HK quite simply put, is second to none. It is the best I have ever seen as compared to any other major city would have. It is very similiar to the system of London UK. And superior when compared to any Canadian system. All subways, and all buses are air conditioned (with non AC buses being cheaper). Travelling through HK is convenient, and public transit fares are calculated according to the distance travelled at somewhat lower fares than Toronto (Toronto has a flat rate of $3.25 for adults ($25 HKD). One trip to the airport on the bus from Kwai Fong (45 min) will cost $10.50 HKD. or $14.00 from HK island.

Since HK is an international hub, there are many airlines travelling to almost all reaches of the world. As well as trains and buses going into mainland China. China itself is not as english user friendly as HK, but generally you can get by if you stay in the major Chinese cities.

While buying a car in HK is not expensive, the cost of operating it is substantial. Parking fees, licence tags, insurance, and gas make owning your own vehicle quite difficult. It is not, however, crucial to have a car in HK. There are comments in the other forum of not being able to buy a car after 10 years of flying, but to clarify, buying a car is not a problem, it is the costs of operating it. Private use vehicles will have higher costs in licensing fees as compared to Cargo vehicles. I'm afraid I won't be able to tell you more about this, but as far as I've need to go, public transit hasn't let me down yet.

And Finally, price of commodities like entertainment,appliances,electronics etc..
To my surprise - electronics and appliances are more expensive in HK than compared to Canada. However the difference becomes minimal after factoring in Sales taxes in Canada (13% in Toronto), I'm not sure what other countries have in terms of tax, and this is only true for electronics such as computers, ipods, televisions.
(One light hearted side note - playstation/xbox games in HK are cheaper than anywhere else by a factor of 20%).

Clothing is another thing that is more expensive than Canada. Although there are many cheaper pieces of attire in Hong Kong, the price does come at the cost of quality, and generally for a $70 CAD pair of nikes, it would be wiser to buy them back at home.

Entertainment in HK is also limitless. Theatres offer a mix of Hollywood and oriental cinema. Bars and Pubs in HK are plentiful and depending on your tastes can be very cheap to very expensive. Alcohol is not banned publicly like Canada, so it is ok to be seen walking around with a beer on hand. There are many many gyms, and indoor sports facilities, as well as many public outdoor courts.

While the pollution in Hong Kong is great, it is not disportionate to what other similiar sized cities are. However, the hot summer temperatures and humid wet seasons do make a walk outdoors somewhat uncomfortable if you're used to the crisp dry Canadian winter, or climates of southern Australia.

I hope all this helps everyone to make a better informed decision as to whether HK or CX is the place for you. All in all, I believe that while conditions at CX has seen a decline over the years, it has definitely not fallen to or below the poverty line, but rather just declined from what it used to be. I also do believe that while it is feasible for an individual to live comfortably as a first year Second Officer, it will be difficult to support your family (if you have one), and will require substantial sacrifice, patience, and understanding should you bring along your spouse (if you are an expat). As a career, I believe that it will be worth it, however for if only looking at the short term then it be more worthwhile to consider alternatives.
I wish everyone the best, and hope that it provided an honest information about HK without any gloom or exaggeration. Remember that Hong Kong is a different part of the world.

Please feel free to pm me or correct me if the information is not correct.

Cheers
-NB

re: HK information provided by northbound207

i was born in hk, stayed here for 10+years, then for the past 9 years spent 2 years in north west England UK and 5 in Australia. Hence i can confirm what northbound207 said is quite accurate in terms of nominal figures and comparisons.

Good luck ppl

Thanks a lot NB, thats really good information man. Its such a lifestyle change but it sounds very exciting

NB, thanks a lot! A lot of people here will appreciate your time and effort that you have put into this! Nicely done.
After all the negative reports, it's nice to hear some neutral report.

Thank you very much!

Blue skies, tailwinds, happy landings,

NFAM

Anyone going for Flight Grading on the 29th October? Would be nice to know some more details regarding what will the advanced entry FG will entail.

Northbound,

good post, though it is worth mentioning (as you did) that most westerners will still generally eat like westerners as a day-in-day-out staple (ie a lot of meat, and not so much rice and noodles). Just like Chinese people all over the world eat chinese food; in fact I don't think I have every been to a town without a chinese restaurant (or 10). It is not a habit that will change, or people want to change easily, it is just what you are used to.

On that note it is worth mentioning that average steak at the supermarket (not prime, but not stewing steak either) will set you back around US$40-50/kg. Even minced/ground beef will cost US$12-15/kg, so it is quite a bit more expensive than what you might be used to.

Northbound, A good Effort. One comment

All current S/O's ( except Cadets ) receive Housing allowance. They have been able to afford comfortable and much larger accommodation than 450-600 sq ft. Admittedly, not as large as they are entitled to after a couple of years. New cadets will not. They will only be able to afford flats, and that WILL be as a result .

So had the Stage 1 interviews coming upto 2 weeks ago now and still haven't heard anything back! :ugh: they assured me I would hear back within 7 - 10 days. After 10 days I thought okay maybe it's working days :p... I am going with the mentality that I probably haven't got it anyway at this early stage am fairly easygoing either way, but anyone else get this problem at all?